Chapter 74: Sasuke: Because I'm Here This Time

"It's getting late. It seems that today's exchange must come to an end. I wonder if we'll have the chance to continue talking like this in the future," Kakashi said, preparing to conclude the negotiation, feeling a bit regretful that it had to end so soon.

All three genin wanted to blame him for cutting it short.

But Kakashi remained calm, his expression unchanged, as he quickly shifted to the serious matter at hand: "Tomorrow, we will begin new tasks.

"First, we will conduct a field survival exercise.

"Secondly, this field survival exercise is a little different from before. Your opponent will be me!"

"A different place?" Naruto and Sakura both looked in Sasuke's direction.

Sasuke seemed to ponder for a moment, then looked at Kakashi: "It's indeed an interesting test to have three new genin face a Jonin as their opponent.

"What kind of new genin can pass the assessment of a Jonin? If you can't pass it, does it mean that Kakashi-sensei has the authority to send those who fail back to the ninja academy to repeat the grade?"

"Exactly!" Kakashi said, his face darkening with a deliberate sense of intimidation, "Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine can be recognized as genin! The rest will be sent back to school for further training! This test is extremely difficult, with an elimination rate of over 66%!"

"What? It's so difficult right from the start?!" Naruto exclaimed, his expression changing. "No wonder Sasuke advised me to reconsider. If I choose the wrong path, I might never reach my destination!"

"If two people had to be eliminated, wouldn't it mean that Sasuke might be the only one left in our group?" Sakura looked towards Sasuke.

However, Sasuke continued to pet his imaginary cat with a calm expression, waiting for Kakashi to finish his intimidation.

"Hehehe! Let's see if anyone wants to quit!" Kakashi said, adding more information before leaving, "Besides your ninja tools, there's one more thing...

"Don't eat breakfast... you'll definitely vomit when the time comes."

Watching Kakashi's departing figure, Sasuke contemplated the content of the field survival exercise, with his Sharingan faintly visible in his eyes.

Fighting with a real elite ninja could provide certain benefits for improving his practical combat skills.

The information learned through text always lacks a sense of reality.

Before choosing to engage in further practice with this Jonin teacher, it's a good choice to test the quality of the opponent first.

Of course, considering that the opponent might have some weaknesses, if he performs poorly in actual combat and fails to make it enjoyable, Sasuke can understand it.

He is willing to discuss the basics with Iruka.

Of course, he doesn't mean to learn about chakra nature transformation from teachers with certain weaknesses.

He never minded seeking lessons from those who were temporarily stronger than him.

Naruto and Sakura sought Sasuke's opinion, prompting him to consider these two unstable factors while strategizing for the battle.

It's definitely not possible to lack two teammates. For now, it's really impossible to graduate without them.

But in this field survival assessment, it's not easy to coordinate with these two.

Due to his special growth rate, he has to face an experienced ninja like Kakashi, and with his Sharingan, it's not impossible to fight.

The other two aren't even as strong as his clones. They're probably like babies in front of Kakashi. Once the combat intensity increases, they might not adapt to high-intensity combat and could become liabilities.

This requires a more appropriate plan.

Fortunately, for someone used to controlling the overall situation, although the difficulty of his task has increased, it hasn't discouraged him.

The challenge of keeping up with a Jonin can continue.

"What Kakashi mentioned about the field survival exercise is just a cover; the content isn't important," Sasuke explained to his teammates. "What really matters is that our opponent will be him.

"When a Jonin plays games with a few new genin, I advise you to be serious because this Jonin is very strong. In actual combat, even an experienced ninja would struggle against him."

"So outrageous? Then isn't he bullying us? Who can graduate when facing him?" Naruto's eyes widened, feeling Kakashi's deep malice.

Sakura remained silent but felt the pressure.

"As a responsible leader and our future team leader, it's not good to bully newcomers like this, so he'll restrain his strength. You can rest assured," Sasuke reassured them. "However, a ninja fighting with full strength and restraining strength are very different states.

