Before he could steady himself, Naruto's second attack had already arrived. It was a hand chop, not aimed at an acupoint, but at his Adam's apple. Those five fingers, held together, were as hard as iron, carrying undisguised killing intent.
Kakashi gasped and leaned back, performing a perfect backbend to dodge the fatal blow.
"Hey, hey, Naruto, aren't you a bit too enthusiastic?" He tried to maintain his lazy demeanor, attempting to disrupt his opponent's rhythm with words.
Naruto remained silent, only attacking.
Unbeknownst to Kakashi, his position had already been forced by Naruto to the predetermined spot.
A very soft click of the tongue came from Naruto's direction; this was his signal to Sasuke.
Sasuke's fireball arrived as expected.
The enormous fireball didn't fly towards Kakashi himself, but precisely targeted a thicket of bushes in his evasion path.
Flames instantly engulfed the green leaves.
Kakashi was forced into a second evasion, and this new landing spot was precisely the "bottleneck" of the entire tactical net.
Just as his feet touched the ground, three senbon, coated with purple poison, shot out silently in a 'V' formation from the shadow beneath his feet.
That was a trap triggered by a nearly invisible metal wire in conjunction with Sasuke's fireball.
Naruto had already set it there.
Kakashi's pupils suddenly constricted to a pinpoint.
For the first time, he felt a genuine threat.
His body twisted forcibly in an extremely awkward posture, and the muscles in his waist screamed with a tearing pain.
He narrowly avoided the fatal senbon, but the corner of his clothing at his waist was torn open.
The opponent's objective from the very beginning was not to snatch the bells.
Instead, it was to set up a strategy with the premise of "subduing him."
Missing his strike, Naruto's cold voice rang out again.
"Retreat, re-establish the front line."
Sasuke and Sakura didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately following Naruto's figure and disappearing into the depths of the forest.
There was no dragging of feet, displaying a chilling discipline.
Kakashi stood alone, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his temple.
He looked down at the torn corner of his clothing and the glowing senbon on the ground, his heart heavy.
This strategy was logically clear and decisively executed.
It utilized each person's characteristics, turning Sasuke's Ninjutsu and Sakura's "incompetence" into indispensable parts of the plan.
And the one leading all of this... was Uzumaki Naruto.
Time passed by, minute by minute, gradually approaching afternoon.
Naruto gathered the two again.
He pulled out a simple map with terrain he had already surveyed, marking three positions with stones.
"Final round of attack. The objective is not the bells, but to neutralize the target's combat capability."
"I will be the main attacker, luring him to Point A. Sasuke, you prepare your most powerful Ninjutsu at Point B. Sakura, you are at Point C; after seeing my signal, detonate the explosive tags I gave you earlier."
As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto actively revealed himself, charging towards Kakashi like a bullet from a gun.
No hand signs, no Ninjutsu.
Pure Taijutsu combat.
His attacks were broad and sweeping; every punch, every kick, carried a cruel precision and deadly efficiency, completely unlike a twelve-year-old Genin.
Kakashi was forced to respond with full effort; the rhythm of the battle was completely controlled by his opponent, and he was being led step by step into the pre-set trap location.
Just as Kakashi was about to be led into Point A, he suddenly stopped all movement.
He abandoned his struggle with Naruto and instead looked up in the direction where Sasuke and Sakura were hiding.
The left eye, which had always been covered by his headband, slowly opened.
The crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun in the sunlight.
"Enough."
He had seen through the entire layout.
The next second, Kakashi's figure instantly appeared before the three, announcing the end of the exercise.
"None of you ever thought of 'taking' the bells from me; you only wanted to 'defeat' me."
Kakashi first shook his head helplessly.
"When I told you to rush at me with the resolve to kill me, it was just a metaphor. I didn't tell you to actually kill me. I'm your teacher; if such a good teacher like me died, where would you find another one?"
After joking, his expression tightened, and his gaze passed over Sasuke and Sakura, firmly fixed on Naruto.
"Your teamwork... there was no trust, only cold calculation and utilization. This is not the 'team' Konoha speaks of. Comrades should not become expendable bait."
Naruto calmly met the gaze of the all-seeing Sharingan, completely unafraid.
"Teacher, victory is the sole meaning of a team. To ensure Konoha's survival, any sentimental emotions are fatal weaknesses."
He took a step forward.
Kakashi's entire focus was on understanding the terrifying logic in Naruto's words, trying to find a hint of wavering in those blue eyes.
He was lost in thought, because this was precisely the issue he had once deeply struggled with.
It was at this moment of intense concentration that a fatal flaw, lasting 1.7 seconds, appeared in his defense.
Naruto's hand, swift as a phantom, brushed past the astonished Kakashi's waist.
Two bells fell into his palm.
"Mission accomplished."
The bells in Naruto's palm made a crisp, conclusive sound.
The air solidified.
Sasuke and Sakura emerged from behind the trees where they had been hiding, their faces filled with shock.
What they saw was not victory, but an incomprehensible subversion.
Kakashi froze in place, his crimson Sharingan fixed on Naruto, all laziness and nonchalance completely stripped away, leaving only the sharp intensity of an elite Jonin.
"Team 7, passed."
Kakashi's voice was dry, as if forced from his throat.
He completely disregarded Sasuke and Sakura, his attention entirely on Naruto.
What terrifying insight! He had only briefly lost focus just now because he suddenly thought of Rin and Obito, but that fleeting moment had actually been seized.
"Your strategy was very successful."
Kakashi's gaze fell on Naruto's calm face.
"But that's not a team; that's a machine. You treated your comrades as calculable and expendable parts. This kind of thinking is more dangerous than any enemy."
Sasuke's fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles white.
He looked at the bells in Naruto's hand; that sense of frustration coiled around his heart like a poisonous vine, while the craving for absolute control burned like wildfire in his soul.
Naruto tossed a bell to Sasuke.
"Victory is the best protection for comrades."
He didn't explain, turning and leaving... for the Hokage Office.
Smoke billowed, and the atmosphere was oppressive.
"He used Sakura Haruno as a 'tactical sacrifice point,' and Sasuke as a 'controllable assault force.'"
Kakashi's voice was heavy; he omitted the details of the traps and the close combat, only reiterating Naruto's cold theory.
"He finally said that victory is the sole meaning of a team, and any sentimental emotions are fatal weaknesses."
Hiruzen Sarutobi silently puffed on his pipe, one draw after another.
After a long while, he tapped the pipe against the ashtray.
"Kakashi, we may have made a mistake."
The old man's voice carried a deep weariness.
"What we always worried about was the Nine-Tailed's hatred consuming Naruto."
He looked up, his cloudy eyes holding an unprecedented gravity.
"But now it seems, Naruto's heart has been occupied by something even more terrifying and colder than the Nine-Tailed."
...Beneath Konoha, the Root.
Danzo Shimura in the shadows listened to the full report on Team 7's exercise.
In his single eye, undisguised satisfaction was evident.
"Perfect command ability, absolutely rational judgment, and ruthless efficiency without any hesitation."
"This is what a weapon should be."
His cane gently tapped the ground.
"Elevate the surveillance level of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from 'observation' to 'assessment'."
"Regarding the screening plan, I will personally test his loyalty."
In the darkness, a voice responded.
"Lord Danzo, regarding Iruka Umino..."
"He is an important chess piece."
Danzo's lips curved into a chilling smile.
"It's time to see if this perfect weapon still retains the superfluous impurity of 'humanity'."