Naruto: Can't Use Ninjutsu? I'll Create the Strongest Fighting Style-Chapter 25 - 24: That Wasn’t the Eight Gates. That Was Pure Grindset.

Chapter 25 - 24: That Wasn’t the Eight Gates. That Was Pure Grindset.

"Damn it, he took them back!"

Tenten clenched her fists, frustration boiling over as the bells jingled once more in Kakashi's possession.

She had been just a breath away from grabbing both, seconds from victory.

"Heh heh. Nice teamwork, I'll give you that. But friendly reminder, the time is almost up," came Kakashi's voice from the trees. It echoed like fog drifting through the forest, low and calm, chillingly precise.

It was like the Silent Killing Technique.

Garou's eyes narrowed. The way Kakashi's voice wrapped around the trees made it feel like he could be anywhere, everywhere.

"You're working well as a team," Kakashi continued, "but you've got one glaring flaw. That is..."

Crack!

A branch snapped directly overhead.

"Ahhh!"

Tenten fell, startled, but before she could hit the ground, a rope trap, her own, snapped tight and caught her, twisting midair and yanking her upward. She struggled, arms and legs bound by the rope.

Kakashi dropped silently to the ground in front of her. But before he could make a move, a barrage of sharpened wooden stakes exploded from the treeline, hurtling toward him with deadly speed.

Kakashi blurred out of view with a Body Flicker Jutsu, narrowly dodging the deadly volley.

He landed several meters away, spinning to refocus on Tenten.

Garou burst out from behind a fallen trunk, intercepting just before Kakashi could strike again. His body was a blur, fast, direct, and entirely unhindered by fear or doubt.

Kasumi, silent as a shadow, had already disabled the stake trap mechanism and retreated into the foliage.

But as she turned, she stopped cold.

A silhouette stood behind her.

"I've got you."

Kasumi froze.

"What...?"

She hadn't heard anything. No breath. No crunch of leaf or rustle of cloth.

Thud!

A kick aimed at her side, sudden and powerful, but intercepted just in time.

Garou's foot collided with Kakashi's, redirecting the attack mid-swing.

Kakashi was forced back, sliding slightly across the forest floor. His visible eye narrowed.

'This kid... How did he bypass my Shadow Clone?'

He flexed his fingers slightly.

'Could it be...? Has that reckless maniac been teaching him something?'

He reached up and shifted his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan beneath.

But then he hesitated.

'No...,' Kakashi thought. 'This isn't the Eight Gates. It's raw, focused muscle control, precise beyond belief.'

'What kind of monster is this kid?'

Garou hadn't opened even a single of the Eight Inner Gates. And yet his body moved like it had. The speed and the power was unnatural for a Genin.

Garou panted lightly, sweat trickling down his jawline.

"You okay?" he asked, turning to Kasumi.

"I-I'm fine... but what about Tenten?"

"She's freed herself. She's holding off the clone. Let's move."

"Right!"

---

On the observation cliff, Nami's eyes sparkled in disbelief. "Wow... they're amazing. Both sides."

Compared to their team's bell test, this was a battlefield. These Genin weren't just playing at ninja, they were fighting like their lives depended on it.

Neji said nothing, but his jaw tightened.

He couldn't tear his gaze from Garou.

A civilian. No bloodline. No famous clan. No elite guidance. How does someone like that shift their fate in just two years?

It shouldn't be possible.

Garou... He was a disruption. A wild card. A living contradiction.

"Guy-sensei," Lee whispered, eyes wide, "could you match that?"

Guy folded his arms, thoughtful.

"No," he said plainly.

That shocked them both.

Like Kakashi, Guy had originally suspected Garou might've tapped into the Eight Gates. The boy devoured scrolls, manuals, even obscure taijutsu documents thought long forgotten. It wasn't a stretch to imagine he pieced together fragments of forbidden knowledge.

But after watching him closely, Guy saw the truth.

Garou hadn't opened a single Gate.

And somehow, that made it even more terrifying.

