Chapter 23: Bell in Hand
"Just as I thought. The one fighting me just now was only Kakashi's shadow clone while he was hiding and observing me."
Ryoha took his kunai back. He already realized that Kakashi was deliberately holding back, so he did not weave his seals at full speed. Ryoha could barely see that Kakashi was using the shadow clone jutsu.
"I think you are the strongest among this year's students, but you still do not understand the purpose of this test, so it would be difficult for you to pass." Kakashi shook his head and walked out of the woods.
"Really? Take a look at this!" Ryoha revealed his palm. A bell was there.
"When?" Kakashi looked at his waist and found that the three bells on his waist were still there.
"Not good." Kakashi felt danger, but it was too late.
"Fire Release - Fireball Jutsu, Wind Release - Gale Palm." The two jutsus were just C and D class jutsu that can be learned at the Academy. But when used simultaneously, the Wind Gale will amplify the scale of the flames of the Fireball jutsu. Kakashi drowned in flames once again.
"I was just waiting for you to come out." Ryoha shrugged his shoulders and said.
"Wind Release and Fire Release combined? Just how much has he surpassed me?" Looking at Ryoha, who could actually fight against Kakashi on his own, the reluctance in Sasuke's heart grew. His desire for power could only grow even more.
"It is beyond my expectations, but it is still not enough." Kakashi used the Body Substitution jutsu at the critical moment. Then, he used the Body Flicker jutsu to arrive in front of Ryoha. The expression in his eyes changed a little. He had not expected that he would fall for Ryoha's trap. He had nearly failed miserably in an easy task.
"Thousand Years of Death!" The peculiar taijutsu stabbed Ryoha's butt again and sent him flying.
"He lost?" Sakura couldn't believe that Ryoha, who had been so majestic just a moment ago, would lose almost instantly after.
"It's normal that he lost. No matter what, I was a Jonin. He is just a newly graduated Genin. The number of Ninjutsu he can learn is limited." Kakashi said.
"Sorry, but you're the one who lost." The thrown Ryoha turned into a cloud of smoke. His voice came from behind Kakashi.
"Oh no." Kakashi didn't even think about it. Unfortunately, it was too late. One of the bells was taken in a flash and landed in Ryoha's hand.
"You had learned the Shadow Clone jutsu?" Kakashi looked at Ryoha in confusion. This was not something that was taught at the Ninja Academy.
"You taught me yourself." Ryoha was also shocked. Fortunately, he had activated his Sharingan at that moment. Good thing Kakashi deliberately held back. Otherwise, he would not have been able to see through the trajectory of Kakashi's movement. Thus, he set up a trap and went invisible.
He was using the earth release to hide from Kakashi, waiting to use a thin thread to take the bell away the moment he used the secret jutsu.
"I what..." Kakashi denied. However, when he recalled that Ryoha had said that he had learned Sasuke's Fireball jutsu and had just used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he suddenly looked at Ryoha in surprise.
"That's right. The Shadow Clone Jutsu requires delicate chakra control and allocation since you need to allocate some of your chakras into the Shadow Clone. You have been holding back your strength, otherwise, I would have been killed. Therefore, the speed of your hand seals is not as fast as when you are fighting a ninja of the same level. So your Shadow Clone duration is very short."
"There was only one seal, and unfortunately, I saw them. I think my chakra control is good, so learning the shadow clone is not something to be surprised about."
Ryoha was completely boasting. However, with the Fireball jutsu as the opening, Kakashi had to believe it. After all, what Ryoha said was indeed very reasonable. The secret of the shadow clone jutsu was chakra control. It could be learned and used with a certain degree of chakra control.
However, the reason why it was a forbidden jutsu was not that it was difficult to learn, but because if one made too many shadow clones without having a large amount of chakra like Naruto, who has his Kyubi, they might lose their life from using them. So it was decided as one of the forbidden jutsu.
It was not because this jutsu was amazing or difficult to learn, but because this jutsu would be very dangerous to use for many Ninjas. Because of this, usually, only Jonins were able to use this jutsu safely. Therefore, Kakashi was fooled by Ryoha's hidden strength and chakra control.
"You are amazing. You are qualified." Although Kakashi wanted to test the team cooperation of the students, he had no choice. Just now, he had said that as long as they could steal the bell, they would be qualified. Now, Ryoha had stolen the bell, just like he had done in the past. Back then, he had also stolen the bell alone.
Thus, Kakashi saw his childhood self in Ryoha. Whether it was in public or private, Ryoha had indeed qualified.
"Since we are a team, I will tell you a secret. This so-called test is actually just a test of team cooperation, not a personal fight. As long as you show the spirit of team cooperation and understand the assignment, even if you can't get the bell, you will pass."
Ryoha no longer paid attention to the three of them and directly went to a nearby tree to lie down and sleep. The battle just now consumed a lot of chakras. He was not Naruto, and he didn't have the Kyubi Chakra. He used a lot of them, and he had to wait for the chakra to recover. He seemed to be sleeping, but in fact, he was recovering his chakra.
"What a smart and cautious kid." Kakashi thought in his heart. He clearly saw that Ryoha was recovering his chakra, but he was delighted with Ryoha's caution to put his strength on alert all the time. A ninja like this could survive for a long time.
"Kakashi-sensei, so what he said was true?" Naruto was also surprised. He did not expect the gap between him and Ryoha to be so big. Not only did the other party see the purpose of the test, but he also got the bell alone.
"Yes, the purpose of this test is indeed the same as what he said, but if you can also steal the bell alone like him, you can pass." Kakashi did not hide anything but directly admitted it.