A moment later, inside the Hokage's office.
"Kakashi, take a look."
"Lord Hokage…"
Dressed in ANBU attire, Hatake Kakashi picked up the application form, his brows slightly furrowed. "I'm the one assessing him?"
"He's a responsible and excellent teacher. He's also very hardworking."
"… "
Kakashi frowned, as if wanting to say something but holding back.
Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to understand his thoughts and chuckled. "No need to hold back. Just conduct a normal assessment."
Only then did Kakashi relax slightly.
But soon after, he frowned again. "What if I fail to hold back…"
"This is an assessment. The key is to demonstrate one's abilities—victory or defeat isn't the point," Hiruzen said with a smile.
Kakashi could only nod in agreement.
…
Two nights later.
A note appeared beside Shin's bed.
It read:
"The one assessing you will most likely be Hatake Kakashi. Prepare yourself."
Hatake Kakashi?
When Shin saw the name, he was momentarily stunned. A thought even crossed his mind—if they didn't want him to pass, they could've just rejected him outright.
But soon, he steadied himself again.
The title of Special Jonin was extremely important to him!
Shin had already determined that the main storyline of this "Part One" revolved around the Uchiha clan massacre.
On the surface, by becoming Sasuke and Naruto's teacher, he had already secured a role as a supporting character this season.
However—
If he wanted more screen time, he had to do more.
Joining Root, becoming one of Danzo's trusted aides, and eventually participating in the Uchiha massacre—this was a crucial step.
But…
Setting aside Danzo's distrustful nature, even loyalty alone wouldn't be enough. He also needed sufficient strength.
A mere chunin had no place in high-level decisions.
Becoming a Special Jonin would at least allow him to step into the higher ranks' field of vision and gain more opportunities.
He burned the note and fell into deep thought.
"Hatake Kakashi…"
As a renowned elite jonin, Kakashi had almost no weaknesses apart from his chakra limitations.
And chakra…
The gap between them was too large. There was no way Shin could push Kakashi into such a disadvantage.
After careful consideration, Shin formed a plan.
The next day, he prepared four explosive tags and a smoke bomb, strapped on his Aota blade, and carried several kunai.
This was the entirety of his ninja tool arsenal.
In addition, he prepared two animal-skin pouches—one filled with flammable oil, the other with water.
"Whether I get to eat meat depends on this!"
…
At a training ground in Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Homura Mitokado had already arrived.
Along with them were several jonin holding important positions, including Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi.
"Inoichi, two candidates today?"
"Yes. One is Ebisu, fairly well-known in Konoha. The other…" Inoichi paused, his expression turning slightly strange before continuing, "The other is Yanagi Shin, a taijutsu instructor at the academy."
"Ebisu… his specialty is teaching?" Shikaku frowned.
Inoichi nodded. "He's indeed good at teaching, just… his ideas aren't quite right. Otherwise, he would've become a Special Jonin long ago."
"Different people make different choices. But this year, he should be ready."
Shikaku replied.
Then, after recalling something, he suddenly turned to his friend. "This Yanagi Shin—is he the one teaching those two kids?"
"Yes."
Inoichi's expression turned complicated.
Ever since Shin became the taijutsu instructor, Ino no longer talked most about Sasuke or Sakura when she got home—but about Yanagi Shin.
As a father, his feelings were… complicated.
Shikaku swallowed the words he was about to say.
Since this teacher arrived, Shikamaru had shown some positive changes.
Deep down, he was pleased.
But Inoichi didn't seem to feel the same…
He looked at the file in his hand, then folded it and put it away.
"On paper, his fundamentals are very solid, but he hasn't learned many ninjutsu. Let's see. Both are teachers… fortunately in different fields."
"They're here."
Inoichi refocused and looked toward the training ground.
At the entrance, Ebisu and Yanagi Shin had already arrived.
"Senior Ebisu."
Shin greeted him politely.
Ebisu adjusted his glasses and returned the greeting, though a trace of unconscious arrogance lingered on his face.
Shin simply smiled, unbothered.
In the end, for a ninja, strength spoke louder than anything.
He looked toward the field, wondering about the assessment process, while glancing at the Third Hokage and the others nearby.
In a setting like this…
Kakashi probably wouldn't be late, right?
He muttered inwardly.
Fortunately—
In the next moment, a figure darted out from the forest and landed in the center of the field.
Wearing a fox mask, he swept his gaze across the two candidates.
"I'll be conducting the combat assessment. Ebisu, you go first."
"Yes!"
Ebisu swallowed nervously.
After taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.
Kakashi stood in place, waiting for Ebisu to make the first move rather than attacking.
Shin narrowed his eyes in thought.
Not attacking first…
This was giving Ebisu a chance to observe the terrain and plan his strategy.
Letting him go first was giving him an opportunity.
Shin scanned the surroundings, silently hoping Ebisu wouldn't lose too quickly so he could observe more.
On the field, Ebisu looked serious and focused, as if carefully analyzing the situation.
However—
The moment he launched his attack, Shin couldn't help but sigh.
Too naive!
Ebisu immediately threw ninja tools, attempting to probe with them first.
In theory, it was a sound strategy.
But—
Reality wasn't theory.
At the instant he attacked, disappointment flickered in Kakashi's eyes.
Then—
Kakashi turned into a wooden log and vanished.
Ebisu flickered backward, forming hand seals.
The next moment—
Boom!
The ground cracked open as Kakashi burst out from below, his fist striking upward into Ebisu's chin.
Earth Release: Rising Fang!
Immediately after, a flying kick—
"Ebisu" dissolved into bubbles.
However—
"Whoosh!"
Kakashi moved at incredible speed, catching up to the real Ebisu in an instant. The sheathed blade struck his neck.
Ebisu sighed. "I've lost."
But—
Losing to Kakashi wasn't something he found shameful.
He bowed and formed the sign of reconciliation.
Kakashi said nothing, returning the sign before turning his gaze toward Shin.
"Whoosh!"
Shin used Body Flicker to enter the field, creating distance between them.
Kakashi's gaze was calm. "Do you need time to prepare?"
"Being scheduled second was already enough preparation time."
Shin replied.
Kakashi nodded. "Then begin."
In the next instant—
Hand seals. Clone Technique.
Perfect ordinary clones—visually indistinguishable from the original. Four figures split off in different directions and fled.
Below the stage, Ebisu was stunned.
Such flawless clones—there wasn't a single visible flaw!
But his first move was…
To run?
No matter how perfect the clones were, dust and leaves would still reveal the real one's movements. Running could only buy limited time.
In just an instant, Kakashi identified the real body and gave chase.
But—
In the next second, Shin used the Clone Technique again, this time creating nine more clones that scattered chaotically into the forest.
Kakashi frowned slightly as he sprinted, his gaze shifting rapidly between two directions.
At least two of them were real bodies!