"So that's it—you want to see our true strength?"
Hinata instantly saw through Kakashi's intentions. Without a doubt, this silver-haired jōnin intended to establish his authority as their teacher in the most direct way—by thoroughly overwhelming the most troublesome team with sheer power.
"Interesting. You ran away last time. This time, I'll settle it."
Sasuke, full of fighting spirit, slipped on his sacred combat gloves. His eyes glowed red as he activated his two-tomoe Sharingan, clearly eager to go up against a real jōnin.
"But let me make one thing clear. I'll be going all out."
Raising his hand, Kakashi slowly pulled up the forehead protector covering his left eye. What he revealed made Sasuke's eyes widen in shock—in that scarred eye socket was a fully awakened Sharingan, with three tomoe.
"Wait a second! Where did you get that Sharingan?!"
Sasuke's voice trembled with unexpected rage and resentment. Calmly watching him, Kakashi replied coolly, "You'll find out in time. But right now…"
"All you need to understand is—you're not the only one who can use the Sharingan."
"So come at me!"
---
"Well, since our teacher put it that way, let's not hold back. Bring out everything you've got. I imagine you're just as curious as I am to see how we measure up against a real elite jōnin, right?"
Hinata's lips curled into a bewitching smirk, but the veins around her eyes bulged sharply—Byakugan fully activated. Her bloodline limit formed an almost tangible pressure, scanning everything in the surrounding terrain.
"Tch~ This lazy bum's supposed to be a jōnin? Then I must be Hokage already! Nyahaha~!"
Hands on hips, Naruto laughed boldly to the sky. Kakashi, however, nodded with an unimpressed glance. "Ah~ That's not too far off. Daydreaming is free for everyone."
"Ugh! You damn old man!"
Enraged, Naruto charged forward, only to freeze when Hinata coldly called out from behind, "Anyone who gets eliminated today—your punishment is permanent cross-dressing."
"Geh!"
Naruto stumbled mid-sprint, face going pale. The golden-haired boy swallowed hard. He might not know how powerful Kakashi was, but he'd already suffered under Hinata's rules far too many times.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
With a quick set of hand seals, Naruto's massive chakra pool allowed him to instantly summon twelve clones. Including his original body, the group broke into squads of three and scattered in four directions through the surrounding forest—standard pincer maneuver.
Ah, clever. Since Naruto lacked the visual prowess of Hinata and Sasuke, he opted for maximum confusion. Shadow Clones, unlike regular clones, couldn't be discerned even by the Sharingan. All he had to do was maintain pressure from all sides and keep the target on edge.
"Hmph~ After today, I'm going to find out exactly how you got that eye."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and adjusted his gloves before leaping into the forest behind him. He specifically positioned himself between two squads of Naruto's clones, forming a pentagram-style encirclement with Kakashi at the center.
Left alone in the clearing, Hinata narrowed her eyes and spoke with a subtle glint of excitement. "Well then, let's begin, Kakashi-sensei. Please take good care of us."
No doubt about it—their combined strategy forced Kakashi to take them seriously. Even with his elite jōnin eyes, there was no flaw to pick at.
Naruto created confusion and pressure on the outer edge. Sasuke handled mid-range harassment with tools. Hinata, a close-combat specialist, stood ready to strike.
This coordination perfectly fused three unique battle traits: the Byakugan, the Sharingan, and the jinchūriki.
Thanks to Hinata's all-encompassing field of vision, Kakashi had no room to retreat. Substitution, clone techniques, or even body flickers—none of them could escape her gaze.
If he tried to flee and focus on Sasuke or Naruto first, he'd risk stepping into traps. With dozens of Shadow Clones and Sasuke's expertly laid wires and tools, it was a minefield. Meanwhile, Hinata would be on his tail.
No. That wouldn't work.
Which meant—he had to deal with Hinata first, then Sasuke, and finally Naruto, who had backup from his clones.
But even that path was extremely difficult.
Hinata specialized in taijutsu. Sasuke and Naruto were sure to interrupt at key moments. At best, Kakashi could devote only half his strength to fighting her directly.
And given Hinata's proximity and her Byakugan's coverage, any jutsu besides taijutsu would likely fail.
Perfect strategy. When it came to taking down a single target, this was textbook execution.
Kakashi's gaze sharpened.
Then Hinata struck.
With a sudden snap of her right arm, a wave of scorching flame burst across the ground like a hungry red serpent—
Nantō Enshōken: Anpu (Nanto Fist – Dark Swipe!)
A jutsu with no hand seals!
Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly as he confirmed Hinata hadn't formed a single seal. As her fire raged forward, Hinata flipped into the air, her slim right leg swinging down like a steel whip toward Kakashi's head— Solo Execution, a crushing downward strike paired with the earlier fire attack.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As if on cue, two volleys of shuriken shot out from the left and right bushes behind Kakashi—blocking both of his escape routes.
Sasuke and Naruto?!
Wind-reading on instinct, Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Though it looked like a sealed trap, he spotted a flaw. Diving forward like a torpedo, he slipped perfectly between the fire and Hinata's downward kick, bursting out through the gap like a fish through a flaming hoop—leaving Hinata, her flames, and the shuriken behind.
But just as he landed—
"Take this!! Sonic Blade: Slash!!"
A delighted voice rang out from his left.
A jagged blade of air ripped through the brush, shearing trees like paper and headed straight for Kakashi!
No doubt—this was Naruto's real attack!
What?!
Realization struck in a flash—he'd been tricked. Both shuriken volleys must've been set by Sasuke alone! With tools and wires, setting dual fake attacks would've been easy for him. Kakashi, distracted by Hinata's aggression and Naruto's clones, had walked straight into a trap.
No time to form seals—no time to dodge.
Understanding this, Kakashi gritted his teeth and clenched his left hand.
BZZZT!
The chirping of lightning burst from his palm as the chakra blade of Raikiri (Lightning Cutter) exploded to life. Swinging his arm, he slammed the electric blade into the incoming Sonic Blade: Slash!
Crackkk!!
Lightning screeched like glass shards scraping together. Kakashi winced from the jolt of pain coursing through his hand.
Though far superior in jutsu mastery, Raikiri was not meant for head-on collisions. Designed as a pinpoint assassination move used in tandem with the Sharingan, it faltered when forced into a direct clash with a wind-nature jutsu like Naruto's Sonic Blade :Slash.
And that's what this was—a lightning attack clashing with wind. Wind beats lightning.
Within less than a second, both jutsu vanished. But Kakashi's glove had been completely shredded, and his hand was soaked in blood. He'd taken the hit full on.
Still—a jōnin is a jōnin.
Ignoring the pain, Kakashi immediately performed hand seals.
"Earth Style – Tracking Fang Technique!"
A combined summoning and Earth release, this jutsu not only summoned his ninken (ninja hounds), but also gave them the ability to tunnel underground for surprise attacks.
"Ahhh! Where'd that dog come from?!"
From deep in the woods came Naruto's scream, accompanied by barking and a scuffle. But the noise vanished just as fast—clearly one of his Shadow Clones had been wiped out.
---
Nantō Enshōken: Anpu (Nanto Fist – Dark Swipe)
A specialized taijutsu technique from Nanto Seven Sacred Fist Mainly focused on Leg Technique