In an instant, round after round of Ninjutsu bombardment ensued, as the rampaging techniques completely blanketed the entire Training Ground.
Water dragons and earth dragons intertwined and roared; huge waterfalls crashed down one after another, while sharp Earth Pillar Spikes constantly burst from the ground, coordinating with the Earth Flow Walls rising from the earth to alter the battlefield's terrain.
Tejima Shinichi's original body and his four Shadow Clones were like five magical turrets, pouring out Ninjutsu without pause, as if his Chakra were infinite.
Yamato looked as if he had seen a ghost, weaving and dodging through the dense bombardment.
He had just used a Wood Locking Wall to block a Water Dragon Bullet from one side when an Earth Pillar Spike from the other side stabbed at his feet, forcing him to roll away awkwardly.
Before he could even steady himself, the aftershocks of a Great Waterfall crashed down from above, forcing him to weave signs again to raise a wooden shield to block it.
Splashes of water and mud soaked his clothes; this usually steady Jonin actually appeared a bit flustered at this moment.
The offensive had already lasted for nearly two and a half minutes—
Yet Tejima Shinichi's frequency of Ninjutsu release showed no sign of slowing down.
Facing this overwhelming, relentless bombardment of Ninjutsu, Yamato furrowed his brows tightly.
'No, I can't let him drag me into a war of attrition. This kid's Chakra capacity is too much of a cheat; I must get close to break his rhythm!'
He wove hand signs, and his figure blurred.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"
Two Wood Clones instantly appeared, flanking Tejima Shinichi's original body from the left and right.
At the same time, he himself used the cover of the Wood Locking Wall to rapidly close the distance.
'As long as I get close, I can suppress him with Taijutsu and experience!'
Watching Yamato rapidly approaching, Tejima Shinichi's eyes narrowed, and he immediately saw through Yamato's intention.
'Want to get close? It won't be that easy.'
He didn't engage Yamato head-on at all; his original body retreated rapidly without hesitation while his hands wove signs once more—
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Three more Shadow Clones appeared, taking the places of the previous Clones that had dissipated due to Chakra exhaustion, and continued weaving signs without pause!
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"
New Ninjutsu formed instantly, like Ninjutsu turrets that never ran out of fuel, blasting toward the approaching Yamato and his Wood Clones.
Yamato and his Wood Clones nimbly dodged the attacks, trying to close the gap.
'Tch, what a fast reaction!'
One Wood Clone managed to dodge a Water Dragon Bullet and quickly lunged toward a Shadow Clone, but the ground beneath it suddenly surged—
"Earth Release: Earth Pillar Spike!"
'What?!'
The Wood Clone hurriedly jumped back, narrowly avoiding it.
Another Wood Clone tried to sneak attack Tejima Shinichi's original body from the flank, but it ran head-first into a thick Earth Flow Wall and was immediately blown apart by a Water Dragon Bullet fired from behind.
'I'm being completely read...'
Yamato's original body tried several times to launch a surprise attack from underground using Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique to wrap around Tejima Shinichi's ankles.
"Got you!"
Wooden strips burst from the ground, but in an instant, Tejima Shinichi broke free!
Tejima Shinichi either used Earth Release in advance to change the terrain for defense or cleanly used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge.
"It's useless, Yamato-sensei. I won't give you the chance."
Tejima Shinichi even had the leeway to speak while simultaneously commanding his Shadow Clones to continue suppressing Yamato's position with Ninjutsu.
For a moment, a rather comical yet shocking scene appeared on the Training Ground:
An experienced Jonin was being led by the nose by a Genin using this "kite-flying" tactic.
When Yamato chased, Tejima Shinichi ran, while countless Ninjutsu smashed down upon him; when Yamato stopped to defend or tried to control him, Tejima Shinichi took the opportunity to pull even further away and summoned new Shadow Clones to maintain his firepower.
'This guy...'
Yamato dodged another Earth Dragon Bullet. Looking at Tejima Shinichi in the distance, whose breathing was only slightly hurried and whose hands were already weaving signs for the next round of Ninjutsu, a strong sense of helplessness welled up in his heart.
'Is his Chakra really inexhaustible? And you've completely forgotten that the goal of the assessment is to snatch the Bells; you're basically treating me like a... target! If this continues, it'll never end!'
