Chapter 381: From Kakashi's Trial!

"Quack, quack, quack!"

At dusk, crows flew over Training Ground No. 7.

"Grumble!"

Naruto, who had been waiting for a long time, stroked his stomach as it rumbled softly. Unable to bear it any longer, he suddenly leaped up from the ground like a carp and complained, "Why hasn't Sensei Kakashi come yet?"

"My stomach is growling. You wait here—I'm going back!"

Naruto got up, looked around, but still saw no sign of Kakashi. Brushing the dust off his pants, he prepared to leave. Sasuke, sitting nearby, had no intention of stopping him. He glanced at Naruto and said calmly, "It's fine if you leave. Someone at your level will only be a hindrance in the assessment."

"You'll just get eliminated anyway, so you might as well go home early and make it in time for dinner."

Sasuke stretched his body, adjusted his sitting posture, and continued to sit on the ground, showing no intention of moving.

"Naruto, don't leave so quickly. You've already waited this long, so what's a little longer?"

Unlike Sasuke, Karin spoke up, trying to persuade him. After all, she was related to Naruto and couldn't just watch him walk away from Kakashi's test. Karin had a hunch—this was part of Kakashi's assessment of the three of them.

"Hmph, I don't think that guy is coming."

"I don't want to wait anymore!"

Naruto snorted, ignoring Karin's words, and turned to leave.

Before he could take a few steps, he heard a soft thud behind him. Turning back, he saw a masked man crouching on top of the training post that Karin had been leaning against. His single visible eye crinkled into a smile—it was none other than Kakashi Hatake, whom they had met earlier that afternoon.

"Yo!"

"Sorry, I got lost at the crossroads of my life! I'm late."

Kakashi's sudden appearance immediately caught everyone's attention. As for his excuse, they all chose to ignore it. Upon seeing Kakashi, even Sasuke, who had maintained his composure, jumped up from the ground and urged impatiently:

"Hey, if you have any trials, hurry up and start! We've been waiting long enough."

"I want to go home and eat dinner!"

Despite his earlier calm demeanor, Sasuke had actually been growing impatient. Now that Kakashi had finally arrived, he was eager to get the assessment started.

"Well, don't be in such a rush."

Kakashi glanced at his three students, each showing different levels of restlessness. While they might have looked composed, their impatience was evident in their tone.

Karin, however, concealed her emotions the best—on the surface, she appeared calm and collected.

After getting a read on their mindsets, Kakashi finally pulled out two small bells from behind him and shook them in front of the group.

"Haha."

"My assessment is actually very simple. As I mentioned before, I don't need that many subordinates. But due to orders from above, I can't just send all of you back like this."

"So, I'll give you a chance to prove yourselves."

"See these bells? As long as one of you successfully snatches a bell from me, you'll pass the test."

"As for the time limit..."

Kakashi glanced at the sun, which was already high in the sky, and continued:

"You have until sunset—about an hour."

"There are no restrictions on how you take the bell. Use whatever means you can!"

After explaining the rules, Kakashi attached the bells to his waist.

"You may begin anytime~"

With that, Kakashi lightly leaped down from the post. But before he even finished speaking, Sasuke and Karin quickly darted into the forest, vanishing into the trees.

Both knew their own abilities well. If they were to fight against a Chunin, they might stand a chance with a direct attack. But against a Jonin, they realized they needed to use the terrain to their advantage. The training ground was large, but its open space wasn't suited for them.

Not everyone shared that sentiment. Standing in the clearing, Naruto clearly had a different idea.

In his mind, snatching a bell from a Jonin wasn't that difficult!

"Naruto, your teammates are hiding. Why aren't you?"

"Fighting in an open area like this—you won't stand a chance as a ninja."

Kakashi couldn't help but point it out. He wasn't particularly familiar with his sensei's eldest son, but he knew of him. During Naruto's academy assessment, Kakashi had already observed some of his abilities.

