Kakashi's eye narrowed as Sakura's fist slammed into his guard, the impact sending a dull ache through his arm. He slid back a few steps, blinking in mild disbelief.
"What the?" he muttered, shaking out his hand. "This isn't normal. How is this girl so strong?"
Sakura dropped into stance, glaring. "Don't underestimate me, Kakashi-sensei. I've been training hard too!"
Naruto landed beside her, grinning. "Heh! That's right! We're not gonna lose to you!" Dozens of clones popped into existence with a puff of smoke, surrounding Kakashi from every angle.
And Sasuke—calm and sharp-eyed—stepped forward, three tomoe spinning in his Sharingan. "Sigh, let's get this over with. Don't fall behind, dead-last."
Kakashi's eyes flicked between them. "So, this is what happens when kids are forced to keep up with that boy… interesting." Kakashi knew all of them had been training together for years.
It was natural that they had good teamwork. But what he didn't expect was for them to be this strong.
He felt how skilled Naruto was, he noticed Sasuke's three tomoe Sharingan, and then there was this girl with her ridiculous strength.
He straightened, closing his book fully and slipping it into his pouch. "Alright then. Let's see it. Come at me."
Naruto's clones rushed in first, a wave of fists and kicks crashing down. Kakashi weaved between them, countering with fluid movements, but Sakura darted in at the perfect moment, fists slamming into the ground and scattering clones with shockwaves of raw force.
"Tch," Kakashi muttered, leaping back—only to find Sasuke right there, a fireball blazing in his hands. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
The flame roared forward. Kakashi flipped aside, only to be tackled mid-air by two Narutos. "Gotcha!" the clones shouted before exploding into smoke as Kakashi substituted with a log.
From behind, Sakura closed in again, fist cocked back. Kakashi blocked, but her raw strength forced his arm wide open. Naruto dashed in, fingertips brushing the bell—
—but Kakashi twisted, catching Naruto's wrist. He was about to counter when a sudden kunai sliced at him from the side. Sasuke's Sharingan locked onto him, reading his every move.
"You're wide open," Sasuke said coldly.
Kakashi flipped away, landing in a crouch, finally tugging his headband up. His Sharingan eye glowed red, spinning tomoe whirring. "I wasn't planning on showing this so soon. But against you three, I don't have much of a choice."
Sasuke froze, eyes widening. "You… you have a Sharingan?"
"Explanations later," Kakashi replied calmly. "For now, focus."
Kakashi wasn't expecting this. These kids had really pushed him to reveal his Sharingan. Their teamwork was really good, like they had been working together for ages.
Not to mention, all of them had very solid foundations. Arguably speaking, they had already passed the test, however, he wished to know their limit. Another reason he revealed his Sharingan.
As their sensei, he had to know just how strong his genin were.
Well, calling them genin was wrong.
Sasuke was already a chunin-level shinobi by his three tomoe Sharingan alone. Naruto was no different; with shadow clones, Naruto too was closer to chunin level. And lastly, Sakura Haruno.
She was the most surprising to him.
The fight only grew more intense. Naruto's clones swarmed again, forcing Kakashi to split his attention. Sakura's fists crashed into the ground, making it harder for him to keep his footing. It wasn't just Sakura's physical power either. She was also fast and skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
Sukuna made sure she would be.
Kakashi found himself panting slightly. "They're coordinated… they've fought together before. This isn't luck. They've trained for this."
"Gotcha now!" Naruto yelled, several clones leaping at Kakashi.
Kakashi countered smoothly, but in that moment Sakura charged again. He moved to block—but Sasuke's kunai nicked his wrist, forcing him to drop one of the bells.
Naruto dove for it instantly. "Yes!"
But Kakashi snatched it back at the last second, body flickering out of reach. "Not bad," he admitted, a rare smile flickering across his face. "You three are far more impressive than I expected."
Sakura smirked, wiping sweat from her brow. "And we're not done yet."
Sasuke's Sharingan spun, and Naruto's clones regrouped for another rush.
Kakashi exhaled slowly. "Looks like I'll have to take you even more seriously." He dropped into stance, Sharingan glowing.
...
[Hokage Office]
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office, pipe in hand, smoke curling lazily around him. His eyes weren't on the paperwork stacked high on his desk. Instead, he was peering through his telescope jutsu, watching the bell test unfold at Training Ground 7.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were fighting against Kakashi, and to the old Hokage's surprise, they were doing far better than he had expected. Sakura's raw strength, Sasuke's Sharingan, and Naruto's ridiculous stamina made Kakashi actually put away his book and get serious.
More than anyone, that girl's strength astonished him. It reminded him of his student Tsunade when he noticed that raw power.
A soft smile tugged at Hiruzen's lips. "The new generation… they're growing well. And Naruto… after all those years of loneliness, he's finally showing the strength of his spirit. Minato, Kushina… you'd be proud."
But as happy as he was, another matter weighed heavily on his mind. The reports from the other jonin sensei had already arrived. Kurenai, Asuma, Genma. Only Kakashi was late, as usual.
Each one of them had decided to pass their team, acknowledging their potential. Kakashi was left, but seeing their fight with his own eyes, Hiruzen didn't think Kakashi would fail them.
This meant every team passed.
Every team, except one.
Genma.
The report Genma sent was short and blunt: Team 11 failed.
Hiruzen sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead. He had known from the beginning that Genma wasn't keen on taking a genin team.
He wasn't even in the group of jonin who wished to be a jonin sensei. It was Hiruzen who dragged him into this, only because he didn't wish to give a Uchiha that position.
At least not with Karin and Sukuna. It couldn't be helped; this batch of students—all of them—were very important for Konoha's future.
As for Genma, he wasn't a teacher by nature, and with two unusual cases like Sukuna and Kiyomi—children who couldn't even perform regular ninjutsu—it wasn't surprising he dismissed them.
Still, Hiruzen couldn't simply accept it. These were not ordinary children. To be more exact, there was no going back to the Academy. Once you got the ninja head protector, you were a shinobi. There was no going back.
"They have already proven they deserve the title of genin. It is not the jonin who decides their worth, only whether he wishes to guide them."
He exhaled a cloud of smoke, leaning back in his chair. He would have to find another solution—someone willing to take them in, someone who could guide them properly.
The headache was already building behind his temples. Team 11 was going to be trouble, that much was certain.
...
A/N : What do you think will happen now ?
xxx
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