Chapter 39
A group of children bully me because I'm old and weak
As time went by, the suffocating toxic fumes finally dissipated.
The once flat land became pitted and uneven, with charred black soil swirling and mixed with some red powder.
The air still retained a pungent, spicy, and foul odor.
But Kakashi was nowhere to be seen in the open space.
"Cough...cough cough..."
Sasuke woke up coughing violently.
Although he had been put on a gas mask, the smell he inhaled through the gaps forced Sasuke to wake up.
Then, in his dazed state, his survival instinct forced him to barely manage to put the mask on properly.
Now, Sasuke has finally regained some consciousness.
Naruto came over and helped him up.
"Use your Sharingan to see in what general direction Kakashi might be?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to vomit, his crimson eyes spinning wildly with the single tomoe in them.
"Not here... There's no one in the middle..."
He looked around.
Suddenly, his gaze settled on a grove of trees in the direction of two o'clock.
An unnatural flow of chakra flashed there.
"Over there, in the woods!"
Sasuke raised his hand and pointed.
"receive."
Naruto didn't hesitate at all, and didn't even bother to verify whether it was true or false.
"Firepower coverage!"
At his command, the other clones that had been lurking around simultaneously formed hand seals.
It wasn't the release of ninjutsu, but rather the detonation of explosive tags that had been planted in the area beforehand.
Boom boom boom—
The sound of the detonation tag hadn't even faded yet.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" xN!
The shadow clones also began unleashing a barrage of ninjutsu attacks on that area.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom—!
Trees broke, and rubble flew everywhere.
The continuous explosions seemed to be plowing the land completely.
"Shouldn't this be over now?"
Sasuke thought to himself as he watched the relentless bombardment.
When the smoke and dust from the explosion had completely dissipated, Naruto took a few steps forward and looked around for a moment.
There was only devastation and burning trees scattered everywhere; the place was deserted.
"Impossible! My eyes can't be wrong!"
Sasuke started to panic.
Just then, Sakura, who had been hiding in the distance and looked shaken, ran over.
"Naruto! Sasuke! Are you alright?"
She leaned closer to Naruto with a concerned look, as if she wanted to check if he was injured.
Sasuke, lying on the ground, frowned.
For some reason, he felt that Sakura was somewhat out of place at this moment.
"Be careful!"
Sasuke had just spoken when a sudden change occurred.
Sakura, who had been looking concerned, suddenly turned cold.
Taking advantage of her proximity, she swiftly extended her right hand, pressing a kunai against Naruto's throat.
His movements were swift and precise, unlike those of a newly graduated genin.
"Got you, Naruto."
Sakura's voice changed, becoming deep and languid.
Bang! The white smoke dissipated.
Sakura transformed into Kakashi's appearance.
It turned out that the real Sakura had already fallen under Kakashi's genjutsu and fainted in the bushes.
Instead, Kakashi used the Transformation Jutsu.
"Using stealth and transformation techniques to carry out decapitations—that's the ninja's game of strategy."
A hint of a smile appeared in Kakashi's deadpan eyes.
"While your trap is decent, it's still a bit too inexperienced."
"Yeah?"
Naruto, with a kunai pressed against his throat, showed no sign of panic.
Instead, he pushed up his glasses, a strange smile curving his lips.
"Kakashi-sensei, have you forgotten my preferences?"
"What I hate most... is accidents."
Kakashi was taken aback.
Sizzle—Sizzle—!
A chilling burning sound suddenly came from under Naruto's clothes.
Kakashi looked down and his pupils suddenly contracted.
Naruto's clothes were covered with burning explosive tags!
This isn't the real thing at all!
This is a decoy shadow clone that has been disguised all along!
"Sasuke, watch out!"
Boom!!
A massive explosion occurred in the center of the field, the shockwave even lifting the grass three feet off the ground.
Here we go again!
Sasuke, who had just woken up, was once again thrown away by the aura and landed on a haystack in the distance with a look of utter despair.
When the smoke and dust cleared up again
A large crater appeared at the center of the explosion.
However, Kakashi's body... or parts, were not present in the arena.
Kakashi, who had taken Naruto hostage, also turned into a puff of white smoke in the explosion.
Shadow Clone Technique!
After all that, the thrilling "counterattack and being counterattacked" was just two shadow clones putting on a show.
The only victim was Sasuke.
……
A few dozen meters away, on a large, lush tree.
The real Kakashi was crouching among the branches, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
"Phew, that was close."
"That brat is a complete madman; he actually hid a self-destruct trap inside his shadow clone."
"If I had used my true form just now, I'd probably be in the hospital in the throes of emergency treatment right now!"
Kakashi wiped away his cold sweat, still shaken.
He originally thought it was just an ordinary training session, a chance to demonstrate his strength to his beloved subordinates.
This will make it easier to manage them in the future.
Unexpectedly, Naruto managed to turn it into a high-level game.
It almost cost me my dignity.
"Fortunately, my true form is well hidden."
Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke and Naruto's clones, who were still on guard.
He was mentally planning his next tactics.
We must find the true entity, otherwise...
"Teacher, are you looking for me?"
Suddenly, a polite and gentle voice, which made Kakashi's whole body stiffen, rang in his ears.
At the same time, a hand gently pulled away the bell that Kakashi had pinned to his waist.
Kakashi suddenly turned his head, his pupils dilating violently.
Right next to him, a piece of bark that had appeared perfectly normal suddenly peeled off.
Naruto Uzumaki, dressed neatly with his hair perfectly styled, was playing with the bell in his hand.
"What?!"
Kakashi was genuinely shocked this time.
"When did you...?"
He didn't even notice!
"From the very beginning."
Naruto's glasses gleamed coldly in the shadows of the leaves.
"Sasuke pointed out the right spot. That was a decoy clone you deliberately created to lure us into attacking."
"But given your cautious nature as a Jonin, your main body will definitely be at a high vantage point where you can observe the entire situation and easily evacuate."
"This tree is the best choice."
Naruto paused, then flashed his signature smile:
"Of course, these are all hindsight; I just guessed them."
"The real reason is..."
"My shadow clones are on every tree near this training ground."
"So, no matter which tree you hide in, the outcome will be the same."
Looking around, the bark of the trees was peeling off, revealing menacing shadow clones.
Naruto is everywhere!
Kakashi fell silent.
It must be said that this was one of the few times in his life he felt powerless.
He glanced at the ambushes everywhere and the bell in Naruto's hand.
Kakashi sighed and helplessly raised his hands.
"Okay, you win."
"The exercise is over."