Sakura hurriedly pressed Kakashi, "Why are there only two bells? That doesn't make sense—we're a team, the exam should be about cooperation! Isn't this just forcing us to fight against each other?"
"And the time limit is only three minutes? That's way too hard! How could we possibly do it?!"
"That's for you to figure out." Kakashi gave no further explanation.
"Oh, and those who don't get a bell—no lunch at noon. You'll be tied to the wooden posts and watch the others eat."
Kakashi pointed at the posts behind him, a flicker of memory flashing in his eyes.
Sakura suddenly realized, "Oh! So that's why you told us not to eat breakfast! You tricked us…"
As she spoke, she glanced at Naruto.
From her words, Kakashi could already guess what had happened, and he gained a preliminary impression of Sakura's character.
A few minutes later, the test began.
Kakashi tied the bells at his waist, waved to the three of them, and said, "Alright then, the test begins!"
The moment it started, Naruto immediately released dozens of Shadow Clone Jutsu, surrounding Kakashi completely.
Seeing this, Kakashi's eyes showed both helplessness and envy.
'So what if you have a lot of chakra? Just throwing out everything at once?'
He hadn't even lifted the headband covering his left eye, yet he could sense that each clone Naruto made was not to be underestimated.
In this situation, Sasuke and Sakura didn't know how to intervene and could only wait for an opportunity.
Dozens of Narutos all launched First Form together, rushing at Kakashi with such speed that even he had trouble keeping up.
In an instant, Kakashi felt immense pressure.
Shadow clones from all directions—front, back, left, right—surrounded him. He could only leap into the air, trying to break free.
But just as he jumped, several Narutos, as if predicting it, all unleashed Second Form: Claw Claw – Kotokaze.
Nearly twenty claw-shaped wind blades sealed off all of Kakashi's escape routes!
Sweat appeared on his forehead. This wasn't a matter of holding back anymore—it felt like he was actually being suppressed!
He quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge the barrage of blades.
But the moment he landed, another dozen wind blades came flying at him.
With Transparent World active, Naruto could read his movements, predicting every flicker.
And Naruto didn't even have to worry about chakra consumption. Even if he spammed sword-shaped wind blades without pause, he could keep it up for half an hour without breaking a sweat.
Kakashi kept dodging. Each time he slipped away, the massive blue wind blades tore deep cracks into the ground where he had stood.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Kakashi had to admit—having so much chakra was truly impressive.
But as soon as he landed again, more terrifying blades came—Sixth Form: Black Wind – Smoke Mist, attacking from every angle.
The black-glowing wind blades radiated an aura of death.
This time, Kakashi had no angle left to dodge, no room to escape. The only way out was to confront it head-on.
'But this is just a test… do I really need to go that far?'
Yet the blades came too fast. He had no time to think.
Kakashi quickly formed several hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Four stone walls, carved with dog heads, rose from the ground.
Boom!
The crash was deafening, smoke and dust rising high.
When it cleared, Kakashi stood in the crater, disheveled and slightly out of breath.
He had poured a lot of chakra into those walls to strengthen the defense. Even so, he had nearly failed to withstand those black wind blades.
But before he could catch his breath, another rain of Second Form: Claw Blades poured down from above.
Kakashi sighed bitterly to himself, then raised his hand."Naruto! That's enough! You've passed!"
Naruto dispersed the blades, and the shadow clones all faded, looking bored that it ended so quickly.
Kakashi let out a sigh of relief.
Naruto's relentless, chakra-heavy offense completely restrained him.
What troubled him even more was how every strike seemed to predict his movements.
'Whose eyes are the Sharingan again?'
Sasuke, watching the battle, unconsciously awakened his single-tomoe Sharingan.
Naruto's fierce assault had set his blood boiling.
Sakura, meanwhile, was stunned. She never imagined Naruto could be this strong.
Those wind blades, which looked like ultimate techniques to her, were being thrown around by Naruto like basic attacks.
Kakashi adjusted his hair awkwardly, the image of the cool teacher utterly ruined.
"Ahem… Naruto, since your performance was outstanding, I'll let you handle these two bells."
He tossed the bells into the air, their jingling caught in Naruto's hand.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura all looked at him.
"Those without a bell will be punished," Kakashi reminded, curious what Naruto would choose.
At those words, Sakura's heart sank.
Sure enough, Naruto tossed one bell to Sasuke and said calmly,"Since there are only two bells, Sakura will have to sit this one out. Her strength really isn't up to par."
Sakura's eyes immediately reddened. She wanted to protest, but after seeing Naruto's power just now, she couldn't refute him.
Kakashi felt a hint of disappointment at Naruto's attitude.
He clapped his hands. "Since that's the case, Sakura, you'll accept the punishment."
He tied her to the post in the middle.
This time, he didn't mention expelling anyone back to the Academy, which let Sakura breathe a sigh of relief.
But under the blazing sun, she was soon drenched in sweat, parched and exhausted.
Meanwhile, the other three rested under the shade of a tree.
Sakura whispered weakly, "Sasuke, could you give me some water?"
But Sasuke was still lost in his imagination—dreaming of mastering those techniques and showing off against everyone.
Completely absorbed, he didn't hear her at all.
Naruto did hear, but ignored her.
Seeing this, Kakashi looked at him, hoping to nudge the son of his late teacher into better habits.
"Naruto, Sakura is your comrade, isn't she? When a comrade is in trouble, you should help."
"I refuse." Naruto answered without hesitation.
"Why?" Kakashi sighed inwardly.
"Only those equal in strength and acknowledging each other are comrades. She doesn't count."
His reply left Kakashi speechless.
Not far away, Sakura clenched her teeth, fuming.
Over and over again… Am I really that worthless? How dare you treat me like this! Fine, if I don't count, I don't care! One day, I'll surpass you! I'll be stronger than you! And when that day comes, I won't even glance your way!