On the training ground, the wind blew across the scorched earth, stirring up wisps of lingering smoke.
Kakashi stood where he was, his gaze slowly sweeping over the three youths before him.
His silver hair was dotted with bits of grass and dirt. There were a few creases on his dark green Jonin vest from the explosion's shockwaves. Though not injured, compared to his earlier leisurely, book-reading composure, he did look somewhat disheveled now.
Especially the two bells at his waist, which emitted crisp ding-dang sounds in the wind, as if reminding him of what had just happened.
"Two thousand ryo per explosive tag..."
Kakashi muttered to himself, his right hand raising to somewhat helplessly adjust the Konoha's forehead protector worn at a slant.
His eyes held no anger, only a complex mix of surprise, appreciation, and faint exhaustion.
The earlier battle had already revealed many things.
Naruto's absurdly high number of Shadow Clones… the Chakra Reserves nothing like a normal Genin should have.
Hinata's Byakugan insight, precise kunai throws, perfectly timed tactical positioning… already far beyond the level of an ordinary Genin.
And Menma, who had seemed overly calm from start to finish, his Taijutsu solid to a startling degree, his tactical thinking terrifyingly clear.
Most crucially, the coordination between them.
From the opening shadow clone human wave distraction, to the kunai and explosive tag combo forcing him to get serious, to Menma's close-quarters entanglement, finally to the Hinata shadow clone bait explosion...
One step linked to the next.
Every move was calculated.
In wartime, encountering three ordinary Genin, Kakashi could have easily 'resolved' the battle relying on the absolute difference in strength.
For example, activating his Sharingan, using a few high-level Ninjutsu, or going straight for the kill… the fight would have ended within ten seconds.
But now it was an exam. Doing that would completely defeat the purpose.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Naruto's voice pulled Kakashi back from his thoughts.
Naruto stood next to Menma, fists clenched, face full of eager smiles, blue eyes shining with excitement. "Are we still fighting? I still have lots of shadow clones left!"
As he spoke, he was about to form seals again.
"Wait, Naruto."
Menma raised his hand, gently placing it on Naruto's shoulder.
He didn't even look back at Naruto, but just that simple action made Naruto, who had been excitedly preparing to charge again, stop as if a pause button had been pressed.
Kakashi noted this, realizing Menma's leadership aura within the trio was clear.
"Huh? Menma-nii?" Naruto turned in confusion. "What's wrong? Aren't we about to win?"
Hinata also looked at Menma, a trace of bewilderment in her eyes.
She still held a kunai in each hand, maintaining a combat stance, cheeks slightly flushed from the earlier intense activity.
Menma didn't immediately answer Naruto.
He took a step forward, standing half a step ahead of Naruto and Hinata.
"Kakashi-sensei," Menma spoke, his voice exceptionally clear in the open training ground. "Is there still a need to continue?"
The single exposed right eye of Kakashi narrowed slightly.
He looked at the black-haired boy before him.
Menma's expression was very calm, even with a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of his mouth, but deep within those black eyes was a steadiness and insight mismatched with his age.
"Oh?" Kakashi let go of the hand adjusting his forehead protector, straightened his posture, hands sliding back into his pockets, resuming that lazy stance.
"How so?"
"After all, you're an Elite Jonin, while the three of us are just freshly graduated Genin. If Kakashi-sensei gets serious and we could really steal the bells from you..."
Menma paused, his gaze sweeping over the two white bells at Kakashi's waist.
"...that would be strange."
The wind blew again, the bells emitting light ding-dang sounds.
In the forest, hidden among the leaves, Sasuke's frown deepened.
His Sharingan was fixed intently on Menma on the training ground, the two tomoes slowly rotating in his eyes.
'This guy...'
A complex emotion surged in Sasuke's heart.
He admitted Menma was strong. Six years at the Ninja Academy, thirty-six challenges, thirty-six defeats… that was proof enough.
But only now, seeing the coordination between Menma, Naruto, and Hinata, seeing that seamless tactical link-up, did Sasuke truly realize that this guy he viewed as a 'rival' might be even stronger than he'd imagined.
What made Sasuke even more concerned were Menma's current words.
"If we could really steal the bells from you, that would be strange."