Yamato had reason to suspect that Tejima Shinichi was secretly getting revenge for that Earth Pillar Spike from earlier!
He tried a few more rushes and control techniques, but they were all neutralized by Tejima Shinichi using similar methods.
Tejima Shinichi gave him no chance for close-quarters combat at all, pushing the advantages of his massive Chakra capacity and Ninjutsu range to the limit.
'He's like a slippery loach!'
Yamato stopped in his tracks and ceased his pursuit.
He waved a hand to dissipate his last Wood Clone and stood in place, looking at Tejima Shinichi, who remained vigilant in the distance surrounded by three Shadow Clones, and sighed helplessly.
'Forget it, continuing like this is just a waste of time. Without being able to use heavy hands, I'd probably have to pay a significant price to quickly subdue him, which has completely deviated from the original intent of the assessment.'
"Alright, Shinichi." Yamato called out, a look of being caught between laughter and tears on his face, "Stop."
Hearing this, Tejima Shinichi's movements paused, and the Shadow Clones beside him stopped as well, though they did not dispel and remained on guard.
"It's over already? I can still keep going for quite a while."
Yamato's face fell as he looked at him and shook his head:
"You passed the assessment."
He untied the two Bells from his waist and weighed them in his hand.
"There's no point in continuing to fight like this," Yamato said candidly. "Without being able to use heavy hands against you, it really is difficult for me to subdue you quickly without paying a certain price. This tactic of yours... purely relying on Chakra capacity and smashing with Ninjutsu, though it lacks technique,"
He paused and added, "is indeed effective."
He had to admit that facing an opponent with so much Chakra they could squander it at will, and who resolutely refused to fight in close quarters, even he found it a bit troublesome within the limited rules of the assessment.
Tejima Shinichi looked at the Bells in Yamato's hand, then at the helpless expression on Yamato's face, before slowly weaving a sign to dispel all his Shadow Clones.
He calmed the surging Chakra within his body, and his breathing gradually stabilized.
'It seems that simple quantitative change still can't easily cause a qualitative change before a true Elite Jonin... Of course, maybe my quantity isn't enough, but... to force Yamato to stop on his own is good enough.'
Not far away, Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū, who had watched this "unbelievable" battle from start to finish, were completely numb.
'He... he forced a Jonin Instructor to stop and admit defeat?' Kobayashi Takeshi's mouth was open wide enough to fit an egg, and he rubbed his eyes hard. 'Am I seeing things? What on earth did Shinichi grow up eating? Is his Chakra infinite?'
Satō Yū rubbed her still-aching neck, looking at Tejima Shinichi's figure with a complex gaze.
"It's more than just being strong... His Chakra is like an ocean... And Shinichi seemingly never even considered snatching the Bells; he was just... he was taking on the teacher head-on!"
A sense of powerlessness mixed with shock filled both their hearts.
At that moment, Yamato tossed the two Bells to Tejima Shinichi.
Tejima Shinichi caught the two Bells; the cold metallic touch reached him, and the Bells let out a crisp "ding-ling" sound with his movement.
He looked down at the Bells in his hand that symbolized "passing," then looked up at his two teammates who were still slumped on the ground with complex expressions.
Yamato's voice rang out at the right time, carrying a hint of testing: "As you can see, there are only two Bells. This means one of you must fail the assessment and be sent back to the Ninja Academy."
With one sentence, Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū instantly snapped to attention!
Yamato's gaze swept over the three of them, finally landing on Tejima Shinichi: "Shinichi, the Bells are in your hands. According to the rules, you have the right to decide who... stays with you."
Hearing this, Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū's expressions tightened, and they subconsciously looked at Tejima Shinichi.
Although they had discussed all this before the assessment, when the moment actually arrived... Tejima Shinichi hardly hesitated, stepping toward Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū.
Under their slightly nervous and confused gazes, he stuffed the two Bells into their hands respectively.
"Take them."
"Shinichi? You..." Kobayashi Takeshi was stunned as he looked at the heavy Bell in his hand.
Satō Yū also gripped the Bell, her eyes full of bewilderment: "This... you should keep it for your..."
Tejima Shinichi stood tall, his back to Yamato, facing his two teammates:
"Whether I stay or you stay, the result is the same. If a so-called team requires sacrificing comrades to earn qualification, then such a team isn't worth staying in anyway."
