Shortly after, several shuriken shot out of the water, spinning rapidly and heading straight for Kakashi's face.
Kakashi didn't even look up from his book.
With a lazy yet incredibly precise movement, he extended two fingers and easily caught all the shuriken between them.
The shuriken spun twice on his fingers before coming to a complete stop.
'So strong,'
Sakura thought, moving slowly and silently among the trees, looking for an opening.
'Even a surprise attack like that is useless.'
At this moment, Naruto crawled out of the river, his entire body soaked and shivering. He coughed several times, expelling some river water from his mouth.
"Damn you, Kakashi-sensei! I was just careless for a moment!"
Naruto yelled angrily, his face flushed red. He rushed towards Kakashi again.
"This time I won't fail! Watch this!"
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Several of Naruto's Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones) leaped out one after another from different places, surrounding Kakashi.
"This is my best Jutsu! With this, I'll definitely win!"
Naruto (the real one, or at least one of them) laughed confidently.
Kakashi's expression shifted slightly behind his mask.
"Oh, Kage Bunshin? Impressive for a Genin," he praised, though his tone was still condescending.
"But with your poor chakra control, this ninjutsu can only last for a minute, at most."
Suddenly, only the soft jingle of bells was heard, and a shadow clone that appeared out of nowhere managed to grab Kakashi around the waist from behind.
"What! Someone's behind me!"
Kakashi exclaimed in (feigned, of course) surprise.
Sakura was also confused.
'Where did that clone come from? Its movements were pretty good.'
One of the Narutos said proudly, mimicking Kakashi's earlier tone,
"A ninja shouldn't leave their back exposed, Kakashi-sensei."
Then, one by one, other shadow clones leaped and grabbed Kakashi's legs, restraining him.
The real Naruto leaped out from the crowd, swinging his fist with all his might to punch Kakashi's face and snatch the bells.
"TAKE THIS!"
However, at this critical moment, Naruto's fist, which should have hit Kakashi, flew upwards instead.
Thwack!
It hit another Naruto's face.
"Ouch! Why'd you hit me, Idiot?!"
"You're the idiot! Why were you blocking my way?!"
Sasuke, observing from the tree, narrowed his eyes.
'Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu)... Kakashi switched places with one of Naruto's clones.'
Where did Kakashi go?
"Damn it, you must be Kakashi-sensei in disguise! You used a transformation jutsu to become me!"
The punched Naruto yelled angrily, and then all his shadow clones began to fight each other blindly.
Punches and kicks flew among the Narutos.
Sakura shook her head helplessly from her hiding place.
'Oh God... Why do I have to be on a team with this guy?'
She asked the System inwardly,
'System, are you sure this idiot is really the Child of Prophecy? The savior of the world? He looks more like a future regular patient at a mental hospital.'
"Data cannot be wrong, Host," the System replied in its typical flat tone.
"Uzumaki Naruto's potential is immense, it's just unrefined and often overshadowed by his recklessness."
The real Naruto, after struggling to free himself from the fight between his clones, which were disappearing one by one, suddenly saw a bell lying on the ground near some bushes.
His eyes lit up.
"HAHAHA! A BELL! Kakashi-sensei must have dropped it when he was rushing to escape earlier! What an idiot!"
Without thinking, Naruto walked over and bent down to try and pick up the bell from the ground.
But, with a sudden jerk, his foot was caught in a hidden rope, and he was instantly pulled upwards, left hanging upside down from a tree branch.
"Oh no! It's a trap! DAMN IT!"
At this moment, Kakashi emerged casually from behind a tree, the "Icha-Icha" book still in his hand.
He slowly bent down to pick up the bell he had deliberately placed as bait.
Suddenly, the System's voice chimed in Sakura's mind, interrupting her analysis.
"Emergency Mission Activated: Impress Kakashi-sensei with your hidden talent!"
Sakura was slightly surprised.
'Huh? A more normal mission? Finally! Nothing weird like yesterday.'
"Reward: One random Kekkei Genkai from the primary list (Examples: early-stage Sharingan, early-stage Byakugan, basic Shikotsumyaku, basic Ice Release, etc.)."
Sakura's eyes widened.
'Kekkei Genkai?! This... this is incredible!'
"Failure Penalty: The System will temporarily take over Host's body and ensure Host 'does it' with Uzumaki Naruto to forcibly strengthen the bond."
Sakura, who had almost breathed a sigh of relief and excitement, instantly felt a violent shiver run down her spine from head to toe when she heard the Penalty!
Her face turned deathly pale.
Horrifying images flashed through her mind.
'WHAAAAAT?! NO! NO WAY! 'DO IT' WITH NARUTO?! DAMN SYSTEM! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT OF MY BODY! I'D RATHER DIE THAN LET THAT HAPPEN!'
Sakura could only cry tearlessly in her heart while cursing the system vehemently!
Overwhelming panic seized her.
'I must succeed! MUST SUCCEED IN THIS MISSION! THERE'S NO OTHER CHOICE!'
Sakura took a deep breath, trying to calm her anger and panic.
She focused herself.
Her thinking speed and reflexes felt enhanced.
She had to impress Kakashi, and she knew exactly how.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Three shuriken suddenly flew out from behind the bushes with surprising speed and precision.
The shuriken sped at complex angles, two aimed directly at Kakashi, and another accurately aimed at the rope ensnaring Naruto's leg.
Naruto, who was hanging and grumbling, hadn't even reacted when the shuriken instantly cut the rope at his ankle.
"UWAAA!"
He fell hard to the ground, landing on his backside first.
