---
Open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden strikes are hard to defend. That much should be obvious—but Sasuke hadn't learned that lesson yet. And Kakashi wasn't the type to waste energy unless necessary.
"Sasuke!" Naruto Uzumaki shouted in panic.
He wanted to rush to help, but the distance was too far.
From mid-air, Ye Dou's shadow clone hurled a ninja sword. The real Ye Dou followed up with a powerful leap, kicking the hilt of the airborne blade mid-flight and propelling it forward with explosive force.
The sword accelerated like a bolt of lightning, stabbing toward the ground beneath Uchiha Sasuke.
Puff!
The seemingly solid earth parted like paper. The blade plunged deep—but not into Kakashi. Instead, a burst of smoke erupted from the soil.
A clone or a Doton-style escape jutsu. Either way, it wasn't the real target.
"Regroup—Swastika Formation!"
The three quickly closed in, back to back, eyes scanning the surroundings in unison.
At that moment, Kakashi had hidden himself again. They knew better than to get picked off one by one—sticking together was the only way to survive.
"Leadership like that… That's not like you, Guy."
High in a tree, Kakashi crouched in concealment, observing the team's coordinated movements below.
He hadn't expected a simple survival drill to become such a hassle.
In under thirty minutes, these three genin had nearly killed him twice.
Who would believe such a thing?
"But I don't hate this kind of teamwork," he muttered with a rare smile.
Then, with practiced ease, he pulled up his Konoha forehead protector—revealing the Sharingan beneath.
---
[Uchiha's Revenant Soul]
---
"What now? We just sit here and wait?" Sasuke muttered, frustrated.
"Shut up, dead-last!" he snapped.
"Who're you calling dead-last, you walking Uchiha ego trip!?" Naruto snapped back, as acidic as ever.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, stomach twisting from irritation. He regretted ever giving Ye Dou that stupid nickname for Naruto.
"Both of you, shut it," Ye Dou said flatly. "He's testing us. If this is a real assessment, Kakashi won't hide forever."
With a sharp stomp, Ye Dou drove his foot into the earth, shaking the buried sword free and catching it smoothly in one hand. His gaze remained sharp, scanning the area.
In terms of pure skill, they were far behind Kakashi. He wasn't just a former ANBU—he was a seasoned veteran of the Third Shinobi World War.
Trying to fight him in the jungle was suicide. Only in open ground did they stand a chance.
"But… we're out of time! It's almost noon!"
Naruto glanced at the alarm clock on the wooden post, anxiety rising.
This was another psychological trap Kakashi had set—to exploit the impulsive minds of young ninja and make them crack under invisible pressure.
Whoosh!
Clink!
The alarm clock was suddenly struck and launched away, vanishing from their view.
"Stick to the mission. Ignore distractions."
Ye Dou retracted his arm, as calm as ever.
"Destruction of village property means you'll have to pay for that," came a sudden voice—from between them.
All three turned in shock—Ye Dou reacted first, sword flashing upward in an instant.
Ding!
Sparks flew as Kakashi's kunai met Ye Dou's blade mid-swing.
"This power…!"
Kakashi's mind reeled as he felt the impact ripple up his arm. For a genin to generate this much force—he couldn't believe it.
In raw physical strength alone, this child already surpassed what he and Might Guy had at that age.
Even now, he felt like his body was barely keeping up with Ye Dou's sheer might.
A true beast in human skin.
Ye Dou, too, was stunned. He hadn't expected Kakashi to parry that blow. Even without using his bloodline ability, that strike—amplified by over 2,000 units of force—should have broken through any normal defense.
But Kakashi wasn't "normal." He was a man who had gone toe-to-toe with Might Guy in taijutsu and survived.
Then—
Something was wrong.
The ground beneath him turned soft, granular—his footing unstable.
"Earth Style?" he thought. No… something's off.
Ye Dou's instincts screamed.
Genjutsu!
Immediately, he channeled gravity inward, suppressing his chakra flow to disrupt the illusion.
Snap!
He broke free—just in time to see Naruto and Sasuke trapped up to their chests in earth, only their heads above the surface.
Kakashi stood calmly behind them.
Ye Dou's expression twitched. Even with the tension, the scene was… weirdly comedic.
"You're fast. I was planning on letting all three of you sunbathe."
Ye Dou gripped his blade tighter. The fight wasn't over.
This wasn't the first time he'd faced a ninja with a Sharingan, but it was the first time he'd fought one who fully understood how to wield it.
He wanted to know—could this bloodline limit really defy raw physical strength?
---
"Let me out already!"
"What's with those eyes?"