Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 45 45 : Kakashi Is Serious, Third Hokage Can't Belie

To provoke Naruto, Kakashi calmly smiled and said, "The dead last really is the loudest one."

Hearing Kakashi's words, Naruto froze for a mont and muttered, "Dead last? He actually called dead last…"

"Bastard!"

With a growl, he pulled out a kunai and rushed at Kakashi. In that mont, he truly wanted to kill him.

Of all things, being called "dead last" was what Naruto hated the most.

Sakura and Sasuke were stunned. They hadn't expected Naruto to actually make a move.

But they quickly realized—this was bad. Naruto couldn't attack Kakashi like that. It could be fatal.

"Don't be stupid, Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she and Sasuke chased after him, trying to stop him.

But they were just a little too slow. Just as Naruto closed the distance between them, Kakashi suddenly appeared behind him.

He caught Naruto's wrist, twisting his arm back so that the sharp edge of the kunai pointed toward the back of Naruto's own head.

Sasuke and Sakura were completely stunned.

"I didn't even see how he got behind Naruto…" Sasuke muttered.

"This guy really is strong."

Sakura, who hadn't believed Kakashi was a Jonin before, was now completely convinced. His strength was terrifying.

And Riku, who had stood still this entire ti, simply observed the scene calmly.

After a mont, he said in an even tone, "Let's begin, Kakashi-sensei."

At this point, even if Naruto wanted to defeat Kakashi, without tapping into the Nine-Tails' chakra, it was impossible. And even if he did unleash it, Kakashi could easily suppress him.

Kakashi wasn't a Chunin—he had mastered sealing techniques that could handle Naruto at this stage with no issue.

After releasing Naruto, Kakashi said calmly, "Alright, get ready. Let's start."

Naruto was stunned. He realized just how reckless he'd been. He'd actually harbored killing intent a mont ago.

But Kakashi's composed words snapped him back to reality.

Naruto quickly followed Sasuke and Sakura into the forest.

Riku, however, had already vanished.

Using the Body Flicker Technique, he had taken position behind a large tree and completely suppressed his chakra.

Kakashi stood on the grass, calmly using his sensory abilities to track everyone's positions.

He could clearly sense Sasuke and Sakura.

But Riku? Not even a trace.

Kakashi smiled slightly. "This kid… his stealth is still top-notch. Better than most of the Jonin in the ANBU."

Right now, Kakashi couldn't sense Riku at all—not even a faint signal.

"Originally, this test was for Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura…"

But now, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder just how strong Riku really was. Still, this wasn't the right ti to test him.

With a sigh, he looked at Naruto standing openly in the clearing and felt a little helpless.

"There's sothing wrong with this kid's brain…"

"He's completely different from the Fourth Hokage."

Minato had exceptional battle IQ and polished technique—he was a tactical genius.

But Naruto was standing right out in the open, clearly intending to fight head-on. Kakashi didn't know if this ca from Kushina's temperant, but it sure didn't resemble Minato's calm precision.

Riku, leaning silently against the back of a tree, watched Naruto's actions with a blank expression.

"How this guy lives through anything… the protagonist's aura really is insane."

This was exactly why Riku didn't want to be on a team with Naruto. That protagonist aura brought too many disasters, and he didn't want to get caught up in them.

Even Sasuke called Naruto an idiot.

And sure enough, in just a few short minutes, Naruto was knocked down by Kakashi.

Right after, Sasuke charged out the mont Kakashi defeated Naruto, quickly forming hand seals. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "To be able to perform this jutsu at his age… does he have enough chakra?"

The Great Fireball Technique was a C-rank ninjutsu, and Kakashi was concerned whether Sasuke's chakra reserves could handle it.

But soon enough, Sasuke spewed a large fireball toward him.

Kakashi disappeared in a flash.

Boom!

A giant blaze over two ters wide erupted where Kakashi had been standing. The ground was left scorched, and a crater ford at the center of the blast.

Sasuke quickly drew a kunai and scanned the area.

Before he could react, a hand burst from the ground and grabbed his ankle.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu."

With a swift pull, Kakashi dragged Sasuke into the earth, burying his body and leaving only his head exposed.

Kakashi erged and stood in front of Sasuke with a relaxed smile. "Not bad. You can already use the Great Fireball Technique at your age."

"Unfortunately, you're still too slow."

With that, he turned his gaze toward soone deeper in the woods.

Sasuke frowned and asked, "Do you know that guy Riku?"

Kakashi, who had been about to move toward Sakura, paused.

After a long silence, he replied, "Yeah. I know him."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "So that's it…"

Kakashi didn't say more. Instead, he turned his attention toward Sakura's position in the forest.

In an instant, he vanished from Sasuke's view.

At that mont, Sakura was still hiding, too afraid to make a move.

She had no idea Kakashi was already beside her.

Just as she turned to locate Sasuke, Kakashi's face appeared in front of her.

Before she could react, he perford a Genjutsu hand sign.

She imdiately fell into an illusion.

With all three students dealt with, Kakashi finally turned serious.

Back at the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been watching the events unfold through the Telescope Technique.

He was curious what made Riku so special that Kakashi paid him such close attention.

When Kakashi finished with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura and prepared to face Riku, he did sothing that stunned Hiruzen.

He closed his book and pulled up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan.

"Kakashi actually activated his Sharingan. Is he planning to go all out?"

"Just how talented is this Riku kid…?"

But what shocked Hiruzen even more was that his Telescope Technique couldn't locate Riku at all.

"This kid's stealth is nearly on par with the ANBU. Did Kakashi train him personally?"

He recalled Kakashi teaching Riku ninjutsu.

But now it seed Kakashi hadn't just taught him jutsu—he had passed on advanced ANBU skills as well.

That made Hiruzen even more intrigued.

"What kind of talent would make Kakashi go this far…? Could he be a genius surpassing even Sasuke?"

At this point, both Hiruzen and Kakashi regarded Sasuke as a standout talent—one of the most gifted of his generation.

But now, they were starting to wonder:

Could Riku be sothing more?