This kind of assessment was already a common sight for Jie, perhaps even considered old-fashioned.
But to the three little ones, it was something they had never seen before.
Bell-snatching...did he think they were three-year-olds?
However, seeing the malicious smile on Jies face, the three immediately realized things were definitely not as simple as they imagined.
"Sasuke, what's with that smile on your brother's face? Could there be some profound secret behind this?" Naruto whispered to Sasuke beside him.
"Aside from Uncle Orochimaru, only Izumi can guess a bit of my brother's thoughts," Sasuke said, shaking his head.
"Hinata, aren't you my brother's disciple? Can you tell what he is thinking?"
Hinata quietly raised her head, locking eyes with Jie. A blush instantly flashed across her face, and she quickly looked away.
"I don't know, but I feel like Brother Jie's eyes are a bit gloating. Someone is probably going to suffer."
Hearing Hinata's words, Sasuke and Naruto gasped.
Sure enough, an assessment personally involving Jie Uchiha was definitely not going to be simple.
And while the three little ones were whispering, Kakashi walked up to Jie and tossed over the two bells.
"Kakashi, you absolutely must not hold back. Otherwise, ten S-rank missions will be waiting for you," Jie said with a smile.
It was clearly just a seemingly ordinary warning, but hearing it sent a chill down Kakashi's spine.
A threat. This was a naked threat.
Was he, Kakashi, the type of person to hold back? Even without those ten S-rank missions, he would definitely not hold back during an assessment.
At most, he'd just slack off a bit.
However, when Kakashi returned to the training ground, his gaze toward the three little ones immediately changed.
"Sorry, little ones. If you want to blame someone, blame your respected Hokage."
Seeing that the three kids and Kakashi were all prepared, Jie gave a single command, and the assessment officially began.
An assessment like bell-snatching was still more suited for the open wilderness... after all, it would give the trio more room to operate.
But since they had already decided on Training Ground One, Jie was too lazy to change locations.
Besides, the trio's strength was not something that could be compared to the meager strength they had during their first assessment in the original timeline.
At the very least, Hinata's strength was countless times greater than Sakura Haruno, who only knew how to simp.
Since Jie had made Naruto's identity public, bearing the title of the hero's son, and carrying the expectations of the villagers, Naruto was no longer the dead-last of the Ninja Academy. On the contrary, he fought with Sasuke every day for the second-place spot.
As for the top student position, Naruto and Sasuke certainly wanted to snatch it, but unfortunately, under Jie's tutelage, Hinata's strength was obvious to all.
The top student position remained unshakable. After three years of hard work without ever securing first place, Sasuke and Naruto gave up on fighting for the top spot.
The rivalry between the two became a battle for second place.
And in front of such excellent versions of Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura Haruno was a nobody. A mere commoner with average talent who spent all day simping, simply couldn't enter Naruto and Sasuke's eyes.
After all, Naruto and Sasuke only had eyes for each other.
Digressions aside.
Returning to the field, Kakashi looked at the trio in front of him, a serious glint appearing in his eyes.
Ten years ago, when he tested Jie, he was already a Jonin. After another ten years of refinement, Kakashi was now a genuine Elite Jonin.
But with an Elite Jonin's strength, he was still ordered by Jie not to hold back. Just how much power did these three kids possess?
"I'm going in first! Sasuke, Hinata, cover me!" Naruto shouted, charging straight at Kakashi.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
While running, Naruto formed hand seals rapidly. In an instant, twenty to thirty Shadow Clones appeared, all rushing toward Kakashi together.
'So many Shadow Clones. Did he inherit the Uzumaki clan's bloodline from Sensei's wife?' Kakashi thought, a flash of envy crossing his eyes.
But if this was all the strength they had, it would be impossible to snatch those two bells from him.
Right at this moment, Kakashi faintly heard the sound of wind slicing through the air.
Looking closely, he saw several rapidly spinning shuriken mixed within the gaps of Naruto's Shadow Clones.
'The Shadow Clones are to block my line of sight, while the shuriken are the true method of attack? A good tactic, and they coordinate perfectly.'
A look of approval flashed in Kakashi's eyes. However, what kind of trick would that little girl from the Hyuga clan, who was currently motionless, use?
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
Just as the shuriken were about to hit him, Kakashi quickly formed hand seals, and an earthen wall carved with dog heads suddenly rose from the ground.
The shuriken embedded into the earthen wall, and the vision of Naruto's Shadow Clones was completely obstructed.
'Mud Wall with dog heads... what a familiar memory.' Seeing the dog heads on the earthen wall, a hint of amusement flashed in Jie's eyes.
With seven ninja hounds by his side, the world was in his hands. Of all things to summon, he just had to summon dogs.
However, the trio on the field had no time to care about the decorations on the wall.
Naruto, whose vision was blocked, did not hesitate to bypass the wall, only to find that Kakashi had already disappeared from behind it.
"Up above!" Hinata shouted loudly.
Her Byakugan was already activated. With a 360-degree field of vision, Kakashi had absolutely nowhere to hide.
'A sensor ninja? Such sharp perception is really troublesome.'
Kakashi, who had leaped to the high ground, looked at Hinata with the bulging veins around her eyes and couldn't help but sigh.
The three kids before him had Naruto acting as a meat shield charging forward with Shadow Clones, and Sasuke Uchiha handling ranged harassment with shuriken and ninjutsu.
Now there was also Hinata, a Byakugan sensor ninja holding the rear formation.
No matter how you looked at it, they were a troublesome combination.
"Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto, the examiner in front of you is an Elite Jonin."
"If you don't fight with the intent to kill him, you won't be able to snatch the bells."
"If no one gets a bell within an hour, all three of you will be sent back to the Ninja Academy to repeat your first year."
Not caring whether the situation escalated, Jie said calmly.
Hearing Jie's words, Kakashi's heart immediately screamed that things were bad.
Because he noticed that the aura of the three kids in front of him had completely changed.
'What is that in Sasuke's eyes? A three-tomoe Sharingan?! And what is that on Naruto? The Tailed Beast Cloak?!'
Seeing the three crimson tomoe in Sasuke's eyes and the gradually converging red chakra on Naruto's body, Kakashi instantly felt like all his years of ninja common sense had gone to the dogs.
Then what about Hinata?
She wouldn't suddenly activate some weird mode too, would she?
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