"Even though Naruto has just graduated from the Academy and technically isn't even a proper genin yet, once he enters Sage Mode… he can't be judged by common standards anymore."
While waiting for the system's sign-in trigger, Senju Haruto watched Team 7's training session unfold and muttered under his breath.
It had taken less than a single exchange before Kakashi had been forced to reveal his Sharingan.
"No matter how you put it, Kakashi is the jonin leader in charge of Team 7. If he gets instantly overwhelmed by Naruto here, his authority will take a serious hit."
"And beyond that, this entire test would lose its purpose."
Haruto's gaze sharpened as he tracked Kakashi's every movement.
The true point of this assessment wasn't to measure strength—it was to test Team 7's awareness of teamwork.
For that, the examiner needed absolute superiority, enough power to leave Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura with no choice but to cooperate.
But if Kakashi couldn't even deal with Naruto alone, then how could there be any talk of testing cooperation?
"What will you do, Kakashi?" Haruto murmured to himself.
The same thought weighed heavily in Kakashi's mind.
If he lost outright to Naruto, then no matter how much he preached the importance of teamwork afterward, his words would carry no weight.
Because the truth would be clear—he was an opponent who could be defeated without teamwork at all.
"…Tch."
With a sigh, Kakashi tugged his forehead protector upward, revealing the scarred eye hidden beneath. In the shadows of his socket, the crimson glow of the Sharingan blazed to life.
"Unbelievable… this chakra."
He inhaled sharply. With the Sharingan's perception, he could now see the flow of chakra within Naruto's body, the subtle shifts in muscle, the tiniest movements.
After all, he had just been blasted back by an invisible strike.
Even being cautious in his estimate, Kakashi calculated that Naruto's chakra reserves were more than ten times his own.
This kid… is he really just a genin?
"That's… the same eye as Haruto-nii's?"
Naruto blinked in shock. He hadn't expected Kakashi's left eye to be identical to Senju Haruto's.
If he remembered right, that dojutsu was called… the Sharingan?
"Sharingan?" Naruto whispered aloud.
He wasn't the only one stunned. Sasuke's heart clenched with disbelief.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, he knew the Sharingan better than anyone.
But Kakashi—during his self-introduction—had clearly said his name was Hatake Kakashi. He wasn't an Uchiha.
"Then what the hell is going on here…?"
Sasuke's throat tightened as he slowly pushed himself up from the ground.
He didn't understand everything yet—but one thing was clear: with Naruto's current power, there was definitely value in using him.
Use Naruto as a guinea pig, as bait, to force Kakashi to expose an opening. Then steal the bells.
Shaken though he was, Sasuke's mind whirred, sketching out plan after plan in quick succession.
But before he could act, the sight before him shattered his assumptions completely.
Kakashi knew it all too well: the Sharingan alone wasn't enough to win against this Naruto.
"…To think I'd be pushed this far by a freshly minted genin."
He gave a helpless shake of his head. At last, he understood why Senju Haruto valued this Team 7 so highly.
But no matter what… he could not afford to lose.
In the next instant, lightning burst across his body.
Crackle…!
The sharp hiss of electricity filled the air as Kakashi's chakra shifted. Lightning Release chakra surged outward, wrapping his entire body in a sheath of crackling light.
"The hell is this?!"
Naruto blinked, startled—but only for a moment. Surprise quickly gave way to determination.
He had to become a genin. That meant taking the bells from Kakashi's hand.
It didn't matter whether Kakashi used Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Wind Release, or anything else—none of it could stop him now.
"Frog Kata!"
Naruto clenched his fist tight and drove it forward head-on, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
It didn't matter if Kakashi dodged. By using natural energy, Naruto could extend the reach of his strike.
In other words—this was both an invisible attack and one that couldn't be evaded.
BOOM!
His punch exploded forward, compressing the air and triggering a concussive shockwave that echoed like a sonic boom.
But the Kakashi who had been right in front of him suddenly vanished.
"…Where did he go?!"
Naruto's heart lurched.
In Sage Mode, his eyes transformed into frog-like pupils, sharpening his dynamic vision. Even the flight of an insect couldn't escape him.
Yet Kakashi—a full-grown shinobi, a towering presence—had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
What is this…?
But Naruto knew one thing for certain: now wasn't the time to marvel at Kakashi's skill.
Channeling Sage Mode to its fullest, he honed his chakra sensing ability to the extreme—and instantly locked onto Kakashi's presence behind him.
Spinning on his heel, Naruto preempted the strike and threw his fist backward.
"Not only are his reactions sharp, but even his coordination is flawless…" Kakashi muttered with grudging admiration.
But he didn't dodge.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode was a unique taijutsu style—augmenting his speed, his power, his entire body.
And with the Sharingan, he could bridge the gap between perception and motion. Even if his body couldn't keep up with what his eyes saw, the lightning chakra would drive it forward.
And the reverse was true as well.
BOOM!
Their fists collided, releasing a shockwave that rippled outward in all directions.
The impact blasted Sasuke, who had been watching carefully for an opening, clean off his feet.
Nearby trees shook violently, leaves and branches raining down in chaos, the forest left in disarray as though a storm had swept through.
And that was only the beginning.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Neither Kakashi nor Naruto showed the slightest sign of backing down.
It was raw, brutal taijutsu—strike after strike landing with bone-shaking force.
One side fully exploiting chakra, the other channeling the infinite power of natural energy.
Neither could gain the upper hand. Neither could force the other back.
But Sasuke—
Every time he managed to stagger upright, the next shockwave would blast him off his feet again.
After being sent flying over and over, he was finally forced to remain prone, staring helplessly at the battle raging before him.
And the longer he watched, the more despair set in.
This wasn't a fight he could participate in.
This was a battlefield that had already left him behind.
"Damn it…"
Sasuke's teeth ground together, his fists clenching so tightly his nails bit into his palms. His heart burned with humiliation.
If Kakashi had been the only one with such overwhelming strength, he could have accepted it. Kakashi was a jonin, after all. A village elite. That was natural.
But Naruto?
The "dead last" of the Academy?
Where had this come from?
He had been gone a few short years… how had he changed this much?
Where had he gone?
…A place?
Sasuke furrowed his brow, recalling suddenly—Naruto had once said he hated the food at Mount Myōboku.
Could it be… his power came from there?
Meanwhile, Kakashi's chakra surged once more, his body blazing with electricity as he pushed Lightning Release Chakra Mode to its absolute limit.