Chapter 123 (Patreon)

A gentle breeze swept through Konoha beneath a clear blue sky.

Inside Yujiro’s small house, he slowly opened his eyes and stretched.

Things had gotten a little out of hand last night.

After washing and getting dressed, Yujiro picked up his black blade and left the house at an unhurried pace.

A short while later, the door to the bedroom across from his quietly opened.

Tsunade cautiously poked her head into the hallway. Only after repeatedly confirming that Yujiro was truly gone did she step outside with confidence.

She quietly slipped into his bedroom, and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips when she saw the scene before her.

It seemed that he knew what he was doing after all.

“Tsunade-sama?! Huh?!”

Yūgao’s startled voice rang out from inside the room.

“Hehehe...”

By then, Yujiro had already arrived at Training Ground Seven.

Today was the day Kakashi would officially begin training Team Seven.

More importantly, Yujiro was about to witness one of the most memorable scenes from the original story.

After arriving, he climbed into a large tree and stretched out across one of its thick branches, casually observing the training ground below from the corner of his eye.

Several minutes later, three figures gradually appeared.

Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura.

Every member of Team Seven had arrived.

“Morning, Little Sasuke.” Naruto greeted him with a wide yawn.

“Only Yujiro-nii is allowed to call me that!” Sasuke’s entire face immediately turned red. His right hand reached for the tantō strapped across his back. “Call me that again, Naruto, and I’ll cut you down!”

Because Itachi served in the ANBU, he regularly wielded a tantō, a weapon commonly carried by ANBU shinobi.

Sasuke had therefore learned kenjutsu from Itachi from an early age. Of course, there was another reason he had chosen to wield a blade.

Yujiro was also a swordsman.

Sasuke greatly admired Yujiro’s swordsmanship and longed to reach that same level one day.

“Hehehe! You might be able to beat one of me, but can you beat ten?”

Naruto showed no fear whatsoever. He rubbed his nose, formed a hand seal, and shouted, “Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

White smoke erupted across the training ground. When it cleared, ten identical Narutos surrounded Sasuke.

“Come on, then! You think I’m afraid of you?”

Sasuke drew his tantō and charged straight into the crowd of shadow clones.

“Enough, you two!” Sakura hurriedly tried to stop them. “We’re on the same team now, so stop fighting!”

Unfortunately, Naruto and Sasuke were already too busy trying to beat each other senseless to listen to her.

With no other choice, Sakura sat down on the nearby grass and rested her chin in both hands, allowing her thoughts to wander.

Every so often, a dreamy smile would appear on her face.

“I wonder when I’ll get to see Yujiro-nii again...”

Clearly, Sakura was one of Yujiro’s millions of devoted admirers.

She had already reached the point where thoughts of him occupied her mind day and night.

Yujiro observed everything from the tree.

Hidden among the branches, he grinned in anticipation.

He wanted to see how Kakashi would deal with the three of them.

Would Kakashi frighten the life out of them just as he had in the original story?

There was still plenty of time before Kakashi arrived, so Yujiro closed his eyes and took a nap.

Four hours later, lunchtime was already approaching when Kakashi finally strolled into the training ground.

“Yo. You three arrived rather early.”

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto immediately jumped to his feet and shouted. “That’s not what you told us! You were the one who ordered us to gather early in the morning! Why are you only arriving now?!”

“Well, when I left home this morning, I saw an old woman trying to cross the road. Helping her took a little longer than expected.”

Kakashi’s visible eye curved into an innocent smile.

“Then can we eat already?” Naruto grabbed his hair with both hands and scratched furiously. “What kind of survival exercise are we supposed to do after that?”

Kakashi ignored the question and walked toward the three wooden posts in the distance. He then removed an alarm clock from his ninja pouch.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura followed him, exchanging confused looks. None of them knew what he intended to do next.

From his position in the distant tree, Yujiro watched with growing interest.

He knew this scene very well.

Kakashi set the alarm clock and placed it atop one of the wooden posts. He then removed two small bells from his waist.

The corner of Yujiro’s mouth rose slightly.

Good. Kakashi was still the same Kakashi.

Jingle. Jingle.

Kakashi shook the two bells in his right hand before smiling at his three students.

“The rules of today’s survival exercise are simple.”

He held up the bells.

“If you can take one of these from me before noon, you pass.”

Kakashi paused before shaking the bells once more.

“However, if you were paying attention, you should have already noticed something.”

Jingle. Jingle.

“I only have two bells.”

Kakashi looked at the three of them.

“Do you understand what that means?”

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared at the two bells.

“It means that one of you will fail. Whoever fails will be removed from Team Seven and sent back to the Academy.”

Just as expected, all three of them were stunned.

That meant one of them would be forced to leave Team Seven.

How could they possibly accept that?

Determination immediately filled Naruto’s eyes.

I still have to catch up to Yujiro-nii! There’s no way I can stop here!

Sasuke clenched his fists. He had sworn that he would catch up to both Itachi and Yujiro.

With the two people he admired most still so far ahead of him, there was no possibility of allowing himself to fail here.

Sakura’s determination was even fiercer than theirs.

I’ll catch up to Yujiro-nii and make him marry me!

Kakashi studied their expressions and nodded in satisfaction.

Not bad.

At the very least, all three of them possessed firm resolve.

Now he only needed to see whether their abilities matched their determination.

Kakashi attached the two bells to his waist. His right hand then slowly moved toward his ninja pouch.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura immediately tensed.

However, instead of drawing a weapon, Kakashi pulled out a small book.

He opened his copy of Icha Icha Paradise and immediately became absorbed in its pages.

“Do not hold back on my account.”

Kakashi casually turned a page, his eye remaining fixed on the book. He waved his free hand toward them and continued, “Remember, if you want to take these bells, you’ll have to come at me with the intent to kill.”

“Otherwise, you won’t stand a chance.”

He turned another page.

“The bell test begins now.”

The moment Kakashi finished speaking, Sasuke and Sakura dashed into the surrounding forest and concealed themselves, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Naruto, however, remained standing directly in front of Kakashi.

He rolled his wrists and grinned.

“Kakashi-sensei! Here I come!”

In the distance, Yujiro raised an eyebrow.

That reckless kid truly had not changed at all.