Chapter 10: The First Exchange
When the three arrived at the training ground and saw Kakashi already waiting, they quickly hurried over.
Kakashi stood with his arms crossed, his visible eye narrowed like a cunning fox as he studied each of them. He didn't mention anything about Naruto and the others having eaten lunch. Instead, he simply nodded in approval.
"Good. It seems you're all punctual. Punctuality is the most important quality for a shinobi."
Sakura beamed at the rare compliment. Naruto, however, gave Kakashi a flat, unimpressed look. The man who's famously late for everything is lecturing us about punctuality?
Kakashi either didn't notice or chose to ignore Naruto's expression. "You all look ready," he said. After receiving confirming nods, he finally explained the contents of the exercise.
He reached down and unclipped two small bells from his belt, holding them up for the three genin to see. The bells glinted in the afternoon light, making a soft ching sound as they moved.
"The exercise is simple," Kakashi announced. "All you have to do is take one of these bells from me before the sun goes down. Anyone who succeeds passes."
Sakura looked at the two small bells, then at the three of them. Confusion creased her brow.
"But… there are three of us, and only two bells…"
Kakashi's eye curved into a sly, satisfied smile, as if he had been waiting for someone to point that out.
"Exactly. There are only two bells. That means at most two of you will pass this exercise and become genin. The remaining one… will be sent back to the Ninja Academy for further training. Or perhaps stripped of their qualifications entirely."
The casual cruelty of his words landed like a physical blow. Sakura's small body trembled, her mind already racing with the obvious conclusion about who the odd one out would be.
Kakashi showed no concern for her distress. He tucked the bells back onto his belt.
"The exercise begins now!" he announced, his lazy demeanor sharpening into something focused and predatory. "From this moment, you may use any method you like. Bring out all your strength and try to take these bells from me! Those who succeed… pass. Begin!"
The moment the word left his mouth, all three genin moved.
Sakura and Sasuke immediately darted toward the nearby tree line, disappearing into the underbrush with practiced agility. They intended to hide, observe, and wait for an opening—the standard, textbook approach to any engagement with a superior opponent.
Kakashi watched them go with a satisfied nod. These two learned well at the academy. Concealment, observation, patience—these are the fundamentals of ninja combat.
Just as he was mentally commending their reactions, Kakashi became aware of something unusual.
Someone was still standing directly in front of him.
Naruto.
While the others had fled to cover, Naruto hadn't moved an inch. He stood in the open field, his posture relaxed, his eyes fixed on Kakashi with an expression that was difficult to read. Not fear. Not hesitation. Something closer to… calm assessment.
Kakashi blinked, momentarily thrown off. "Naruto? What are you doing? Everyone else is hiding."
"I'm going for the bells," Naruto replied, a faint smile playing at his lips.
Kakashi stared at him, genuinely surprised. He can't be serious. A freshly graduated genin, challenging a Jōnin head-on?
"Just… like that?" Kakashi asked, his tone skeptical.
Naruto nodded. "Just like that."
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed with interest. "Then let's see how this 'rule-breaking' genin of mine tries to snatch a bell from a Jōnin."
He had been watching them all along—Naruto knew it. Kakashi had witnessed their lunch, their conversations, everything. But the Jōnin hadn't said a word about it. He was observing, cataloging, forming his own judgments.
Good, Naruto thought. Let him watch.
Without warning, Naruto's feet dug into the dirt, and his body shot forward like a bullet. In a heartbeat, he closed the distance between them, his hand reaching for the bells at Kakashi's waist.
The fundamental rule of combat: seize the initiative.
Kakashi's eyes widened in theatrical surprise—too theatrical. Just as Naruto's fingers were about to close around their target—
POOF.
Kakashi's body vanished in a cloud of white smoke.
A Shadow Clone.
"Good try," Kakashi's voice came from behind Naruto, warm with approval. "Unexpected, direct… it might have worked against a lesser opponent. But Jōnin aren't that easy to defeat."
He stood behind Naruto, already lecturing, already confident in his victory.
But then he noticed it.
Naruto's mouth curved into a small, knowing smile.
"Oh, really?"
POOF.
The Naruto in front of Kakashi exploded into white smoke.
A Shadow Clone?!
Kakashi's eye flew wide. He switched places? No—he had a clone waiting the entire time. But when did he—I didn't see him make any hand seals! This clone was prepared in advance!
In that instant of shock, a dark blur flashed across his peripheral vision.
The real one!
Kakashi's battle instincts, honed through years of war, screamed a warning. He activated the Body Flicker Technique without conscious thought, his body blurring across dozens of meters in a fraction of a second. He reappeared at the edge of the clearing, breathing slightly faster than before.
Across the field, Naruto stood where Kakashi had just been, his hand still extended toward empty air. He had missed—barely.
Naruto lowered his hand and looked at Kakashi with genuine respect in his eyes. Impressive. His reaction speed and combat experience are exactly as formidable as the stories say. I planned that sequence carefully, and he still evaded it at the very last moment.
But while Naruto was admiring Kakashi's ability, Kakashi was fighting to keep his composure.
His heart was pounding.
He was an Elite Jōnin. A veteran of three world wars. One of the most famous shinobi in the entire Land of Fire. And he had just been pushed to his limit by a genin. A boy who had graduated from the academy less than twenty-four hours ago.
He almost had me. If I had reacted even a split-second slower…
Kakashi's single visible eye stared at the blond boy across the clearing, and for the first time in a long while, he felt a cold bead of sweat roll down his temple.
This kid… is no ordinary genin.