After speaking, Tsunade turned around decisively and vanished into the woods at the edge of the training ground with a few leaps, leaving the heavy atmosphere and the difficult problem entirely to the young boys and girls present.
Minato Namikaze, who remained in place, also withdrew some of the gentle smile from his face.
He looked at the three students in his class, then at Team Ten opposite them, and said, "Alright, the rules have been made very clear. There are only two bells, and there are six of you. How you formulate your strategy—whether to prioritize cooperation to seize the bells from me or Senior Tsunade, or some other way—is for you to discuss and decide."
He paused and specifically reminded them, "However, be careful of Senior Tsunade. Her strength is far beyond what you can currently imagine. Any reckless frontal assault will have absolutely no chance of victory. Make good use of this final preparation time."
After saying that, he also vanished in a flash, using the Body Flicker Technique to leave the area, leaving the space entirely to the six young Ninjas of the two classes.
For a moment, the six gazes of the two classes in the center of the training ground locked onto each other, falling into a subtle silence.
Uchiha Obito was the first to lose his patience. Clutching his messy black hair, his face was filled with anxiety and struggle: "This—this rule is too cruel, isn't it?! We have to grab a bell, but there are only two! We aren't in the same class! I—I don't want to attack my comrades, but I don't want to go back to the Ninja Academy to study again either! That would be too embarrassing!"
Rin Nohara stood beside him, her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, her eyes also filled with worry.
She looked at the people from Team Ten across from her, then at Kakashi and Obito beside her. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere or offer a suggestion, but in the end, she just sighed softly and swallowed her words.
Kurenai Yuhi and Shizune glanced at each other, both seeing the gravity in the other's eyes.
Kurenai Yuhi took a deep breath, stepped forward half a pace, and spoke in as Calm and clear a voice as possible: "Minato-sensei is right. The strength of the two teachers far exceeds ours. Acting alone offers almost no chance of victory. I believe the most rational choice for our two classes right now should be temporary cooperation. Let's concentrate our strength first and find a way to seize the bells from the two teachers. As for who gets the bells afterward, we can..."
"No need."
A cold voice cut her off.
Kakashi Hatake took a step forward, his gaze as sharp as a blade, fixed directly on Higashino Shinichi.
"Higashino Shinichi." Kakashi spoke, without any probing, saying directly: "The rules are clear. Those who get a bell pass. Wasting time on pointless cooperation and back-and-forth will only reduce efficiency and increase the risk of being picked off one by one by the teachers."
"They can't keep up with our pace. In front of Tsunade-sensei and Minato-sensei, they are just distractions, burdens, and obvious weak points. The two of us teaming up offers the highest chance of getting the bells. The others are just dead weight dragging us down."
"You bastard, Kakashi! Who are you calling dead weight?!" Uchiha Obito instantly exploded, his face turning red as he pointed at Kakashi and roared.
Kurenai Yuhi and Shizune's expressions were also very unpleasant, and Rin Nohara looked at Kakashi urgently, advising in a low voice: "Kakashi, don't say that..."
However, Kakashi turned a blind eye to Obito's roar and the sour looks of his comrades. At this moment, his eyes only had room for one person.
"Kakashi, I won't abandon my comrades."
Shinichi shook his head and refused bluntly.
Kakashi's brow furrowed, and he said in a cold, hard voice: "I thought that since you are already a Chunin and have experienced missions, you would be able to recognize reality more clearly—in the face of an absolute strength gap, meaningless bonds and burdens will only lead to total failure. I didn't expect you to still hold onto the naive ideas from the Ninja Academy."
His gaze swept over the other four again, his tone indifferent: "These newly graduated Genin are just dead weight in a confrontation of this level. Being emotional will only let..."
"Enough, Kakashi!"
Shinichi's voice rose sharply, interrupting Kakashi.
"The test hasn't even started, and you're already eager to shake morale here, destroy any possible collaboration, and belittle your comrades as worthless!" Shinichi took a step forward, his sharp gaze pressing Kakashi: "You don't even understand the most basic principles of a team. Are you really a qualified Ninja? It seems that graduating early didn't make you grow; instead, it made you lose your way."
"You say they are burdens? I think you, who are creating internal rifts, are the biggest unstable factor in the team, the real burden! The one who should go back to the Ninja Academy for a few more years to learn how to be a Ninja is you, Kakashi."
"What did you say?"
Kakashi's eyes suddenly turned cold, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze as a stifling and sharp aura spread from him.
The shadow of his father Sakumo Hatake's suicide was like the heaviest shackle and his most obsessive motivation.
He graduated early, performed missions desperately, strictly adhered to those cold rules, and suppressed all emotions he considered weak.
Everything he did was to prove his father was wrong, to prove that mission priority and efficiency above all else was the correct path for a Ninja, and to prove that he would not repeat the same mistakes.
And now, Higashino Shinichi actually rebuked him to his face, saying he wasn't a qualified Ninja, that he was the burden, and even told him to go back to the Ninja Academy to restudy?
This was not just a conflict of ideas, but a total denial of all his struggles, all his persistence, and all the creeds he had used to support himself over the past three years!
"What, you're not convinced?"
Shinichi also took a step forward, not backing down an inch.
"Kakashi, if you think your logic is the truth and that strength is the only standard..." Shinichi's gaze became as sharp as a sword's edge, his voice echoing clearly across the silent training ground: "Then let's settle it in the way you approve of most."
A challenge!
Kurenai Yuhi, Shizune, Uchiha Obito, and Rin Nohara all held their breath, watching this sudden turn of events in shock.
No one expected that before the test even began, internal strife would break out between the two classes, and it was a direct confrontation between the two core Chunin!
"Kurenai, let me borrow your sword."
"Ah? Oh, okay!" Kurenai Yuhi was stunned for a moment before reacting, quickly unbuckling the sword from her waist and handing it over.
Her sword was different from the common katana with a slightly curved blade; it was a straight, double-edged longsword with a slender blade that shimmered with a cold metallic luster.
Shinichi took the longsword. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, and its feel was a bit different from the Tachi he was used to, but it was no hindrance to him.
"I remember very clearly that four years ago, on the Ninja Academy's practical exam grounds, you said that the next time we fought, you would definitely defeat me."
Shinichi's wrist flicked, and the longsword let out a clear, high-pitched hum. The tip of the blade rose, pointing distantly at Kakashi.
"Then, right now, let me see exactly how much you've improved over these four years?"