From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

Kakashi casually glanced at the surrounding dense forest, intending to take out "Icha Icha Paradise" from his pouch to look at it, creating an opening to lure them into a trap.

But remembering that Sasuke was also inside, he silently lowered his hand that had just reached for his waist pouch. If he had actually done that, it would have been a flaw, if not an opening.

'My focus should still be on Sasuke, otherwise things could easily go wrong.'

Kakashi stood casually in the center of the open space, but his entire body was taut like a drawn bow. Sasuke's strength was not to be underestimated, and more importantly, his speed was formidable.

After learning Chidori a month ago, Sasuke activated his body using Lightning Release chakra, and now his speed has reached a new level. If Kakashi is careless, he might lose all three bells.

"Sasuke, what do you mean?"

Sakura, peeking out from the dense canopy of a large tree, secretly observed Kakashi and asked in a low voice.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, whose face showed a hint of impatience, and said in a deep voice, "Kakashi-sensei is very strong. Let's execute battle plan B."

Sasuke and Kakashi had already practiced countless times, so one more time wouldn't make a difference. He decided to team up with his two teammates for a fight, and he also wanted to see how Sakura and Naruto would perform in this trial.

As soon as he finished speaking, Sasuke pulled out a kunai shuriken with one hand and formed a hand seal with the other!

Normally, ninjas use both hands to form hand seals, but some are "gifted" and, with training, can form hand seals with only one hand!

In the original timeline, the later Sasuke could also perform hand seals with one hand, and the current Sasuke, after four years of sculpting training and yoga practice, has also learned this move!

In fact, it is not surprising that one hand can form a mudra; later, it was even possible to form a mudra with both feet.

Seeing Sasuke begin to act, Sakura and Naruto quickly exchanged glances and simultaneously formed hand seals in perfect unison.

"Fire Release: Red Phoenix Claw!"

Sasuke's chest bulged high as he spat out more than a dozen fist-sized fireballs, their trajectory resembling the fruit of a balsam flower. At the same time, he threw a handful of kunai shuriken in Kakashi's direction with his right hand!

Phoenix Flower Claw Red is a derivative technique of Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique. While using the Phoenix Flower Technique, flames are attached to the flying shuriken, causing the shuriken to attack the opponent with scorching heat, like a shower of phoenix flowers.

It possesses both the high heat and destructive power of Fire Release and the cutting ability of Shuriken. Even if the fire is extinguished, the Shuriken will still cause serious damage to the opponent. It is superior in number and power to the Phoenix Flower Technique!

This fire-style ninjutsu was found by Sasuke in Uchiha Shisui's notes, and it was later used by Edo Itachi against Killer Bee during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The requirements for mastering the Balsam Flower Claw Red are a bit demanding, namely, you must form the hand seal with one hand!

One must form a hand seal with one hand and throw a shuriken with the other to complete the Phoenix Flower Claw Red Technique!

"Wind Release - Great Breakthrough!"

At the same time, Naruto completed his ninjutsu, and a powerful stream of air was exhaled from his mouth, following closely behind Sasuke's fire-style ninjutsu.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough itself doesn't have much destructive power; it can only disperse enemies and achieve a restraining effect.

But the fire was fueled by the wind, and the wind fueled the fire's power!

The fireball, originally the size of a fist, instantly more than doubled in size and increased in speed, hurtling towards Kakashi with the force of a wildfire.

"coming!"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, then quickly formed hand seals, and a huge stream of water rose up around him, its unstoppable momentum meeting the fireball head-on.

"Water Release: Breaking the Torrent!"

boom!

The clash of ninjutsu produced a deafening sound, and the flames evaporated the water, turning it into a surging stream of hot air that instantly formed a thick fog.

Swish swish!

A handful of kunai and shuriken shot out from the thick fog. Kakashi's water release had extinguished the flames, but it had not stopped the shurikens and kunai hidden in the flames!

'This isn't just any fire jutsu; it's a combined wind and fire ninjutsu!'

Kakashi was slightly startled. If it was a simple fire-style ninjutsu, even if shuriken were added to it, his water-style ninjutsu could not destroy the shuriken like flames, but the force of the water flow could disperse them.

Although surprised, Kakashi was not flustered and was about to calmly leap up to dodge the kunai shuriken attack.

"Trying to run? Not so easy, Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura, who had been keeping her eyes on the field and had formed hand seals but hadn't released them yet, chuckled and softly shouted, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

'That's the Third Hokage's shuriken shadow clone!?'

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he tried to dodge, only to see that what had been a dozen or so shuriken had suddenly multiplied into hundreds or even thousands of kunai shuriken, densely packed and flying everywhere, a dark mass that completely blocked Kakashi's escape route.

Since he couldn't dodge, Kakashi simply gave up. He didn't have much chakra, and he usually tried to conserve it in battle, rarely exchanging ninjutsu with others. But in the current situation, he had no choice but to use one more ninjutsu!

"Tu Dun·Tu Liubi!"

The ground in front of Kakashi suddenly trembled violently, and instantly a five-meter-high, three-meter-wide earthen wall with three dog heads carved in the center blocked the flying shuriken.

Clearly, although Kakashi was thinking about conserving chakra, his body was very honest and never forgot to add a dog's head to his earthen wall!

'Fortunately, Sakura's shuriken clone technique can only create a few hundred shuriken. If it were like the Third Hokage's, I would have a hard time blocking it.'