"Hmph! I'll take it head-on!"

Naruto bent his knees and suddenly charged toward Kakashi. As he sprinted, his hands formed a seal on his chest, and immediately, three shadow clones appeared alongside him. The four Narutos rushed toward Kakashi.

[Shadow Clone Jutsu?]

[He's already quite proficient at using it. His movements are sharp and precise—his teacher trained him well.]

[But...]

Kakashi silently analyzed Naruto's technique. As the clones neared him, he finally made his move.

With no unnecessary actions, Kakashi effortlessly leaped out of the encirclement and landed on a wooden post. Three kunai silently flew through the air, striking each of Naruto's shadow clones. The clones burst into white mist, vanishing on the spot.

"Kunai? When did he—?" Naruto was shocked. He looked at the ground where the kunai had landed. Even the memories relayed by his shadow clones didn't reveal when Kakashi had thrown them.

"His kunai-throwing speed is insane! And his timing is flawless—he caught Naruto just as he was about to attack!"

"This guy... he's insanely good at shuriken jutsu!"

Sasuke, hidden in the shadows, had been watching intently. He hadn't expected Naruto to attack so directly, but it gave him a good chance to observe Kakashi's strength.

On the other side, Karin peeked from behind a tree. Seeing Kakashi land on a post, she knew this was her chance. Quickly forming a seal, she activated her jutsu.

At that moment, a thin branch suddenly grew from the post Kakashi was standing on. It shot rapidly toward the bells on his waist.

"Huh?"

Sensing something approaching, Kakashi looked down and saw the branch lunging toward him. Without hesitation, he performed a backflip and landed on the ground.

The moment his feet touched the earth, thick saplings burst from the ground, growing into sturdy vines that wrapped toward him.

"Mokuton?! So it was Karin who attacked!"

Kakashi wasn't new to dealing with Wood Release. During his time in Anbu, he had worked with Yamato, who specialized in it. Seeing it again brought back memories.

Karin's jutsu effectively trapped Kakashi, leaving him no escape.

"I did it!" Karin cheered, stepping out from her hiding place. She was just about to extend the branch to snatch the bell when—

Poof!

Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by a wooden log.

"A Substitution Jutsu?"

Karin's eyes widened. She had been watching Kakashi the entire time, but she never saw him form a seal. She couldn't figure out when he had switched places.

At that moment, the ground beneath her collapsed. She stumbled, and before she could react, a pair of hands reached out and grabbed her ankle.

"Oh!"

With a soft thud, Karin was pulled into the ground, leaving only her head exposed.

"First one down."

Kakashi's voice sounded from behind her.

Karin turned her head as much as she could, but she could only make out a shadow.

"As a user of the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, you exposed yourself too early."

"You haven't fully assessed the enemy's situation, so it was unwise to rush in so hastily."

"Karin-chan!"

Kakashi's words sounded like a lesson, but to Karin, they felt more like a joke. However, with the earth pressing down on her hands, she couldn't even form a fist, let alone perform a hand seal. Even though she possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, she still needed to form at least one seal to use it.

"Karin?!" Naruto was still in shock from seeing Kakashi momentarily restrained by the vines that had appeared out of nowhere. He was then equally surprised when Kakashi broke free. Now, seeing Karin trapped underground, he couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment.

In just a few dozen seconds, the battle had shifted multiple times, and one of his teammates had already been subdued by Kakashi—something he never could have predicted.

"Shhhhhhhh!"

At that moment, the sharp sound of slicing air filled the training ground as a flurry of shuriken rained down toward Kakashi. Sasuke, who had been hiding, finally lost his patience and launched his attack.

Seeing the incoming barrage of shuriken, Kakashi's expression hardened. He glanced down at Karin, who was still partially buried, and made a quick decision—he couldn't dodge. If he did, Karin would be directly exposed to the incoming attack, putting her in danger.

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!" Kakashi swiftly formed hand seals, then rushed to Karin's side and slammed his hands onto the ground.