A simple statement, but it pierced the core issue of this survival exercise exam.
Sasuke looked at Kakashi.
This former ANBU Commander.
If Kakashi truly got serious, forget three Genin, even thirty Genin couldn't possibly steal anything from him.
So this exam...
Images flashed through Sasuke's mind.
Kakashi's teachings during missions with them… about 'team', 'comrades', 'trust'.
And when he had just joined Anbu, things Kakashi had said to him.
"So that's it..." Sasuke murmured to himself, glancing again at the hidden positions of Sai and Kurenai.
On the training ground, after hearing Menma's words, Kakashi fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, he sighed softly. The sound held a trace of 'being seen through' helplessness, and also some 'finally don't have to pretend anymore' relief.
"Indeed," Kakashi nodded, his right hand pulling out of his pocket to scratch his silver hair. "Your coordination is more in sync than many teams. I think you've guessed it too… the real test isn't these two bells, is it?"
"Huh?"
Naruto was stunned.
He looked at Kakashi, then at Menma, his blue eyes full of question marks, the expression of 'completely didn't understand what you're talking about' practically materializing on his face.
"The bells... aren't the test?" Naruto scratched his head, making his blond hair messy. "Then why did you have us steal the bells? Kakashi-sensei, didn't you say whoever fails to grab them goes back to the Ninja Academy for retraining?"
Hinata also showed a confused expression, but unlike Naruto, she didn't ask directly. Instead, she looked at Menma with her pure white eyes, waiting for his explanation.
Menma turned to face Naruto and Hinata.
His expression was gentle, as if explaining a complex math problem to two classmates who hadn't fully grasped the situation.
"Naruto, Hinata," Menma's voice was calm and patient. "Think about it. If the test really was just 'stealing the bells', why would Kakashi-sensei set the condition of 'only two bells'?"
Naruto tilted his head, thinking. "Because... because only two can pass?"
"Then why 'two'?" Menma continued guiding. "Why not 'one', or 'three'?"
"Because..." Naruto opened his mouth but couldn't answer.
Hinata spoke softly, uncertainty in her voice. "Because... there are exactly three of us?"
"Correct," Menma nodded. "Three people, two bells. That means no matter what, one person will 'fail'."
He paused, looking at Kakashi. "But Kakashi-sensei knew from the start that the three of us grew up together, have a good relationship. If one person really had to go back to the Ninja Academy for retraining..."
"I would never agree!" Naruto immediately shouted, fists clenched tightly. "We're together! If we pass, we pass together! If we retrain, we retrain together!"
Hinata also nodded vigorously, though her cheeks were still red, her gaze very firm. "I... I think so too!"
Menma smiled, the expression carrying a 'see, it's like this' meaning.
He turned back to Kakashi. "So, Kakashi-sensei. The so-called 'steal the bells,' the so-called 'only two can pass', was a trap from the beginning. The real goal was never testing whether we could steal something from you… that's an impossible task for us Genin anyway."
Kakashi crossed his arms, a flash of appreciation in his dead-fish eye.
"Go on," His voice was still lazy, but the earlier casualness was gone.
"A 'survival exercise' for already graduated Ninja is simply redundant," Menma analyzed unhurriedly, each word spoken clearly and forcefully. "So the exam's focus isn't on 'combat ability'… that was already tested in the graduation exam. In that case, the remaining possibilities aren't many."
His gaze swept over Naruto and Hinata.
"Team coordination, harmony between members, and the choices made when facing predicaments like 'insufficient resources', 'someone must sacrifice'… and the most important one..."
Menma paused for a second, then said the word: "...bonds."
The word echoed on the training ground.
Naruto froze.
Hinata's eyes widened slightly.
In the forest, Sasuke's pupils contracted.
Under his mask, Kakashi's lips lifted slightly.
"I think Kakashi-sensei's original plan was probably to 'qualify' two of us," Menma continued. "Or prepare some other little tricks to create 'resource' imbalance, causing internal conflict or the like, to test the three of us."
He looked at Kakashi, black eyes meeting the single exposed right eye. "I suppose that's the real key point for Kakashi-sensei's elimination… not insufficient strength, but an inability to value comrades, to make correct choices in difficult situations, to establish true 'bonds'."
Silence.
