The next morning, a thin mist still hung among the trees when Sakura arrived at the designated training location.
Naruto was already there, stretching his body with overflowing enthusiasm.
Sasuke leaned calmly against a tree, eyes closed, as if undisturbed by the cold morning air.
"Sakura-chan! Morning! You're here early too, huh!"
Naruto greeted with his trademark grin, waving his hand.
Sakura, though her face still flushed slightly when she remembered yesterday's incident, tried hard to act normal.
'That damned System... but this ability is real. I can feel it. I'm not the old Sakura anymore,' she thought.
"Ah, good morning, Naruto," she replied, trying to smile. She then turned to Sasuke,
"Good morning, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke opened one eye, glanced briefly at Sakura, then just mumbled, "Hn," before closing his eyes again.
Sakura sighed inwardly.
'At least he responded.'
An hour passed.
The sun began to rise higher, chasing away the remnants of the mist.
Two hours passed.
The silence was broken only by the chirping of birds, occasional grumbles from Naruto who was starting to get bored, and Sasuke's regular breathing.
Sakura herself tried to use the time to understand the changes within her.
The three of them were even too bored of waiting to remember how much time had actually passed.
The atmosphere began to feel tense due to the unending wait.
Suddenly, the sound of slow, leisurely footsteps was heard.
The three of them turned simultaneously.
"Yo, good morning everyone,"
Kakashi-sensei said calmly, one hand waving lazily, as if he had just arrived for a picnic.
His eyes narrowed, forming a smile hidden behind his mask.
"YOU'RE SO LATE, SENSEI!" Naruto yelled, jumping to his feet angrily.
"WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR HOURS, YOU KNOW!"
Kakashi scratched the back of his head, which wasn't itchy, putting on a dubiously apologetic expression.
"Well, sorry, sorry. A black cat crossed my path, so I had to take a detour."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura simultaneously fell silent, staring at their teacher with expressions of disbelief.
'What kind of excuse is that?!'
Sakura thought, her eyebrow twitching.
"HAAAAH?! WHAT KIND OF EXCUSE IS THAT, SENSEI?!"
Naruto yelled again.
Kakashi fell silent for a moment, then coughed twice, ignoring Naruto's protest.
He took out an alarm clock from his ninja pouch and placed it carefully on a tree stump.
He then turned its knob, setting the alarm for twelve noon.
The 'tick-tock' sound of the clock felt deafeningly loud in the morning silence.
"Alright,"
Kakashi began, his voice serious again.
"Your task today is… to take one of these two bells from me before noon."
He raised his left hand, revealing two small silver bells tied to his waist, jingling softly.
"Anyone who doesn't manage to hold a bell by the time limit ends, will not get lunch!" he continued, patting a rather large bento box beside him.
A faint aroma of delicious food wafted from it, making Naruto's empty stomach rumble.
"And not only that," Kakashi added with a terrifyingly cheerful tone,
"you will be tied to that log,"
he pointed to three logs stuck in the ground not far away,
"and will have to watch your successful teammate eat their lunch deliciously in front of you!"
Sasuke's expression suddenly turned grim.
"So this is why you asked us not to eat breakfast,"
he muttered more to himself, but loud enough to be heard.
Naruto gulped.
"WHAT?! THAT'S CHEATING, SENSEI!"
"Why are there only two bells?"
Uchiha Sasuke asked with a sharp tone, his eyes narrowing analytically.
"There are three of us."
"Good question, Sasuke,"
Kakashi grinned behind his mask.
"There are only two, which means at least one of you will be tied to that log."
His grin widened.
"That person, or persons, will be disqualified for failing the mission and sent back to the academy."
Naruto's and Sakura's faces immediately turned pale.
Returning to the academy was a nightmare.
"Remember, at least one,"
Kakashi emphasized,
"and at most, all of you will be sent back if I deem you unfit."
He let his words sink in.
"Of course, you may use shuriken, kunai, or whatever you have."
His eyes glinted dangerously.
"Because you won't be able to get these bells unless you come at me with the intent to kill me."
Hearing the word 'kill', Naruto, who was already furious from hunger and annoyed from waiting, was immediately ignited.
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US!"
He pulled out a kunai from his pouch and without a second thought, charged at Kakashi.
"I'LL TAKE THAT BELL RIGHT NOW!"
In the blink of an eye, Kakashi's figure vanished from where he stood.
The next second, he had appeared right behind Naruto.
"Too slow,"
Kakashi whispered.
He grabbed Naruto's kunai-wielding hand, twisted it easily, and pressed the sharp blade of the kunai against Naruto's own neck.
Gulp!
Naruto swallowed hard, his body frozen, cold sweat starting to trickle down his temples.
He could feel the cold metal on his skin.
'So fast! I didn't even see him move!'
Kakashi's swift and efficient action made Sasuke, who had been observing, slightly stunned.
His eyes widened for a split second before calming down again.
Sakura covered her mouth, her heart pounding hard.