"Besides," he paused and glanced back at Yamato, "I believe Yamato-sensei's purpose in setting this assessment was never to make us kill each other. So I am willing to make this choice... and I don't regret it!"
'This kid...' Yamato's heart was stirred, but he remained expressionless on the surface.
Kobayashi Takeshi looked at the Bell in his hand, then at Tejima Shinichi's calm face, and suddenly gritted his teeth, stuffing the Bell back to Tejima Shinichi:
"What a joke! Shinichi, we've always believed in you, but... you're just guessing the purpose of the assessment... You shouldn't gamble. You're much stronger than us! These Bells should be yours! I... I'll just come back next year!"
Satō Yū also made a decision and handed over the Bell, her voice firm: "Takeshi is right. The strongest should stay. Even if Yamato-sensei really set up such a test, we... cannot hold you back."
Kobayashi Takeshi saw Satō Yū beside him making the same decision, and he felt a sense of relief.
At least in the face of this difficult choice, neither of them had failed Shinichi's trust.
Satō Yū also looked at Kobayashi Takeshi, and the two shared a smile—one filled with both relief and bitterness.
"Perhaps..." Kobayashi Takeshi took a deep breath, his emotions steadying, "Perhaps Yamato-sensei is right. Those who don't pass should return to the Ninja Academy... This test has allowed us to see our true strength clearly."
Satō Yū nodded and added, "Facing a true powerhouse, we couldn't even manage effective coordination. People like us... perhaps we really should return to the Ninja Academy to build a better foundation."
Hearing this, Yamato, who had been observing the situation silently, suddenly looked crestfallen.
'Oh no...' His heart sank as he watched the two children's faces show a mix of thoughtful seriousness and disappointment. 'Did I go too far? Or did Shinichi's strength, which far exceeds his peers, crush their self-confidence?'
He had originally wanted to test the team's bonds, but he hadn't expected to personally extinguish the fighting spirit that had just begun to burn in these two young sprouts.
Tejima Shinichi looked at the two Bells pushed back to him, then at his two teammates who were unwilling but determined, his brow furrowing slightly.
'These two idiots...'
Just as he was about to speak again, Yamato's voice rang out hurriedly:
"Enough."
The three of them looked at him simultaneously.
For the first time today, a genuinely relaxed smile appeared on Yamato's face. He stepped forward and took the two Bells from Tejima Shinichi's hand.
"The true purpose of the assessment was never for you to fight over these two Bells." Yamato shook the Bells, making a pleasant jingling sound. "It was to see if you would choose to trust your comrades in a desperate situation, and whether you would sacrifice your own interests for them."
With that, Yamato's gaze swept over Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū:
"Even when your own positions were insecure, you were still willing to give the opportunity to the comrade you deemed stronger." He then looked at Tejima Shinichi, "And you, from the very beginning, didn't care about the Bells; your goal was to defeat me. After obtaining the Bells, your first choice was to give them to your comrades, even at the cost of leaving the team, unwilling to accept a qualification earned by sacrificing them."
Yamato gently placed the Bells on the ground between the three of them.
"The three of you have 'failed' perfectly." Yamato looked at the stunned trio and announced with a smile, "However, as a squad, you have 'passed'! And with flying colors!"
He pulled back his smile and said solemnly:
"Remember the choice you made today. In future missions, you must entrust your backs to one another. Trust, sacrifice, and protection—this is the meaning of a Ninja squad's existence, far more important than individual strength... and this is also what my Senior taught me!"
"Team One," Yamato's voice was loud and clear, "I acknowledge you!"
Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū froze for a moment, then pure joy erupted on their faces.
"Great... that's great! We passed!"
Satō Yū excitedly hugged Kobayashi Takeshi beside her, nearly making his eyes roll back from the squeeze.
Tejima Shinichi looked at his cheering teammates, then at the two Bells on the ground that no longer served as a filter, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.
'Trust and protection... sounds like it's not so bad.'
After the cheering, the heated atmosphere on the Training Ground cooled slightly.
The joy on Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū's faces gradually faded, replaced by hesitation and unease.
Kobayashi Takeshi scratched the back of his head:
"But... Yamato-sensei, our performance just now... are we really worthy of being 'Genin'? In front of you, we couldn't even manage a single move..."