A massive stone wall, intricately carved with dog heads, rapidly rose in front of them, completely blocking the hail of shuriken.

By the time Kakashi dispelled the jutsu and searched for Sasuke's whereabouts, there was no trace of him. At the same time, Naruto, who had previously engaged him head-on, had also disappeared. Sasuke had taken Naruto and retreated into hiding.

[That kid predicted I wouldn't leave Karin alone, so he used this method to provide cover for Naruto.]

[He realized that a teammate had been captured and that he couldn't succeed alone, so he took the initiative to assist Naruto.]

[Though it's a bit late to rely on teamwork now, the fact that he realized it at all isn't bad.]*

Unable to locate Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi sighed, then casually dug Karin out of the ground. Without hesitation, he tied her firmly to a wooden training post.

After securing Karin, he pulled out a small pink book titled Icha Icha Paradise and leaned against the post, nonchalantly flipping through its pages.

Meanwhile, as Sasuke and Naruto hid, two figures stood atop a large tree not far from Training Ground No. 7. Watching the trial unfold were Uzumaki Raiden and Namikaze Minato. Minato's white Hokage robe stood out in the forest, yet for some reason, neither Kakashi nor the genin being tested noticed them.

"Naruto is really straightforward. If they had realized the importance of teamwork earlier, they would have had a real chance to steal the bells from Kakashi."

Minato spoke with a sigh, watching the scene unfold. Seeing Kakashi assess Naruto and the others in this way reminded him of when he had tested Kakashi, Obito, and Rin in a similar manner. More than ten years had passed since then.

"They're still just teenagers—it's normal for them not to realize it immediately."

"Three people competing for two bells... at first glance, everyone assumes it's an individual test. They all fight on their own, and before they even consider getting the bells, internal conflicts arise over who gets to pass."

"But what they don't realize is that before deciding who gets a bell, they first need to take the bells from Kakashi."

"When facing an overwhelmingly stronger opponent, those with the same goal must work together. Teamwork is the key to this trial. If they don't understand that, they'll fail regardless."

"That being said, Sasuke seems to have caught on."

Raiden, clad in black, had a long sword at his waist. He gently ran his fingers over the hilt of Sakegari no Tachi and smiled. He recalled an amusing story he had once heard—about a couple discussing how they would spend 500 million ryo if they won the lottery. They ended up arguing over it so fiercely that they divorced over an imaginary fortune.

"The essence of this test is to expose human nature—it's an important lesson for genin."

"Fugaku's son is truly exceptional," Minato said with admiration, noting that Sasuke's performance at this stage was clearly more mature than Naruto's.

As the two observers secretly watched, Naruto, who had been gone for some time, suddenly emerged from the woods and stood in front of Kakashi, making no effort to conceal himself.

Sensing Naruto's arrival, Kakashi lifted his gaze slightly. [A feint?] he wondered but decided to ignore him and continued reading.

"Kakashi-sensei, now let's start the second round!"

Naruto pulled out a kunai from his ninja pouch, gripping it confidently. But just as he was about to charge forward, the ground beneath them suddenly began to tremble violently. The birds in the nearby trees scattered in alarm.

Naruto, caught off guard by the sudden quake, lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"What's happening?!" Naruto muttered, rubbing his head in confusion. Kakashi, sitting nearby, immediately tensed as his expression darkened.

In the trees where Uzumaki Raiden and Namikaze Minato had been standing moments ago, there was now no trace of them.

Meanwhile, at the Hokage's office, Minato quickly issued an urgent order:

"Attention! Konoha is now under a Level One Alert! Chunin and Genin, evacuate the civilians! All Jonin, gather at the designated location! Anbu members, spread out and secure key village facilities—move quickly!"

Having given his orders, Minato walked toward the window, his sharp gaze locked in the direction of Konoha's main gate.

"What in the world is happening?!"

(End of this chapter)