Tejima Shinichi's words stunned Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū at the same time.
"Trust you?" Kobayashi Takeshi repeated subconsciously, his face filled with confusion and lingering unease. "Shinichi, what do you mean?"
Satō Yū also looked at Tejima Shinichi.
Tejima Shinichi didn't answer directly, but asked instead, "Do you really agree with the rule Yamato-sensei mentioned? With only two Bells, one person is destined to return to the academy to repeat the year."
"Of course not!" Kobayashi Takeshi immediately retorted, his tone agitated. "This is simply unreasonable! We've clearly already graduated!"
Satō Yū was calmer. She looked at Tejima Shinichi, thoughtful: "Shinichi, did you discover something?"
Tejima Shinichi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the two: "This isn't a real elimination test, but a trial."
"A trial?" Kobayashi Takeshi frowned.
"Exactly," Tejima Shinichi analyzed. "Think about it, what is the most important thing for a Ninja? It's teamwork. Yet Yamato-sensei intentionally brought out only two Bells, creating a situation where the three of us must compete and one must be sacrificed... this is illogical."
He paused and continued:
"If his goal was truly to eliminate one person, why bother grouping us? Wouldn't it be easier to fail people directly during the Graduation Exam? After all, he is a Jonin... So, what he really wants to see isn't who can grab a Bell, but what kind of choice we make under these rules."
Satō Yū's eyes widened slightly as she seemed to understand something: "You mean... he wants to see if we'll fight amongst ourselves for the Bells? Or... if someone is willing to give up for their teammates?"
"Yes," Tejima Shinichi affirmed. "This is more like a test of our team spirit and belief in our comrades. If we truly started suspecting each other or even fighting over two Bells, that would be the true failure."
Listening to their analysis, the anxiety on Kobayashi Takeshi's face gradually faded, replaced by sudden realization: "So... we shouldn't be thinking about how to grab the Bells, but instead... find a way together?"
"At the very least, we shouldn't fall into the 'competition' trap set by the teacher," Tejima Shinichi said. "We need to formulate a plan, a plan based on the premise that 'we are a team'."
He looked at the two of them and asked the question again:
"So, now, do you trust me? Are you willing to temporarily set aside your fear of the rules and face this test with me as a whole, as Team One?"
Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū exchanged a look, both seeing determination in each other's eyes.
"I trust you, Shinichi!" Kobayashi Takeshi nodded vigorously. "You're right, we're a team, we can't have internal strife before the mission even begins!"
"I trust you too," Satō Yū's tone was firm. "We need a plan. Shinichi, your strength is the greatest, it's most appropriate for you to lead."
Seeing his two teammates quickly reach a consensus, Tejima Shinichi felt slightly more at ease.
Fortunately, these two teammates weren't blockheads; they understood with just a hint, saving him a lot of breath.
"Good." Tejima Shinichi wasted no more words and began to deploy his plan. "Time is short, so I'll keep it brief. Our core objective isn't to 'seize the Bells', but to 'show the teacher that we possess the qualities he expects'."
...Third Training Ground.
Yamato leaned against a giant tree, his brow furrowed. He once again pulled out that crumpled notebook from his ninja tool pouch and flipped through it quickly by the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves.
"According to what Kakashi-senpai said... do this and that... then do this and that..." he muttered under his breath, his finger tracing the scrawled handwriting. "Hmm... then see if they'll give up their qualification for their comrades, or if it's every man for himself..."
Yamato closed the book and took a deep breath.
"Understood. As long as I follow the steps, nothing should go wrong."
He looked up toward the entrance of the Training Ground, estimating the time.
Those three kids should be caught in the anxiety and suspicion brought by the rules right now.
After all, being suddenly told that a comrade might become an opponent... Just then, three figures appeared at the edge of the Training Ground.
Yamato stood up straight, prepared to welcome three subordinates who might already be wary of each other.
However, when his gaze fell upon Tejima Shinichi, Kobayashi Takeshi, and Satō Yū walking side-by-side, he couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.
Something was wrong.