"This... this is the power of a Jonin?"
"Don't worry too much, Naruto,"
Kakashi said lightly, releasing Naruto and stepping back.
"I haven't even said to start yet."
Sasuke unconsciously took two steps back.
The pressure Kakashi had just emitted felt real.
'The strength of a Jonin... is truly on a different level.'
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, then back at Naruto who was still in shock.
"But it seems,"
Kakashi said with a feigned condescending tone,
"you also have a bit of an intent to kill me, huh? That kind of spirit isn't bad."
"Hehe," Kakashi chuckled softly.
"How should I put this? I think I'm finally starting to like you three a little."
Kakashi's tone suddenly became very serious, his gaze sharpening.
"It's about to begin!"
He raised his hand.
"Ready...! Start!"
As soon as the word 'start' was uttered, Sakura and Sasuke, with better tactical understanding, both instantly disappeared, melting into the shadows of the trees.
Sakura moved nimbly, utilizing her enhanced speed.
Kakashi looked around casually.
"Hmm, they're hiding well. Pretty good for Genin." He nodded.
Just then, a loud noise came from the opposite direction.
"AAAAH! KAKASHI-SENSEI! LET'S FIGHT FAIR AND SQUARE!"
Naruto was seen standing tall in the open, pointing at Kakashi with his fist clenched, making no attempt to hide at all.
Kakashi looked at Naruto helplessly, one eyebrow raised.
"Um," he pointed to his own head,
"is there something wrong with your brain? You're supposed to hide like your friends."
Uzumaki Naruto replied confidently,
"The problem is your taste in hairstyles, Sensei! It's so weird!"
Naruto's sudden remark made Sakura, who was peeking from behind some bushes, unconsciously stare at Kakashi's hair.
That silver-white hair that defied gravity... actually looked a little cool, Sakura thought.
Then, without further warning, Naruto rushed towards Kakashi again.
"I won't lose just because you're a Jonin!"
Kakashi calmly touched the ninja tool pouch at his waist.
"Alright, if you insist," Kakashi said,
"Let me teach you the key to Taijutsu, one of the core elements of ninja warfare."
Naruto was secretly surprised, his heart pounding.
'Is this guy going to attack me directly? Is he going to pull out a secret weapon?'
However, what Kakashi pulled out from the pouch at his waist was a small book.
Its title: "Icha-Icha Paradise."
Naruto, who was running, came to an abrupt halt, his face showing total confusion.
"HUH?! Why are you taking out a book at a time like this, Sensei?!"
Kakashi opened the book and began to flip through its pages, his eyes seemingly glued to its contents.
"Well," he replied nonchalantly, without looking away from his book,
"maybe I want to read it. The story is getting exciting."
He then glanced at Naruto briefly from over his book.
"And when dealing with you, it seems I don't need to worry too much about focusing fully."
Hearing that blatant insult, a vein throbbed on Naruto's forehead.
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME, DAMN SENSEI!" he yelled, charging at Kakashi again while raising his fist.
"I'LL DEFINITELY BEAT YOU TO A PULP!"
Punches and kicks were launched by Naruto repeatedly towards Kakashi.
However, Kakashi, while still reading his book, easily blocked or dodged every one of Naruto's attacks as if they were just minor annoyances.
The next moment, Kakashi disappeared from his spot again.
Naruto only heard a voice behind him, so close it made his skin crawl.
"A ninja should never show their back to the enemy so easily, you idiot."
Before Naruto could react, Hatake Kakashi was behind him, both hands forming a hand seal– the index and middle fingers of both hands joined and pointed forward.
Sasuke, observing from a distance, was secretly shocked when he saw that hand gesture.
'That hand seal... it's like the Tiger seal! Is it a Fire Release Technique?! Naruto's in danger, he won't be able to escape!'
At this moment, Kakashi moved, his voice sounding mischievous.
"Konoha Village Secret Taijutsu! Sennen Goroshi!"
(Thousand Years of Death!)
A few drops of cold sweat ran down Naruto's forehead.
'When... when did he get behind me?!' He felt a very unpleasant aura.
Without mercy, Kakashi instantly thrust his joined fingers into Naruto's rear with great force.
Naruto felt indescribable pain spread throughout his body, his eyes widening.
"GYAAAAAAHHHHH!"
He flew into the air clutching his backside with both hands, then landed with a loud splash in the nearby river.
After seeing all this, Sasuke, who was hiding on a tree branch, couldn't hold it in any longer.
His eyebrow twitched violently.
'How can there be two idiots here? One attacks without thinking, the other uses such a ridiculous technique.'
Sakura's facial expression was truly astonishing.
A mixture of horror, pity, and a little... amusement?
She felt a pang just by looking at it.
'Poor Naruto... at such a young age, he has to experience... such suffering.'
After "finishing off" Naruto, Kakashi calmly picked up his fallen "Icha-Icha" book and started reading it again, as if nothing had happened.