Chapter Four: If it comes alive in my hands, you will have passed.

Chapter Four: Survive My Test, and You Will Pass

Around five in the morning, the three rookies gathered at the crossroads.

"Good morning!" said Sakura, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Morn~ZZZZZ," mumbled Naruto, still half-asleep and practically sleepwalking.

"..." said Sasuke.

Five hours later…

"Step, step—Good morning, everyone!"

"You're way too late!" shouted Naruto and Sakura in unison.

"Hmph," said Sasuke.

"Good morning, little brother," Kakashi called, glancing at Schuster perched on a tree twenty meters away.

"Mmm, good morning, big brother. You were delayed by a black cat for five hours, and I ended up reading the scroll here for the same amount of time," Schuster replied, holding the scroll without a trace of complaint on his face, though his words said otherwise.

"What?" said Sasuke.

"Five hours?" echoed Sakura.

"You were here the whole time?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, it was just basic stealth technique. Don't worry about it," Schuster waved his hand dismissively. In the next instant, he appeared beside Kakashi, and his second sentence drifted over from behind the three rookies.

"Er… I really was delayed by a black cat. Heh." Kakashi scratched his head with a dry laugh, "Alright, it's 9:50 now. We'll start at ten. The target is me…" He set his alarm, took out two bells, and was just about to explain when Schuster interrupted him.

"I'll test them! If you can hold out against me until eleven, you pass!" Schuster gripped Kakashi's hand that was holding the bells and gave the three rookies a dangerous smile.

"You can't be serious, Schuster. Your swordsmanship is pure killing art—an elite jonin can't last two minutes against you. Are you trying to kill them?" Kakashi hurriedly pulled Schuster aside to whisper.

"Fine! One hour? I accept! I'm going to be Hokage!" declared Naruto, full of fiery bravado.

"This could be interesting," said the arrogant Sasuke.

"If Sasuke's in, then I can't back down," added Sakura, determined.

"Alright, that's settled. I'll fight you with only the strength of a genin. Also, I'll let you use one hand, and I won't use any ninjutsu—only taijutsu and genjutsu. As for you… your only chance is to run! Hahaha!" Schuster smiled at the passionate trio. At the end of his words, a murderous intent so thick it could kill the faint of heart erupted from him.

In the blink of an eye, Schuster vanished. Sakura's head soared through the air, Sasuke barely reacted and used Body Flicker to escape, but halfway through, he was sliced in half, blood spraying everywhere. Naruto stared dumbly at the scene, then felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a magnificently ornate sword thrust through his heart.

And so, the story of this world ends. On to the next world. All of the above is just a jest.

"Ah, starting off with genjutsu to make the three realize that even as a mere genin, you're unbeatable? So they all scatter," Kakashi muttered to himself, not bothering to resist Schuster's ordinary Naraku Sight technique when he saw the illusion.

"Huh? I'm not dead?" the three cried in unison, each having witnessed their teammates' deaths and their own.

"Well, the alarm hasn't rung yet. So, what did you all see?" Schuster withdrew his killing intent and smiled brightly.

"Was that just an illusion?" they wondered.

"Ring, ring, ring!—shoom shoom shoom!" Without a second thought, the three scattered and ran for their lives.

"Looks like they were really scared, but their speed isn't bad. You've got them up to sixty percent of your old pace," Kakashi remarked as he watched the trio flee as if a primordial beast was on their heels.

"Tch, a ninja who hasn't seen blood can never truly grow," Schuster said, twirling his sword in a graceful flourish.

"Don't tell me you really plan to hound them for an hour," Kakashi said, leaping onto a tree to watch.

"I'll give them some guidance. If they die, the Third Hokage will come after me," Schuster's body was already gone, his words echoing in the air.

"Well, that Body Flicker of his is as good as our sensei's," Kakashi marveled.

"Did I lose him?" Sakura glanced back, and seeing no one chasing her, sighed in relief.

"Well, what are you looking at, Sakura?"—"What?" Startled by the voice behind her, Sakura reflexively drew her main kunai to guard her chest.

"Clang—not a bad reaction," Schuster commented, slicing her kunai aside with one strike, sending Sakura flying.

"Sakura!" Naruto burst from the side to catch her.

"Naruto?! Run!" Sakura, realizing it was Naruto who caught her, immediately urged him to flee.

"Tch, we can't outrun him. Looks like we have to fight," Naruto replied, forming a cross sign with his fingers.

"Oh? Quite bold, Naruto. Retreating without a fight is a disgrace for a ninja—unless you can escape without being noticed," Schuster praised him.

"Damn it—Shadow Clone Jutsu!" With a puff, six Narutos charged forward.

"Interesting," Schuster smiled as he watched them rush in.

He used Body Flicker and his sword to destroy a clone, parried a kunai, whipped another clone away with a kick, parried a kunai that struck him—only for 'Schuster' to puff into a Naruto clone. Another two clones were cut down; then he appeared before the first clone he'd kicked away, sword descending…

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke appeared to Schuster's left, unleashing a massive fireball.

"So, you're not just sitting back and watching?" Schuster dodged with Body Flicker and landed in a tree.

"Tch, rather than let you pick us off one by one, we might as well team up and defeat you," Sasuke said, annoyed that his attack missed.

"Heh, that's commendable. The creed of a Leaf ninja: never abandon a comrade. Well done," Schuster replied approvingly.

"Tch—Naruto, you attack with clones, I'll sneak up. Sakura, be ready to support at any time," Sasuke instructed, drawing his kunai and staring tensely at Schuster.

"Got it!" "Understood! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Watching the kids finally work together and value their teammates made Schuster smile with genuine pleasure. So this is what it feels like to be a mentor? Not bad at all. He decided to go easy on them.

He dodged a couple of flying shuriken, kicked apart a clone, evaded six wire-bound shuriken from Sasuke, then Body Flickered again to avoid a kunai laced with an explosive tag. Surrounded by an ever-growing army of Naruto's clones, Schuster couldn't help but laugh to himself, "The Uzumaki clan's chakra truly is monstrous!" The cross-dresser completely forgot his own magic was nearly limitless.

"Clang, clang," he deflected a few more shuriken, when Naruto suddenly shouted, "Naruto Shuriken Barrage—100-fold!" Turning his head, Schuster saw a swarm of shuriken descending, no less intense than the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu.

"Clang clang clang clang clang!" Schuster's swordplay was flawless, not a single shuriken touching even the hem of his clothes. The sight left the three rookies dumbfounded.

"Haha, we've got him! Sasuke, finish me and my clones off, quick!" Naruto shouted gleefully.

"When did—?" Suddenly, five clones had Schuster pinned.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke unleashed a fireball at least ten meters across, aimed directly at Schuster.

"Wow, that's huge—doesn't that break the rules?" Schuster watched the jutsu, which must have consumed eighty percent of Sasuke's chakra, heading straight for him.

Boom—the smoke cleared, leaving a massive crater with no one inside.

"Impressive. You disguised a clone as a kunai and threw it my way. I underestimated you, Naruto," Schuster said, suddenly appearing with his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"What?" Sasuke stared—Schuster was standing behind Naruto, completely unharmed.

"How is this possible?" Sakura was dumbstruck.

"…" Naruto was drenched in cold sweat, frozen in place.

"Well then, you've… passed the test!" Schuster deliberately kept a stern face, then beamed at the end.

"Congratulations! To survive against this guy, you three are the first in the whole Leaf Village," Kakashi said, closing his book and addressing them.

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