"But defeating Kakashi..." Guy added, voice returning to its grounded tone, "that's still a long shot."

Not because Garou wasn't skilled. But because Kakashi was still holding back.

A lot.

He hadn't used half his speed, or drawn on his vast ninjutsu arsenal. The Sharingan had only just come into play, and even then, not at full focus.

Kakashi was an elite jonin for a reason.

"Guy-sensei, how much of your power did you use when we faced you?" Lee asked.

"Haha! Watch closely now!" Guy deflected the question with a loud laugh, his classic tactic for dodging when the truth might sting. He didn't want to crush their morale, not now.

And the fight below was escalating.

---

BOOM!

BOOM!

BANG!

Explosions rocked the forest like thunderclaps.

Kakashi perched on a high branch, one leg bent, the other dangling casually, except he was panting now, a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

'Tenten...' he thought, eyes narrowing. 'I underestimated you.'

Five explosive tags.

All buried at tactical choke points. Triggered through kunai and chakra thread synchronization.

If he hadn't used Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu with Substitutions and a Body Flicker...

He might not be standing right now.

"Don't you dare underestimate me, you jerk!"

Tenten's voice rang out across the clearing, followed by a barrage of kunai. Steel whirled through the air, connected by wire and chakra, weaving together like a living trap.

But Kakashi was gone.

His speed surged, faster than before, as he launched from the shadows, kunai drawn and gleaming like a predator's fang.

Kasumi, lying in wait, lunged forward to intercept, but Kakashi was too fast.

"Help!" freewebnσvel.cѳm

She backpedaled, blade clashing against a rapid flurry of kunai from every angle. Her footwork faltered. The pressure was overwhelming.

Only Garou could keep up.

But Kakashi had counted on that.

His movements were just fast enough to stay ahead of Garou's reach. He had calculated the exact range where Garou could almost catch him, but not quite.

"Agh!"

Two hands grabbed Tenten by the ankles, yanking her into the earth.

Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.

She vanished beneath the soil.

Garou hesitated.

Save Tenten or Help Kasumi?

He made his choice.

Chakra flared.

He surged forward, triggering every remaining trap they'd set, threads of chakra zipping through the trees like invisible webs.

Kakashi didn't notice until it was too late.

Snap.

His foot stopped just before a line. His instincts screamed.

Kasumi emerged from the shadows, her clones fading, her blade already mid-swing.

"Leaf Style: Crescent Moon Dance!"

The arc was beautiful, flawless in form.

But the Kakashi she struck vanished into leaves.

Substitution.

A rope whipped down from above.

Snap!

Kasumi was caught mid-air, hoisted high and hung like prey from a branch.

"Lesson one," Kakashi's calm voice echoed from the canopy, "on the battlefield, perfect openings are often traps."

Clink... Clink...

Both bells hit the ground.

Kakashi's head snapped toward the sound.

'What?'

He looked down.

Both bell strings had been sliced clean through.

Thinking quickly, he realized the only explanation, chakra threads sharp enough to cut through cloth and metal filament.

Garou had timed it.

The bells dropped, and just as his hand closed around them, the final grains of sand trickled out of the hourglass.

Kakashi exhaled.

A slow, tired smile crossed his face.

"Impressive," he said. "You caught me slipping. But time's up. And the other two, out."

"I'll make it simple," he continued. "You've exceeded expectations, Garou. You'll be my student."

Garou tilted his head.

"What about them?"

"They failed. They didn't get the bells."

Garou shrugged and tossed the bells lightly in his palm. "Then I fail too."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"We're a team. Without them, I wouldn't have lasted this long, let alone grabbed the bells. Let them pass, and I'll stay behind. I like reading anyway. No rush."

His voice was steady. Honest.

"But they need this more than I do."

"No!" Tenten and Kasumi shouted in unison from opposite sides of the forest.

"This isn't up for negotiation," Kakashi replied, stepping forward. "You failed the test. So I declare..."

He paused.

"You all passed."

"...Huh?"

_______________________

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