"So, when we consider him as the imaginary enemy and he has to restrain his strength, even a few new genin can give him trouble.

"I'll ask Iruka-sensei about Kakashi-sensei's abilities and weaknesses, and how much you can know. You can also review the strength system they already have.

"Tomorrow, I'll make appropriate arrangements based on the strength of my enemies and me, and put the greatest pressure on Kakashi-sensei as much as possible. The most powerful moment for the team is when everyone works together, so follow my arrangements as much as possible. Any questions?"

"No problem," Sakura answered decisively.

"Same here," Naruto nodded, looking expectant. "Even though we met an inauthentic Jonin teacher, the thought of us joining forces to deal with such a strong man makes my blood boil!"

Sasuke reminded him again: "Don't rush to get excited. There's one more thing for tomorrow: remember to prepare military ration pills as emergency food."

"Military ration pills? Is that necessary?" Sakura was a little confused. "Kakashi-sensei also told us not to eat breakfast, or we might vomit."

"How do you know that's not part of the test?" Sasuke countered, then added, "I'm not saying breakfast will definitely be better, but we need to be prepared for both situations.

"This is actually a quality required of a formal ninja. When performing tasks, the practical ability of a single moment isn't the most important. It's more important to have the power to quickly engage in combat for a long time because you never know when you'll need to fight.

"How to maintain long-term stability so that the enemy can only meet your strongest self no matter when they attack is what we've learned before, and I think you should remember it."

"At any time, you can quickly enter combat..." Sakura thought about Kakashi's tactics and nodded. "If we had breakfast, Kakashi might train us until we vomit. If we don't eat, he might make us hungry and vomit.

"In actual combat, the enemy might look for our weakest moment, just like Kakashi-sensei. If I think about it this way, I understand."

Listening to Sasuke and Sakura's analysis, Naruto clenched his fists and said, "I think so too.

"Kakashi-sensei is indeed tricky. There's a trap hidden in what he told us. We must cause him a lot of trouble."

He was also someone who didn't like to admit defeat.

Kakashi put a lot of pressure on them and left many traps. So he really wanted to perform well, at least leaving some souvenirs for Kakashi.

Sakura was not optimistic about this: "It's very difficult. After all, he's a Jonin. Even if he's not serious, it's hard for us to handle him. The old ninjas are all alone in front of him!"

"The Jonin is indeed strong, and Kakashi is not an ordinary Jonin. His strength is much greater than you think," Sasuke acknowledged without hesitation, then added, "But this field survival exercise is indeed different from usual.

"Because...

"I'm among the people participating in the assessment this time. Please rest assured! My eyes have seen through his reality."

Hearing this, the other two immediately felt at ease.

Yes!

This time their teammate is Sasuke.

With Uchiha as his teammate, even when facing a field survival exercise with an elimination rate of over 66%, their confidence was restored immediately, and they prepared for the battle normally.

The next morning, after the trio of Team 7 arrived at the training ground, Naruto and Sakura learned some information about Kakashi from Sasuke, along with the combat plan.

Sakura heard a lot of things.

Naruto received fewer instructions.

Then, the few of them took the military ration pills, rested for a while, and continued to rehearse.

Even though there wasn't much information on planning, Sasuke still asked Naruto to use special methods to record the key points of the plan.

Afterward, Sasuke arranged for them to work in shifts to check the surrounding environment. When Kakashi arrived, the rest of them closed their eyes and rested.

Naruto wanted the cat on Sasuke's shoulder to join, but then found that the ninja cat disappeared directly, so he had no choice but to give up.

The three of them took turns staying alert for a few hours.

When the sun was three-quarters up, Kakashi's figure appeared in Naruto's sight.

"Kakashi-sensei is here!" Naruto alerted, and Sasuke and Sakura both opened their eyes, their gazes clear as they looked directly at Kakashi, who still exuded a lazy demeanor.

"Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh—good morning!" Kakashi greeted them with a wave.

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