Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Bell Test Continued
Before Naruto could even land a punch, Kakashi had him in a swift lock, his movements a blur.
"I didn’t say begin yet!" Kakashi grinned, twisting Naruto's arm and turning his kunai to point back at him. The two disengaged, and Kakashi continued, "Okay, BEGIN!"
The trio quickly jumped away, hiding in the trees. Kakashi casually pulled out his Icha Icha book and started reading, the sound of rustling leaves and distant movement barely disturbing his focus.
His enhanced sense of smell, a gift from his Hatake blood, easily picked up on their scents. Naruto smelled faintly of eggs, and Sasuke of miso noodles. So, they ignored my advice to skip breakfast. Smart, Kakashi thought with a small smirk. He’d also noticed Naruto eating an apple and Sakura nibbling on the protein bar Sasuke had given her earlier that morning.
Sakura, however, was an enigma. She didn’t seem to have any noticeable scent except for the faint trace of the protein bar. Kakashi paused and scanned the surroundings more carefully. She was good—he still couldn’t pinpoint her.
Suddenly, Naruto and Sasuke jumped from their hiding spots and rushed at him in tandem. Oh man, I can't even enjoy my book with these two working together, Kakashi thought wryly.
He stuffed his book into his pocket and faced them head-on. "Okay, Ninja battle technique number one: Taijutsu. Not bad!" he remarked as they closed in.
Naruto raised his fist, grinning. "SPARE US THE LECTURE, KAKASHI-NII!"
Naruto threw a punch, solid and fast, with the strength of a Chunin, though the speed still gave him away as a Genin. Kakashi blocked it easily. Sasuke, not to be outdone, followed up with a kick. While fast, Kakashi still managed to deflect it with ease.
As the two continued their attack, Kakashi heard Sakura’s voice behind them. "GUYS!"
Both boys smirked, leaping back in sync. Kakashi’s sharp senses immediately noticed a shift in the atmosphere around him. Genjutsu? he thought, recalling Sakura's academy report about her ability to use illusions. He quickly dispelled the illusion and, just as expected, saw a fireball flying toward him.
"Aha, Sasuke’s work," Kakashi muttered to himself. He substituted just in time, dodging the fireball effortlessly.
The game was on, and Kakashi felt like his cute little terrors were guiding him deeper into the more wooded areas of the training ground. But why? His answer came when he stepped on a hidden seal trap.
"Oh no!" Kakashi grinned, narrowly dodging the trap’s explosion. Probably Naruto’s doing! he thought as his Genin pushed him from one trap to another. Kakashi was impressed. When did they set all these up? He had been watching them all morning, and they hadn’t seemed to be doing anything but talking. Could they have done this yesterday evening? And how did they know about the bell test? Kakashi suspected Naruto had spilled the beans.
He dodged swinging wooden planks and paper bombs with ease. After all, he was a Jonin, and they were just Genin. Still, Kakashi had to admit, these traps were effective.
He concentrated, trying to locate Sakura, but she was still like a shadow.
Finally, he made a move to open up the space, hoping to spot her, but the first to rush at him was Sakura. She charged with surprising speed, though her stance was sloppy. Kakashi noticed she was making it look deliberate, perhaps to disguise something. She sped up using her chakra and swung a punch at him, which Kakashi blocked with a palm.
And then he felt it.
There was something off about her chakra. Beneath her blue chakra, there was a faint glimmer of silver, a color he recognized. Wait... that’s... Kakashi's mind raced. He quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought. I must have imagined it. She’s a civilian, not a Hatake.
He composed himself and pushed Sakura back, but the girl was undeterred. She stood up, her eyes full of confidence, and held up the bells.
"BOYS, I GOT THEM!" she announced proudly.
Kakashi, still processing, patted his vest in confusion. "ALRIGHT!" Naruto cheered from his hiding spot, while Sasuke snickered, both impressed by the outcome. Kakashi straightened up, his eyes narrowing at her.
"You know," Kakashi teased, his voice low, "there’s still one hour until lunch. I could still get those bells back."
Sakura’s confident demeanor faltered. Her eyes widened as she realized her mistake. Kakashi smirked, giving her a few moments to panic before he gave her a head start.
"Go on, Sakura. You’re slower than your teammates."
She took off, her feet pounding against the earth. Sasuke and Naruto quickly joined her, both protecting her as they worked together to keep Kakashi at bay. Naruto created a massive number of shadow clones, but Kakashi dispatched them with ease, punching and kicking them aside. Sasuke fired another fireball, but Kakashi substituted before it could hit him.
"Not bad," Kakashi said, still impressed, "but not enough!" He weaved hand signs and trapped the two boys in an illusion. "Illusionary technique! Hell's Viewing!" The two collapsed, clutching their heads, screaming in pain as they writhed under the illusion's grip.
Kakashi turned to look for Sakura, but she was harder to track. As he chased her, he saw Sasuke and Naruto managing to break free of the illusion, quickly working together again to assist each other.
Meanwhile, Sakura was in full panic mode. Maybe I should slip up more, she thought. To make it look more convincing, she spiked her chakra and deliberately tripped on a tree branch to make the noise more noticeable.
It didn’t take long for Kakashi to catch up to her, his senses honing in on her chakra spike. He smirked as she dodged his jab and kick.
"Getting nervous?" Kakashi teased, his voice low and playful. "Where’s your confidence?"
Sakura kept running, eyes darting around as she calculated her next move. "What are you going to do?" Kakashi taunted, "Your teammates are out, and you’re on your own. You still have 45 minutes until the test is over."
Sakura, desperate, hurled shuriken and kunai at him. Kakashi dodged them easily, but she didn’t stop running, bells still clenched tightly in her hands.
She’s good, Kakashi thought, impressed with her resourcefulness. But there was more to her than she was letting on.
Sakura’s mind raced as she realized she was cornered. Technically, she mused, I could easily defend against Kakashi if I used my ROOT training, but I can’t reveal that.
She’d been enhanced with a mix of Hatake and Uchiha blood—an experiment by Danzo, part of his secret "Chimera project"—but no one could know her true potential. Not even Kakashi.
With a sudden burst of energy, Kakashi closed the distance between them. He dodged her kunai and shuriken with ease and appeared behind her in the blink of an eye. Reaching out, he grabbed her. She allowed him to take hold, then kicked him away. With quick thinking, she tossed the bells into the air.
Kakashi reached for them, but Sakura wasn’t done yet. She used his body to propel herself toward the falling bells. In an instant, she grabbed them mid-air and swallowed them—her body twisting in a perfect arc.
Kakashi stopped and tilted his head, his usual serious expression faltering as his mask crinkled in amusement. "Hahah!" he laughed, catching Sakura as she blushed, with a gulp the bells were gone.
Her teammates walked into the scene just as Sakura stood in Kakashi’s arms. They both laughed at the exchange, clearly impressed.
"Now that’s one way to win," Naruto grinned, nudging Sasuke.
Sakura’s face flushed red as she climbed out of Kakashi’s arms. “So... it’ll take until evening for them to come out, I guess... so what now?”
Kakashi eyed them all with a proud smirk. "You pass. You demonstrated great teamwork." He gave them a wink. "Let’s go get some dinner while we wait for them to come out ey."
Sakura groaned, embarrassed, but there was a glimmer of happiness in her eyes. Her teammates laughed, but they were clearly proud of her.
Despite the awkwardness, it was a victory for the team—one that they would never forget.