Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 44 44 : Come With The Intent Of Killing Me

Seeing Riku like this, Naruto suddenly felt a surge of irritation, as though he was being mocked.

"You bastard—"

Just as he was about to lash out, Sasuke looked at Kakashi and said coldly, "Even though I don't want to believe it... since Riku said so, I think there's a good chance it's true."

"I hope you're really the strongest Jōnin."

Between Naruto and Riku, Sasuke clearly trusted Riku more.

And judging by the way Riku spoke, he obviously knew Kakashi.

For Sasuke to say sothing like that ant he believed him.

Naruto was held back by Sakura—who never expected that the seemingly lazy Kakashi was actually the strongest Jōnin in the village.

Naruto finally cald down after being pulled back by Sakura.

Still, he couldn't help but dwell on the feeling that Riku had just mocked him.

Kakashi said coolly, "Now, let's hear your introductions."

After Naruto and Sakura gave their introductions, Kakashi took note of their experiences and possible preferences.

Then ca Sasuke's turn. With a brooding expression, he said, "My na is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like anything, but I hate a lot of things. My goal… or rather, my ambition… is to kill a certain man."

As Sasuke finished his grim declaration, Naruto looked at him with a face full of unease.

"He's not talking about , is he?!"

Sakura didn't understand Sasuke's cryptic words at all. She just rolled her eyes. Of course that person isn't Naruto—only he would jump to that kind of conclusion.

Watching Sasuke, Riku thought to himself, Looks like that event left a deep scar on him.

Finally, it was Riku's turn.

He smiled faintly and said, "My na is Riku. I don't particularly like or dislike anything. If I had to say, I'm very interested in chakra training."

His tone was casual, even indifferent.

Kakashi nodded with a faint smile. "Alright then. I'm going to give you your first task—or rather, your first test."

Naruto leaned forward eagerly. "What kind of mission?!"

He was excited to finally go on a real mission, eager to climb the ninja ranks.

Sasuke also looked at Kakashi with interest. Now that he believed Kakashi might really be Konoha's strongest Jōnin, he took this seriously. This man might be crucial to his quest for power.

Riku, however, didn't expect anything grand.

Kakashi said calmly, "Training."

As soon as he said that, Sakura groaned. "What? Training? We already did so much of that at the Academy! Kakashi-sensei, how is that a mission?"

She looked thoroughly unimpressed.

But Kakashi remained unfazed. "This is a survival exercise. If you don't earn my approval, you'll be sent back to the Academy for retraining. Let be clear: only about thirty percent of graduates actually beco Genin."

"So be prepared. et at the training grounds tomorrow morning at five."

With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Riku vanished right after him.

Naruto and Sakura didn't notice, but Sasuke did—his eyes narrowed slightly, startled by what he'd just seen.

This guy… is far stronger than he lets on.

Sasuke clenched his fists.

The Body Flicker Technique that Riku just used—he'd seen Itachi use that move. He hadn't been able to master it himself yet.

But Riku could use it effortlessly.

There was no way Riku was as weak as he acted in class.

In fact, maybe he didn't deserve to be called the top student in class at all.

After disappearing, Riku returned ho. He didn't linger outside.

But after barely ten minutes at ho, Ino and Hinata showed up at his doorstep.

Riku sighed inwardly. What a headache.

The next morning, Riku didn't arrive at the training ground until after seven.

By that ti, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were already there.

Naruto imdiately ran up to him, clearly annoyed. "Why are you so late? Didn't Kakashi-sensei say five o'clock?!"

Riku gave a lazy smile. "I overslept."

Naruto looked furious. He'd shown up early, only to find that not only was Kakashi missing, but so was Riku.

Sasuke, however, looked at Riku seriously. His instincts told him this guy wasn't to be underestimated.

Sakura just glanced at Riku helplessly. "Ugh, why hasn't Kakashi-sensei shown up yet?"

But just minutes after Riku arrived, Kakashi finally appeared.

"Yo. Good morning, everyone."

Naruto and Sakura imdiately complained, both clearly irritated.

"You're way too late!"

Sasuke crossed his arms, glaring at Kakashi with clear displeasure.

Riku, however, greeted him calmly. "Kakashi-sensei, you're late as usual."

Naruto and Sakura turned to glare at Riku. "You weren't early either!"

But Riku just smiled slightly, unbothered.

Kakashi instantly knew Riku had arrived late on purpose—because he already understood Kakashi's habits. So he let it slide.

Without wasting any ti, Kakashi pulled out an alarm clock, set it, and said, "I've set this for twelve o'clock. You have until then to take these three bells from ."

Naruto looked confused. "Wait—three bells? But there are four of us."

Kakashi smiled. "That's right. Which ans one of you won't get a bell."

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were all stunned.

"And if none of you manage to take one, you'll all be sent back to the Academy."

That declaration shook them even more.

Sasuke furrowed his brow. He's the strongest Jōnin in the village. How are we supposed to take a bell from him?

He glanced sideways at Riku—and noticed that Riku wasn't worried in the slightest. In fact, he looked completely calm.

What is he thinking? Is he that confident?

Even Sasuke wasn't sure he could succeed in this challenge. Yet Riku didn't seem concerned at all.

Kakashi noticed Riku's calmness too, but he didn't comnt.

After all, this test wasn't really for Riku.

It was for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Testing Riku with this exercise would be aningless.

Because in Kakashi's eyes, Riku's strength was already close to his own.

If Riku really wanted to, taking the bells would be far too easy.

Kakashi said evenly, "Alright. From now on, anything goes. Kunai, shuriken, ninja tools, tricks—use anything you want. If you're not coming at with killing intent, you won't get a single bell."

Sakura's eyes widened. "But… isn't that way too dangerous?"

Naruto nodded quickly. "Yeah! Isn't that too extre?"