Bell Test

6:00 AM.

Team 7 was at the training ground, waiting for their leader.

"Damn, where's Kakashi-sensei? He's always late," Naruto complained, having already waited for an hour.

"That idiot sensei, can he never arrive on time?" Sakura also grumbled, wearing an irritated expression.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was waiting silently, but a hint of frustration was visible on his face.

As they all wondered if it was a good idea to go without eating, Kakashi finally appeared.

"Sorry for the delay, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to go all the way back," Kakashi explained while scratching his head.

"It's always that black cat," Naruto muttered under his breath.

While Sakura and Sasuke remained quiet, they silently agreed with Naruto.

"Well, let's stop the chit-chat. The test will work like this: you'll try to take these bells from me," Kakashi said, pulling two bells out of his pocket and showing them to the others. He also placed a clock on a cut tree trunk.

"See, you have until noon to take the bell from me. Remember, only those who can do that will pass," Kakashi explained, waiting for their reactions, which didn't disappoint.

'There are only two bells, so only two people will pass? I have to pass; I don't want to fall behind kaito. By now, he must have already started his ninja missions'. Naruto thought as he looked at the bells.

Sasuke's eyes twitched a bit, and he clenched his fists. 'I'll definitely get that bell, I don't care if only one or two of us pass, as long as one of them is me'. he thought, looking at Sakura and Naruto and then at the bells.

'I worked so hard and got lucky to be on Sasuke's team; I don't want to fall behind.' Sakura motivated herself in her own way.

"Let's start the test then," Kakashi said after noticing that they were ready.

Once Kakashi initiated the test, Naruto advanced toward him with a kunai in hand. Naruto struck towards Kakashi, who easily evaded the attack and prepared to immobilize Naruto. However, what he didn't expect was that as Naruto passed by him, he had used Shadow Clone Jutsu. Multiple clones appeared around Kakashi and attacked him with punches and kicks. Kakashi dodged some and redirected others.

After getting rid of the onslaught of attacks, Kakashi stepped back and spoke, "Very well, Naruto. I never expected you to use your attack to create an opportunity like that. I underestimated you."

"Haha, I had a great sensei and a great friend," the multiple Narutos responded simultaneously.

They all advanced again, and the fight between Kakashi and the team heated up. Fighting in coordination with his clones, their attacks looked mesmerizing. Sakura was wide-eyed with amazement, while Sasuke clenched his fists in anger.

But in less than a minute, all of Naruto's clones had disappeared.

"It's going to take more than that to beat me, Naruto," Kakashi said while taking out his book.

"I expected it wouldn't be easy, sensei, but I'm just warming up," Naruto replied.

But before he could continue the duel with Kakashi, Sasuke had taken the lead and started fighting, showcasing all his taijutsu skills. Sasuke punched Kakashi in the face, but it was blocked by Kakashi's arm. Undeterred, Sasuke kicked Kakashi in the ribs, which Kakashi blocked with one hand and then looked at him with a mocking expression.

Seeing that mocking look, Sasuke got even more irritated and began forming hand seals. Kakashi realized Sasuke was about to use a jutsu and stepped back a bit.

As he was retreating, Sasuke had already completed his jutsu. A large fireball shot out of Sasuke's mouth, engulfing everything in its path, including Kakashi. Sakura was horrified, thinking that Sasuke had killed Kakashi.

"Sasuke, you idiot!" she shouted in anger.

But when the jutsu ended, all she saw was a burnt tree trunk. Kakashi, who had used the Body Replacement Technique, was now sitting on a nearby tree branch.

'Wow, these kids are getting more dangerous every day,' Kakashi thought as he jumped down from the tree and landed near the charred tree trunk.

Sasuke made a dissatisfied noise with his mouth.

Sasuke rushed towards Kakashi and attacked, while Naruto created multiple shadow clones and joined the fight. Soon, Kakashi was surrounded again, but for him, it was as easy as before. He dodged most of the attacks and defended against the others. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't even ruffle his clothes.

While he was distracted in the midst of the battle, one of the clones quickly punched toward his waist, attempting to grab the bell. Kakashi quickly realized this and directed Sasuke's attack toward the clone that was trying to take his bell. Sasuke's attack hit the clone's head perfectly, making it disappear in a puff of smoke.

