Chapter 131: Bell Snatching
"Hey there, good morning everyone~"
Only when the sun had nearly reached its midday position did Kakashi's lazy figure finally appear leisurely at the edge of the training ground.
"You're too slow—!!!"
Sakura's anger that had built up all morning instantly exploded as she shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice full of dissatisfaction and resentment. Even the usually cool Satsuki couldn't help but glare at Kakashi with puffed cheeks.
Naruto just sighed helplessly, looking at this Jonin sensei who was at least five hours late.
"Ah, sorry, sorry~" Kakashi scratched his silver hair without any sincerity, making up an excuse, "That's because I encountered a black cat blocking my path on the way, so..."
Only Naruto knew in his heart that this guy was definitely lying. He had probably gone to the Memorial Stone first and stayed there for a long time, staring blankly at the stone tablet carved with "Uchiha Obito's" name.
Kakashi tactically coughed once, forcibly bringing the topic back on track. "Well then, enough small talk. This is today's assignment." He pulled out two bells from somewhere, shaking them to make crisp sounds.
"The rules are simple: before noon, find a way to snatch these two bells from my hands. Those who successfully get a bell will have lunch. As for those who can't get a bell..." He deliberately drew out his tone, scanning the three of them, then pointing to three conspicuous wooden posts at the edge of the training ground.
"...Not only will they go without food, but they'll be tied to those posts and watch me eat my lunch box."
What the heck?! This guy is totally lying! No wonder he told us not to eat breakfast yesterday!
Sakura internally complained madly about Kakashi's scheming nature, but at the same time felt relieved. Thank goodness... thank goodness for Naruto.
Early this morning, while they were waiting for the absent Kakashi after gathering, Naruto had actually taken out prepared breakfast for all three of them from his backpack—sandwiches wrapped in oil paper that looked incredibly appetizing.
Given Sakura's personality, she might have actually been scared by Kakashi's threat about "throwing up" and not dared to eat anything, in which case she'd probably be starving with her front touching her back by now.
But the key point was—Naruto's cooking was just too delicious.
Yesterday's lunch at Naruto's house had completely refreshed Sakura's understanding of "delicious." That ginger-braised pork had rich sauce and tender, juicy meat; the hamburger patties were cooked to perfection with rich flavor, and even the simplest bonito rice balls were exceptionally sweet. That ultimate deliciousness was a shocking culinary experience that Sakura had never encountered at any restaurant in Konoha!
Could this also be called genius-level talent?
While reminiscing about the delicious breakfast sandwich, Sakura silently marveled that Naruto's culinary talent was apparently at the same monster level as his ninja talent!
Incidentally, yesterday at noon, this sound had also rung in Naruto's mind:
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host: Initial bond established with original character "Haruno Sakura"!]
[Points earned: 300!]
...Not bad, worthy of being Sakura, such a high score.
"Wait a minute?" The careful, or rather currently extremely insecure Sakura immediately noticed the biggest problem in the rules.
"Why... why are there only two bells?!"
"Heh heh..."
Kakashi let out an ominous low chuckle. "Good question. Because there are only two bells, this means—at most only two people can pass. The one who fails... will have to go back to the Ninja Academy for more training."
These light words hit Sakura like a bolt from the blue, instantly making her feel like she'd fallen into an ice cave, her heart going completely cold!
Wait! That's not right! This is obviously meant to eliminate one person! Panic instantly gripped her. Among the three of us, I'm the weakest... that's undoubtedly true! If someone has to be eliminated, it would definitely be me no matter how you think about it! Is my ninja career going to end before it even begins?!
Just as Sakura fell into desperate wild thoughts, Kakashi changed his tone, his gaze sharply turning to Naruto.
"By the way, Naruto. The Hokage told me that you seem to... already be able to preliminarily use that 'power' within your body, is that right?"
Naruto was stunned upon hearing this, then showed a slightly provocative smile, answering, "Hmm? Yeah, what about it, Kakashi-sensei? Are you scared? Well, that makes sense, after all I and the Nine—"
"That's exactly the problem!" Kakashi abruptly interrupted Naruto's statement, his tone suddenly becoming extremely serious.
"Naruto, you should understand better than anyone how dangerous and powerful that force sealed within your body is. If it's not properly controlled and goes berserk... forget this exercise, the entire Konoha might be destroyed!"
Power? What power? Destroy Konoha? Naruto?
Faced with Kakashi's earth-shattering statement, Sakura beside them was completely bewildered, her brain unable to process this massive amount of information, only able to stare dumbfounded at the two of them.
"You're still too young now, your mind and body are not yet mature. Whether you can truly bear and control that power without being consumed by it is still a huge unknown, and it might even cause irreversible damage to your body."
Kakashi's voice was low and solemn. "Therefore, as your supervising Jonin, I hereby clearly stipulate: in this exercise, you are absolutely forbidden from using the Nine-Tails' chakra! If you use that power, I will immediately judge you as failed! Do you understand?"
"Yes~ I know—"
Naruto drew out his tone, answering with a somewhat reluctant attitude that seemed put on.
That's right, Naruto had privately told the Third Hokage about getting along quite well with the Nine-Tails inside him, and used this as a "reasonable explanation" for being able to "burst out" with powerful strength to repel Uchiha Itachi on the night of the Uchiha massacre.
Naruto still remembered how the Third Hokage's beard trembled slightly with excitement when he learned that Naruto could actually communicate with the Nine-Tails and even had a "good" relationship with it.
Becoming friends with the tailed beast within? This wasn't unprecedented in the ninja world—Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki from the Hidden Cloud Village, had become close friends with the Eight-Tails through day-to-day interaction and adjustment, becoming a rare perfect jinchuriki in the ninja world who could fully control the tailed beast's power without worrying about going berserk.
Obviously, both the Third and Kakashi hoped Naruto could take this path, but they also deeply understood the difficulties and risks involved. Therefore, Kakashi's current prohibition was both a limitation and a protection, preventing Naruto from relying too early on this power while neglecting to hone his own foundation, or causing catastrophic consequences if he lost control.
****
80+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces