Chapter 298   - Ch298. Genin Test 2

Kakashi carefully observed the three genins from behind his Icha Icha, mildly displeased, yet slightly impressed that he had to split his attention between his favorite book and his opponents. That exploding trap was ingenious and if he didn't have jonin-level reflexes, he would have been killed there and then. It was obvious his cute little genins were a bit special.

As he was waiting for the genins to attack, Kakashi suddenly stiffened. Only his instincts honed through numerous battles made him able to react in time as two clones of Naruto appeared from the ground, catching his legs while a small stone behind him transformed into yet another clone and took hold of his only free hand, limiting its movement range.

Before he even managed to realize he was trapped, Hinata did something he saw only one other person do. She shunshined right in front of him with pinpoint precision, already striking with her Gentle Fist as she appeared.

Kakashi's hair on his entire body stood when he saw where she was aiming...

'Not my crotch!' He inwardly freaked out, using his only free hand to try blocking her. As he positioned his hand in front of his crotch and Hinata's strike found a purchase... a flurry of torn papers exploded in all directions, ripping the item Kakashi held in his free hand, making his eyes go wide in horror. 'My Icha Icha Paradise Special Edition... Noooooooooooo!' Anguish filled his mind when he saw the ripped remains of his second most precious book.

Sasuke didn't care about Kakashi's mental state. He continued with his attack and as the 'Sasuke' in front of Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, the real Sasuke jumped out of the foliage right behind Kakashi, aiming a high kick at his head.

Sasuke's foot was about to hit when Kakashi suddenly spun at a ferocious speed that almost made him a blur to the three genins, shaking off Naruto's clones and making some of them dispel. He caught Sasuke's ankle before using his body as a club to smash Hinata away while letting go of Sasuke's ankle, sending both Icha-Icha-killing monsters brutally tumbling on the ground.

"That was my second favorite book, you bastards." Kakashi menacingly said in a low tone, his lone visible eye twitching in anger. "I am done with being nice. Screw Anko and her rules. Let's see how you manage in a fight against a real jonin."

Normally, Kakashi would not get mad. Normally, he would have a firm grip on his emotions. Normally, he would think getting mad at three genins who had no experience in emotional warfare or manipulation was beneath him since it was him who would be emotionally bullying them to toughen them up a bit. Normally, Kakashi would be calm and collected, always cheerful if only to piss the people around him off.

Unfortunately for the three genins, his encounter with Anko and the following trauma made him crack and Hinata destroying his second favorite book was just the right spark he needed to ignite.

Kakashi appeared in front of Naruto, kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying into the forest. Suddenly ducking under a kunai thrown by Sasuke, Kakashi stopped his pursuit of Naruto and focused on Sasuke, dashing towards him with the intention of beating the crap out of the kid to release his frustration. He was about to punch Sasuke's cheek when Hinata appeared in Sasuke's place via a quick Kawarimi, making Kakashi's eyes widen when she spun into Kaiten, causing his fist to be deflected with enough force to rattle his bones and sending his body spinning away.

Kakashi regained his balance and used the momentum of his spinning body to throw a kunai with the explosive note right at the edge of Hinata's Kaiten. The second the girl stopped spinning, the weak exploding tag went off, sending her body hurling back. Kakashi was not done yet, and turned towards the direction of Sasuke... only to see an empty clearing. He slowly blinked, his temper calming down due to the unexpectedness of the situation, and turned towards where Hinata's body was supposed to be located, only to find a smoking log.

'Damn... tough kids.' Kakashi thought, knowing they did not avoid his hits. His eyes strayed towards the forest with unwilling apathy, 'They will make me work for this, won't they?' He sighed. The fact he had nothing better to do anyway only reminded him his precious Icha Icha was destroyed, causing a new determination to hunt them down to rise in Kakashi's chest as he entered the forest.

Kakashi trekked through the forest, automatically using shadows to hide without even putting much thought into it. He was amazed that he couldn't find the three genins.

'I want to make their lives hell but they continue to impress me.' Kakashi thought in amusement, 'To think they would take precautions against my sense of smell. No... the really praiseworthy thing is that they gathered enough information about me to know about my exceptional sense of smell.'

Suddenly he stopped, tilting his head before chuckling as he crouched down and took a look at the elementary attempt at setting up a trap.

"Next time set a tripwire in a place without shade. You need enough light to make it invisible." Kakashi calmly but loudly spoke before standing up and stepping around the tripwire, going further into the forest, occasionally finding the blatant traps strewn around the forest amusing.

'Naruto... I know you love pranks but this is just pathetic. At least try to hide the traps...' Kakashi shook his head.

Unknown to Kakashi, he saw only what Naruto wanted him to see as he stepped further and further into the centre of Naruto's trap.

...

Naruto suddenly grinned as the clone he transformed into a tripwire popped, alerting him that Kakashi passed by. This was it. This was what he waited for. He was an extremely good sensor and even before he trained that particular skill of his, his instincts and observatory abilities were very good. He naturally recognized Kakashi as Inu, one of his ANBU guards when he was younger.

Naruto also remembered bags of groceries occasionally waiting for him in front of his house whenever Inu's shift ended. Or the academy books appearing out of nowhere in his apartment. Or...

Well, Naruto knew Inu was helping him quite a lot.

Unfortunately for the poor unsuspecting Kakashi, Naruto was raised by Anko who imparted a simple piece of knowledge into him.

'If you want to impress someone, show them how much you improved.'

And Naruto took it quite literally.

"Heh, Inu-san... I am going to show you I am no longer that little boy who needs protection!" Naruto whispered to himself with a fox-like grin before nodding at his clone, "The operation Doggy Style is a go." He quipped, making it dispel which gave the signal for his other clones.