Tuk—Tuk—Tuk…
The rhythm of footsteps echoed through the branches as Kakashi moved swiftly across the trees, putting distance between himself and the place where the trap had nearly caught him. His feet landed lightly on bark and branch, each step controlled, barely disturbing the canopy as he moved deeper into the forest.
Behind him, the broken tree trunk still creaked faintly where it had smashed into the tree he had been standing on moments earlier. Leaves drifted slowly through the air from the impact.
Kakashi didn't slow down.
His mind was already turning over the situation.
Then—
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The shout tore through the quiet forest.
Kakashi's head snapped toward the sound just as movement exploded from the surrounding branches.
Naruto.
Not one.
Dozens.
Around thirty identical Naruto's burst from the trees at once, launching themselves toward him from multiple directions—orange jackets flashing through the leaves as they leapt.
Kakashi's eye narrowed.
'How did he locate me…?'
The thought flashed through his mind in the same instant the first clone reached him.
His leg moved without hesitation.
THUD.
The kick connected cleanly with the clone's chest, sending it flying backward before it burst into a cloud of white smoke with a soft poof, vanishing instantly.
But the rest were already closing in.
Naruto clones were dropping from the branches.
All of them converging on him at once.
Kakashi shifted his footing along the branch as the next clone lunged.
'No…'
His attention sharpened as the realization formed.
'More importantly… how did he get here so fast?'
Another clone rushed from his right.
Kakashi twisted slightly, his arm moving to deflect the attack as the boy lunged.
'Did he get past the second trap I had built…?'
The thought was a natural one for someone as experienced as Kakashi.
He was a jōnin of Konoha—a shinobi who had spent years surviving real battlefields, real missions, and real enemies. Even now, during what was technically a test for fresh academy graduates, his instincts remained the same: observe, analyze, and correct mistakes before they turned fatal.
This exercise was meant to give the children experience.
Mistakes made here were lessons.
Mistakes made outside the village could mean death.
For Naruto, his reckless charge earlier had been the first mistake.
And Kakashi had punished it immediately—catching him in a trap and hanging him from the tree like an animal that had walked into a hunter's snare.
And even if Naruto managed to escape that first trap…
Kakashi had already prepared a second one waiting nearby.
A simple but effective measure to teach the boy the price of rushing forward without thinking.
It was almost impossible to believe Naruto wouldn't fall for the second trap as well.
And even if—by some miracle—he didn't…
There was no reason he should have been able to locate Kakashi this quickly.
Yet here he was.
Kakashi's mind continued running through the possibilities even as the battle around him unfolded.
Another Naruto clone lunged.
Kakashi stepped sideways along the branch and drove his elbow down across the clone's shoulder. The moment it struck, the body burst apart in a puff of smoke.
Another came from above.
Kakashi raised his arm and deflected it, knocking the clone aside as it vanished.
Two more rushed him together.
He moved forward.
His hand shot out, catching one of the clones by the ankle mid-jump.
With a sharp motion, Kakashi slammed the clone down onto the branch beneath them.
Poof!
The clone disappeared instantly.
Kakashi pushed off the branch and jumped backward as several more clones rushed him at once, landing on another limb while the swarm followed without hesitation.
Naruto's clones kept coming.
They rushed him recklessly, throwing themselves forward without hesitation.
Kakashi moved through them calmly, flicking one clone away with the back of his hand, sidestepping another while striking a third aside.
Poof. Poof. Poof.
White smoke burst repeatedly through the trees as the clones disappeared one after another.
Yet Kakashi didn't allow himself to relax.
Even while dismantling the swarm, his attention continued scanning the forest.
Watching for movement.
Listening for disturbances.
Looking for another student waiting for an opportunity.
Or worse—
Another trap.
Naruto, meanwhile, was attacking with complete abandon.
The clones pressed forward relentlessly, forcing Kakashi step by step toward the trunk of a large tree behind him.
Kakashi's foot touched the bark as he shifted his weight back.
And at that exact moment—
From behind the tree—
From behind him—
A shuriken shot forward.
It only came into Kakashi's view at the last instant, the spinning weapon curving sharply as it bent around the tree's trunk.
His eye widened slightly.
'Another trap!?'
Kakashi's eye tracked the shuriken as it curved through the air.
For a brief moment, it looked like the weapon had missed its mark entirely, spinning past him instead of striking.
Then he noticed it.