Contrary to his expectations, the atmosphere among the three... wasn't one of suspicion or tension, but rather... a sense of calm?
Yamato suppressed the surprise in his heart, cleared his throat, and spoke according to the procedure:
"It seems you're all ready. The rules have been explained clearly, there are only two Bells..."
"Yamato-sensei," Tejima Shinichi interrupted him calmly, "can we begin?"
Yamato's words faltered as he looked into Tejima Shinichi's dark amber eyes; there was no confusion or struggle within them, only a deep stillness. Beside him, Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū also looked at him with equally determined gazes.
This reaction... completely deviated from the script.
This situation left Yamato somewhat silent, but his years of Ninja career allowed him to make a decision quickly.
Tying the Bells back to his waist, Yamato looked at the three of them:
"Then... let the test begin!"
As soon as the words fell, he instantly retreated, his figure blending into the shadows of the forest and disappearing.
Silence returned to the Training Ground.
Tejima Shinichi didn't move immediately, only slightly turning his head.
"According to the plan."
Kobayashi Takeshi grinned, revealing his white teeth.
"I've been waiting for this!"
Tejima Shinichi didn't hesitate for a moment. The instant Kobayashi Takeshi's words fell, his hands had already completed the hand seals in front of his chest.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The ground shook violently, soil surged frantically, and a menacing earth dragon burst from the ground, lunging toward Yamato's position with terrifying momentum!
boom——!
Within the Training Ground, thick trees snapped upon impact, and wood chips and dust flew through the air!
Yamato leaped rapidly out of the smoke and dust, unable to hide the astonishment in his eyes.
He was shocked not only by Tejima Shinichi's hand seal speed, but also by the scale and solidity of this earth dragon—this was definitely not the Chakra volume and control a newly graduated Genin should have!
"Move!"
Kobayashi Takeshi shouted, charging out from both sides with Satō Yū.
Kunai and Shuriken sliced through the air, sealing off the space to Yamato's left and right.
Yamato casually parried the incoming Ninja Tools, nodding in satisfaction!
'Not only is there no internal strife, but they're cooperating tacitly... they even formulated a tactic.'
At this moment, Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū had already closed in, attempting to pin him down with Taijutsu.
"Too slow."
Yamato sidestepped Kobayashi Takeshi's straight punch and lightly tapped his wrist with his right hand.
Kobayashi Takeshi only felt a clever force transmit through him, and his whole body involuntarily stumbled forward.
Simultaneously, Satō Yū's low sweep was also deftly stepped on by Yamato.
"Your intentions are too obvious."
Yamato commented, exerting a slight force with his foot.
Satō Yū let out a muffled groan and was forced to retreat several steps before stabilizing herself.
"Damn it...!"
Facing this instantly dismantled offensive, Kobayashi Takeshi felt unwilling and gritted his teeth to pounce again.
Changing his punch into a palm strike, he aimed directly at Yamato's throat.
Yamato tilted his head slightly, grabbed his wrist with his left hand, and swung him around.
"Thud!"
Kobayashi Takeshi was lifted by a huge force and slammed heavily onto the ground, letting out a dull thud.
"Argh—!"
He cried out in pain, feeling a numbness spread across his back, and his internal organs felt as if they had shifted.
"How... how can this be..."
He lay on the ground, unable to get up for a moment, and could only punch the ground in frustration.
This cruel scene fell into Satō Yū's eyes, causing her to instantly freeze in place.
"Two attacks... were both so easily... even Kobayashi, who's the best at Taijutsu..."
Satō Yū's hand holding the Kunai began to tremble.
"Is this the strength of a Jonin? We can't even make him move a single step..."
Yamato's gaze turned toward Satō Yū, who was standing dazed.
"Being distracted in battle is a major taboo for a Ninja."
His figure blurred, instantly closing in on Satō Yū.
Just as he was about to strike—
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"
Tejima Shinichi's voice came from underground.
"Nice timing..."
Yamato still didn't forget to comment, after which the Chakra at the soles of his feet instantly exploded, and he leaped lightly upward.
