"That's it? We got him already?"Naruto stepped out from the trees, grinning, all caution thrown aside. "Kakashi-sensei doesn't seem that scary after all."
Sakura followed more carefully, eyes fixed on the man bound against the stone wall. "It shouldn't be this easy," she said. "He's a jōnin. This could be a clone."
Naruto waved it off. Sakura didn't. Neither did Sasuke.
"Don't relax," Sasuke said. His grip on the wire stayed firm. "Sensei isn't finished."
He studied Kakashi closely. During the exchange, Kakashi had barely had time to defend, let alone form seals. There had been no chakra fluctuation, no telltale delay. Sasuke was almost certain this was the real body.
Which was exactly why he hadn't followed up with a killing technique.
If it was real, pushing further would cross a line.If it wasn't, it would only waste chakra.
So Sasuke waited.
Bound, Kakashi glanced down at the wires around him. "I'll admit it," he said calmly. "That was well done. Your coordination was clean."
Naruto laughed. "Then just say we pass!"
"You haven't taken the bells," Kakashi replied mildly. "And you shouldn't underestimate a jōnin."
He was looking at Sasuke when he said it.
The tension in the wires suddenly vanished.
Sasuke's fingers tightened on instinct, but what he caught was empty stone. Kakashi slipped free in one smooth motion, body flowing out of the bindings like water.
"What?!" Naruto stared. "He got out?"
Sakura frowned. "I didn't feel any chakra…"
"It wasn't a technique," Sasuke said after a brief pause. "It was a release. A rope escape."
Both of them froze.
That answer was almost more unsettling.
A basic Academy skill. No chakra. No seals. Just experience.
Sasuke watched Kakashi with renewed focus. That choice told him more than any flashy counter would have.
Kakashi stretched his shoulders lightly. "Good work. Your teamwork is real. You're thinking as comrades now."
Then his eye curved into a familiar smile. "But the test isn't over."
Shuriken flashed from his hand. The three scattered instantly.
By the time they landed, Kakashi was gone.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"Naruto split into ten and charged off as one.
"Wait—" Sakura called, too late.
She turned back toward Sasuke, but the forest twisted.
The ground tilted. Her vision blurred.
Shuriken tore through the air.
"Sakura…"Sasuke lay ahead of her, blood soaking into the dirt, breath ragged. "Help me… I don't want to die…"
Her heart lurched.
She took one step.
Then stopped.
Her eyes sharpened. Her breath steadied.
"Genjutsu… release."
The world snapped back into place.
Kakashi stood a short distance away, unhurried. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
Sakura met his gaze, green eyes cold.
"Using cheap illusions like that on your own students," she said evenly. "Even knowing it was fake… I'm angry, Kakashi-sensei."