The chirping lightning in Kakashi's hand gave a few soft "sizzles" before dissipating completely into the air. Resuming his usual lazy demeanor, Kakashi let out a yawn and scratched his messy silver hair.
"Ma, ma... fine. What a troublesome brat!" Kakashi looked at Yao, his tone carrying a hint of resignation. "Your strength is formidable; you've earned my recognition. As for this test... you pass!"
Kakashi knew Yao was powerful enough that he couldn't easily claim the upper hand. Continuing the fight would be a meaningless drain on their chakra. With that, he unclipped the two bells from his waist and tossed them to Yao.
"Here, the bells are yours," Kakashi said. "You know the rules—there are only two. You can give one to whoever you deem appropriate. Sasuke? Or Naruto? As for the one left without a bell, they fail the mission and go back to the Academy!"
Yao caught the two flying bells, glanced down at them, and then looked back up at Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, let's stop with these boring little psychological tests. It's quite tedious."
As he spoke, Yao gave his wrist a gentle flick. The two bells flew true, landing precisely in front of Sasuke and Naruto.
Clink...
The crisp sound rang out clearly across the silent training ground. Sasuke looked at the bell rolling by his feet with a complex gaze. Naruto snatched his up, his face a mask of bewilderment. "Yao? Why did you give them to us? What about you?"
The expression on Kakashi's face froze for a moment before he rubbed the back of his head. "So, I've been seen through..."
The "multiple-choice question" he had set up was, in essence, the ultimate test of teamwork and one's philosophy regarding comrades. He wanted to see how Yao would choose: his brother, Uchiha Sasuke, or the "dead-last," Naruto? To choose either meant abandoning the other—a betrayal of the team spirit. But Yao didn't take the bait; he simply kicked the choice back in the most direct way possible.
What a handful, Kakashi sighed inwardly, then turned to Naruto and Sasuke.
"Alright, you two! Now that the bells are in your hands, it means Yao has failed the mission. According to the rules, the one without a bell returns to the Academy." Kakashi observed their reactions and asked slowly, "So, what do you plan to do? Will you comfortably accept this 'victory' while watching your teammate be punished for failing?"
"How can this count as failure?!" Naruto snapped, jumping up and shouting. "Yao took those bells from you with his own strength! He clearly succeeded! If this is failure, then since I was knocked out from the start, wouldn't I be the failure among failures?"
Naruto grew more agitated, feeling insulted not for himself, but by the injustice toward Yao. He grabbed the bell and slammed it onto the ground. "I don't want a bell like this!" He huffed, crossing his arms and looking away.
Sasuke's reaction was even colder. He gave a sharp huff. "Hmph. I don't accept charity."
Seeing this, a flash of satisfaction crossed Kakashi's eyes. Though Naruto and Sasuke's strength was average, they clearly cherished their comrades. Such children were "good kids."
"Heh..." Kakashi clapped his hands, looking at the three youths. "Very well! In that case, congratulations—everyone passes!"
Everyone passed! Just like that? Naruto was stunned, but after confirming it twice, he exploded with excitement. "Awesome! We all made it!" Sasuke maintained his "cool" facade, but he was visibly relieved.
"Kakashi-sensei, since we've passed your test and are now your students," Yao said with a smile, "as our teacher, shouldn't you mark the occasion? For instance... treating us to a celebratory meal?"
"Exactly, exactly!" Naruto's eyes lit up like lightbulbs as he lunged toward Kakashi. "Teacher's treat! Teacher's treat!"
Kakashi's mouth twitched violently. "Hey, hey... you brats. Thinking about fleecing your teacher on the very first day?"
"This isn't fleecing; it's a necessary investment in the teacher-student bond," Yao said with a straight face.
Kakashi finally surrendered, sighing as he held his forehead. "Fine! I really can't do anything with you lot... What do you want to eat? My wallet is taking a hit today!"
"BBQ!" Naruto shouted without a second thought, practically drooling.
Yao smiled and chimed in, "Indeed. At this hour, the Akimichi Clan's BBQ shop is the perfect choice."
