Training Ground 3 - 9:35am.
Hidden from everyone's view, from high up on a branch, Kakashi observed the two Genin on his new team. He watched as Sakura moved to help Naruto and released him from the trap and Genjutsu.
'Mildly surprising. That look on her face tells me she's annoyed but she still did it. She wanted to go after Sasuke the moment he disappeared but she stayed and saved Naruto. Hmm… It looks like her priorities aren't completely skewed. That's a point in her favor… Hm… In that case, I'll test her last.'
The Jonin disappeared silently into the foliage, already planning the next phase of his exam. 'Time to see how the Uchiha handles pressure.'
—-
Sasuke crouched low in the shadow of a large tree, scanning his surroundings. He didn't flinch when Kakashi appeared a dozen feet away.
Sasuke felt him coming before he saw him. He knew he was next so Sasuke stepped into the nearby open field. "You found me."
Kakashi's hands were in his pockets. "I did."
Sasuke's eyes were steady and calm as he studied the Jonin.
"You're a bit more composed than the other two," Kakashi commented,
"I'm different," Sasuke said bluntly. "I'm not like Naruto or Sakura. I'm better."
Kakashi tilted his head, an amused gleam in his lone visible eye. "Different, sure. Better? Maybe. But better doesn't mean great. Not like Daichi."
A flicker of something passed through Sasuke's expression, but it vanished just as fast. His posture didn't shift.
'Thought that would get under your skin.' Kakashi's eye thinned with amusement.
"I've sparred with Daichi several times," Sasuke replied, his tone calm.
"Mm?"
"I learned that losing your cool only gets you killed faster. I won't fall for cheap tricks that make me drop my composure. I'm not that fool, Naruto." Sasuke said, rolling his shoulders.
Kakashi tilted his head. 'Ah. Not bad.' "Then let's not waste either of our time." Sasuke narrowed his eyes and moved towards his target.
"Taijutsu first?" Kakashi said lightly. "Good choice."
The Uchiha appeared to the right side above Kakashi with a kick aimed to the head. The Jonin easily blocked with his forearm and grabbed onto the leg. Immediately Sasuke retaliated with a punch to the face which was blocked by another palm.
Sasuke immediately twisted his body upside down and brought his other knee to the head which Kakashi blocked with his forearm.
The Uchiha smiled as he was upside down with his free arm near the bell. Just as his fingers brushed the bell, Kakashi let go and moved backwards.
'Just as I thought. I knew it wouldn't be that easy.' Sasuke smiled and immediately let a few shuriken fly and hit the ground near where Kakashi landed.
Just as Kakashi landed on the ground, Sasuke's shuriken hit the earth near him and immediately several ninja wires burst out of the ground and wrapped around Kakashi trapping him in place.
Kakashi's eye slightly widened as he felt the wires tightening around his body. He looked at the Uchiha with new found respect. 'He's laid out traps. I see. He came at me from the right side at first to make me adjust my position. His target wasn't the bell. He attacked like that so that when I evaded, my most easily available escape route would be to move backwards… To this location… In the path of his trap. He's planned several steps ahead. Daichi's influence, no doubt.'
It only took Kakashi a second to understand Sasuke's tactics. And as the wires trapped the Jonin, Sasuke moved near the Jonin and immediately made several hand seals.
"Fire style - Fireball jutsu."
A fireball the same size as Sasuke immediately blasted towards Kakashi and engulfed him in seconds.
Seeing his attack hit his Jonin teacher, Sasuke immediately flung a shuriken to an area deep in the forest. But this time his weapon flew at a considerably slower pace than most shuriken. 'This will trigger the traps soon, but they'll fail if Kakashi doesn't take the bait. Come on. I'm right here.'
Sasuke looked towards the burning area with a calm face but after a few seconds as the flames died down he didn't find anyone.
''Where did he go?'' Before the Uchiha could move from his spot, a hand rushed up from the ground beneath him and dragged him under till only the head was visible.
"I'm where you least expect it. You shouldn't let your guard down." Kakashi crouched down and spoke with a smile as he looked at the boy. "Earth style - Head hunter jutsu."
"I know." Sasuke smiled despite the situation he was in and it surprised Kakashi. "Daichi used it on me on more than one occasion. I won't fall for that."
A second later several shuriken and kunai came flying towards Kakashi from the forest.
Poof!
At that moment, Sasuke in front of Kakashi turned into a log and the Jonin was surprised. 'Substitution?'