After using his ninjutsu, Kakashi went to the secret passage.

The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique is an A-rank ninjutsu. It was created by the Third Hokage inspired by the Shadow Clone Technique developed by the Second Hokage. When the Third Hokage used it, he could split a single shuriken into tens of thousands of shuriken to launch continuous attacks from all directions!

Sakura's shuriken clones, which split into hundreds of clones from a dozen or so and can only attack in a straight line, are clearly worlds apart from the Third Hokage's shuriken clones, which can split into tens of thousands and attack from all directions.

For example, if Kakashi were to block the Third Hokage's shuriken shadow clones, he would need to raise at least four earthen walls to block the attack, instead of just one earthen wall as is the case now.

However, even though the difference is huge, considering Sakura's current age, being able to master this A-rank ninjutsu is already a remarkable achievement for a genius!

'It seems Sasuke's teammates are quite capable.'

Just as Kakashi thought he had blocked the three's attack and had the leisure to think nonsense, a dozen or so real shuriken hidden among the hundreds of shuriken shadow clones suddenly turned and changed direction, as if someone was controlling them.

With a series of sharp whistling sounds, it bypassed the earthen wall and went straight for Kakashi behind it!

"This is!?"

A look of surprise flashed across Kakashi's face. Just as he was about to dodge, his body tensed up, and he was tightly bound to the earthen wall under the three dog heads by an invisible restraint, unable to move.

"The Uchiha clan's shurikenjutsu?"

Kakashi looked up and followed the transparent steel wire, where Sasuke's figure came into view.

Chapter 57 The Assessment Continues

"What?! It was resolved so easily? Kakashi-sensei isn't as powerful as the rumors say."

Seeing that Kakashi was tightly bound by wire and unable to move at all, Naruto disregarded his need to hide and stepped out to shout loudly.

"It can't be that simple, after all, Kakashi-sensei is a Jonin." Sakura Haruno also stepped forward, carefully observed Kakashi, and said hesitantly, "It might be a substitution jutsu or a shadow clone or something."

Kakashi-sensei is rumored to be a genius ninja who became a Jonin at the age of 12, while they had just graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of 12. Even if Sakura thought their teamwork was perfect, it was impossible for them to be defeated so easily.

More importantly, Sasuke is so amazing, how could his teacher be mediocre!?

Sakura roared inwardly.

"Naruto, don't be careless. Kakashi-sensei is not that simple." Sasuke shook his head slightly.

"But it shouldn't be a stand-in or a shadow clone either!"

Their coordinated attack was a series of strikes, and Kakashi, caught off guard, could only manage to use two ninjutsu for defense.

According to Sasuke's observation, Kakashi did not have time to use Shadow Clone Jutsu or Substitution Jutsu, nor did he make any hand seals.

After all, this isn't the late-game meta where gods clash and whatever they shout comes to pass.

Aside from the Rasengan, a ninjutsu that requires no hand seals, even the most basic E-rank ninjutsu requires everyone to obediently form hand seals.

Sasuke was more than 90% certain that the wire binding him was actually Kakashi himself.

Therefore, Sasuke did not follow up with a powerful Dragon Fire Technique or anything like that.

If the bound Kakashi is real, and I accidentally die at his hands, it would be a huge disaster.

If it's fake, it's pointless except for wasting chakra by destroying a shadow clone or substitute.

'So, how would you cope if your body was bound, unable to move, and unable to form hand seals?'

Sasuke gripped the wire tightly, his eyes fixed on Kakashi's every move, eager to see how Kakashi would resolve the current predicament.

If Sasuke were underground, he would not be able to escape the constraints of shurikenjutsu while being unable to move or form hand seals.

Kakashi is an experienced ninja; what Sasuke can't solve right now should be a piece of cake for him.

"I was careless."

Kakashi assessed his situation and praised:

"I must say, your teamwork was absolutely perfect."

Naruto chuckled and shouted, "Kakashi-sensei, since that's the case, then hurry up and admit that we passed the test!"

"You haven't gotten the bell yet," Kakashi said with a slight smile. "And don't underestimate a Jonin."

Kakashi answered Naruto, but looked at Sasuke instead.

As soon as he finished speaking, the steel wire in Zuo Zhuan's hand suddenly loosened, as if it was not binding a person, but a soft ball of cotton.

Kakashi took advantage of the gap and escaped from the wire like a slippery earthworm.

Sasuke's gaze sharpened, and he reflexively tightened his grip on the steel wire, but it only managed to bind the earthen wall.

"W-what? They actually broke free?"

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

Sakura frowned, muttering in confusion, "What kind of ninjutsu did Kakashi-sensei use? Why can't I sense any chakra fluctuations?"

"It doesn't count as ninjutsu."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi, who had a calm expression on his face, and after a moment of contemplation, said, "It's the Rope-Breaking Technique!"

"Why!?"

The two of them exclaimed in surprise.

"They escaped using such a simple method?"

Rope-breaking technique is a basic skill that all lower-grade students in the ninja academy must learn. It's not even considered a basic ninjutsu because it doesn't require any chakra; it's just a matter of using the body.

Some ordinary people can also master the art of escaping ropes with some training.

"As expected of Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke sighed. He never expected Kakashi to use such a basic method to escape, let alone that the rope-breaking technique could be used in this way.