Forcing out a technique he hadn't fully mastered, Amatsu-no-Habakiri, had taken a visible toll on Sasuke. Crackling sparks of residual lightning leapt sporadically from his body—clear signs of chakra backlash.
"Mm~ Not bad. You managed to save your teammates, at least."
Kakashi nodded, speaking with exaggerated sternness.
"But... what now?"
Hinata's faint smirk returned. The white-eyed girl coolly nodded and answered.
"Indeed, right now Sasuke is drained, Naruto is half-crippled, and I, who rely heavily on taijutsu, am vulnerable to restrictive jutsu. But... you're not exactly in peak form either, are you, Kakashi-sensei?"
She reached behind her waist, pulled out a soldier pill, and handed it to Sasuke without breaking stride. Her tone remained cold:
"The difference is—we've got medicine for quick recovery and blood clotting. Naruto's psychological trauma will fade soon enough. But you..."
Her gaze slid to his still-bleeding left hand. Her voice sharpened.
"That hand—while it may not have hit a nerve bundle, it's still bleeding. Which means the chakra damage from Naruto's Wind Release cut through the blood vessels and muscle. You didn't have protective gloves like mine to cushion it. Then there's the two Raikiris you used—once against Naruto's blade, once against Sasuke's Chidori Spear."
"If I recall your intel correctly, your limit is four Raikiris per day. On top of that, you used a handful of ninjutsu against me and Naruto just now... And your Mangekyō Sharingan must have drained some chakra too."
Hinata's eyes narrowed to cold slits. She raised a hand, chakra flickering across her fingertips.
"So how much chakra do you have left, Sensei? One-third? A quarter?"
"If this were a real battle, your priority now wouldn't be to keep fighting—it'd be to escape. And even then... you wouldn't be able to run from me and Sasuke."
A smile curled at the edge of her lips.
"So~ how about... you surrender?"
---
"Haa... Looks like I'm not the only one who values intel."
Kakashi exhaled deeply. He withdrew his combat stance and pulled his hitai-ate back over his Sharingan. It was a clear sign: the fight was over.
One thing was certain after what he'd just seen—these three weren't ordinary genin. Not by a long shot.
Hinata was clearly the tactician. Kakashi had already witnessed her strategic mind through the Fox's Tale project. But even in battle, her command of tactics was flawless.
Naruto and Sasuke, the executors of her plans, could follow orders when needed. Yet neither showed even a shred of hesitation when it came to defending their comrades.
"Since I'm going to be your teacher, I should make something very clear."
Kakashi's gaze softened as he looked at the trio.
"In the official ninja code, those who break the rules... are trash. But in my personal code... those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
"You three have power—but that's not why you passed my test."
"It was because none of you abandoned each other."
He stood up straight, voice solemn and full of sincerity.
"Congratulations. From this day on... you're officially ninja."
"Eh?! Then what about the bell test?!"
Naruto blinked in disbelief, but Kakashi simply smirked.
"Just a smokescreen. A decoy tactic, as expected from a dumbass like you~"
"Argh! You bastard! And what was that damn jutsu you hit me with?!"
"Oh? What did you see?"
"I—uh... I..."
---
Watching through the crystal orb, the Third Hokage smiled with clear approval. He had been observing from the start. Kakashi's test had always aligned with his own philosophy.
"I didn't expect them to push Kakashi that far. What kind of techniques were those kids using?"
Beside him, two of Konoha's elder councilors, Mitokado Homura and Koharu Utatane, frowned in disapproval.
"We've said it before—we don't approve of the Nine-Tails jinchūriki being allowed to become a ninja," Homura said sternly, adjusting his glasses. "And the Uchiha boy should be in custody."
"But now? Just graduated, and already the three of them can fight a jōnin to a standstill. What if they go rogue? What then, Hiruzen?!"
The Third took a slow drag on his pipe, then lifted his gaze—sharp as it had been in his prime.
"Yes, I know the risk. But do you both remember the true purpose of jinchūriki?"
"They're not just cages for the Tailed Beasts. They were created to wield that power. Look at Yagura—the Fourth Mizukage—he mastered it. The other nations all use their jinchūriki effectively. Why should we, with the most powerful Tailed Beast of all, treat ours like a liability?"
It was a cold, hard truth. But it was a truth nonetheless.
Before the formation of the ninja villages, the Tailed Beasts were natural disasters—feared, coveted, and beyond control. Countless attempts to capture and use them failed... until Hashirama Senju.
He not only subdued the Beasts, but distributed them among the villages in pursuit of balance.
His wife, Mito Uzumaki, was the first person to successfully seal and contain the Nine-Tails—becoming the first jinchūriki.
Since then, jinchūriki were considered national strategic assets. Yes, they could go berserk—but if tamed, their destructive power was unmatched.
And now... Konoha had the strongest Tailed Beast sealed within a boy they couldn't afford to waste.
"You're seriously suggesting Uzumaki Naruto could be like Mito-sama?"
Koharu looked skeptical. But Hiruzen only gave a small nod and pressed his fingers to the brim of his hat.
"Too early to say. But we owe it to him... and to ourselves... to find out."
"The future belongs to the next generation. We must learn to believe in them."
---
Elsewhere – In the Shadows
As light bloomed in Konoha, darkness moved with equal fervor.
The newest genin were being recognized. The will of fire passed from one hand to the next. But far away, a certain organization of missing-nin had begun to mobilize.
"Ah~! That's the last of them!"
From atop his clay bird, Deidara slashed through the last mark on his map. Below, a factory burned with towering flames.
"With that, all of the Land of Lightning's electronics factories are 'accidentally' shut down!"
He let out a content sigh, happy to take a break from figure-making and stretch his legs with some field work.
Sasori, on another bird nearby, didn't even look up from his latest volume of Fox's Tale.
"Finish up and get back. Episode two airs at seven tonight. I'm not waiting for a re-run."
Although the show was only broadcast in Konoha and surrounding Fire Country towns, watching it wasn't hard for Akatsuki. Fake identities and temporary shelters were easy enough for seasoned criminals.
> [From: Little Suigin]
"Good work. Cease factory disruption for now. You're both free until further notice."
At the top of a Rain Village statue, Pain dismissed the current op. For once, it wasn't raining. Civilians and shinobi bustled in the streets below, hauling salvaged factory equipment—some bought on the black market, but most... looted.
After all, as rogue ninja, they weren't exactly bound by trade law.
"Hmm~ With this, the production line is nearly ready."
Kakuzu, standing over a factory blueprint, looked pleased. With Rain Village's vast infrastructure, creating an electronics factory was no trouble at all.
And who better to ensure cost-efficiency than Akatsuki's CFO?
"Ugh~~! I'm bored out of my damn mind! I need blood!"
Hidan groaned, lazily twirling his scythe. Maintenance work wasn't his thing. Murder was.
"Relax," Konan said, descending in a flurry of origami. "Your next assignment is ready—and it'll be more to your taste."
"Oh? We get to kill someone?"
Hidan leapt up, grin stretching. "I'm so ready. I'm gonna tear someone apart~!"
"Don't worry~ This time, you'll have full freedom."