Seizing the Bell!

A sure hit.

Heading straight for the real Kakashi.

In the previous battles, through careful observation and precise judgment, although it seemed that there were several shadow clones hiding, they had actually not been attacking all along. Naruto was clever; he didn't send all of them forward, nor did he keep one of them completely still. Instead, he deliberately chose to keep several shadow clones from joining the attack simultaneously. This way, he could protect the real Kakashi while making it difficult for Kakashi to determine which one was real. However, Kakashi was still Kakashi; he could discern the true from the fake in the smallest details. Not moving didn't mean Kakashi couldn't figure it out. The hand seals before the attack and the subtle emotional changes during the attack could only be executed by the real Naruto. It was precisely because, in the recent attack, Naruto's expression had a subtle change that Kakashi noticed, allowing him to directly identify the real Naruto among the shadow clones. Without hesitation, Kakashi immediately unleashed his lightning-style chakra and increased his speed.

Closing in on the real Naruto.

"In the future, you should control your expressions better, Naruto."

Looking at Naruto, who seemed a bit dejected in front of him, Kakashi was about to lightly knock him unconscious with a wave of his hand while increasing his strength.

However, at that moment, Naruto suddenly lifted his head, revealing an extremely bright smile on his face.

"Kakashi-sensei, let me tell you, don't underestimate Genin!"

"What!?"

Before Kakashi's words could land, Naruto vanished into thin air in less than a tenth of a second.

"Uh-oh!"

Before Kakashi could react completely, he felt something touch his back.

"Got it!"

Behind him.

On the left and right sides, the white mist generated by Naruto's intentionally controlled shadow clone merged into the scene. Naruto and Sasuke jumped up, each holding a sharp kunai in their right hands. Their raised arms showed power, and their bodies descended. Naruto and Sasuke took advantage of their angle, using a standard javelin thrust attack posture with a gleam of cold light. The sharp, high-pitched sound of the air friction.

Squeezing the last of Kakashi's dodge space.

To seize the bells, they had to engage in close combat. Naruto had come to this conclusion in the previous battles.

Long-range attacks?

That would just give Kakashi an opportunity to break them one by one.

That's what they needed!

Using Sasuke's agility to divert Kakashi's attention and using the shadow clone's acting skills to lure him in—this was the opportunity they had created!

The final opportunity!

They must capture Kakashi here!

Facing Naruto's frontal assault, Kakashi, who had not had time to react, met Sasuke's attack with a heavy block of his right arm, directly blocking Sasuke's charge. Then, he forcefully pressed down with his right arm and flipped out a sharp kunai from his left hand to confront Naruto's attack head-on.

"Clang!"

The collision rang out.

The sparks that burst forth.

"Huh!?"

With just one hand, Kakashi easily withstood Naruto's powerful attack.

Then, he clamped down on both hands, dismantling their strength and deflecting their attacks.

He didn't give Naruto and Sasuke a chance to react.

Just before the two of them were about to be thrown backward.

Kakashi extended both hands again, attempting to grab them both.

"Hehe, Naruto, Sasuke, that's enough…"

That was Kakashi's laughter.

But!

Before Kakashi could finish his sentence.

A sudden change occurred.

"Poof!"

From a lowered position.

The kunai that had originally shot out suddenly disappeared into white mist.

"!?"

This time.

Kakashi, who was finally unable to react, was still unprepared for the other moves.

Naruto smiled lightly.

"Got it!"

He reached out his right hand, grabbed the bell, and pulled it forcefully.

Another shadow clone was ejected from the bell and Naruto said with confidence, looking at Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, is the mission complete?"

Naruto raised his eyebrows, displaying an unusual confident smile.

Seeing this scene, Kakashi had no choice but to put down Sasuke, who had been caught between his arms, dispel Sakura's genjutsu with a quick hand seal, shrugged, and turned his gaze to Naruto not far away. He spoke in an inquiring yet affirmative tone.

"Was it the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu from the beginning? Did you use the smoke to transform yourself into kunai?"

He hadn't understood before.

But since Kakashi was a Jonin, he immediately connected this moment with the previous battle scenes. Kakashi was fully capable of deducing Naruto's entire plan in an instant.

"Yeah! Originally, this was our last resort. We used Sasuke to distract your attention, and the clones acted to induce you. Then, Sasuke and I launched the final attack. We thought we could snatch your bells, but Kakashi-sensei, you're really something else. Luckily, we had this last move; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to take the bells."

Naruto nodded, seemingly proud and relieved.

Seeing Naruto like this, even someone as discerning as Kakashi couldn't help but acknowledge how impressive they were. In such a short amount of time, they had devised such a tactic, and their teamwork with Sasuke was outstanding. At least, judging by Kakashi's standards, their performance during this test had earned them a perfect score.

Although there was a slight flaw with Sakura, the teamwork between Sasuke and Naruto was already excellent.

At the very least, according to Kakashi's experience, there was no one better than the two of them.

However, even though they had completed the mission Kakashi had set for them, he still had a small test in mind.

(End of this chapter)