Kakashi felt his wallet was about to suffer a disaster. Resigned to his fate, he waved them along weakly. "Akimichi BBQ, right... fine, let's go..."
...
Having officially become ninjas, the trio began executing missions under Kakashi's lead. However, the initial tasks were all the lowest D-ranks: finding lost cats, weeding gardens, clearing trash from the river...
On the first day, Yao followed along with a mindset of experiencing ninja life, helping Kakashi catch cats and pull weeds. But after just one day, he lost interest entirely. These missions were a waste of time, serving only to grind down one's patience.
By the second day, Yao began using a Shadow Clone to handle the missions. He used the Flying Raijin Jutsu to travel to a secluded, ancient forest deep in the mountains outside Konoha. Amidst the towering trees, Yao intended to attempt the development of Wood Style.
For someone possessing the Sage Body, developing Wood Style was an inevitability; it was only a matter of time. Wood Style was not a simple fusion of Water and Earth chakra—that was merely the basic form. The true core of Wood Style lay in injecting the power of Yang Release into that foundation, granting it the properties of "growth" and "creation." And for Yao, the one thing he did not lack was the life-force-saturated Yang chakra!
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. Yao let out a sigh. Developing Wood Style was far more difficult than he had imagined. Even with the massive life force and chakra provided by the Sage Body, the process involved a subtle synthesis of three types of chakra, and progress was minimal.
Just as Yao was considering a different approach, his Shadow Clone on duty brought him a piece of news:
The Land of Waves mission was starting!
"The Land of Waves, huh..." Yao's eyes brightened. On the surface, it was a simple C-rank escort mission, but in reality, they would encounter Zabuza Momochi—an elite Jonin with blood-stained hands, far beyond those daily D-rank chores. More importantly, they would be leaving the village!
"I'll head to the Land of Waves; I'll treat it as a vacation!"
The next day, Team 7 gathered at Konoha's main gate and set off with the client, Tazuna. The excitement of leaving the village made Naruto like a bird out of a cage; he spent the whole way looking around and shouting in wonder. Watching the overly energetic Naruto, Yao's heart stirred. He stepped up and walked side-by-side with him.
"Naruto!"
"What is it, Yao?" Naruto turned his head.
"I remember you mastered a very powerful ninjutsu called the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, right?"
Yao asked in a natural tone, as if it were merely a passing thought.
"Oh, that?" Naruto said proudly. "That's a super awesome ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals! I learned it in an instant!"
"That's incredible!" Yao offered a timely compliment before pivoting the conversation. "I'm actually quite interested in the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. Could you teach me? Of course, if it's inconvenient, don't worry about it!"
Yao asked nonchalantly, as if it were just a whim. Usually, high-level ninjutsu—especially those considered secret or forbidden—are guarded family traditions. If it were Shikamaru or Choji, Yao wouldn't have even opened his mouth; it would have been far too presumptuous.
But this was Naruto.
Naruto thumpped his chest vigorously, shouting boisterously, "Of course I can! There's nothing 'inconvenient' about it! If you want to learn it, Yao, I'll teach you! It's actually really simple!"
To Naruto, Yao was a true friend and teammate he genuinely acknowledged. Sharing a jutsu was nothing compared to that bond.
"Thank you," Yao nodded with a smile.
See? The investment in befriending Naruto is already paying off.
Reflecting on the sluggish progress of his Wood Style development over the past half-month, Yao realized his efficiency was too low. He had decided it was time to activate his "cheats."
The best way to cheat was, without a doubt, the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. The "bug-like" nature of this technique wasn't just about how many clones one could create; it was the fact that everything a clone experienced—including insights from training and accumulated experience—would instantly return to the original body once the jutsu was released!
What did that mean? If others trained for one day, but he could create a hundred clones to train simultaneously, it would be equivalent to training for a hundred days. It was pure deception! Wood Style development required massive trial and error; there was no better tool than this. Furthermore, his Sage Body could easily support the massive drain of the jutsu. It was a cheat tailored specifically for him.