Naruto: Boundless Potential

The Next Morning

At Training Ground 10, Naruto stood alongside Sakura and Sasuke, waiting for their instructor to arrive.

By 8 AM, there was still no sign of Kakashi.

Naruto thought, Wait... don't tell me we got tricked this time.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

---

Two hours passed. The wind brushed against their cheeks as they stood in silence, their expressions turning grim.

Yeah... we were tricked.

Finally, Kakashi appeared, casually strolling toward them with a laid-back demeanor.

"Yo! You're all on time."

Like hell we are! they all thought angrily.

Seeing their expressions, Kakashi chuckled before shifting into a more serious tone. "Alright, let's begin the test."

He pulled out two small bells hanging from his waist and dangled them in front of the team.

"Listen carefully," Kakashi said. "The test is simple—you must take one of these bells from me. Whoever gets a bell passes the exam."

Sakura furrowed her brows and hesitantly asked, "Umm… Kakashi-sensei, doesn't that mean only two of us will pass?"

Kakashi gave a simple nod. In an instant, the atmosphere grew tense.

"Now, let's begin."

With that, Kakashi took his position in the middle of the field and pulled out his favorite book, flipping it open as if he had no care in the world.

Sasuke and Sakura immediately took cover in the bushes, strategizing.

Meanwhile, Naruto stood there, processing Kakashi's words.

Then, a thought hit him. Sensei must be testing our courage. That's it! He wants to see who's brave enough to attack first. Hehe, why am I so smart?

Brimming with confidence, Naruto charged straight at Kakashi.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A few minutes later…

Naruto found himself tightly bound in ropes, dangling from a tree branch, wiggling like a helpless worm.

Why am I so dumb?! His internal monologue took a sharp turn as he struggled in vain to free himself.

Sasuke, watching from the bushes, smirked. "Hmph. Truly the dead last. How can he be this clueless?"

Deciding it was time to act, Sasuke stepped out of hiding and hurled a barrage of shuriken toward Kakashi. Simultaneously, he closed the distance, a kunai gripped tightly in his hand.

Kakashi swiftly dodged the projectiles, but Sasuke was already upon him, launching an attack from behind. However, Kakashi effortlessly parried his strike.

As Kakashi moved to counterattack, Sasuke substituted himself with a log at the last moment, reappearing at a safe distance.

Without wasting a second, another wave of shuriken shot toward Kakashi. While evading them, Kakashi noticed Sasuke weaving hand signs.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!

Realizing Sasuke was preparing a large-scale attack, Kakashi moved swiftly to his side.

Just as Sasuke finished forming the final seal, Kakashi appeared in front of him, grabbing his hands mid-motion before delivering a solid punch to his gut—

Poof!

The figure vanished into a cloud of smoke. A shadow clone!

At that moment, the real Sasuke emerged from another angle, lunging toward Kakashi with a victorious smirk as his fingers brushed against one of the bells.

However, his smirk quickly faded.

In an instant, Kakashi blurred behind him, striking Sasuke in the stomach with a well-placed blow. As Sasuke reeled from the impact, Kakashi prepared to follow up—

But a flurry of shuriken interrupted him, forcing him to leap back.

Using this brief window, Sasuke retreated into the bushes, his mind racing.

Kakashi... his actions don't make sense. If he's evaluating our combat skills, my performance should be enough to pass. But he didn't let me win… which means this test isn't about power or ability.

Meanwhile, Kakashi turned his attention toward Sakura.

Seeing this, Sasuke quickly followed suit.

As Kakashi engaged Sakura, Sasuke observed something strange—Kakashi was deliberately leaving small openings in his defense.

Wait… he's not fighting seriously anymore. He's guiding us toward something.

That's when it clicked.

"Sakura!" Sasuke called out. "Free Naruto!"

Sakura blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

She was puzzled, but since it was Sasuke giving the order, she followed without hesitation.

Rushing over to the tree, she quickly untied Naruto.

"Thanks, Sakura," Naruto mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

After regaining his footing, Naruto and Sakura joined Sasuke in the bushes to regroup.