Chapter 95: Revenge on the Same Day
Haruko remained alert.
As he spoke, Haruko walked toward Kakashi, his steps appearing somewhat unsteady.
"The bells... I'm finally going to get them."
Kakashi's eyes were closed, the bells on his chest swaying slightly with his breathing, making a faint tinkling sound.
Haruko crouched down and slowly reached out his hand—
Just as his fingers were about to touch the bells, Kakashi suddenly snapped his eyes open, his right hand darting out like lightning to grab Haruko's wrist.
"You fell for it, Haruko!"
At that moment, a sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Kakashi, who was supposed to be exhausted.
He grabbed Haruko's wrist with one hand, gripped his shoulder with the other, and flipped over, pinning Haruko to the ground.
"A Ninja must not be deceived by appearances. You were careless at the very last moment, Haruko."
The situation was instantly reversed, and a look of frustration appeared on Haruko's face.
"The old ginger is indeed spicier..." Haruko, pinned to the ground, sighed. "It seems my acting is still not as good as Kakashi-sensei's."
"This is the difference in experience." Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to let go to announce the end of the exercise. "Alright, as long as..."
Just as Kakashi thought the match was decided, Haruko suddenly used both hands and feet to tightly entangle Kakashi.
At the same time, Kakashi sensed someone behind him—
"What?!"
"You were careless at the very last moment, Kakashi-sensei..."
The voice came from behind. Kakashi turned his head with difficulty and saw Haruko standing behind him, with Pakkun tied up nearby.
"Sorry, Kakashi. I'm technically 'dead' in battle, so I couldn't speak up to warn you."
"I see. No wonder you were so determined not to get hurt during the fight..."
Only then did Kakashi realize that the Haruko he had been fighting earlier was a Shadow Clone, and the bait left for Pakkun to handle was the original body!
Seeing Haruko bringing his hands together to form the Tiger Seal, Kakashi began to panic.
"Konoha Secret Tradition..."
"Wait, wait, wait! Haruko, let's talk this out!"
Kakashi's face changed drastically as he tried desperately to break free—
"Ultimate Taijutsu..."
"This is just an exercise! An exercise! There's no need to be so ruthless!"
—but he was held tightly by the Shadow Clone and couldn't move.
"Three Years of No Diarrhea!"
"Yamete—!"
Kakashi closed his eyes in despair.
Tinkle—
The crisp sound of bells rang out.
"...Eh?"
Kakashi opened his eyes and found that what Haruko was holding was the bells from his waist, not...
"Just scaring you. Who told you to try and use that on me before?" Haruko shook the bells with a mischievous grin. "I'm not interested in men's... you know."
Haruko casually tossed the bells to Hana and Izumi, then disappeared in a puff of white smoke with a "poof."
This Haruko who had performed the sneak attack was also a Shadow Clone.
The Shadow Clone let go, and Kakashi slumped onto the ground, looking at his empty waist before shaking his head with a bitter smile: "A total defeat..."
"Oh, this one is real. Looks like the backup plan won't be needed."
The real Haruko stepped out from behind a tree, created a rocking chair using Earth Release and lay on it, then nodded to the Shadow Clone.
Poof!
As the Shadow Clone dissipated into white smoke, Haruko shuddered, and his face visibly paled.
"Hiss... As expected, fighting at high intensity with Shadow Clones is quite a burden..."
Izumi looked at the bells in her hand, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, then at Haruko slumped on the rocking chair, looking as pale as paper, feeling as if her worldview had been overturned.
She thought she was already very strong; her Three-Tomoe Sharingan was almost invincible among her peers—except for Itachi.
"No wonder Itachi often says Haruko is very reliable."
Previously, she had never understood why.
During their six years as classmates, her impression of Haruko was always that of a transparent person dozing off in the corner.
It wasn't until Haruko showed his strength just now that she realized he was completely beyond the level of a Genin. That Chakra capacity, that Ninjutsu arsenal, that combat awareness...
Hana had a similar reaction, her mouth hanging open but unable to speak.
Although she knew Haruko was strong back at the border, it wasn't until today that she realized just how strong—strong enough to go toe-to-toe with an elite Jonin from the Anbu.
"Alright, alright, don't look at me like that." Haruko rubbed his temples. "I'm still the same me, just being a little serious, that's all."
Kakashi climbed up from the ground, patted the dust off his clothes, and readjusted his headband to cover his Sharingan.
"Alright, the exercise is over. Overall, your performance... exceeded my expectations."
His dead-fish eyes swept across the three people before him, each with a different expression.
"In fact, your first continuous attack was already quite excellent; most Chunin wouldn't be able to take it unscathed. However..."
He changed his tone.
"Your adaptability still needs improvement."
He first pointed to Izumi: "Uchiha Izumi, rescuing a teammate is beyond reproach. But that Great Fireball Technique blocked the entire team's vision, handing the initiative to the enemy. On the battlefield, information is life."
"Inuzuka Hana, your coordination with your Ninja Hound is very skillful, but you rely too much on this system. Once the connection between you and your Ninja Hound is cut, you completely lose your footing. Your individual adaptability is substandard."
"As for Haruko..." Kakashi looked at the white-haired boy on the rocking chair. "Your strength far exceeds the Genin level, you are proficient in various Ninjutsu, and your tactical thinking is very mature. But..."
"But?"
"In the end, you chose to fight alone." Kakashi shook his head. "The first team attack was performed well; both the command and coordination were commendable, and using bait to buy time for a rescue was also good. But why didn't you carry out team combat until the end?"
"Because there wasn't enough time to formulate a new plan, and engaging in battle without a plan is just throwing one's life away. So I chose the option with the highest win rate." Haruko spoke confidently, without the slightest hint of reflection.
"In actual combat, you won't always be able to formulate a pla—"
"In actual combat, with you as the opponent, I wouldn't have let them participate from the start. Instead, I would have had them scatter and run."
This was a valid point; in actual combat, these two girls might not last 10 seconds. Leaving quickly to avoid being a burden was the optimal solution.
Even Haruko himself couldn't beat Kakashi without using Sage Mode—don't be fooled by how Haruko exhausted Kakashi with a Shadow Clone; that was the result of various stacked advantages.
First, Kakashi hadn't used his full strength from start to finish, he barely used any lethal Ninjutsu, and of the Eight Ninja Hounds, he only summoned Pakkun, who has no combat capability.
Furthermore, there was an absolute information gap. As a transmigrator, he understood Kakashi even better than Kakashi understood himself. From the overall battle plan to specific countermeasures, it was perfectly tailored.
If information were equal, Kakashi would have definitely chosen to use his Sharingan to end the fight quickly right from the start.
The lecture on the tip of Kakashi's tongue was choked back by Haruko's rebuttal.
True. If it were the other way around and he were leading Izumi and Hana against Haruko, he would also choose to let the two of them escape.
"Sigh, forget it. Anyway, everyone worked hard." Kakashi clapped his hands. "Starting tomorrow, formal mission training begins to prepare for the Chunin Exams."
Hana clenched her fist, then relaxed: "Kakashi-sensei... during special training, can you teach me individual combat?"
Izumi also looked up, her Sharingan unconsciously surfacing: "Me too... I don't want to be a burden anymore."
Kakashi looked at the fire in their eyes and nodded: "Starting tomorrow, it will be very tough."
Compared to the two girls who were full of drive, Haruko struggled to climb up from the chair.
"The Chunin Exams... what a pain..."
Anyway, he'd go back and have a bowl of ramen to reward himself first.
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