"Looks like I was underestimated." Kakashi chuckled softly, gently wiping the blood from his chest.
"Naruto, you are indeed the most talented Genin I've ever seen." His tone was still lazy, but it held a newfound seriousness.
"But you must know, over-reliance on a Kekkei Genkai is a ninja's greatest pitfall."
"Never underestimate a ninja's caliber."
As his words fell, Kakashi closed his eyes, his hands rapidly forming seals.
This incredibly complex series of hand seals dazzled Sakura.
Sasuke also said with apprehension, "Is Kakashi-sensei going to use some kind of advanced ninjutsu?"
"Let me see how you'll break my Kyoka Suigetsu, Sensei." Naruto stood calmly in place, his azure eyes quietly observing Kakashi's movements.
He could very well have launched an attack directly while Kakashi was forming seals.
Battles themselves are ever-changing. Although the gap between a Jonin and a Genin is vast, life, after all, is singular. Even a Jonin's body isn't invulnerable.
Victory or defeat can be decided in an instant.
It wasn't as if incidents of Jonin being overturned hadn't occurred in history.
Battles between ninja were inherently full of unknowns.
But he disdained such tactics.
He wanted to test himself against a true powerhouse.
Naruto doesn't seem like a ninja. For some reason, this sentence surfaced in Sasuke's mind.
Because Naruto's demeanor was too elegant, even magnanimous enough to allow his opponent to complete their hand seals.
What a composed bearing, as if everything is under his control.
"Naruto, your Kekkei Genkai is indeed very powerful. Being able to manipulate someone's vision is equivalent to directly nullifying half of a ninja's combat strength."
"However, the flaws are also obvious. Firstly, it's not very effective against ninja who specialize in illusion-type jutsu."
"Secondly, it only affects vision; it doesn't provide any enhancement to your own physical constitution."
"The method to break it is very simple: abandon vision."
"Or use a wide-range ninjutsu," Kakashi murmured softly, his eyes closed.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A huge torrent of water instantly spewed from Kakashi's mouth, shooting towards Naruto.
"This ninjutsu is only slightly wider in range than the Great Fireball Technique. A jutsu like this won't trouble me." Naruto shook his head, gently waving Kyoka Suigetsu.
The water flow was soft, not something a rigid blade wind could shatter.
This action was truly perplexing.
But Naruto imbued Kyoka Suigetsu's blade with both Reiatsu and Chakra.
A flash of the blade, and the seemingly fierce torrent of water was instantly sliced apart, water splashing everywhere.
Sasuke observed that the moment Kyoka Suigetsu met the water, the blade gleamed with white light, and the water torrent, as if pushed by an invisible hand, split into two.
Is this an application of a chakra blade technique? Sasuke mused.
But then he saw Naruto's brow furrow, quite surprised internally:
Why does this ninjutsu feel so weak? Is he holding back? Why?
"This is the first lesson I'm teaching you: the application of ninjutsu." Kakashi kept his eyes closed, his hands forming seals:
"Water Style: Water Prison Technique!"
As his words fell, the water that had scattered on the ground from the slash began to surge upwards.
"As long as I abandon vision and use a restrictive ninjutsu, I can break your Kekkei Genkai."
The chakra within Kakashi surged, mapping out Naruto's position.
"It's over, Naruto."
The roiling water, as if alive, immediately rushed towards the unprepared Naruto at extreme speed, enveloping him.
The water flow was soft, not something brute force could break free from.
The jutsu succeeded. Kakashi opened his eyes, his dead-fish eyes calm, his tone lazy, "It's over, Naruto. Honestly, you're the most outstanding student I've ever had. This test has left a deep impression on me."
"However, you made a fatal mistake. While individual ability is important in battles between ninja, teamwork is the key to overcoming a stronger opponent. If you had teamed up with Sasuke and Sakura, you might have been able to get a bell." For a moment, Kakashi seemed to return to when he had just graduated. Back then, he, Obito, and Rin had taken the bell test together.
At that time, he, like Naruto now, had chosen to fight alone.
The result, naturally, was being thoroughly taught a lesson by his teacher.
Now, a similar scene was playing out at a different time and place.
A trace of nostalgia flickered in Kakashi's eyes.
Sensei, Obito, Rin, I've become Naruto's teacher now.
"I see. The Great Waterfall Technique seemed extremely weak, but it was actually just paving the way for the Water Prison Technique, scattering water on the ground to control Naruto with Water Prison when he was unprepared."
"Achieving the effect of controlling the opponent with minimal consumption. Is this what a Jonin is?"
"Truly formidable. In that case, he is qualified to teach me," Sasuke thought with a smug expression.
"It seems... Naruto has lost."
Trapped within the Water Prison, Naruto showed no signs of panic.
"As expected of a Jonin. Your combat intelligence is indeed astounding, using my carelessness to launch a counterattack."
"However, if eyes can deceive, so can chakra."
The Naruto in the Water Prison suddenly dissolved into a puff of smoke.
"A Shadow Clone?!" Ripples finally appeared in Kakashi's calm, dead-fish eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei, it's over." Naruto's real body appeared beside Sasuke, dangling the bells in his hand.
"When?" Kakashi fumbled in his ninja tool pouch, only to find with astonishment that the bells inside were gone.
Only then did it dawn on him.
Could it be that he had snatched the bells much earlier? It seemed he had still underestimated this Kekkei Genkai.
"Hmph, looks like Kakashi-sensei's strength wasn't enough. He didn't even force me to make a move," Sasuke said smugly, crossing his arms.
"Grow stronger with this shame. At least one day, you might be able to see my true strength."
"Thwack." Sasuke's head was knocked askew by a flick from Kakashi.
Kakashi, who had instantly appeared before the three, glanced indifferently at Naruto and praised, "Well done. Congratulations on passing the test. However, since Naruto got both bells by himself, today's lunch..." Kakashi took out two bento boxes.
"Let's all share and eat," Naruto said with a smile, taking the bento boxes and opening them.
"There's fish and meat; it's quite lavish, eh?"
"Huh? Could these bento boxes be those famously hard-to-buy ones from our Konoha?" Sakura looked astonished.
"Then I won't be polite~~"
"Hmph, my palate is very discerning, you know," Sasuke said with a smug look.
The three of them sat in a circle on the ground, sharing the bento.
You take a bite, I take a bite; the atmosphere was harmonious.
Looking at it this way, Kakashi once again seemed like an outsider.
The atmosphere was so heartwarming, but somehow, he couldn't seem to fit in.
Kakashi stood nearby for a while, hoping for a student to offer him some food.
But the three students remained immersed in their own world, not noticing their supervising instructor was still there.
"Meet here at the same time tomorrow." Annoyance welled up from within him, and Kakashi vanished from the training ground with a Body Flicker.
"We can finally start taking on missions!" No matter how smug and aloof Sasuke was, at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
"Kakashi-sensei might be unreliable as a person, but his skills are pretty good. I hope he can teach us some decent ninjutsu," Naruto said with a smile.