The training ground was quiet for a few seconds.
Only the sound of wind over scorched earth, the distant gurgling of the river, and faint bird calls from the forest.
Then, Kakashi laughed.
Not that lazy, perfunctory laugh, but a heartfelt one carrying relief and reminiscence.
Though the mask hid the lower half of his face, from the curve of his eyes, the slight relaxation of his shoulders, one could see his current mood.
"Completely correct," Kakashi nodded, a trace of emotion in his voice. "If one can't even value their teammates, it proves they truly cannot become a Ninja… at least, not a ninja I can acknowledge."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three faces. "Ninja aren't lone wolves. Missions will encounter all kinds of unexpected situations. You might get injured, might fall into desperate straits, might face choices where someone must sacrifice for others to survive. If at that time, the only thought is for oneself..."
Kakashi didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.
Naruto finally understood.
His eyes widened, the 'sudden realization' expression on his face exaggerated like a manga character.
"So Kakashi-sensei, you were testing from the start whether we truly value each other?!" Naruto's voice rose an octave, carrying a bit of anger at being deceived, but more excitement after understanding. "You actually doubted the friendship between Menma-nii, Hinata, and me?! We've been best friends since we were little!"
He almost shouted it, blue eyes shining with pure, fervent light.
Hinata's face turned redder, but she didn't lower her head. Instead, she looked at Kakashi, speaking in a voice that was small but firm. "I also trust Menma and Naruto... no matter what happens, I won't abandon my comrades."
Menma stood between the two, not speaking, only the smile at the corners of his mouth deepening slightly.
Kakashi looked at these three youths standing together, at that unreserved trust and bond in their eyes, a soft spot in his heart touched.
It was as if he saw himself over a decade ago.
Back then, he wasn't called the [Copy Ninja], didn't have the Sharingan, wasn't that perpetually late, Icha Icha-reading, 'I got lost on the path of life'-excuse-making Hatake Kakashi.
Back then, he was just a youth who had become withdrawn and cold after his father's suicide, assigned to Minato's team, becoming teammates with Obito and Rin.
That dead-last Obito, always late, always saying naive things, always arguing with him.
Gentle, kind Rin, trying hard to mediate team relations.
Minato patiently teaching them, never giving up on anyone.
Then, Kannabi Bridge.
Obito gave him his Sharingan, was buried under rocks.
Rin, to protect the village, died by his Chidori.
Minato, to seal the Nine-Tails, sacrificed himself along with Kushina.
From that day, he changed.
He became lazy, lost interest in everything, always late, always reading Icha Icha, hiding all emotion behind his mask and forehead protector.
But he never forgot those things.
"Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
Obito said that.
"Kakashi, live well, carrying their parts with you."
Minato said that.
"Kakashi, you have to smile."
Rin said that.
These words, these memories, these bonds, formed who he was now.
And now, looking at these three children, seeing that pure, unreserved trust and bond in their eyes, it was like seeing his younger self, Obito, and Rin.
Under his mask, Kakashi couldn't help but let his lips curve upward slightly.
'Is this the 'youth' Guy is always yelling about...'
'It really is... dazzling.'
He took a deep breath, pressing those surging memories back into his heart.
"Well then—" His voice returned to its usual laziness, but careful listening could detect a trace of barely noticeable warmth, "—congratulations, you passed."
A brief silence.
"Yeah—!!!"
Naruto directly jumped up, arms raised, letting out an excited cheer.
He spun in place, blond hair shining in the sunlight, the smile on his face as brilliant as the midday summer sun.
"We passed! Menma-nii! Hinata! We passed! We're Kakashi-sensei's students!"
As he shouted, he vigorously patted Menma's shoulder.
Hinata also sighed in relief, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
She looked at Menma, pure white eyes sparkling with joy, softly saying, "That's great, Menma-kun..."
Menma nodded, his face still having that 'everything under control' expression, but his eyes also held a trace of a smile.
He looked at the cheering Naruto, at the smiling Hinata, at this lazy yet relieved Kakashi before him, a complex emotion welling up in his heart.
Kakashi walked up to the three.
Though the three youngsters' height only reached his shoulders, at this moment, Kakashi looked at them and felt a light surpassing their age shining from them.
That light emitted from mutual trust and support.