"Ouch... ouch... ouch... Who—"
Kakashi, who was picking up the bell, was slightly surprised by the sudden and accurate attack.
He managed to dodge one shuriken, but the remaining shuriken hit his 'head'.
His body immediately fell to the ground with a thud.
Sasuke, who was also observing from his spot, was astonished.
'That throw... was incredibly accurate and fast. Not like the Sakura I've known. And her timing was perfect, freeing that idiot while attacking Kakashi-sensei. Did she manage to hit him?'
Naruto was even more surprised, his mouth agape.
"Ahhh! Is... is he dead? Who did it? Sakura-chan?! Your hit was too hard!"
However, with a characteristic
Poof!,
the 'Kakashi' that was hit and lay on the ground turned into a log of wood.
Kawarimi no Jutsu.
Sakura didn't let her guard down for a second after throwing the shuriken.
She knew it wouldn't be that easy.
The next moment, just as she expected, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere, right in front of Sakura, only a few centimeters away.
He smiled behind his mask, his eyes crinkling with amusement.
"Good job with the shuriken earlier, Sakura. Very impressive. But, watch your back!"
The corner of Sakura's mouth also lifted slightly, forming a confident smile that surprised Kakashi.
"Oh, really, Sensei?"
Kakashi frowned, sensing something odd.
"Why are you laughing? There's nothing behind you."
Sakura didn't answer.
Right beneath the feet of 'herself' who was facing Kakashi, several explosive tags she had planted earlier and camouflaged with leaves, suddenly glowed.
BOOOOM!
A fairly strong explosion rocked the area, sending smoke and dust into the air.
The 'Sakura' hit by the explosion instantly vanished in a puff of smoke – it was just an ordinary bunshin (clone) she had created moments ago.
The real Sakura had already leaped away to a safe place as soon as Kakashi appeared in front of her bunshin.
Kakashi, with his Jonin reflexes, managed to jump clear of the explosion's center just in time, though the edge of his vest was slightly singed.
He brushed dust off his shoulder with a faint smile, his eyes searching for the real Sakura's whereabouts.
"Heh. Not bad, Sakura. Not bad at all."
Sasuke and Naruto also noticed the movement and explosion in Sakura and Kakashi's area.
Just as Naruto was struggling to his feet, planning to interfere, with another jerk, he accidentally stepped on another rope trap and was once again hung upside down from a different tree.
"NOOOO! WHY AM I ALWAYS THE ONE CAUGHT IN THESE DAMN TRAPS?!"
Sasuke clicked his tongue at Naruto's stupidity.
'Enough messing around.'
Ignoring the useless Naruto, Sasuke saw Kakashi, whose attention was now slightly diverted by Sakura's tactics.
This was his chance.
With a cold, focused gaze, Sasuke instantly darted from his hiding place, kunai in hand, heading towards Kakashi to start his own fight.
As the two fought fiercely, Naruto, whose brain was more preoccupied with food than battle, finally cut the rope binding him with a kunai.
With a wide grin, he silently slipped away to where the bento was kept.
"Alright!" he whispered to himself, rubbing his rumbling stomach.
"I'd better eat this delicious lunch box of mine than struggle to get that troublesome bell!"
With his hands trembling from hunger, Naruto clasped them together, preparing to devour his meal.
"Yosh! Itadakimasu!"
Meanwhile, hiding behind a tree, Sakura continued to rack her brains, searching for a way to impress Kakashi-sensei and obtain that enticing Kekkei Genkai reward.
'Chunin-level strength?' she mused,
'It did improve my abilities, but it doesn't seem enough to awe Kakashi-sensei. I don't even know any jutsu other than what was taught at the academy.'
Sakura began to rethink all of Kakashi-sensei's actions from the beginning of the test until now.
Although he initially seemed like a useless and careless person, the overthinking Sakura believed that every action Kakashi took must have a hidden meaning.
During the introductions, Kakashi only mentioned his name, giving no clues about his abilities, so they couldn't guess his strength.
And when Kakashi told them not to eat breakfast, he arrived almost at noon and made them starve, which taught them that they shouldn't easily trust an 'enemy' and must be prepared for any situation.
(If only Kakashi could hear Sakura's analysis, he would surely be embarrassed and say, "Sakura, please don't overthink it, you're making me blush…")
Sakura thought again.
This test only had two bells, and they had to be taken from a Jonin whose strength was far above theirs.
There must be a deeper meaning than just 'snatching bells'.
'Amazing! Kakashi-sensei must be testing... our teamwork!'
Sakura concluded, her eyes sparkling.
Sakura immediately headed to the location where she last saw Sasuke and Naruto.
When she arrived, the sight that greeted her was very strange.
Sasuke's body was buried in the ground up to his neck, like a newly planted plant!
Sasuke: "..."
His face was flushed red with embarrassment and annoyance.
Sakura: "..."
She swallowed.
"Sasuke-kun,"
Sakura asked cautiously,
"Do you need help?"
Sasuke mumbled very softly, his face turning even redder,
"Y-yes..."
Sakura thought for a moment.
If she dug the ground with her hands, her beautiful hands would surely get dirty.
She didn't want that to happen.
Suddenly, Sakura clapped her hands together, seemingly getting a brilliant idea.
"Ah!"
Sasuke, seeing the smirk on Sakura's face, felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding.
A premonition that proved true when Sakura threw several kunai tied with explosive tags towards him.
"Sakura! Wait—" Sasuke yelled in panic, but it was too late.
BOOOM!!!!
A loud explosion shook the ground, sending soil and dust into the air.