Chapter 18

[Rin Nohara: Did they really do it?! I can't believe it! Back in our time, Kakashi, Obito, and I could barely keep up with Minato-sensei.]

[Kushina Uzumaki: My husband is that amazing, don't you think?]

[Minato Namikaze: Kushina, you're embarrassing me… Besides, this isn't over yet.]

[Mikoto Uchiha: It's not over? But the goal was to get the bells! They worked together impressively.]

[Tobirama Senju: Minato is right. The fight isn't finished yet.]

[Hashirama Senju: These kids have incredible talent! I can't wait to see how far they go.]

[Madara Uchiha: They're not bad… for trash, that is.]

[Izuna Uchiha: Brother… Can't you say something nice for once?]

The sound of the bell hitting the ground was clear.

Everyone fell silent for a few seconds.

Kakashi stared at his students.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged satisfied looks.

Sakura, still holding the kunai, blinked before crouching down to pick up the bells.

Her fingers closed around the small metallic object, and as she lifted it, she realized something.

Sakura's expression changed.

"There's only one…" she whispered.

The realization struck all three of them at the same time. They hadn't won. They had only achieved half a victory.

Kakashi blinked and then sighed. "Not bad," he admitted, his tone almost relaxed. "But you're not done yet."

[Tobirama Senju: I knew it wouldn't be that easy…]

Without warning, an arm emerged from the ground and snatched the bell from Sakura's hands. She let out a scream and jumped back, instinctively throwing her kunai.

The ground shifted, revealing a shadow clone of Kakashi, spinning the bell around his finger.

"Always check if the enemy has reinforcements," the clone advised before vanishing in a puff of smoke, letting the bell fall. Before anyone could react, another Kakashi appeared between them and caught it in midair.

Naruto clicked his tongue. "Damn Kakashi-sensei, he's not gonna make this easy."

"And what did you expect?" Kakashi said, tying the bell back to his waist alongside the other one. His visible eye curved in a hidden smile beneath his mask. "You haven't won yet."

Without missing a beat, Sasuke and Naruto charged at him again, now with even more determination and aggression.

Kakashi dodged Naruto's punch with a slight head tilt and deflected Sasuke's kick with an open palm.

Sakura wasn't left behind. She took advantage of the distraction to attack from a different angle, launching a series of calculated strikes at his blind spots.

Kakashi blocked the first, then the second, but when she lowered herself and spun into a sweeping kick, he had to jump to avoid it.

Just when he thought he had space to move, Naruto appeared above him with an aerial tackle. Kakashi blocked with both hands but couldn't stop himself from being pushed back a few steps by the impact.

"Sakura, cover me," Naruto ordered without breaking his rhythm.

Sakura didn't hesitate. She stepped back and grabbed several kunai with explosive tags, throwing them in a trajectory that forced Kakashi into a specific direction.

Kakashi was, indeed, impressed. He had told them to come at him with everything, with the intent to kill, and they were certainly doing just that.

None of them were holding back.

Kakashi saw the trap, but before he could react, Sasuke was already there with a leg sweep. He managed to jump to avoid it, but Naruto was already in the air, coming down with another descending kick.

This time, the attack landed on Kakashi's forearm as he blocked. The force made him land awkwardly, and in that instant, Sasuke was already on him.

"Hmph. Not so fast." Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. A clone. Sasuke clicked his tongue and scanned his surroundings.

"He's using more clones," Sakura noted with a frown.

As if summoned by her words, four Kakashi clones appeared around them. One of them raised a hand. "Which one of us is the real one?" he asked mockingly.

[Rin Nohara: Kakashi is having fun.]

Naruto gritted his teeth. "It doesn't matter! The clones can hold the bells too! Kakashi might've split them between them!"

Without wasting time, Naruto created his own clones. Four copies of himself appeared instantly and charged forward.

Kakashi's clones did the same, engaging in a chaotic clash, filling the area with puffs of smoke as clones vanished upon being hit.

Sakura, analyzing the situation, decided the best way to help was to ensure Kakashi had no room to escape.

She moved quickly, throwing a kunai with attached wires to restrict the movements of the enemy clones.

When one of the Kakashi clones tried to dodge, she pulled on the strings, forcing him to correct his position—at that moment, Sasuke appeared with a spinning kick.

The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura turned just in time to see Kakashi moving through the chaos of battle, his movements so fluid it was hard to distinguish him from the clones. But Naruto didn't lose sight of his target. One of his clones lunged, and the moment Kakashi destroyed it, the real Naruto appeared from his blind spot.

With a shout, he struck Kakashi's hand with tremendous force. The bell went flying.

Sakura, alert, reacted instantly. She lunged for it, but just before she could grab it, Kakashi appeared in front of her. Her reflexes forced her to stop and retreat, but Sasuke seized the opportunity to slip past her and snatch the bell out of the air.

Silence fell once again.

Sasuke stared at the object in his hand, then looked at Kakashi, who had stopped moving.

"You had to work together to get it," Kakashi finally said, slipping his hands into his pockets. His gaze moved from one to the other. "Much better than I expected."

The three young shinobi were breathing heavily. Naruto smirked confidently. "So, we passed, right?"

Kakashi looked up at the sky. "Not so fast. You only have one."

At that moment, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura exchanged a glance and nodded. Their plan had worked, but now came the decisive moment.

Sakura looked at Kakashi and frowned. "But…"

"What will you do about it?" Kakashi interrupted.

The three fell silent until Naruto grinned and turned to Sasuke.

"Well, it wouldn't be fair if only one of us kept the bell, right?"

Sasuke sighed. "Tch. And what do you suggest?"

Naruto crossed his arms. "If there's only one, we share it. Either we pass together, or we fail together."

Sakura nodded. "He's right."

Kakashi watched them for a moment. He didn't say anything at first, but then, in a slow motion, he pulled out the other bell from his pocket and let it drop into Naruto's hand.

The three of them blinked.

"What…?" Sasuke began.

Kakashi shrugged. "You passed."

Naruto grinned widely. "I knew we would!"

Sakura sighed in relief. Sasuke simply pocketed the bell but couldn't hide a small smirk of satisfaction.

Kakashi, on the other hand, watched them silently. He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the sky again.

"They're definitely going to be a troublesome team…"