Naruto: The new beginning

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In the evening, when Naruto returned home, Kushina pulled him aside and asked mysteriously, "Naruto, do you know Shino?"

"Shino? Is he okay? What's wrong?"

Kushina replied with frustration, "Shino is such an odd child. If he's not careful, he'll get left behind."

Naruto chuckled. "Shino has a really low profile. My classmates often forget about him at gatherings. Kiba's had to take him along a few times."

"Why doesn't Kiba forget him?" Kushina asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he finds him by his smell?" Naruto guessed.

Kushina raised a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Do I need to use Perception Ninjutsu to make sure Shino's around before I say anything important in the future?"

Naruto smirked. "It's not impossible. Anyway, our family doesn't lack chakra." 

Then he added, "But it's not that bad. Once you get used to him, you'll start to sense his presence."

---

Early morning, Naruto left home with a sandwich in his mouth and arrived at the meeting point right on time at five o'clock. It is the training ground with three wooden logs in the centre.

Although he knew Kakashi might be late, Naruto didn't dare to be. After all, Kakashi was their Sensei, and when Sensei orders a five o'clock gathering, you show up at five. It's a basic rule for ninjas.

Sasuke and Sakura had also arrived. They greeted each other and waited. Ten minutes later, Naruto walked over to where Sasuke and Sakura were chatting and said, "Looks like he's going to be late again. Why don't we prepare?"

Naruto pulled out steel wire, kunai, and other tools from his ninja kit. Sasuke and Sakura agreed, and with that, three of them started setting up traps around the training ground. They rigged it with all sorts of tripwires.

Kakashi, who had been observing from a tree, smiled approvingly. "Not bad. They're working together to set traps."

But when Naruto took out a stack of explosive tags, Kakashi broke into a cold sweat. "No way, does this kid want to blow up the training ground and kill me?"

Naruto, however, decided against it and put the explosive tags away. After all, Kakashi wasn't his enemy.

The three genin continued working for a couple of hours. By the time they were done, the practice field was covered in traps, with barely any space left to stand. Kakashi, still hiding, grinned slyly and suddenly used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before them.

Sakura gasped, "Ka... Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto glared, pretending to be upset. "You're late."

Kakashi tried to explain, "I ran into a black cat on my way, so..."

Naruto thought to himself, 'Jiraiya sure taught you well in the art of spying.'

Seeing the three of them silently glaring at him, Kakashi cleared his throat. "Alright, let's start the test."

The three instantly perked up.

Then Kakashi added with a smile, "But first, dismantle all the traps you've set up. We'll move to another training ground."

Naruto: "Huh?"

Sasuke: "Huh?"

Sakura: "Huh?"

"Hurry up! The exercise ends at noon, and there are only two hours left."

"Yes~" *3

The three of them gritted their teeth as they disarmed the traps they had painstakingly set up. Reluctantly, they followed Kakashi to a new training ground, feeling like they were shrouded in dark energy.

"I'll explain the test rules," Kakashi said, pulling out two bells. "Your goal is to grab these two bells from me before noon. Anyone who doesn't get a bell fails the test."

Sakura frowned. "Then why are there only two bells?"

Kakashi answered seriously, "Because only two of you can pass. Those who fail will be sent back to the Academy. You can use ninja tools, and unless you're ready to kill me, you won't get the bells."

Sakura's heart sank. Is this a ploy to eliminate me? I finally graduated and got assigned to the same team as Sasuke. This should've been a happy moment, but why does it feel like this?

Naruto remarked casually, "That's harsh, playing mind games with us."

'It's a psychological tactic. Stay strong, Sakura, don't hold back for Sasuke-kun!' Sakura steeled herself.

"Who knows?" Kakashi's tone shifted as he announced, "The test begins now!"

In an instant, Naruto and Sasuke positioned themselves in front of Sakura, who drew her kunai defensively.

Naruto formed a hand seal. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

He created shadow clones with a one-handed seal, forming a cross with his left hand's index and middle fingers.

"Uzumaki Naruto, join in!" x20

Twenty clones shouted in unison, creating an imposing atmosphere. Naruto smacked his forehead. "Enough already! Can't you see the situation? Attack him!"

"Oh? Shadow clones?" Kakashi was surprised, With this many, does this kid have an abnormal amount of chakra? As expected of the Sensei's son.

Kakashi quickly punched a clone, making it disappear.

As the first clone vanished, the second one shouted, "Get him, brothers!"

The remaining nine clones charged at Kakashi, full of righteous indignation, only to be swiftly taken out one by one.

Meanwhile, ten other clones stood back, preparing for an attack.

"Water release: Water Dragon Jutsu (Third Hokage, Kushina's Effortless Teaching Edition)!" *10

Ten massive water dragons rose in front of the clones, diving down from the sky, heading straight for Kakashi, covering nearly 20 meters around him.

Sakura stared at the spectacle in amazement. She knew Naruto was good at Water Style, but this was on another level!

She glanced at Sasuke. If Naruto is this strong, then Sasuke-kun, who's supposed to be on par with him, must have an equally powerful Fire release, right?

Even Sasuke was taken aback. "I've never seen shadow clones combined with a Water Dragon Bullet to flood the battlefield! Even if this guy has insane chakra levels, there has to be a limit!"

Kakashi's reaction was more genuine. After taking down the last clone, he widened his eyes at the sight of the ten water dragons, blocking almost all hiding spots. He resisted the urge to curse.

"You call this a Water release!?"

****

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