The Jonin stood and easily evaded the weapons and turned his attention to the forest. 'That was good. But when did he use a substitution jutsu?' He walked a few steps forward and observed the training ground. 'Where is he?'
Suddenly Kakashi's sensitive ears picked up the minute sounds of a small explosion. Immediately several weapons came from the forest from multiple locations. 'That explosion must have been some sort of a release trigger.'
As Kakashi easily evaded the weapons, a hand suddenly burst out of the ground near his feet and came close to the bells.
"What!?" The Jonin was surprised and his eye widened a fraction as he watched a right palm close around the three bells. Immediately he slapped the palm away and jumped to a new location.
A second later Sasuke jumped out from the ground and looked at Kakashi with a frown. "Tch!" 'I almost had him with that.'
Kakashi looked at the boy and then towards the location where he used the head hunter jutsu on the boy and only found a hole. No log. He instantly understood the strategy the Uchiha used.
'Sasuke didn't use substitution at that time. He used a transformation technique and turned into a log… But then the weapons from the forest… I see… Sasuke must have triggered a time release trap with something before I caught him. The traps he used were timed chain reaction traps meant to take my attention. He must have set it all up when I was fighting Naruto. This kid is definitely different from the other two.'
Sasuke smirked as he saw the Silver haired Jonin finally taking him seriously. "Attacking from where your enemy would least expect you. It's one of the lessons I learned sparring with your former student."
Kakashi nodded and hummed. "You set up delayed traps and I'm guessing you triggered it shortly after you used your Fireball jutsu on me. Then you used yourself as bait, used a transformation jutsu but made me think it was a substitution and then waited for your time to strike."
"Like I said before. I'm different. I will get a bell." Sasuke clenched his fists and looked at the man.
"You're right. You are different. And you got close to the bells. But that's not enough to pass my exam." Kakashi spoke with a calm face.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that."
—-
Far above the two was Daichi, hiding on top of one of the tallest trees around. He saw the shuriken Sasuke tossed immediately after the Fire jutsu hit a fuse hidden in the forest, triggering it.
When Sasuke turned into a log Daichi smiled. In his mini map, he saw Sasuke still near the same position he was before. 'That's a clever tactic. But it won't work. Even if you manage to surprise Kakashi, he wouldn't allow those bells to be taken that easily.'
He turned his attention to Naruto and Sakura. 'I guess all these years in the academy did change her. Good on you Sakura.'
Munching down on his snack, Daichi turned his attention back to the fight taking place on the ground.
—-
The two ninjas of different ranks exchanged quick fast blows. Punches, kicks, counters. Sasuke's technique was sharp and aggressive, but not wild. He was measured and calculating.
Kakashi upped the pace, weaving through seals with one hand. "Genjutsu: Mist Veil."
The area around Sasuke darkened slightly. A thin mist rolled in—not thick enough to completely obscure, but enough to distract.
Sasuke didn't hesitate. He closed his eyes for a brief second and let out a breath. "Release." The mist shimmered and vanished.
'So he's at least aware enough to recognize low-tier illusions.' Kakashi launched several kunai toward him. Sasuke sidestepped two and deflected the third and fourth.
"Not bad." The Jonin smiled and the boy and the vanished in a puff of smoke.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "Damn it! I need to find him."
—-
With Naruto and Sakura.
Sakura and Naruto heard a small explosion coming from the forested area in the training ground. "Sasuke." The worry was evident in her voice. "I'm going to find Sasuke."
She stood and immediately Naruto followed. "I'm coming too." As Naruto jumped to his feet, he wobbled and immediately sat back down.
Growl! His stomach cried in protest at that moment. "Oh man, I'm so hungry and tired."
"Aarrrhh!" Sakura controlled her frustrations. "Of course you are, idiot. We skipped breakfast and you fought Kakashi sensei for nearly an hour. So of course you're tired."
"I can still fight." Naruto replied stubbornly.
"You're going to fall over in two steps," Sakura muttered reflexively, as she looked towards the area where the sounds of fighting were coming from.
"I'm going to find them. You should stay here for now." Sakura said as she looked at Naruto.
"But I-"
"Aarrhh! Idiot Naruto! Listen to what I'm saying!" Sakura's inner self screamed in her head.
Sakura sighed. She knew how stubborn the boy could be. "We still have two more hours, Naruto. You should rest and catch some breath before you fight sensei again. You'll have a better chance of getting the bell if you rest and recover some energy. Otherwise you'll just collapse in the dirt and I won't help you next time."
Naruto hesitated for a few seconds before finally relenting. "Fine."
"Good." She moved and then half-glance to make sure he didn't immediately leap up again. He didn't.