A thin wire was tied to the shuriken's ring, tightening due to the continuous rotation.
His eye narrowed slightly.
In that same instant, the last three Naruto clones lunged at him.
But instead of striking—
They grabbed him.
One latched onto his right arm.
Another wrapped around his left shoulder.
The third locked around his waist.
Their grip was clumsy, but tight.
"Gotcha!"
Naruto's voice rang out from somewhere nearby, loud with triumph.
At the same moment, the shuriken completed its arc.
Like a boomerang, it curved behind Kakashi, the wire following its path through the air before tightening sharply.
The wire snapped taut.
"WH-What?!"
Kakashi felt the sudden pull as it wrapped around his torso and arms, dragging him back against the thick trunk of the tree behind him.
The line tightened further—
Someone behind the tree yanked it hard.
The wire coiled around him in an instant, pinning his body firmly against the bark while the three Naruto clones continued holding onto him.
For a brief moment—
Kakashi was trapped.
His body pressed against the tree.
Wire binding his arms.
Three clones clinging to him to prevent movement.
Kakashi's muscles tensed as he prepared to break free—
And then he saw movement above.
His eye shifted upward.
Sasuke.
The boy dropped from the top of the tree, body twisting through the air as he descended.
Kakashi could clearly see the back of Sasuke's body at first as the boy rotated midair. Then Sasuke lifted his head slightly, turning just enough for Kakashi to see his face.
Dark eyes locked onto him.
"NOW!!"
Sasuke shouted with a grin.
At that exact moment, the three clones gripping Kakashi vanished in bursts of white smoke, releasing him—
But the wire still held him pinned against the tree.
And Sasuke's hands were already moving.
Kakashi's eye widened slightly.
'No way…'
The realization hit him even before Sasuke finished.
"We got him!"
Naruto shouted in celebration.
The hand signs stopped.
Sasuke inhaled sharply.
"Fire Style — Fireball Jutsu!"
'We?!… So this was a plan after all...'
Kakashi thought with surprise etched onto his expression as he stared at the fireball moving his way.
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7 Minutes Ago
Rin stood quietly on a thick branch, his body partially concealed by the surrounding foliage. The leaves shielded him from direct view from the clearing below, giving him a clear vantage point without exposing his position.
Beside him, Sasuke sat on the same branch, one knee raised slightly as he leaned forward just enough to keep the clearing in sight.
"...That's why I think this exam is meant to test teamwork."
Rin's voice was low, careful not to travel far through the forest.
Not far away, Sakura had noticed Rin slipping away from the his hiding spot earlier. Curious—and unsure what he was doing—she had followed him through the trees, quietly making her way to group with them.
Now she crouched on a nearby branch, listening as Rin had explained his thoughts about the test.
Her eyes shifted between the two boys as she processed his words.
Sasuke didn't immediately respond.
His attention remained focused on the clearing below where Kakashi continued to toy with Naruto.
"He clearly stated that only four out of six can graduate."
Sasuke said calmly, still watching the scene below.
"While the rest will be sent back to the academy."
His voice carried quiet certainty, as he was simply repeating the instructor's words.
For a moment, the only sound between them was the distant echo of Naruto yelling somewhere below.
Then Sasuke felt it.
A stare.
His eyes shifted slightly to the side.
Rin was staring directly at him.
"I can't believe I shared the top spot with you…"
Rin sighed as he lowered himself and sat down on the branch as well.
The comment made Sasuke stiffen slightly.
Embarrassment flickered across his face for a split second.
He opened his mouth, ready to snap back—
But Rin continued speaking before he could.
"For starters,"
Rin said, lifting one hand slightly as he began explaining.
"they themselves explained the standard genin team structure to us yesterday."
His tone was calm, analytical.
"So the scenario where the ones who don't get a bell automatically fail…"
He shook his head faintly.
"…is very unlikely to happen."
Sakura's brows slowly drew together as she listened.
"It will either be that all of us pass…"
He paused briefly.
"…or all of us fail."
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'So it was Rin.'
Hidden deeper within the forest, Kakashi watched the three boys from a distance.
The smoke from Sasuke's Fire Style — Fireball Jutsu had long faded, leaving the air faintly warm where the flames had scorched the bark and leaves nearby. But Kakashi himself was no longer there.
He had avoided the attack at the last moment.
