Naruto: Naruto Hosted by the System

He can already use A-rank ninjutsu at such a young age? No wonder he's Minato-sensei's child.

Kakashi nodded with an appreciative look.

But soon, he stopped laughing.

Because there are at least dozens of Naruto's shadow clones in front of us, not counting the ones Naruto is hiding in the shadows.

Hey, isn't this chakra level a foul?

Kakashi internally complained, and his expression became slightly more serious.

"Let's go!"

At his command, Naruto's shadow clones sprang into action, charging towards Kakashi.

Kakashi, being a Jonin, had an impeccable defense; his shadow clones were often scattered as soon as they got close.

After dispersing forty or fifty shadow clones and still seeing Naruto not calm down, Kakashi suddenly felt a bit exhausted: He couldn't watch "Icha Icha Paradise" anymore.

Kakashi then used a Leaf Whirlwind to clear away all the shadow clones around him, and then used Earth Release to burrow underground. When he reappeared, Kakashi was standing on the water.

Kakashi wiped the sweat from his forehead; he dared not continue to outlast Naruto.

Once they reached the water, they thought they could rest for a while, but Naruto's shadow clones didn't stop at all and crossed over by wading through the water as well.

So he could tread water while he was still in the Ninja Academy? Well, he does know the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

However, Kakashi came to the water not only to stop Naruto's pursuit, but also to gain an advantage in terrain.

"Water escape, water rushes into the waves!"

Under Kakashi's control of his chakra, the water beneath his feet obeyed his command, transforming into a water tornado that rushed towards Naruto's shadow clones, clearing them away in no time.

Having gained the upper hand, Kakashi did not relax, but instead threw a punch behind him.

Boom! A flash of white smoke, and it was another shadow clone.

Kakashi was not surprised and kicked behind him again, this time using a shadow clone.

Meanwhile, Naruto's main body had already submerged in the water and, taking advantage of the moment when Kakashi attacked the shadow clone, reached for the bell!

However, as the saying goes, "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind," Kakashi had already laid an ambush around him with a shadow clone, who kicked Naruto away while Naruto was focused on grabbing the bell.

Naruto took a solid kick, but didn't react much. He stood up, dusted himself off, and acted like nothing had happened.

"Unfortunately, it's still not enough with just that." Naruto said with a regretful expression.

Sasuke and Sakura, who were hiding in the shadows, were completely dumbfounded.

Naruto was able to fight a Jonin to a standstill!

"Watch closely, Kakashi-sensei, I'm about to unleash 100% of my power!"

The next moment, Naruto's entire aura changed.

If the Naruto of the past was like a little sun, lively and enthusiastic, then the Naruto of now is like a cold, lifeless machine, to whom living people are nothing more than a pile of data.

This...could it be the Nine-Tails?!

No, there was no Nine-Tails chakra emanating from it, nor could I sense any negative emotions; to be precise, I couldn't sense any emotions at all.

Before he could think any further, Naruto had already charged over.

Instead of using shadow clones to consume energy, are they choosing to rely on their main body instead...?

Kakashi, relying on his excellent dynamic vision honed over many years, predicted that Naruto was going to attack his abdomen and preemptively placed his knee in Naruto's path.

However, to his surprise, Naruto anticipated his prediction, closed the distance, and then braked suddenly, instead using Leaf Whirlwind to attack the left side of his body—his left eye was covered by an eyepatch, so the left side was the weakest point in his defense.

Kakashi was caught off guard and suffered a heavy blow.

However, being a Jonin, he managed to adjust his position before Naruto's whirlwind kick arrived, protecting the bell and then making his way ashore.

Before he could catch his breath, Sasuke, who had been lying in ambush, suddenly attacked, launching a powerful fireball attack right from the start.

However, because his vision was obscured by the Great Fireball, Sasuke did not see Kakashi's action of burrowing underground, which resulted in him being hit by Kakashi's Heart-Shattering Decapitation Technique and trapped underground with only his head showing.

Just as Sasuke was trapped, Sakura Haruno suddenly appeared and rushed towards the bell.

Kakashi simply stood still, exchanged a glance with Sakura Haruno, and then trapped her in a genjutsu.

After dealing with the two, Kakashi turned around and looked at Naruto, who was still standing on the water.

"I thought you would steal the bell while I was dealing with the two of them."

Naruto, sitting opposite him, shook his head expressionlessly.

"There are some things I want to confirm."

Kakashi was curious and was about to ask Naruto what he was trying to confirm when his pupils suddenly contracted.

Naruto's hands moved swiftly, but the hand seals he formed were not the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, but the Water Chaos Wave that Kakashi had just used!

If I remember correctly, Sasuke was the one with the Sharingan, right? Why can Naruto also copy ninjutsu?

"Water Release: Water Chaos Waves!"

The surging waves swept in, and with Naruto's massive chakra reserves, the Water Chaos Wave he unleashed was even more powerful than Kakashi's.

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke and Sakura, who were both unable to move.

This is troublesome...

"Tudun o Tuliu wall!"

