Chapter 16: [CHAPTER 16] The Bell Test: Unity's First Spark
After swiftly and easily catching Sasuke's shurikens, Kakashi paused and started clapping. "Having Sakura use Genjutsu on me first and then striking me with Fireball Jutsu was really a smart piece of teamwork," he said.
"But the test isn't over yet, so show me more of your skills."
Sasuke just snorted at Kakashi's response and once again made hand seals, putting fingers close to his lips, and fired another huge flame at Kakashi.
Naruto also took his chance, clutching a Kunai in his hand, and rushed at Kakashi. Sakura, a little far off, stood while making hand signs for another attempt at Genjutsu on Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded approvingly and jumped high into the sky to dodge the Fireball Jutsu and Naruto's straightforward attack. Since Kakashi jumped, the flames came in front of Naruto, who startled and started running backward but screamed when some flames still caught him.
"Aaahhh, fire got on my butt!" Naruto screamed while jumping, then rubbing his backside on the ground to extinguish the small flames that had caught him.
Kakashi in meanwhile, stood at the treetop, glancing down at them. Sasuke took out a few more shurikens and then looked back at Kakashi, but he wasn't at the treetop.
Sasuke thought, 'Where is he gone?' He looked around him, and Sakura also frowned, scanning the training ground.
Then Naruto yelled, "Oye, you blockhead Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei is behind you!"
Sakura also turned to Sasuke and found that Kakashi indeed stood behind him, but his aura was completely dim, as if he wasn't even present there. Sasuke frowned and quickly jumped backward, only to find that Kakashi was indeed standing behind him, smiling under his mask.
Kakashi taunted him, "Come on, Sasuke, aren't you from the proud Uchiha Clan? Is this all you are capable of?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth and threw shurikens at him, in the Uchiha's Shurikenjutsu style, changing their trajectory in between, but failed to even come close to Kakashi even a bit. Kakashi then looked at Sakura, who once again tried Genjutsu on him, but failed to even impact Kakashi for a second.
Seeing that her Genjutsu failed twice, she took out a Kunai and also rushed at Kakashi. Naruto also did the same after extinguishing the flames from his pants; both jumped at Kakashi from different directions.
Sakura slashed her Kunai from the right, towards Kakashi's waist, and Naruto from the left, towards Kakashi's head. Sasuke didn't move for a moment, deep in thought, 'Shall I activate and use Sharingan?'
Kakashi jumped horizontally, dodging their Kunai with ease. Naruto and Sakura bumped into each other and slammed onto the ground, while Kakashi once again got behind Sasuke.
"A ninja should never be in such deep thoughts while fighting, Sasuke!" Kakashi said. Sasuke was stunned for a moment, and without any extra thoughts, he turned back, activating his Sharingan.
One-Tomoe spiraled in each of his crimson red eyes as he yelled, "Genjuts—" But he couldn't even complete the name of his Jutsu when Kakashi vanished from his sight.
This surprised him a lot, as his Sharingan couldn't even capture a single afterimage. Sakura ran towards him and asked, "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"
But Sasuke didn't even look at her and pushed her aside forcefully. "Aaw," she slammed onto the ground from his push.
Sasuke said, "Your stupid plan of Genjutsu and then attack utterly failed. Now I will complete this test myself, don't come in my way."
His Sharingan continued to scan the area around him, searching for Kakashi, without even looking at Sakura for a moment. Naruto got angry at Sasuke and was about to yell at him, but then a kick suddenly hit Sasuke in the guts, sending him flying a few meters away, smashing into the trees.
He wasn't like Naruto, and this kick alone was a very heavy blow to him. Sasuke spat blood, his red eyes widened in disbelief as he thought, 'Why? Why can't my Sharingan capture him? Why? Why?'
Kakashi stood where Sasuke had been, offering Sakura a hand to help her stand. "Sasuke, you were all doing good, and then your ego came in between again. You also had to show me the teamwork?"
Sasuke scowled and muttered, clutching his stomach, "I don't need them. I can complete this test by myself. I am from the Uchiha Clan..."
Kakashi shook his head. "Very well," he said. "If you think you can pass the test like that, then so be it."
Kakashi then immediately jumped, as Naruto took this opportunity to sneakily grab the bell from Kakashi's waist. Naruto growled, "Oh man, I was so close!"
Kakashi smiled and commented, "Smart move, but it wouldn't work against me."
Naruto and Sakura then moved back, as Naruto said, "We can't take the bell from him like that; we need a better plan."
Sakura nodded, then looked at Sasuke. "But we need Sasuke-kun's cooperation as well," she said. "We two alone can't make it possible."
Naruto wanted to retort, but paused and was surprised when Sasuke put his hand on their shoulders and said, "Let's work together."
Sakura was surprised and jumped in excitement. "Yay!" she exclaimed.
Naruto scowled and taunted him, "Aren't you so full of yourself, just a few moment ago, what happened now, oh so-called Uchiha?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, crossed his arms, and huffed before saying, "You should be thankful that I'm agreeing to help you."