Silence. A deathly, bone-chilling silence.
Kakashi's face had gone pale, utterly stunned by Kazama's move.
As an elite Jonin, he hadn't even noticed Kazama sneaking up behind him.
"If Kazama were an enemy, I'd probably be in two pieces by now," Kakashi thought, a cold sweat breaking out.
"Kazama, this guy… was he holding back during our sparring sessions?"
Sasuke, meanwhile, felt a familiar, terrifying pressure radiating from Kazama—the same kind he'd once sensed from his brother, Uchiha Itachi.
"Kazama-kun, I hadn't even called 'start' yet! That's cheating!" Kakashi coughed awkwardly, trying to mask his embarrassment.
"And if I'm not mistaken, you set up a clone before I even arrived, just to ambush me, didn't you?"
"As expected of Kakashi-sensei. Sharp as ever," Kazama said with a grin.
Kakashi frowned. "No, that doesn't add up. Even if he prepared a clone in advance, there's no way he could've slipped behind me without a sound. What's going on here?"
As if reading Kakashi's mind, Kazama formed a hand seal, and his clone transformed into a wooden figure.
"Mokuton Bunshin?! That's impossible!" Kakashi staggered back several steps, eyes wide with shock.
It clicked. The forest was full of trees, and Kazama's Mokuton clone blended perfectly with them, sharing their essence. No wonder Kakashi hadn't sensed a thing.
As a Konoha ninja, Kakashi knew Mokuton was the First Hokage's secret technique, a power no one else had wielded since.
Yet here was Sanada Kazama, a kid who hadn't even passed the Genin exam, using the legendary Mokuton. How could Kakashi not be floored?
Sasuke was just as stunned. If Kazama had used a Mokuton clone during their arena fight, Sasuke wouldn't have stood a chance.
The pressure was crushing. Sasuke, the so-called genius, felt utterly inadequate compared to Kazama.
"Kazama-kun, when did you master Mokuton?" Kakashi asked.
Before Kazama could answer, Naruto burst out laughing. "Kazama's been using Mokuton for a while! He once summoned *three thousand* Mokuton clones to hit Mizuki with a Thousand Years of Death barrage, saving me and Iruka-sensei!"
"Three thousand Mokuton clones? Is this kid even human?" Kakashi thought, reeling at the sheer absurdity of it.
"Alright, let's get on with the exercise," Kakashi said, unwilling to dig deeper. He was starting to understand why the Third Hokage held Kazama in such high regard. With this kind of power, Kazama was destined to be a pillar of Konoha.
"The exercise starts now!" Kakashi vanished into the forest with a *whoosh*.
"No offense, Kakashi-sensei," Kazama muttered. "But I need to absorb your Raikiri and Sharingan to boost my strength. Then, I'll settle the score with Danzo."
"Mokuton: Multi-Clone Jutsu!"
With the forest's terrain on his side, Kazama instantly summoned thousands of Mokuton clones. His goal: flush Kakashi out and force him to fight all-out.
"No way!" Kakashi's startled cry echoed through the trees.
Kazama's legion of Mokuton clones had already surrounded him, boxing him in completely.