'That was close. I can't afford to play around these days.' Kakashi thought as he continued to fight, knocking down Naruto's clones one by one until only Naruto and Sasuke remained.

Without wasting time, he kicked Sasuke's legs, making him stagger, and then kicked his chest, sending him crashing into the forest.

"Sasuke!" Sakura saw this and became immediately worried. She ran after him to check his condition.

Naruto, who was next to Kakashi, tried to attack during this opportunity, but as they exchanged a few blows, Kakashi grabbed his hand and threw him aside in the same direction Sasuke had fallen.

'Their teamwork is terrible. Naruto could have helped Sasuke defend himself when I attacked, but he chose not to.'Kakashi thought as he assessed the outcome of this brief confrontation. If they continued like this, the test would be a failure.

...

Among the trees, Sasuke got up, covered in twigs and leaves, and with a sharp pain in his chest. Sakura arrived shortly after.

"Sasuke-kun, how are you feeling?" Sakura asked with concern, but in her mind, she was thinking, "If that sensei hurt my Sasuke, I'll make him pay."

Just as she was thinking this, Naruto landed nearby, massaging his sore behind. "I'm going to kick his butt now."

As Naruto was about to stand up, Sakura spoke, "At this rate, we'll never beat him. He's too strong for one of you to defeat, let alone without a plan."

Naruto and Sasuke listened to what Sakura had to say and clenched their fists.

After a moment of silence, Naruto asked, "So what's the plan?"

Sasuke didn't say anything, which was his way of agreeing.

"Well, I think Naruto should go head-on against Kakashi with his shadow clones while Sasuke disguises himself as one of the clones and waits for an opportunity. When the chance comes, Sasuke, you grab the bells..." Sakura continued to outline her plan, and Naruto and Sasuke listened attentively.

After some time discussing, the three of them returned to where Kakashi was waiting.

"I thought I had traumatized you; you're taking too long, and time is passing," Kakashi said, now seated and reading his book.

Something was different about Naruto now. Before, he had nothing in his hands, but now he had a staff on his back. Kakashi glanced at it briefly before returning to his book.

Naruto used his Shadow Clone Jutsu, and they all charged at Kakashi. Naruto used his staff to launch attacks from various angles.

Kakashi was under attack from all sides, and every part of his body was a target. Kakashi didn't want to risk staying in the midst of so many attacks and tried to retreat, but at that moment, a clone of Naruto used Wind Pressure Jutsu, forcing Kakashi back into the path of their attacks.

Kakashi quickly used the Body Replacement Technique and appeared on another tree. All their attacks broke the tree trunk in place of Kakashi.

"That would have been painful," Kakashi commented as he looked at the poor tree trunk.

When he was momentarily distracted, Sakura threw several shurikens at Kakashi. He jumped off the tree to dodge them easily, but as he was in mid-air, he saw Naruto throwing his staff towards him and using a Wind Pressure Jutsu on it. The staff shot straight at him like a bullet, and just as he was about to use the Body Replacement Technique again, he realized that the staff wouldn't hit him. He let it pass by him.

However, that was a mistake. As the staff passed by him, it transformed back into Sasuke, who stretched out and grabbed the bells.

Kakashi landed gracefully as Naruto and Sakura cheered, and Sasuke wore a faint smile.

"Congratulations, kids, you did well despite the disappointing result in the beginning; now you've surpassed yourselves," Kakashi applauded.

"Haha, it was a piece of cake, Kakashi-sensei. Taking your bell was easy," Naruto laughed as he spoke.

Sakura smiled, while Sasuke returned to his emo demeanor by Naruto's side.

"Well, you did well, but there was still a long way to go before you could have taken the bell from me," Kakashi said. After saying this, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were left puzzled.

Until Kakashi in front of them turned into smoke.

The mouths of the three formed an "O." They thought they had caught Kakashi, but it was all a clone.

So when they turned to look for Kakashi, he was sitting on the log in the same place as the clock.

"Well, you passed the test even though you didn't manage to grab the bell..." Kakashi said as he read his book.

With that, Team 7 had passed their test.