The instant Sasuke had released the fireball, Kakashi had slipped free—twisting out of the wire before the flames could consume the spot where he had been pinned. The binding line had snapped loose as he moved, and he had vanished into the trees before the three boys could immediately locate him.
Now he observed them from much farther away.
Naruto.
Sasuke.
Rin.
The three of them stood together now in the forest, no longer scattered like before.
'Since Sasuke attacked me…'
Kakashi's mind replayed the sequence of events from moments earlier.
The shuriken.
The wire.
Naruto's clones restraining him.
Then Sasuke's descent and the fireball.
His gaze shifted slightly toward Rin.
'Then it was Rin who freed Naruto… and got them to fight together.'
That explanation fit the situation the best.
Naruto had originally been trapped in the clearing—hung from the tree by Kakashi's trap. There had even been a second trap waiting for him if he somehow escaped the first.
Naruto shouldn't have been able to get out so quickly.
Yet he had appeared here with dozens of shadow clones.
Which meant someone had helped him.
And Rin was the most likely one.
Kakashi's eye shifted again toward Sasuke.
'Also… how has his chakra developed enough for him to perform Fire Style jutsu…?'
The thought lingered with quiet curiosity.
Fire Release techniques weren't something academy students usually performed so easily. Even among the Uchiha, the Fireball Jutsu required a considerable amount of chakra control and training.
Yet Sasuke had completed it cleanly.
Kakashi studied the boy carefully for another moment.
Then his attention shifted again.
To Rin.
'And Rin…'
His gaze narrowed slightly as he recalled the earlier moment.
'How did he bend that shuriken like that?'
Kakashi had seen countless weapons thrown in battle.
But the way that one had curved—
Almost unnaturally.
'I've never seen anything like that…'
The shuriken had bent its trajectory far beyond what normal throwing techniques allowed, circling around the tree before the wire tightened around him, that too while maintaining it's speed.
And then Sasuke's jutsu had followed immediately after.
Both moments had caught Kakashi off guard.
He exhaled slowly.
He truly hadn't expected that level of coordination from fresh academy graduates.
'Also…'
His eye shifted toward the surrounding forest.
'Where's the rest of the team?'
The other three genin were nowhere in sight.
Kiba.
Hinata.
Sakura.
They hadn't appeared during the attack.
Which left one possibility forming in Kakashi's mind.
'Did they go for Kurenai?'
Kakashi's gaze shifted back toward the spot where the three boys had been standing.
His body stiffened.
The branch beneath his feet creaked faintly as his weight shifted.
'Huh?'
The space where Naruto, Sasuke, and Rin had been only a moment earlier was empty.
The forest around that patch of ground looked completely undisturbed.
'Where'd they disappear to?'
Kakashi's eye moved quickly, scanning the nearby trees and shadows as his instincts sharpened.
Just seconds ago, they had been standing there together, clearly visible.
Now they were gone.
Then—
Tuk—Tuk—Tuk…
Footsteps.
Fast.
They came from behind him.
Kakashi's body reacted instantly. He twisted around while pushing off the branch, rising to his feet in the same motion as his arms came up into a cross guard.
A fist slammed into his forearms.
The impact traveled through his arms and shoulders as he absorbed the strike.
Kakashi's eye focused forward.
'So it was you all along…'
The attacker stood directly in front of him.
Rin.
The boy's blindfolded face came into clear view as he pressed forward after the ambush strike.
Kakashi's mind moved quickly as the pieces connected.
'It's his eyes…'
The thought sharpened instantly.
'That's how they keep locating me.'
The unknown dōjutsu.
The strange accuracy.
The way the group had managed to track him even after he relocated deeper into the forest.
It fit too well to ignore.
Rin didn't give Kakashi time to dwell on the realization.
The boy shifted his weight immediately after the blocked punch, continuing the motion of his ambush without hesitation.
His hand moved toward the pouch at his waist.
Steel flashed.
Rin pulled out a kunai and, in the same motion, snapped his left arm forward.
The blade shot toward Kakashi's face at close range.
Too close.
'So fast!'
Kakashi thought as he tilted his head sharply to the side.
The kunai sliced past him with barely any space to spare.
The metal edge skimmed through the air beside his head—
Snipping several thin white strands from his hair before burying itself into the trunk of a nearby tree with a dull thunk.
Rin had already moved again.
The moment his feet touched the ground after the throw, his body compressed slightly—
And burst toward Kakashi.
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