They didn't rush him.
That alone earned a mark in Kakashi's mind.
Hidden in the forest, all three suppressed their presence. Even Naruto, who usually charged first and thought later, stayed still. Sasuke's strength was a known variable, but restraint and observation were the basics of shinobi work. Sakura and Naruto choosing concealment instead of a frontal assault told Kakashi enough to raise his evaluation.
He stood openly in the clearing, posture loose, weight evenly balanced. His hand drifted toward his pouch out of habit, almost reaching for his book.
Then he stopped.
With Sasuke here, a fake opening wouldn't stay fake.
My focus stays on him, Kakashi decided. One mistake, and I lose all three bells.
Sasuke had grown faster. Since mastering lightning chakra body enhancement, his speed had crossed a dangerous threshold. Carelessness now would cost Kakashi more than face.
High above, hidden in dense leaves, Sakura watched him closely. "Sasuke," she whispered, "your call?"
Naruto shifted beside her, impatience barely restrained.
"Plan B," Sasuke said quietly. "Sensei is strong."
There was no hesitation. Sasuke had sparred with Kakashi countless times. This test wasn't about proving himself. It was about testing a team.
He moved first.
Steel flashed. A spread of shuriken flew from his right hand as his left formed seals with practiced ease, fingers moving alone.
Single-handed seals.
The fire burst from his chest in sharp pulses.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Crimson Claw."
Small fireballs scattered like seeds, each wrapped around spinning steel. Shuriken vanished inside flame, their paths overlapping, multiplying angles of attack.
A breath later, wind roared.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough."
Naruto's technique surged forward, feeding the flames. Fire swelled, accelerated, and spread. What began as scattered sparks turned into a sweeping wave.
Kakashi's eye narrowed. He moved instantly.
"Water Style: Severing Torrent."
A wall of rushing water rose to meet the flames. Steam exploded outward as fire was swallowed, heat hissing into thick mist.
But the steel remained.
Shuriken burst through the fog, screaming toward him.
So it's layered, Kakashi noted. Wind-fed fire hiding real weapons.
He sprang upward—
"Now," Sakura said.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
The air darkened.
Dozens became hundreds. Hundreds filled the sky, blotting out escape paths, sealing angles, turning space itself hostile.
Kakashi abandoned evasion.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall."
The ground surged up. A thick wall rose, dog-headed reliefs carved into its surface without conscious thought. Metal clattered uselessly against stone.
For an instant, Kakashi relaxed.
Then the shuriken curved.
Not all of them. Just a few.
They bent mid-flight, arcing around the wall with unnatural precision.
Kakashi felt it a split second too late. Tension snapped tight around his body. Invisible wires bit into place, pinning him against the stone beneath the carved heads.
He looked up.
Sasuke stood in clear view now, fingers taut on chakra-thread lines, eyes calm and focused.
"Uchiha shuriken manipulation," Kakashi said quietly.
Pinned, bells still at his waist, Kakashi exhaled once.
Team Seven had found him.