And Furina didn't look the least bit like she was running out of chakra, so clearly it was the latter.
"Water Release: Multiple Water Dragon Bullets Technique"
After symbolically forming a few hand seals, Furina clapped her hands together, and immediately several water dragons surged toward Kakashi one after another. Each of these water dragons appeared even more imposing than the previous one.
"Tch, this is getting a bit troublesome."
The spot Furina had chosen earlier was wide open with virtually no cover anywhere, so facing her attacks, he could only keep dodging and weaving, with absolutely no opportunity to counterattack.
Kakashi naturally knew that just dodging like this wasn't a solution. After evading for a while, he slowly pulled down his forehead protector, revealing a scarlet Sharingan. Clearly, he had no intention of continuing to sit passively and take hits.
"How pathetic. To be pushed to this point by my own student."
After pulling down the protector, Kakashi sighed inwardly. He never imagined that dealing with a student fresh out of the academy would require him to use his Sharingan. Although part of it was due to carelessness, the fact that he had to resort to the Sharingan already said everything.
Soon after, lightning began to sparkle in Kakashi's hand, and with the Sharingan's assistance, he shattered each of Furina's released Water Dragon Bullets one by one.
From a distance, after seeing this scene, Furina also knew the other party was starting to get serious. Kakashi with his Sharingan activated would likely aim for a quick decisive battle and that could become her opportunity.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique"
Facing Furina's repeated tactic, this time Kakashi still didn't dodge. Instead, he chose to counter with his own ninjutsu. The clash of water and fire instantly produced a massive cloud of steam.
Within the mist, a figure so fast it could only be seen as an afterimage charged forward. Due to the extreme speed, the Water Dragon Bullet which still had residual power from the earlier collision couldn't stop it in time and could only dissipate on the spot after Furina gave up control.
"Water Release "
Facing Kakashi's rapid approach, a trace of panic appeared on Furina's face. She hurriedly tried to continue forming seals to stop him, but before she could finish the technique, a hand grabbed her arm and interrupted it.
"It's over, Furina."
"That's not necessarily true, Kakashi-sensei."
Facing Kakashi's victory declaration, the panic on Furina's face suddenly vanished completely. She then used her other hand to grab Kakashi as well.
Confronted with Furina's bizarre action, Kakashi instantly sensed something was wrong but it was already too late. With Furina gripping his wrist, he couldn't run even if he wanted to. The water in the puddle beneath their feet rose rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it formed a water sphere that completely enveloped the two of them.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique"
As the voice rang out, the Furina inside the water prison turned into a puff of white smoke and dissipated. At the same time, another Furina walked over from the side and placed her hand on the surface of the water prison.
"Does this count as my win, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Well done, but didn't I say you have to take my bells to succeed?"
Accompanying Kakashi's voice, Furina suddenly felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She turned around sure enough, it was Kakashi. The Kakashi inside the water prison also turned into white smoke and dissipated at that moment.
Using the time when the steam from the water-fire collision obscured vision, Kakashi had employed his habitual clone-probing tactic. Originally, he had only done it as insurance, never expecting it would actually come in handy.
"Kakashi-sensei really is amazing."
Hearing what sounded like Furina conceding, before Kakashi could think further
Suddenly, Kakashi felt a wet sensation on his palm. When he looked down, his eyes couldn't help but widen slightly. This wasn't Furina's real body at all it was clearly a water clone.
"Where "
Before Kakashi could search for Furina's true position, the water flow from the water clone suddenly surged toward him. At such close range, Kakashi had nowhere to dodge and was directly bound by whips formed from the water.
"Nani?!"
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Kakashi was clearly caught off guard. Just as he tried to break free, a kunai came flying from the distance, aimed precisely at the bells hanging from his waist.
The kunai struck the rope at Kakashi's waist perfectly, and for the first time, the bells finally left Kakashi's control. At that moment, Kakashi also broke free from the water ropes and tried to pick up the fallen bells.
But another Water Dragon Bullet flying from afar forced him to abandon the idea and retreat backward instead. The Water Dragon Bullet didn't pursue him it simply scooped up the bells and returned.
"Haha, Kakashi-sensei, this should count as my win now, right?"
Looking at Furina who was teasing him while walking over with the bells now hanging from her own waist Kakashi's eyes couldn't help but flash with a hint of dimness. But in the next instant, it returned to his usual dead-fish expression so quickly that even Furina didn't notice the change.
"This time you really did win, Furina. But I have one question. When the steam was obstructing vision earlier, even with my Sharingan, I only noticed you using one clone. I want to know when exactly did you use the other clone?"
Although losing to his own student was a bit embarrassing, compared to that, Kakashi was more curious about how Furina had managed to create another clone. Could it really have slipped past his Sharingan?
Facing Kakashi's confusion, Furina could more or less guess what he was thinking, but she had no intention of hiding it.
"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei my actions couldn't fool the Sharingan. It was during the Great Waterfall Technique."
With Kakashi's intelligence, he naturally didn't need Furina to explain much. A small hint was enough for him to understand.
"At that time… I see."
Back then, he hadn't taken Furina too seriously yet and hadn't activated his Sharingan. The Great Waterfall Technique had also obstructed his view, and being busy dodging, it was normal that he hadn't noticed her using a clone.
"By the way, your strength is already very impressive few people at your age can compare. Why would you choose to use such a cautious tactic?"
This was Kakashi's final question. At 12 years old with such strong ability, one might not be arrogant, but there was no need to play it so safe, right?
He recalled when he himself advanced to jōnin at 12 he had thought he was unbeatable back then.
"That's because while I was studying at the ninja academy, I learned about you, Kakashi-sensei. The name 'Sharingan Kakashi' is renowned across all nations. Facing you, if I wanted to win, I naturally had to go all out from the very beginning."
"So that's how it is. On the other hand, my initial underestimation indirectly led to my defeat. I've been taught a lesson by my student."