'Just don't do something stupid now, Naruto,' she thought, and went to find Sasuke. "Sasuke my love, here I come." Inner Sakura screamed with glee as she quietly came near the battlefield.
—-
Sasuke vs Kakashi.
Sasuke and Kakashi had been going at it for a while. Sasuke would try to corner Kakashi with his taijutsu and some traps only for Kakashi to escape at the last second.
The Genin looked at Kakashi as he took several deep breaths of air. 'His Taijutsu is really good. Just as good as Daichi if I had to guess. I can't use the Sharingan yet. It'll drain too much chakra. Guess it's time to see how good he is with Genjutsu.'
Sasuke weaved seals and gathered his chakra. As he rushed towards Kakashi, he began using subtle Genjutsu. Phantom cuts, random pressure on his arms and misdirection.
As the one eyed Jonin blocked Sasuke's limbs, he felt cuts on his body. 'Genjutsu like this huh? Not bad.'
Kakashi had experienced this kind of Genjutsu when he was sparring with Daichi and he was well used to it. 'His illusion techniques are good. Better than most his age.'
Kakashi moved his arm to block a punch aimed at his liver but Sasuke's arm passed through the defense and came near the strings tied on Kakashi's belt.
The Jonin was surprised again. 'A Genjutsu within a Genjutsu. I dispelled the first one but there was another buried deeper. This kid… His skills are a lot better than I thought. The reports about him from the academy are incomplete.'
As Sasuke's fingers brushed the bells for the second time that day, Kakashi's hips shifted. He immediately side stepped and kicked the boy away from him.
Sasuke clicked his tongue as he took deep breaths of air. 'Damn it. If I was just a second faster.'
"I'm guessing you learned that trick from Daichi too huh." Kakashi smirked as he looked at the boy. "That's one of his preferred illusion techniques. He uses it when he has to fight someone stronger or end the fight quicker."
Sasuke internally groaned. 'I should have known he'd know that.' He looked at the clock on the post far away and saw the time. '9:50. I need to take that bell soon.'
From behind a nearby tree, Sakura flinched. 'Kakashi sensei is so strong. But Sasuke's holding up well… But we're running out of time.' She was anxious with each second passing by.
"Arh! I can't waste anymore time. I need to fight sensei." Sakura said to herself as if to give her more courage.
The last Genin on the team tensed her muscles and got ready.
Sakura took a deep breath, reached into her pouch, and pulled out several shuriken. She launched them carefully, aiming at Kakashi's back. A second later, she leapt out from cover, two clones forming beside her.
The Jonin paused his stare down with the last Uchiha in the village and turned his gaze towards the incoming weapons. 'Sakura. Looks like you finally decided to take action.'
Kakashi parried the shuriken easily with a kunai and sidestepped the real Sakura's clumsy attacks while ignoring the clones.
Meanwhile Sasuke looked at the scene and slightly frowned. 'She'll just get in the way… Hmm… Or maybe she's the distraction that'll help me get a bell.'
"Nice," Kakashi said as he looked at the pink haired Genin. He was complimenting her decision to join the battle and not her technique.
Sakura herself charged with a basic taijutsu combination. A right jab, spinning kick, low sweep.
Kakashi didn't even use both his hands to defend. He ducked, twisted, and finally flicked a finger at her forehead, sending her skidding back.
"One point for effort," he said lightly.
Sakura gritted her teeth, panting. Her clones were already gone. "Damn it." "Chaa! How strong is this guy? At this rate, we'll never get a bell."
She threw two more shuriken, snapped another simple clone technique into existence to split Kakashi's gaze, and followed with the academy taijutsu.
Kakashi easily parried the shuriken and dodged or sidestepped the jabs. He noted her stance and techniques as she was attacking him. 'Good footing, good guard and a basic but solid foundation. Looks like she also knows the tree walking exercise.'
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke and saw that the boy was waiting for an opportunity to attack. 'I'm curious to see what you'll do Sasuke.'
The Jonin turned his attention back to Sakura and stepped through her clone like it was nothing but fog and caught her wrist, stopping her punch. A second later he gently twisted her arm and pushed back several feet. "Your balance and stance are good but your Taijutsu still needs a lot of work."
"Don't talk like you're grading me," Sakura snapped, cheeks pink. She immediately jumped back a few meters.
"Oh but I am grading you. This is a test. Remember?" Kakashi replied, perfectly pleasant.
