Whether Kakashi would hold back remained to be seen, but the three little ones had absolutely no intention of holding back.
Jie Uchiha had just said it... without the mindset of killing Kakashi, it would be absolutely impossible to snatch the bells.
So, in order not to get sent back to the Ninja Academy to repeat a year, the three little ones used every ounce of strength they had.
Taking advantage of the brief moment Kakashi hesitated, a flash of lightning flickered on Sasuke's arm, and a harsh, piercing chirp suddenly reached Kakashi's ears.
"Chidori?"
Recovering his senses and seeing this familiar jutsu, Kakashi was momentarily stunned.
'Wasn't that my own original jutsu? How did Sasuke learn it?'
Obviously, Sasuke didn't want to give Kakashi an answer. His crimson Sharingan firmly locked onto the older ninja.
Stimulated by lightning-nature chakra, Sasuke's Chidori charged straight at Kakashi with an indomitable momentum.
Chidori wasn't like the Lightning Blade. Without powerful perceptive abilities, it was far more likely to injure the user. But paired with Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan, it complemented him perfectly.
Naruto wasn't idle either. He immediately formed hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique"
His bright yellow hair suddenly burst outward, shooting toward Kakashi like sharp spikes. And it wasn't just Naruto's main body... the shadow clones he had made earlier were all weaving the exact same hand seals.
The dense hair blocked every space Kakashi could dodge into, forcing him to take Sasuke's Chidori head-on.
Right at this moment, Hinata assumed the starting stance of the Gentle Fist and rushed toward Kakashi. Her speed was a notch faster than even Sasuke with his active Chidori.
But Kakashi's strength wasn't just for show. The reaction time of an elite Jonin was fully displayed in that instant.
Seemingly in perilous danger, he actually evaded every single strand of Naruto's piercing hair with ease.
Immediately after... he dodged past Hinata, grabbed Sasuke's wrist—the one not covered in lightning-nature chakra—and used a skillful deflection to throw him toward Naruto.
Seeing Sasuke flying toward him, Naruto quickly stopped his jutsu and frantically tried to catch him, only to be knocked over, sending them both tumbling to the dirt.
Having dealt with two at once, Kakashi didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately flickered away from his original spot.
The next second, a fierce palm strike hit where he had just been, causing the air itself to tremble.
'What fast reaction. So this is the strength of an elite jonin?'
A trace of solemnity flashed across Hinata's face. Kakashi's strength and reaction speed vastly exceeded her expectations.
'But Brother Jie is still watching me. I can't fail here. I have to graduate from the Ninja Academy and become true support for him.'
With her resolve strengthened, a cold gleam flashed through Hinata's Byakugan, and her starting stance suddenly changed.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite"
In an instant, Hinata's speed at least doubled, and her four fair fingers thrust fiercely toward Kakashi.
'She even learned this move? Did she hide it before to surprise me? Still, Hinata has grown up. She knows how to keep a secret.'
Seeing Hinata's attack, a trace of gratification flashed through Jie's heart.
When teaching Hinata, apart from imparting the Lightning Release Body Forging Secret Technique and the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Jie had simply given her all the taijutsu rewards he had tallied from the Fourth Raikage at once.
However, Jie hadn't expected Hinata to actually master the techniques. Instead, he just wanted her to have more options when training her lightning-nature chakra.
Additionally, it could serve as a reference while she practiced the Gentle Fist, achieving an effect that coupled hardness with softness.
Yet, having not seen her for just a month, Jie never imagined Hinata would bring him such a huge surprise.
Dodging hastily, Kakashi saw Hinata charging fiercely at him out of the corner of his eye, and alarm bells instantly rang in his head.
'Did they really teach Hinata this kind of jutsu?'
Kakashi had never seen such a terrifying taijutsu from Might Guy, yet he was unexpectedly seeing it from a little kid today.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall"
Facing Hinata's taijutsu, which clearly possessed immense destructive power, Kakashi didn't dare to be careless. He hurriedly formed hand seals, and an earth wall carved with dog heads immediately rose from the ground.
But the seemingly thick earth wall had absolutely no effect on Hinata. She pierced right through it as if it were a sheet of blank paper.
Kakashi hadn't expected his earth wall to fail so completely. By the time he wanted to dodge again, it was already too late.
He hastily shifted half a step to move his vitals out of the way, but those four seemingly fair fingers still left a bloody gash on his body.
Instantly, Kakashi's expression drastically changed.
It wasn't because of the bloody gash, but because the location of the wound was exactly where the two bells had been.
In other words, both bells had been snatched by Hinata.
Two bells meant two S-rank missions.
At the thought of this, Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector with lightning speed, exposing his crimson three-tomoe Sharingan to the air.
Now, Hinata's inconceivably fast movements became traceable in his eyes. He hurriedly reached out while Hinata hadn't yet stabilized her footing and snatched back one bell, but the other remained firmly in her hand.
'She even forced out his Sharingan? It seems Kakashi is truly getting serious now.'
Watching the battle, a bright light flashed in Jie's eyes as he observed Kakashi's actions with great interest.
Although Kakashi had snatched one bell back, at least Hinata still had the other. She immediately guarded the bell and leaped backward, pulling away to a safe distance.
Seeing that Hinata had managed to grab a bell in just a brief instant, Sasuke and Naruto, who had just climbed up from the ground, felt their hearts sink.
There were only two bells in total, and now Hinata had already taken one. That meant between the two of them, one would definitely be sent back to the Ninja Academy to continue studying.
From that moment on, the two of them were competitors.
But right then, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance, then gave each other a brief nod. Immediately after, the two charged toward Kakashi together.
"Have they reached an agreement? But there's only one bell left. Who will it go to once they snatch it?" Jie Uchiha commented with interest, making Izumi Uchiha, who was standing beside him, feel both amused and exasperated.
From the moment he proposed the test, Izumi knew this was just Jie indulging his twisted sense of humor.
In reality, regardless of whether the three little ones managed to get the bells, as long as they demonstrated enough teamwork and strength to graduate, passing was a sure thing.
Managing to snatch a bell was naturally the best outcome... after all, Kakashi was an elite Jonin. Gaining the upper hand against him was enough to prove the trio's strength.
And even if they couldn't get a bell, the same logic applied. Suffering a setback against an elite jonin was nothing to be ashamed of for the three little ones.
After all, they were only ten years old right now.
So, in the end, the only one suffering a loss here was Kakashi.
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