The moment Kakashi uttered the word—
"Begin."
—everyone vanished.
With a flurry of movement, the four genin scattered into the surrounding foliage, leaving Kakashi alone in the clearing. He stood motionless, hands tucked in his pockets, eye lazily scanning the tree line.
A soft breeze rustled the leaves. The training field was silent… for now.
Hidden among the bushes, tension coiled like a spring.
"Hey. Listen up," Haruto's voice cut through the quiet, calm but commanding.
Naruto was wriggling wildly until a firm hand clamped over his mouth. "Mmph!"
Haruto held him down effortlessly, turning to face Sasuke and Sakura, who had also taken cover nearby. The serious look in his eyes startled even Sasuke for a moment.
"We don't have much time, so I'll keep this simple," Haruto began, eyes sharp with tactical focus. "I'll go first. I'll try to hold him off as long as I can."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Are you giving orders now?"
"Call it whatever you want," Haruto replied coolly. "But I'm the only one with a real shot at stalling him. Even that's going to drain me. While I keep him busy, you three go for the bells."
Naruto pried Haruto's hand away. "Tch! I could fight him too!"
Haruto gave him a deadpan look. "No. You're going to work with them and do what I say. Got it?"
Naruto scowled and turned his head. "Hmph. Fine…"
Sasuke clicked his tongue. "Don't slow me down, dead last."
"I'm not the one who just got bossed around by someone I barely know," Naruto shot back.
"Enough," Haruto said flatly, already stepping forward.
Without waiting for further arguments, Haruto stood and leapt gracefully out of the brush, landing silently in the clearing. The sun cast long shadows behind him as he walked toward Kakashi with slow, deliberate steps. His hands were in his pockets. His white hoodie swayed slightly in the breeze, the red Uzumaki crest on his back catching the light.
From the bushes, Sakura gasped. "He's just… walking out there?!"
"He's going to get himself caught in one move," Sasuke muttered, though his voice betrayed a flicker of curiosity. "Still… that confidence…"
Naruto clenched his fists. "That idiot… what does he think he's doing?"
Kakashi's lone visible eye tracked the boy carefully.
"The first rule of being a shinobi," the Jonin said calmly, "is to hide and observe. I'm surprised you'd forget that—of all people."
Haruto gave a small chuckle as he came to a stop a few meters away.
"Hiding is for those who fear being seen," Haruto said with a smirk, his golden eyes gleaming beneath the shadow of his hood. "But I am Haruto Uzumaki. I don't hide."
Then—he raised a single hand.
A sudden pressure filled the air. Kakashi's brows furrowed as chakra began to pulse around Haruto, thick and vibrant like a second heartbeat. In the span of a blink, two radiant spears of golden energy manifested in the air around him, each hovering mid-air like summoned guardians.
"What the…?" Sakura's voice trembled as she shrank back. "He… he didn't even use hand signs…"
Naruto's jaw dropped. "Whoa… that's not a normal jutsu…"
Sasuke leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "That power… What is that?"
Haruto didn't wait.
With a flick of his wrist, the golden spears launched forward like lightning, cutting through the air with a whistling screech. They barreled toward Kakashi with lethal intent.
CRACK!
Both spears struck Kakashi dead center, piercing through him with an explosive burst of chakra—only for his body to burst into smoke and vanish.
"A substitution jutsu," Sasuke muttered. "He saw them coming."
In the clearing, a wooden log now stood where Kakashi had been.
"Not bad," Kakashi's voice came from a tree branch above. He stood there casually, hands still in his pockets. "Very flashy, though. I'm surprised."
Haruto didn't look up. He stood still, letting the wind sweep around him, the remnants of golden light dissolving into motes of chakra in the air.
'Just as Lord Hokage said…' Kakashi thought. 'No hand signs. No summoning gestures. He simply creates these weapons out of chakra—pure creation. It's not a ninjutsu, at least not one I've seen. More like… something new. And that chakra output… more than a Chūnin, maybe even higher.'
But Kakashi's expression remained impassive.
He tilted his head lazily. "You used quite a lot of chakra just now, didn't you?"
Haruto's golden eyes flicked up toward him. His smirk returned. "I don't need to use my full strength to test a Jonin."
"Hm." Kakashi's eye curved. "Cocky."
"I prefer confident."
From the trees, Sasuke grit his teeth. 'That chakra… he's wasting it so casually. He must think he's stronger than us all.'
Naruto's fists clenched tighter. "Tch! I should be out there too!"
"No!" Sakura hissed, grabbing his sleeve. "We're supposed to wait until Haruto gives us a signal! He said he'd hold him off—"
A flicker of silver—a kunai!
Kakashi vanished from the branch and reappeared behind Haruto in a blur. Haruto spun, hands forming no seals, but instantly summoning another weapon—a circular golden shield with a sun-like emblem. He raised it just in time to block Kakashi's kunai with a metallic clang.
"So you can defend too," Kakashi said, now genuinely intrigued. "This ability of yours… what is it?"
Haruto's eyes flashed. "You don't need to know."
Kakashi disappeared again, moving faster now, forcing Haruto to leap back as another attack came from the side. Haruto barely blocked the next strike with a summoned broadsword, the golden steel catching Kakashi's kunai mid-air.
'Tch… my chakra's dropping too fast,' Haruto thought, annoyed. 'Creating this much material costs more than I thought… I can't drag this on.'
He stepped back, dispersing the blade into shimmering particles.
"Now would be a good time, you know," he muttered, eyes flicking toward the trees.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Let's go."
Naruto grinned, "Now we're talking!"
Together, the three launched out of the trees, beginning their joint assault.
Kakashi turned, catching Naruto's clumsy kunai swipe with ease, ducking under Sakura's half-hearted punch—which he barely acknowledged—and parried Sasuke's fire jutsu with a water release technique of his own.
Still in the center of the storm, Haruto landed beside Naruto, summoning another spear.
"You ready to fight seriously?" he asked with a grin.
Naruto grinned back. "Let's kick his masked butt!"
"Stay out of my way," Sasuke growled.
"Then don't fall behind," Haruto replied coldly, spearing forward with a golden blade.
And so the real test began.
Four against one.