"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke's hands blurred through seals. A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, roaring through the air toward Kakashi. The flames hit him squarely before he could dodge or even weave a counter seal, blasting him out of the sky.
A shockwave rolled through the clearing as Kakashi's body hit the ground, dust exploding outward. His white hair was singed at the ends, sticking out like burnt straw. His vest had black scorch marks, and though his armor softened the blow, even a Jōnin couldn't shrug that off easily.
He groaned, pushing himself up. "Tch... still holding back, huh?"Even injured, he was far from finished. Jōnin weren't made of paper. A few burns and a bruised rib wouldn't stop him.
But Sasuke wasn't done.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Small fireballs erupted one after another, spraying across the battlefield like falling stars.
"You're not letting me breathe, are you?" Kakashi muttered, dodging to the side. His tone stayed light, but there was focus behind it now. The earlier misstep had made him wary.
He kicked off the ground and rushed in, dodging the volley with fluid speed. In an instant, he was in front of Sasuke—Kunai flashing.
But Sasuke just smirked.
"Not good," Kakashi realized too late. A golden shimmer split the air beside him.
Naruto appeared out of thin air, three-pronged kunai already thrust forward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks burst in a rhythm of steel, the two locked in a flurry of strikes.
The clash forced them apart. Naruto's grin widened, his eyes sharp. Kakashi's expression stayed calm, though his fingers twitched—he knew Naruto's speed was almost impossible to read.
For Naruto, facing a Jōnin head-on was suicide. For Kakashi, fighting someone who could vanish and reappear at will was a nightmare.
They circled, tension thick as static.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Smoke burst outward—two Narutos split off and charged. The real one grabbed Sasuke's arm.
"Move!"
Golden light swallowed them both, blinking them out of sight.
Kakashi groaned. "Again with that damn teleport—" He cut himself off, slicing through the incoming clones with a single motion. His eyes darted to the trees.
"Where did you—"
He didn't finish the thought. A faint tug of chakra threads ahead caught his eye. Traps.
Kakashi jumped back instinctively. A heartbeat later—
Whoosh!
Dozens of kunai shot toward him from every direction.
"This is bad!" He twisted midair, kunai flashing in a blur, parrying what he could and ducking the rest. Still, a few grazed his vest.
"Hmph. Escaped, did you?" Sakura's voice came from the brush. She crouched among the branches, eyes bright with mischief. Another kunai slid between her fingers, slicing through a taut, nearly invisible wire.
More mechanisms snapped loose—hidden traps activating in a wave.
This time, shuriken, wooden spikes, even handmade weapons rained down like a storm.
Sakura smirked faintly, but inside, her inner voice was roaring: Hit him! Just once! Make him regret assigning so much homework!
Kakashi ducked again, cursing under his breath.
From their vantage point, Sasuke frowned. "Isn't that a bit… much?"
Naruto just smiled, his voice a little too cheerful. "Nah. I think Kakashi-sensei enjoys the challenge. Besides, Sakura's having the time of her life."
Sasuke stared at him blankly. Somehow, Naruto's grin felt colder than the fireballs. This guy's a menace, Sasuke thought, recalling their six years of rivalry. His instincts told him not to turn his back on that smile.
Naruto blinked. "What's with the look?"
"Nothing," Sasuke muttered. "Anyway, Sakura's ready. Time for your part."
Naruto looked back toward the clearing—and froze.
The battlefield was chaos incarnate. Weapons littered the ground: kunai, shuriken, stones, sharpened sticks, even a broken broom and a pillow.
Kakashi was panting hard in the middle of it all, dodging a feather duster that came flying from nowhere.
Naruto blinked. "...Is that a pillow?"
He looked at Sasuke. "Do we even own a pillow like that?"
Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Is Sakura a little too—" Naruto started.
"Yeah," Sasuke said flatly.