Satō Yū also lowered her head, looking at her palms which were slightly red from gripping the Kunai tightly, and softly agreed:
"Yeah, compared to Shinichi, the gap in our strength is just too large. Can we really become competent Ninjas? Won't we just hold everyone back during missions?"
Clear self-doubt appeared on both their faces; the feeling of powerlessness from the assessment weighed heavily on their hearts.
Seeing the genuine confusion and frustration on the two children's faces, Yamato's heart skipped a beat.
'I really did crush their confidence...'
He cursed inwardly; he couldn't let his first time as a Jonin Instructor ruin two Disciples.
"Listen," Yamato quickly crouched down to look them in the eye, "Strength is only one criterion for judging whether a Ninja is qualified, and it is by no means the only one."
He pointed to the Bells on the ground:
"True strength isn't just about how powerful your Ninjutsu is or how fast your Taijutsu can be. What's more important is here—" He tapped his chest. "It's having a heart that protects its comrades and never gives up."
"When I was your age," Yamato's tone carried a hint of reminiscence, "I also felt I wasn't strong enough and experienced countless failures and setbacks. But it was those experiences, along with the trust and support of my comrades, that allowed me to get where I am today."
"The gap in strength can be made up through future missions and training. But the precious quality you showed today —being considerate of your comrades and not giving up on them easily —is something many Ninjas struggle to obtain even after years of training."
Yamato's gaze swept over Tejima Shinichi before settling back on Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū:
"So, hold your heads high. You've proven through your actions that you possess the most important Aptitude to become excellent Ninjas. I, Yamato, as your Jonin Instructor, am certain of it."
Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū listened blankly, the confusion in their eyes gradually replaced by a new light... Inside the Hokage Office.
The light of the crystal ball slowly dimmed, eventually returning to its original crystal-clear state.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly leaned back in his chair, his pipe unraised for a long time as he let the spark in the bowl slowly die out.
The office was silent, save for the faint bustle of Konoha Village coming from outside the window.
After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally exhaled a long breath of turbid air that had built up in his chest.
That face, which had witnessed countless storms, was now filled with complex emotions.
"Tejima Shinichi..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi whispered the name.
'Forcing Yamato to stop on his own initiative...'
This conclusion echoed in his mind, bringing a shock far stronger than when he saw the Rasengan.
He knew Yamato's strength all too well.
He was an Elite Jonin who had been tempered by years in the Anbu, integrated with the First Hokage's cells, and mastered Wood Release!
Even in an assessment where he couldn't use lethal force, his strength was by no means comparable to an ordinary Jonin.
'Just based on that continuous bombardment of high-level Ninjutsu and that bottomless reserve of Chakra...' Hiruzen Sarutobi's fingers lightly tapped the desk, 'This child, in terms of destructive power and endurance alone, has truly reached the threshold of a Special Jonin, or perhaps... even more.'
A Genin who just graduated!
This talent was already not inferior to Kakashi's!
'This talent and potential are already no less than Kakashi's was back then.' He silently added in his heart, 'If it weren't for this era of peace, and if his combat experience and reactions weren't still so green, perhaps...'
However, what made Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart stir even more was the unexpected yet logical scene at the end of the test.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, seeing the image on the Training Ground again —Tejima Shinichi unhesitatingly handing the Bells to his comrades and hearing those words.
"Trust... sacrifice... protection..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured to himself, a relieved smile gradually appearing at the corner of his mouth.
'Not intoxicated by his own great power, not arrogant because of his talent, but instead recognizing the importance of comrades while possessing such power...'
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of the First Hokage's original intention in founding the Village, the Second Hokage's efforts to perfect the system, and the Fourth Hokage's sunny smile and determination to sacrifice himself for the Village.
'Where the leaves dance, the fire also lives on... the fire's light will continue to illuminate the Village and allow new leaves to sprout...'
Wasn't this the Will of Fire he pursued!?
Tejima Shinichi, this new sprout containing infinite potential, wasn't what he displayed exactly the manifestation of the Will of Fire!
"Perhaps..." Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe again, slowly filling it with new tobacco as a small flame flickered from his fingertip to light it, "...this child will become a unique light that illuminates Konoha's future."
"Yamato, guide him well. This seedling is worth pouring your heart into."