"One of the three ninja arts—taijutsu!"
Kakashi stepped out from the shade of the trees. Facing Naruto, who stood with sword in hand, his expression was no longer lazy or unfocused.
He admitted it—he'd underestimated this kid.
Whoosh—whoosh!
Several kunai shot out from the forest. Uchiha Sasuke had finally arrived.
Kakashi's body flickered, and he slipped flawlessly through the gaps between the kunai—untouched, not even a scratch.
Seeing the enemy rushing in, Naruto suddenly sheathed his blade.
When Kakashi closed the distance, Naruto drew in a flash—under the sunlight, it was like lightning exploding into existence.
So fast!
Kakashi's pupils tightened. He was about to dodge—
when more kunai flew from Sasuke's hand.
'This is embarrassing…'
That was the only thought in Kakashi's mind.
Naruto's sharp blade swept across Kakashi's waist—
and Kakashi's body vanished in a puff of smoke.
'A clone? No—regular clones are illusions. They don't have this kind of combat capability.'
Naruto was certain: from the moment Kakashi showed himself, the one trading blows with him had been that thing.
The proof was right there—two bells left behind on the ground.
An illusion couldn't carry bells.
As Sasuke approached, Naruto tossed him one of the bells. Without Sasuke's support just now, that slash might not have landed.
"Was that a clone technique?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke came from a prestigious clan—his understanding of ninjutsu was obviously deeper than Naruto's.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Sasuke said, catching the bell and explaining calmly. "A ninjutsu that creates a physical clone."
Naruto nodded and didn't ask further.
Clink.
He slid his blade back into its sheath.
Then Naruto headed toward the river.
As expected, the crude little dam he'd made earlier had successfully trapped a few small fish.
Thanks to Kakashi's "friendly reminder" yesterday, Naruto still hadn't eaten a single grain of rice.
He'd gone days without food in his previous life—but precisely because he'd lived through that, he had developed an almost obsessive attachment to eating.
Hunger… was truly more terrifying than death.
He swung the scabbard quickly, stunning the fish as they swam.
Then he kicked apart the makeshift dam.
He was hungry, sure—but not hungry enough to cut off the river's life for good.
The haul wasn't much—three or four palm-sized river fish.
But it was enough to give his empty stomach a little comfort.
When he returned to the original meeting point, Kakashi and Sasuke had already helped Sakura regain consciousness.
Naruto wasn't good at comforting people—
or rather, he simply didn't know how.
In that world of immortals, no one cared whether you developed trauma or not.
Years of war, famine, disaster…
Strictly speaking, anyone who managed to survive there had psychological scars of some kind.
Right now, the important thing was to light a fire and cook.
Seeing that Naruto truly had no intention of offering comfort, Kakashi sighed inwardly.
What the Third Hokage had feared most… had happened.
This child really did have issues when it came to dealing with people.
But whenever Kakashi thought about the root cause, he—like the Third—could only fall silent.
"Sakura," Kakashi said, "Naruto and Sasuke have already passed the test. You…"
As he spoke, he watched the two boys holding bells out of the corner of his eye.
Two of them—no, even just one would do.
If either of them would simply share their bell with Sakura, Kakashi would pass all three.
But unfortunately, neither Naruto nor Sasuke moved at all.
"Sniff…"
Sakura clearly understood her situation. She hugged her knees and began to cry quietly.
"This is a pain."
Naruto scratched his head, realizing a serious problem.
No seasonings.
As for Sakura being sent back to the Academy, Naruto didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.
A ninja's life wasn't about romance.
It was cold steel, blood, and the struggle between life and death.
From what had just happened, it was obvious Sakura still viewed being a ninja like a childhood game. Letting her become a real ninja now would do her more harm than good.
If she went back to the Academy and still couldn't change that mindset—
then living honestly as an ordinary person, quietly and safely, wasn't a bad thing at all.
As for Sasuke, it went without saying. Sakura's theory knowledge was strong, but with that mentality, she clearly wasn't suited to be his teammate.
"You…" Kakashi said sharply, voice suddenly heavy with anger. "You disappoint me!"
"Those who don't value their comrades are worse than scum!"
With that, he used Body Flicker and vanished.
Sasuke let out a small breath of relief. If this jōnin wasn't sending them straight back to the Academy, that meant they'd passed.
To Sasuke, the process didn't matter.
Only the result did.
He collected the ninja tools scattered around and walked off in the direction he came from, needing to reflect on one question:
Why had he been so lazy?
Naruto wrapped the grilled fish in leaves.
He remembered a hunting spot not far away—there should be seasonings there.
Food without seasoning was bland, and a noisy environment wasn't good for appreciating a meal.
As for Sakura—cause leads to effect.
Today's outcome was simply the result of her own past choices. No one else could be blamed.
Comforting her… wasn't something Naruto could do.
---
Hokage Tower
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stared at the images transmitted through the Telescope Technique and took a deep pull from the pipe at the corner of his mouth.
What he had feared most… had happened.
Konoha was already showing signs of a gap in its next generation.
He had assigned Kakashi to teach Naruto and Sasuke because he wanted to rapidly cultivate high-level strength.
The heirs of other major clans were talented too, but frankly, their growth would ultimately follow the template of their parents.
For Konoha as it was now, that wouldn't create a dramatic leap forward.
Naruto and Sasuke were different.
One was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
The other was the last survivor of the Uchiha.
If properly trained, the two of them could absolutely support Konoha through the turbulence that was coming.
Among all of Konoha's jōnin at present, Kakashi was unquestionably the most suitable instructor.
With the Sharingan, Kakashi could both guide the Uchiha heir and strongly suppress the Nine-Tails within Naruto.
But the most critical problem right now wasn't the students—
It was the teacher.
Kakashi's past had made him place far too much weight on comradeship.
Every time he thought of it, Hiruzen felt a twinge of regret.
He never should have, for the sake of appearances, placed Haruno Sakura on the same team as those two.
If it had been a shinobi from a smaller clan instead, things wouldn't be this awkward.
As for sending all three back to the Academy…
Sakura could be sent back.
The other two…
"Third."
Hiruzen sighed. "I already know what happened. Tell me what you think."
"Sasuke has a sense of cooperation. Haruno Sakura values her comrades." Kakashi touched his left eye and spoke in a low voice. "I'm willing to teach them."
"...I understand."
White smoke slowly streamed from Hiruzen's nose as he nodded.
Kakashi vanished.
After thinking for a long time—his constant inhaling and exhaling filling the room with the scent of tobacco—Hiruzen removed the pipe from his lips.
"Call Gekkō Hayate here."
An ANBU wearing a fox mask appeared instantly. After acknowledging the order, he disappeared again.