Sasuke used that moment of distraction to move in again. He got close to Kakashi's belt but the one eyed Jonin yanked the hand away just in time. Sasuke sent a punch aimed at Kakashi's ribs, but he caught it mid-swing and twisted Sasuke's arm before gently shoving him back.
"Even with two of you, it still won't be so easy." The man taunted the two with a chuckle.
10:00 AM.
"I'm back!" Naruto's voice rang through the field as he jumped over the treetops and landed near Sasuke and Sakura, grinning despite the bruises on his face.
"Don't get in my way," Sasuke snapped, eyes narrowing.
"I'm getting a bell first!" Naruto snapped back.
Without waiting, Naruto formed the seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ten clones popped into existence, immediately charging at Kakashi from all directions.
Sasuke clicked his tongue and joined in the attack. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The huge fireball exploded toward Kakashi's position, forcing the Jonin to leap upward.
Three shadow clones were already waiting in the air. Two grabbed his legs, one his torso, only for Kakashi to turn into a log. The Jonin reappeared behind the real Naruto and tapped him on the shoulder. "Too slow."
Naruto swung around to punch, but Kakashi ducked and tripped him, sending him sprawling. "Gaaa!"
Again and again, the trio attacked. Naruto's clones surged forward relentlessly while Sasuke and Sakura circled and struck from the sides.
But Kakashi remained frustratingly untouchable. He popped clones, dodged fire, flipped through shuriken arcs like a phantom. Sasuke increased the chakra flow to his limbs and went even faster at Kakashi.
But at that moment several shadow clones of Naruto swarmed Kakashi, forcing Sasuke to stop. "Naruto, get out of my way. You're just wasting your energy and my time."
"Don't tell me how to fight, you arrogant bastard." Naruto yelled and kept fighting.
Sasuke gritted his teeth but didn't say anything.
Kakashi meanwhile was watching the interaction as he dodged, parried and destroyed Naruto's clones. He let out a small sigh. 'They're attacking at the same time but they're still fighting as individuals. There is no teamwork… But still, I suppose this is a start… Whether they improve or not… I guess only time will show me.'
And all the while, his voice remained calm. "You have spirit… but it's not enough." Kakashi spoke with a calm tone.
Sasuke's jaw ached from how clenched it was. 'Even with Naruto and Sakura dragging him, I still can't…' He didn't finish the thought.
10:10 AM.
Sasuke's breathing was heavier now. Sweat dotted his forehead. He watched as another clone of Naruto was kicked into the dirt.
Sakura was kneeling on the ground, taking several deep breaths of air. 'Even with the three of us… We're still nowhere close to that bell. This isn't good. Sasuke looks angry.' She looked at the Uchiha and saw the frustration on his face.
Sasuke's right hand trembled slightly as it hovered near his eye. 'The Sharingan… If I use it now, and I fail… Then it's all over. I'll fail the exam and won't become a Genin. And if I use it to the point of chakra exhaustion right now, even if I pass, I won't have the stamina to complete the second part of the exam and I'm still screwed. Damn it. How in the world did Daichi get a bell from this guy?'
Kakashi watched the three Genins but he kept a closer eye on Sasuke. He saw the internal debate the boy was having in his eyes. 'Now that you know the difficulty of this exam, what will you do? Try to conserve your chakra and hope you get a bell or use those eyes?'
Naruto meanwhile stood up again after being thrown back and walked between Sasuke and Sakura. "We got this. He's just one guy. He has to be tired by now."
Sasuke didn't answer and kept his gaze firmly on the Jonin. Sakura on the other hand was not as confident. "I'm not so sure, Naruto. We still haven't gotten a bell. And we've tried almost everything."
"No way am I going to give up now." Crossing his fingers, "Shadow clone jutsu," the blonde boy created three more doppelgangers. Naruto looked at them and frowned. 'Only three. I don't have as much chakra as I thought.'
"Don't burn through your energy all at once, Naruto. We need a plan." Sakura said with slight concern as she looked at the boy and then turned to the other. "Right, Sasuke?"
The Uchiha didn't answer.
"Hmm…" Kakashi narrowed his eyes. 'Are they going to come at me again? Time's running out.'
Sasuke looked at Kakashi and the bells tied to his belt. Itachi's haunting words came to his mind and he made a decision. 'It's a risk. But if I don't, I'm the same as someone who isn't even trying.'
Kakashi looked at the Uchiha and already knew the answer from the expression on the boy's face. 'So that's what you decided huh? Let's see what you got then.'
Sasuke let out a deep breath of air and closed his eyes. A moment later he opened them and the one tomoe Sharingan spun to life.
—--------------
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