Chapter 65: The Bell Test Begins
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[VIP Highlight: Sakumo Hatake - "My son's teaching methods are... unique."]
Sakumo Hatake (Regular Viewer): Chuckles softly. Hehe~
Uchiha Madara (VIP1): Pathetic. Showing off before children. No substance. If this were my son, I'd have him eliminated for such weakness.
Sakumo Hatake: ...
In the Forest of Death, Kakashi stood lazily in a small clearing, two small silver bells dangling from his hip. "Those are the rules. Attack me anytime, using any means. Your goal: take these bells. Begin."
The moment the words left his mouth, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura vanished—Sasuke with a sharp, efficient shunshin into the trees to the east, Sakura with a quieter, more cautious retreat into the underbrush to the west. They understood the game: observe, wait, strike from ambush.
Only Uzumaki Naruto remained, rooted to the spot, staring at Kakashi with a mixture of confusion and dawning comprehension.
Huh? What's his play? Kakashi watched the boy through his single visible eye, a faint sense of foreboding creeping in. Standard protocol was immediate concealment. This was... not that.
Naruto suddenly planted his feet wide, crossed his arms over his chest in a dramatic X, and narrowed his eyes into a squint of pure, misguided confidence.
"ALRIGHT, YOU WHITE-HAIRED OLD MAN! LET'S SETTLE THIS LIKE MEN! ONE-ON-ONE! NO HIDING! BELIEVE IT!"
The declaration echoed through the silent forest.
Tobirama Senju (VIP5): This child... intends to challenge an elite jōnin to direct combat? Did his hospital stay not sufficiently educate him on power disparities?
Minato Namikaze (VIP1): Facepalms spectrally. That idiot... I can only hope Kakashi exercises restraint.
Hashirama Senju (Regular Viewer): Hm. That pose he's striking... it's rather reminiscent of Madara's standard intimidation posture.
Uchiha Madara: DO NOT COMPARE ME TO THAT DREGS!
Hashirama Senju: I merely refer to the crossed-arms stance! You used it frequently when attempting to appear imposing!
Uchiha Madara: CEASE SPEAKING!
High in the canopy, observing from a distance with Yamato, Ren had to stifle a laugh. His enhanced hearing and Sharingan-perception picked up the entire exchange. Classic Naruto. Zero tactics, maximum frontal assault. It's almost admirable in its sheer, suicidal simplicity.
Yamato shifted slightly beside him, his voice a bare whisper. "The jinchūriki lacks fundamental tactical understanding. This will be a short exercise."
"Or a very educational one," Ren murmured back.
Below, Kakashi's eye crinkled into that infuriating smile. "One-on-one, you say? Very well. Show me what you've got, Naruto."
"HA! PREPARE YOURSELF! MULTIPLE SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF!
Not three, not ten, but over fifty Narutos materialized in a cloud of white smoke, filling the clearing with a sea of orange and identical, grinning faces. The sheer chakra expenditure was staggering for a genin.
Minato Namikaze: ...He learned the forbidden version? From whom?
Kushina Uzumaki (VIP1): OUR SON HAS SUCH BIG CHAKRA! JUST LIKE HIS MOTHER!
Tobirama Senju: Reckless. Profligate. But... effective for intimidation.
The Naruto army charged as one, a roaring wave of fists and fury.
Kakashi didn't move. He simply pulled out his orange book.
As the first clone reached him, his free hand shot out, fingers tapping a precise point on its forehead. Poof.
The second, a light foot sweep. Poof.
The third, a gentle elbow to the solar plexus. Poof.
He moved through the swarm like a man strolling through a field of dandelions, each motion economical, each touch dissolving a clone. He never stopped reading.
Uchiha Izuna (Regular Viewer): This is less a battle and more a tutorial on efficiency. The Hatake boy is skilled.
Sakumo Hatake: He has refined the basics. Good.
In less than thirty seconds, the clearing held only the original Naruto, panting and wide-eyed, and Kakashi, who turned a page.
"Your turn," Kakashi said mildly.
Naruto roared and charged for real, kunai drawn.
Kakashi sidestepped, his book tapping Naruto's wrist. The kunai flew. A second tap to the back of the head sent Naruto face-first into the dirt.
"Lesson one," Kakashi said, his voice dropping its playful edge. "Shinobi combat is not about fair fights. It's about survival. And you," he looked down at the sputtering boy, "have just failed."
He produced a length of rope. "You'll sit this one out. Watch. And learn."
As he efficiently tied Naruto to a nearby training post, Sasuke attacked from the trees—a silent, coordinated assault of shuriken meant to distract, followed by a body flicker aimed at Kakashi's blind spot.
It was a good attempt. For a genin.
Kakashi vanished, appearing behind Sasuke. "Too predictable." A gentle chop to the neck, and Sasuke joined Naruto at the post, groaning.
Sakura lasted slightly longer by not engaging at all, but Kakashi found her hiding place by simply following the trail of nervous scent she left (and, Ren suspected, by already knowing where she was). A polite request for her to come out, and she surrendered, joining the others.
The entire exercise had taken under five minutes.
Kakashi stood before his three bound, defeated students. "None of you got a bell. Know why? You fought as individuals. Sasuke, you saw an opening and took it alone. Sakura, you hid. Naruto, you announced your attack. A team works together. A team covers weaknesses. You have none of that."
He turned, beginning to walk away. "You fail. Return to the academy."
The words hung, brutal and final.
In the trees, Ren watched. This was the critical moment. The moment Kakashi tested their loyalty to each other over their own success.
Naruto, predictably, was the first to break. "NO WAY! WE'RE A TEAM! I WON'T LET YOU SEND THEM BACK! WE PASS TOGETHER!"
He struggled against his bonds, face red with effort and conviction.
Sasuke, after a moment of stunned silence, growled. "He's... not entirely wrong. We... messed up."
Sakura looked between them, tears in her eyes, and nodded. "We... we try again. Together."
Kakashi stopped. He didn't turn, but Ren saw the slight relaxation in his shoulders.
And there it is, Ren thought. The 'Will of Fire' indoctrination begins.
Hashirama Senju: ...He is harsh. But the lesson is sound.
Tobirama Senju: Necessary harshness. Sentiment before discipline gets soldiers killed.
Minato Namikaze: He's teaching them. Really teaching them. Thank you, Kakashi.
Kakashi finally turned back, his eye curved into a smile. "Hmm. Maybe there's hope after all. Alright. One more chance. This afternoon. Figure it out."
He vanished in a shunshin.
In the canopy, Yamato nodded once. "Phase one complete. The jinchūriki is secure, contained, and under direct supervision of his jōnin. We maintain watch until they return to the village perimeter. Yugao, take the east flank. Ren, with me."
As they moved to new positions, Ren's mind was already analyzing. The bell test was proceeding on schedule. Team 7 was forming.
But his own mission was just beginning. The real question wasn't what would happen in the Forest of Death.
It was what would happen when Team 7 left it for their first real C-rank.
And what shadows would follow them when they did.