Chapter 92: Kakashi Prepares to Use Most of His Strength
"Clang! Clang!"
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The sounds of two waves of Kunai and Shurikencolliding and hitting the ground rang out incessantly. After a brief skirmish, the three launched into a unique throwing duel.
Two against one, Kakashi Hatake was completely defeated!
Of course, this was the result after Kakashi Hatakesuppressed his strength. If he went all out and used Chidori directly, Naruto might be fine, but Uchiha Sasuke would definitely be taken out in one move.
But even so, the shock the two brought to Kakashi Hatake was no less than a bolt from the blue!
Two different surnames, two different personalities, yet they used the same sword technique and the same throwing method.
Just looking at a few sword moves, one couldn't identify the name of this sword technique, but it was a genuine combat skill; a moment of carelessness would result in blood being drawn the moment the blade was unsheathed.
And that convoluted, unpredictable throwing technique that could change its attack direction at will—Kakashi Hatake recognized it; it was undoubtedly Uchiha Style Throwing.
But why did this guy Naruto know this move?
Moreover, looking at his proficiency, it was even higher than Uchiha Sasuke's. This completely defied logic!
But it was far from just that...
After the throwing duel, Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, having won a small victory, naturally pressed their advantage. Covering each other from left and right and constantly changing positions, they charged towards Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi Hatake looked at his empty hands with a wry smile, feeling somewhat annoyed with himself.
He had been so eager to test them earlier while competing in throwing that he hadn't controlled himself. Now, he didn't have a single Kunai left to use, and that White Fang short sword, well...
Watching the two charge at him, Kakashi Hatakedid not hesitate. He bent down, picked up a random Kunai from the ones scattered on the ground, exerted force with his feet, and like an arrow released from a bow, he whistled towards the two.
"Poof!"
Just as the Kunai was about to collide with the two ninja swords, the Kunai in Kakashi Hatake's hand suddenly "turned traitor." After transforming into Naruto, it twisted in mid-air and was about to land a punch on Kakashi Hatake's cheek.
Kakashi Hatake's reaction was worthy of his status as an Elite Jonin. While turning his head to dodge, he swung his hand and threw "Naruto" towards the two. However, the speed of the long swords in their hands did not decrease in the slightest. After slicing through "Naruto," they continued their momentum towards Kakashi Hatake.
"Poof!"
"Poof!"
Two consecutive puffs of smoke sounded. As the Naruto Clone dissipated, the Kakashi Hatake in front of them also scattered into a cloud of smoke.
Realizing they had fallen for Kakashi Hatake's tactic, the two did not hesitate. Symbolically swinging their swords backward, they simultaneously rolled on the ground, and the directions they rolled were different.
Naruto rolled to Sakura Haruno's side, slashed the rope binding her, and while pinching Sakura's philtrum to wake her, he held his ninja sworddiagonally in front of him in a defensive stance.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Sasuke, who had rolled in the other direction and was defending his position, now formed an angle with Naruto. No matter which side was attacked, the other would support with the fastest speed, forming a pincer attack on Kakashi Hatake.
"As expected of the two individuals most valued by Hokage-sama!" Kakashi Hatake, observing from the shadows, narrowed his eyes. "With just this combat intuition, their growth speed in future battles will definitely be astonishing."
"Moreover, the coordination between Naruto and Sasuke is a bit too exquisite. Compared to them, when I was at this age, other than knowing a few more Ninjutsu, I didn't have much to boast about."
"But even if you two are so outstanding, after the position that originally belonged to Hyuga Hinatawas replaced by Sakura Haruno, what choice will you make?"
Kakashi Hatake's thoughts raced as he observed the two. Although he had long known that the relationship between Naruto and Uchiha Sasukewas profound, Hyuga Hinata, who also had deep bonds with both of them, had gone missing.
Whether the two could accept Sakura Haruno, who had been forced into the group, what their level of acceptance was, and whether they could trust Sakura Haruno—in Kakashi Hatake's view, this was the ultimate goal of this test.
And to make them reveal their true thoughts, there was only one way—continue to put pressure on them!
"This is the first time I've felt so embarrassed!" Kakashi Hatake adjusted his forehead protector, which was worn diagonally to cover his left eye. "At the Genin level, I'm no longer a match for the two of them, and if I increase my strength further... my Chakra won't be enough..."
Kakashi Hatake was now in a very awkward position. To test their true thoughts, he had to increase the intensity, but he was indecisive about how much to increase it.
Because his own Chakra was constantly being consumed by the Sharingan, which he couldn't turn off. And if the increase in strength was too small, failing to push the two to their limits, that wasted Chakra wouldn't come back.
If he wanted to increase the intensity again, he might only have enough Chakra left for one more technique...
However, after thinking for a moment, Kakashi Hatake decided to use his full strength without relying on his Sharingan. Besides forcing the two, establishing some authority would actually be quite good.
"Poof!" Just as Kakashi Hatake was preparing to move, Naruto took a smoke bomb from Sakura Haruno's Ninja tool pouch and threw it on the ground. Thick white smoke completely enveloped the three. When the smoke dissipated, the three had hidden themselves again, leaving no trace behind.
"Did I hold you back..." Sakura Haruno, having regained consciousness, still had the aftereffects of the low-level Genjutsu "Hell Viewing Technique" in her eyes, with tears of fear still swirling in her eye sockets.
"No, we really need you!" Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke exchanged a glance and nodded to each other, and Naruto unhesitatingly took on the arduous task of setting up the tactics.
"We do this... and this... then do this... and finally, Sakura, you seize the bell!"
"Can I do it?"
"Don't worry about failing. At worst, we'll just accept Kakashi-sensei's punishment with you." Naruto spoke righteously. Whether this was sincere or feigned, due to unknown reasons within his body, Naruto could no longer tell.
But this did not affect the encouraging power of Naruto's words. After Sakura Haruno and the two bumped fists to cheer each other on, she used the Transformation Jutsu to turn into a fake object that looked exactly like the scabbard in Uchiha Sasuke's hand.
"Have you hidden your companion?" Kakashi Hatake looked at the two who were completely exposed to his line of sight and gave up hiding, appearing in front of them.
"Ninja, Ninja—first, one must understand patience to be considered a Ninja. It seems you haven't learned this well enough yet." Kakashi Hatakeused his words to mock the two, attempting to disturb their state of mind through such means.
"But the mission has a time limit. We can't delay any longer."
Naruto spoke the only sentence since the start of the test during battle or just before the battle was about to begin. And as soon as his voice fell, the attacks from Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke followed.
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