Tejima Shinichi, who lunged out from the ground below, was struck in the neck by a precise hand-sword strike from Yamato in mid-air.
And then—
"Poof!"
Tejima Shinichi transformed into white smoke and dissipated.
"Just a Shadow Clone?" The sudden turn of events made Yamato's heart skip a beat. "The real body is..."
Before his words could finish, a sharp sense of crisis struck from behind!
Yamato didn't even have time to fully turn around before his peripheral vision caught that incredibly fast figure—
Tejima Shinichi had somehow circled behind him, his right hand cupped, holding a highly condensed, piercingly humming sphere of azure Chakra, pressing it forward with a heart-pounding sense of pressure!
'This speed?!' Yamato's pupils contracted sharply, and what shocked him even more was the form of the technique. 'This way of rotating Chakra... could it be —Rasengan?!'
Shocked as he was, his rich battle instincts had already driven his body to react.
Almost at the same instant he recognized the Rasengan, his one-handed seal was complete, and his wrist snapped back behind him—
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
Several curved, thick wooden planks burst rapidly from the ground behind him, instantly intertwining and locking together to form a sturdy arc-shaped wooden shield, perilously blocking the path of the Rasengan!
"boom——!!"
The Rasengan slammed hard into the center of the wooden shield, erupting with a deafening roar!
The highly compressed Chakra clashed violently with the hard wood, annihilating each other. The chaotic flow of Chakra stirred up a circle of airwaves, blowing Yamato's hair and clothes backward. Wood chips were crushed by an invisible force and scattered in all directions!
A deep indentation was ground into the surface of the hastily formed wooden shield by the Rasengan, and the wood fibers snapped inch by inch, but in the end, it didn't completely shatter, stubbornly protecting Yamato.
'It blocked it... but this kid actually mastered the Rasengan! And with such a high level of completion!' Waves of shock surged through Yamato's heart. 'Just how did he learn it?'
With the strike failing, Tejima Shinichi's eyes remained calm and unruffled.
He used the counterforce to perform a backflip, landing steadily several meters away.
At the edge of the Training Ground, Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū, who had just stabilized themselves, had long forgotten their previous embarrassment. They stared dumbfounded at the wooden shield that was slowly dissipating, leaving a clear mark of damage in the center, and at the Jonin Instructor standing before it.
"W-what kind of Ninjutsu is that?" Kobayashi Takeshi's eyes were wide and round as he asked stutteringly, "To actually... have wood suddenly grow out of the ground?"
Satō Yū also pointed at Yamato in shock: "Teacher, you... what Ninjutsu did you just use? I've never seen a defense like that!"
...Hokage Office.
The Crystal Ball clearly presented everything happening on the Training Ground.
When Tejima Shinichi advanced with startling speed and revealed the Rasengan, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up from his seat with a "whoosh," the pipe in his hand nearly slipping.
"That technique is... Rasengan?!" His wrinkled face was full of shock. "How could he possibly have learned that technique?! Who taught him?!"
The Rasengan was extremely difficult to learn. Aside from Minato and Jiraiya, the only one clearly known to have mastered it and still be in the village was Kakashi... Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was fixed intently on the black-haired youth in the Crystal Ball.
The Rasengan Tejima Shinichi displayed had a stable form and an incredible level of Chakra condensation. It was clearly a completed form with extremely high proficiency and genuine lethality!
'Jiraiya is away all year round with an uncertain whereabouts; it's impossible for him to privately teach a Ninja Academy student. Kakashi?' Sarutobi Hiruzen thought rapidly. 'He does have the ability to teach it, but why would he do so? And I've never heard him mention it... The Tajima Family has no special connection with Kakashi...'
Having excluded the known paths of inheritance, the remaining possibility made his heart sink.
'Could it be... he really figured it out himself?'
This thought felt absurd even to himself, but considering the strength the child had shown in the assessment... it didn't seem entirely impossible.
'If he truly cultivated it on his own... then this talent is beyond what can be described as "excellent"... it's simply at the level of a Genius.'
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep puff of his pipe, the acrid smoke seemingly unable to calm the shock in his heart.