Under Kakashi's deliberate guidance, the atmosphere seemed to suggest that Naruto and Satsuki should abandon the firmly trapped Sakura and prioritize pursuing the clones with bells.
However, Naruto knew in his heart that this exercise was not a competition to grab bells, but a test of team camaraderie.
Naruto formed hand signs with both hands.
"Bang bang bang bang bang…"
The next moment, a series of identical white smoke burst around Naruto! A full twenty Shadow Clones, exactly identical to Naruto's main body, appeared, instantly filling the open space in front of them.
"So, how about this, Kakashi-sensei?"
The twenty Uzumaki Narutos said in unison, their vibrant, challenging gazes all fixed on Kakashi, who was guarding the pit.
This scene made Satsuki's breath hitch slightly. Looking at so many Narutos in front of her—even though she knew they were just clones—her heart still uncooperatively accelerated sharply.
She forcibly calmed her somewhat flustered emotions, then did something that surprised everyone—she swiftly and silently pulled out the small camera from the side pocket of her ninja tool pouch, and while everyone's attention was on the standoff, she activated silent mode, aimed the lens at the twenty spirited Naruto figures in front, and continuously pressed the shutter, 'click,' 'click.'
Her movements were astonishingly fast. With the hand speed and stability honed by forming hand signs, she captured dozens of photos from different angles in a very short time, then, as if by magic, quickly stuffed the camera back into its original place. The entire process was smooth and fluid, without a single unnecessary sound.
Just as she completed this series of small movements, Naruto's main body happened to turn around and speak to her.
"Satsuki, listen. I'll stay here and try to defeat this clone of Kakashi-sensei—or if he lied, and this is actually his main body—either way, I need to figure out a way to save Sakura first. You and all my clones, enter the forest immediately, search for Kakashi-sensei's main body with all your might, and grab the bells!"
Satsuki nodded immediately, indicating she understood. Although she couldn't be 100% sure if the Kakashi guarding the pit was the main body, considering the previous behavior of the clones scattering, the probability of the main body being hidden among the large group in the forest was clearly higher.
And only by splitting up like this would she have a chance to personally retrieve the bells for Naruto.
Without the slightest hesitation, Satsuki moved and leaped into the adjacent forest. The twenty Naruto's Shadow Clones also immediately followed, quickly and orderly dispersing into the dense woods.
In the blink of an eye, on the open ground in the center of the training field, only Naruto's main body remained, facing off against Kakashi, who was either a clone or the main body, and Sakura, who was buried in the ground with complex emotions.
"For a ninja who needs to execute missions efficiently, Sakura, who is currently incapacitated, not only cannot provide any assistance but will become a burden, delaying or even disrupting the primary goal of grabbing the bells."
Kakashi looked at Naruto, who chose to stay, and continued his "misdirection" in a flat tone, "Naruto, are you sure you want to waste precious, dwindling time to save her?"
Sakura, who had initially felt touched and hopeful because Naruto hadn't abandoned her, heard Kakashi's cold and realistic words, and her eyes dimmed again as she silently lowered her head.
"Kakashi-sensei, spare me this divisive nonsense!" Naruto interrupted him loudly, "Take this!"
Before he finished speaking, he had already rushed forward, throwing a punch at Kakashi! Watching Naruto, who attacked without hesitation and consistently refused to abandon his weakest teammate, Kakashi's mouth under his mask curved into a subtle, almost imperceptible smile, and he secretly nodded in approval.
But on the surface, he still maintained an expressionless face, quickly raising his hand to block, engaging Naruto in taijutsu. However, his position skillfully kept the buried Sakura behind him tightly protected, clearly to prevent accidental injury if Naruto used large-scale Ninjutsu.
— — — — — —
In the forest, it was now a chaotic mess. A large number of Naruto's Shadow Clones were frantically searching the area with extremely high efficiency.
They pushed aside dense bushes, leaped onto thick branches, carefully inspected every possible hidden corner, and even unceremoniously tapped suspicious rocks or tree trunks with kunai.
It seemed that the Kakashis who had infiltrated the forest had perfectly blended into the environment, completely hiding themselves using Transformation Technique.
Naruto knew very well that Kakashi was currently testing the most basic tracking and reconnaissance skills... but unfortunately, for Naruto right now, he didn't need to practice such inefficient things step-by-step.
"Found him! Kakashi-sensei!"
A Naruto Shadow Clone suddenly stopped and shouted towards a seemingly ordinary large tree beside him, indistinguishable from other trees. Before he finished speaking, he already delivered a merciless side kick, fiercely striking the tree trunk!
Just as his foot was about to touch the bark, the "tree" knew it had been exposed and instantly released its Transformation Technique!
Kakashi's figure appeared out of thin air, nimbly taking a small hop backward, avoiding the kick.
However, before he could stabilize his stance, several shuriken whistling through the air had already precisely blocked his retreat route, heading straight for his back!
Kakashi immediately twisted and dodged sideways. The shuriken grazed his vest and deeply embedded themselves in the tree behind him. But just as he dodged the shuriken and his gaze shifted, the corner of his eye seemed to catch a fleeting, extremely subtle, almost imperceptible transparent reflection in the air.
The next moment, a powerful restraining force suddenly struck! Dozens of almost transparent, tough thin threads, as if alive, instantly wrapped around his limbs and torso, violently pulling him backward, binding him firmly to the thick tree behind him!
Kakashi looked along the threads and saw Satsuki standing quietly in the shade of a nearby tree. Her scarlet Sharingan still emitted an eerie glow.
Her fingers skillfully hooked the threads, and she even held several additional threads in her mouth to enhance her control over them.
"Manipulating Shuriken Technique, huh... combined with the insight of the Sharingan, your timing is excellent." Although Kakashi was bound, his tone carried a hint of appreciation.
However, just as Naruto's clones excitedly rushed forward to grab the bells, Kakashi revealed a slightly cunning smile.
"Unfortunately, you guessed wrong."
The next second, the Kakashi firmly tied to the tree vanished with a "bang," turning into a puff of white smoke—sure enough, this was still just a clone.
Similar scenes were constantly playing out all over the forest. Kakashi's clones, disguised as trees, rocks, or hidden underground, or even lurking at the bottom of the lake, were being sought out one by one by Naruto.
Then, the Narutos relied on their absolute numerical advantage to surround him, and Satsuki made the crucial captures with the precise predictions and manipulation techniques of her Sharingan. Although each captured target eventually dissipated into white smoke, the process appeared efficient and oppressive.
Of course, Kakashi was undoubtedly holding back, with the strength of each individual he split off controlled within a certain range.
And he naturally didn't know that Naruto, who was currently commanding this large-scale search operation, was also not giving his all, carefully controlling the level of strength he displayed.