Kakashi channeled more chakra than ever before, and the rising earth wall was incredibly tall, enough to completely protect the three of them.

Although I don't know why, there are several dog heads carved on it.

Because he had used up a lot of chakra today, Kakashi's reaction was a beat slower.

It was at this moment that Naruto's shadow clone, which had been hiding in the shadows from the very beginning, made a timely move and took the two bells.

The test was over, Sasuke was released, and Sakura Haruno regained consciousness.

Kakashi's expression darkened as he looked at Naruto: "Naruto, you deliberately forced me towards Sasuke and Sakura, then used my protection to force me to expend a lot of chakra to defend myself, all in order to steal the bell. Am I right?"

Naruto, standing opposite him, nodded without any apparent concern: "That's right."

"So, how do you plan to distribute that one bell?"

Kakashi stared intently at Naruto, determined to send him back to the Ninja Academy no matter who Naruto gave the extra bells to.

He cannot accept that someone would disregard the safety of their companions in order to achieve their goals.

"Hold on."

Naruto closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he felt like the little sun again, able to sense emotions, but they didn't seem to be positive ones.

To Kakashi's surprise, Naruto tossed the two bells to Sasuke and Sakura Haruno respectively.

"...What does this mean? Without the bell, you'll be sent back to the Ninja Academy," Kakashi threatened.

Naruto, however, was not intimidated at all and turned to ask another question: "Does Kakashi-sensei want to know what I was trying to confirm earlier?"

"what?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Kakashi-sensei didn't actually intend for us to get the bell at all; it was just an accident that happened to me."

"Because the real purpose of the assessment is to test whether we understand the importance of teamwork, right?"

Chapter 16 The Assessment Ends

"Because the real purpose of the assessment is to test whether we understand the importance of teamwork, right?"

Kakashi remained silent for a moment after hearing Naruto's answer.

"...Indeed, as you said, the real purpose of the assessment is to test whether you have achieved teamwork. Since you understand this, why don't you try to team up with Sasuke and Sakura to steal the bell?"

"I realized halfway through the assessment that as long as I give them a signal to cooperate, even if it's just a tactic taught at the Ninja Academy, even if our coordination isn't yet proficient, you'll always find an excuse to let us pass."

But Kakashi shook his head: "No, you won't get through if it's just for show."

Because that's how I fooled Minato-sensei, it led to all those tragedies that followed...

At the same time, Kakashi was also somewhat expectant, because Naruto had given the bell to Sasuke and Sakura, perhaps as a way of showing teamwork?

Sasuke and Sakura both lowered their heads upon hearing this.

Sasuke really only wanted to fight alone and looked down on the so-called teamwork, but he just couldn't get the bell on his own. At this moment, he felt as if the bell in his hand was burning hot.

Sakura Haruno does have ideas about teamwork, but only when she's working with Sasuke.

"So, Naruto, what are you going to do now? Now that we've laid everything out on the table, you should understand that I won't let someone without team spirit become a ninja." Kakashi stared intently at Naruto.

"It doesn't matter if I can't become a ninja, because I can't accept being forced to learn teamwork." Naruto said calmly.

"..." Kakashi's expression darkened; he was already prepared to send Team 7 back.

“Teamwork is not a bad thing. When I was little, many people refused to sell me food, but Uncle Tsubaki was willing to give me ramen for free, so I am truly grateful to him.”

“There is another person in my life who is similar to him, namely the Third Hokage. He often came to bring me living expenses and food, and taught me to be grateful and to think about the village.”

"But I feel very uncomfortable with the Third Hokage because he wanted me to be grateful to him and to the village. Even putting aside the fact that I was the orphan of the Fourth Hokage and did not receive the treatment I deserved, they imposed their will on me and tried to mold me into the way they wanted me to be. I just cannot accept that."

Kakashi felt he had overheard something he shouldn't have known and instinctively wanted Naruto to stop talking.

But Naruto just stared at him without making any move, which made Kakashi pause.

"It's not that I can't accept teamwork, and I can become partners with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura through our daily interactions in the future. But I can't accept being forced to become partners with them and being told in my ear that I need to understand teamwork and become partners with them."

Kakashi hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth between Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura: "But Naruto, didn't you, Sasuke, and Sakura have been classmates for six years? Doesn't that mean you spent every day together?"

"Regarding this, before sixth grade, I was only really close to Shikamaru and Choji," Naruto said calmly.

"Kakashi-sensei, if you want everyone in the world to understand teamwork, you should make the world a place where everyone is willing to work together."

"I've said everything I needed to say. Now it's Kakashi-sensei's turn to decide whether or not to send us back to the Ninja Academy."

After saying that, Naruto didn't wait for Kakashi's reply and walked straight in the direction of leaving the training ground.

"Wait, Naruto, come back! You passed!"

Kakashi was initially hesitant, but when he saw Naruto's departing figure, so lonely and proud, just like his past self, and then thought of Naruto's answer just now...

Kakashi felt as if his heart was being clenched in pain.