Naruto: Young Teacher
Chapter 23
After nearly an hour of waiting, Kakashi finally appeared at Training Ground Seven. He lazily waved one hand as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Yo. Sorry about that," Kakashi said casually. "I got lost on the path of life."
Ren looked at him calmly and nodded once.
"You still are," Ren replied flatly. "But forget it. That's not important right now. Tell us about the test."
Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all nodded in agreement as they turned their attention toward Kakashi.
Kakashi's visible eye twitched slightly at Ren's blunt response. He cleared his throat before pointing toward the small bells tied to his waist.
"Ahem… your task is simple," Kakashi explained. "You must take these bells from me."
He lifted them slightly so they jingled.
"But there are only three bells."
Ren waved his hand dismissively as if the explanation was unnecessary.
"Yeah, yeah. We get it," Ren said casually. "Now let's start the fun."
Sakura couldn't help but giggle slightly at his attitude.
Kakashi stared at them for a moment before giving a small shrug.
"Fine. Your test starts—"
Before he could finish the sentence, several smoke bombs suddenly exploded around him.
Thick clouds of smoke filled the area instantly.
Kakashi blinked in surprise as his surroundings disappeared.
'So they already have a plan,' Kakashi thought with mild interest. 'Let's see what you can do.'
Sakura quickly disappeared into the surrounding trees, hiding her presence. At the same time, Naruto rushed forward with a loud shout.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Dozens of Naruto clones appeared and immediately charged toward Kakashi.
Sasuke supported from behind, throwing several shuriken with precise aim.
Meanwhile, Ren remained hidden while observing the battlefield. His Six Eyes carefully traced Kakashi's movements through the smoke.
"You think numbers make you stronger?" Kakashi said calmly as he moved.
He easily destroyed several shadow clones with simple taijutsu strikes.
However, despite fighting Naruto's clones, Kakashi's attention remained focused on Ren's chakra signature somewhere nearby.
Just then, Kakashi quickly tilted his head to the side.
A shuriken thrown by Sakura flew past him, barely missing his face.
At the same moment, Sasuke and Naruto rushed in together.
The two boys engaged Kakashi in close combat.
Naruto attacked aggressively while Sasuke moved more carefully, instinctively covering Naruto's openings.
'Their teamwork isn't bad,' Kakashi thought as he blocked several strikes.
Just then, a large group of shadow clones rushed toward him again.
Naruto and Sasuke jumped back at the same time while throwing several kunai.
Each kunai carried explosive tags.
Sakura also launched additional tagged kunai from her hidden position in the trees.
Kakashi's eye twitched slightly when he noticed the absurd number of explosive tags flying toward him.
Without hesitation, he formed a quick hand seal.
"Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique."
Kakashi dove straight into the ground, disappearing beneath the earth while leaving a shadow clone in his place.
Moments later, the battlefield erupted in a massive explosion.
Naruto and Sasuke believed they had finally caught Kakashi in the blast.
They immediately rushed toward the center of the smoke.
Suddenly, Kakashi burst out of the ground behind Naruto and struck him with a quick attack.
"Quite the reckless fellow," Kakashi said calmly.
But the Naruto he struck instantly disappeared in a puff of smoke.
It had only been a shadow clone.
At that exact moment, Kakashi's instincts screamed in warning.
Ren suddenly appeared behind him so quickly that Kakashi hadn't sensed his approach at all.
"Rasengan."
"What—?!"
The name alone startled Kakashi so much that he reacted a fraction too late.
The swirling sphere of chakra slammed directly into him, sending his body crashing violently into a nearby tree.
But the moment the impact landed, Kakashi's body transformed into a wooden log.
He had used the Substitution Jutsu at the last second.
Although he had avoided the full damage, Kakashi had still been forced to take the attack head-on.
At the same time, Sakura appeared behind Ren.
While Kakashi had been focused entirely on Ren after hearing the word Rasengan, he had completely forgotten to keep track of Sakura's position.
In her hands were the two small bells that had been tied to Kakashi's waist.