Seeing the overwhelming army of Narutos diving down from the sky, even Kakashi felt his scalp tingle for a moment.
So this is the terrifying chakra a member of the Uzumaki clan can produce when combined with the power of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?
However, Kakashi's surprise lasted only a moment.
He was now only a step away from Kage-level strength—there was no way he couldn't handle these Shadow Clones.
In fact, Kakashi could've dealt with all these clones using taijutsu alone.
But that would consume too much stamina, and Naruto might seize the opportunity to snatch a bell.
So he chose ninjutsu instead.
Even though Kakashi had recently focused more on perfecting his Lightning Blade techniques, he still knew plenty of regular ninjutsu.
If this were a real life-and-death battle, Kakashi would've used a high-power lightning-release jutsu.
But with Naruto's real body hidden among the clones, something like that might seriously injure him.
So Kakashi held back and switched to Water Release.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall.
Using a B-rank Water Release against a freshly graduated genin was excessive—but Kakashi had no time to worry about appearances now.
Naruto and Sasuke had already passed his evaluation.
He planned to defeat them and then hand over the bells afterward.
Kakashi retreated a short distance, pressed both palms against the ground—
And an enormous waterfall-like wall of water surged upward, completely isolating Naruto's clone army.
Naruto's clones couldn't stop midair even if they wanted to.
One after another, they crashed into the water wall and vanished in puffs of smoke.
Realizing what was happening, Naruto desperately grabbed one clone after another and hurled them upward, trying to fling them over the water barrier.
But very few made it across, and those that did were immediately kicked away by Kakashi.
Bam!
Suddenly, Kakashi realized something felt off with the last "Naruto" he kicked.
He looked up—and saw it wasn't a clone.
It was the real Naruto.
Kakashi shook his head.
Still too young. If he had waited for the water wall to vanish, he might've had a chance.
The real Naruto, sent flying, wore a look of refusal and frustration.
Grinding his teeth, he threw his last shuriken in a final act of resistance.
But the shuriken's aim was poor—it wasn't even going to graze Kakashi.
Kakashi hadn't planned to bother dodging it.
But as it approached, he frowned.
Something felt off.
The next moment, the shuriken burst into smoke—
And Sasuke appeared where it had been.
He had disguised himself as the shuriken with the Transformation Technique!
Not far away, Hoshiyomi grew excited.
This tactic! The classic early-Naruto combo attack—even showed up in the battle against Kaguya in the end! I didn't expect Naruto and Sasuke to pull it off today!
However, after the excitement, Hoshiyomi shook his head again.
If this were the original Kakashi, he might've handed the bells over immediately.
But this Kakashi was not that Kakashi.
He was stubborn and competitive—and likely wouldn't yield so easily.
Sure enough, in the field, a flicker of hesitation crossed Kakashi's eyes when Sasuke suddenly appeared—
But he still struck without mercy, slamming his elbow into Sasuke with lightning-fast speed.
What Kakashi didn't expect was that Sasuke had prepared for this.
Seeing the elbow incoming, Sasuke gave up trying to grab the bells—
—Instead twisting his body like an octopus and wrapping himself around Kakashi's arm, shouting toward the distance:
"Naruto! Sakura! Now!"
Sasuke's decision was correct.
But unfortunately, his call…
received no response.
Naruto had just managed to climb back to his feet.
Even though he tried his best to rush forward, the injuries and excessive chakra use made his legs feel like they were filled with lead—he simply couldn't run any faster.
On the other side, hidden in the bushes, Sakura had long been stunned speechless by Naruto's and Sasuke's impressive teamwork.
She had witnessed everything with her own eyes and desperately wanted to help them.
Seeing Sasuke wrapped around Kakashi's arm, she already had a kunai in her hand.
Her intention was to throw it.
But she had no confidence she could precisely hit the bell without hurting Kakashi.
She didn't dare injure him—what if she accidentally stabbed him?
In that moment of hesitation, her mind went blank.
She froze completely…
And missed the opportunity Sasuke had risked so much to create.
Bam!
Kakashi swung his arm forcefully, flinging Sasuke away and dragging him across the ground for several meters.
Sakura gasped when she saw Sasuke sent flying.
She rushed out from the bushes on instinct, wanting to check if Sasuke was hurt.
But Kakashi stood in her way.
What crushed her the most, however, was the look in Sasuke's eyes as he struggled to get up—
the disappointment and dissatisfaction directed at her.
The battle was already decided.
Hoshiyomi cleared his throat lightly and spoke:
"Alright, let's end the exercise here."
Hearing this, Naruto and Sasuke panicked.
They forced themselves up, wanting to insist they could still continue fighting.
But Kakashi raised his hand to stop them.
"There's no need to push any further. Even if you can stand, you have no combat strength left. It's impossible for you to take the bells from me."
Upon hearing this, both Sasuke's and Naruto's expressions darkened.
The thought of being sent back to the academy for another year made their hearts sink into darkness.
Sakura, who already felt like she'd fallen into an icy abyss because of Sasuke's disappointed gaze, now felt completely crushed.
Because of her failure, even Sasuke wouldn't become a genin.
She felt she had wronged them both.
Her emotional defenses shattered.
Tears poured down uncontrollably like a broken dam.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun… Naruto-kun… I—I'm useless… I dragged you both down. I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Hearing Sakura repeat "sorry" over and over, both Naruto and Sasuke felt a pang of sympathy.
Naruto scratched his head and said:
"You don't have to be like that, Sakura! Me and Sasuke aren't blaming you. If anything, it's our fault for not being strong enough to grab the bells. You don't need to apologize to us."
Sasuke glanced at her and added:
"Naruto's right. It's just graduating a year late. It doesn't matter. Even if I become a genin later, I can still train on my own."
Off to the side, Kakashi suddenly felt awkward.
Uh… He hadn't even said they failed yet.
Originally, he planned to say this first, then hand the bells to Naruto and Sasuke.
But Sakura suddenly bursting into tears completely derailed his plan.
Now he didn't even know how to continue.
Helpless, Kakashi threw a pleading look toward Hoshiyomi.