Naruto: My Bedroom Connects to Rin Nohara 14 Years Ago

It was noon, and under the scorching sun, three figures leaned against each other drowsily in the shade of the trees.

"Hey! Good morning, you three..." Suddenly, Kakashi's lazy voice echoed faintly, instantly waking Ishikawa and the other two from their haze.

"Teacher Kakashi..." Seeing Kakashi stroll over leisurely with a backpack slung over his shoulder, Ishikawa and the others quickly stood and greeted him in unison.

"You're not going to ask me why I'm so late?" Kakashi asked calmly, glancing at the three with his usual indifferent expression.

Obedient Genin was fine, but that wasn't his standard for judging value. In fact, Kakashi wasn't particularly fond of rule-abiding types. They reminded him too much of his own rigid younger self...

'Not good. We need to fix this!' Ishikawa was startled by Kakashi's look and immediately stepped forward, noticing that his two younger teammates stood stupidly in uncertainty.

"There must be a reason for being late!" he said quickly. "Whether it was a mission delay, secret surveillance, or even oversleeping—whatever the reason, we believe the teacher has his own reasons. That's enough for us!"

"Yeah, that's it!"

"We believe in Kakashi-sensei!"

Taro Yamada and Jiro nodded quickly, echoing in agreement, their eyes filled with admiration and gratitude as they looked at Ishikawa.

This was what it meant to be a real big brother—always stepping up when it counted!

"Believe in me, huh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by Ishikawa's earnest gaze. He hadn't expected such high-level flattery, though it still carried a hint of bluffing.

But still, they were at least unified. That counted for something.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you," Kakashi said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "I just overslept and lost track of time."

"Lost track—what!?" Taro and Jiro froze on the spot, completely petrified. Of all things, it was actually that?

In the middle, Ishikawa's mouth twitched. He was utterly speechless at Kakashi's ridiculous honesty. Seriously? Even saying a black cat crossed your path would've been better! Do background characters not even deserve a proper excuse?

"Alright, time to announce the rules for the exercise."

Kakashi's tone shifted, and he pulled out a small alarm clock, setting it atop a wooden stake. Then, he held up two familiar silver bells and declared:

[Today's survival training is simple. You have until 12 noon to take these two bells from me.

Whoever gets a bell can eat the lunch I brought. The ones who don't will be tied to a post and go without food.

Also, you're allowed to use any means. Come at me with the intent to kill.

And one more thing—those who don't get a bell will be sent back to the academy to repeat another year.]

Taro and Jiro looked at each other in horror. Their eyes widened with disbelief at the sudden seriousness of this training.

"So that's why we weren't allowed to eat breakfast!"

"Kakashi-sensei is so sneaky, he tricked us!"

Both subconsciously rubbed their empty stomachs, feeling the sting of betrayal. And more than that, the possibility of being sent back to school loomed over them like a cloud.

"Well, that's it. Begin!"

Kakashi said nonchalantly, not even bothering to disguise his shameless setup, further stunning the two boys.

"Taro, Jiro!" Hearing the command, Ishikawa didn't hesitate. He called out to them and darted straight toward a patch of nearby bushes.

Without another word, Taro and Jiro followed closely behind, vanishing into the tall, dense shrubbery.

Watching their seamless cooperation, Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered with a trace of interest: "These three... are kind of interesting."

At the very least, they looked much better than the three Genin from the previous batch.

---

Meanwhile, in the bushes—

"Brother, what should we do now?"

Taro turned around, whispering as he peeked through a gap in the leaves, his eyes fixed on Kakashi outside.

"Kakashi-sensei is a Jonin. There's no way the three of us can snatch those bells from him."

Ishikawa spoke seriously, then stretched out his hand to stop Jiro from interrupting.

"But... since we made some preparations earlier, it's not entirely impossible. You two, listen up..." He glanced in the direction of the trap and quickly outlined a plan in a hushed tone.

Of course, he didn't expect it to work. No matter how well they performed, Kakashi would surely go easy on them in the end.

The real test would come later when it was time to decide who got the bells.

"But, Brother... how are we going to divide the bells?" Taro suddenly asked, fidgeting nervously. "There are three of us and only two bells. The one who doesn't get one will have to go hungry and might even get sent back to school..."

"Idiot! Don't you remember our oath?" Jiro immediately whispered back, scolding him before forcing a smile. "Of course, we'll share the food equally… but I still don't know how we're supposed to split the bells..."

Getting sent back a year... would be embarrassing and humiliating.

Though they'd said earlier they'd stick together no matter what, when the possibility truly loomed before them, fear and doubt crept in.

They didn't want to give up being ninjas, but they couldn't bring themselves to ask a friend to make that sacrifice either.

"Hahaha, of course it'll be me!" Ishikawa laughed, waving off their concerns without blame.

"As the big brother, how can I let my younger brothers sacrifice their futures?"

If he didn't know the truth behind the test, maybe he would've made the same choice back when these two were just nameless faces in his memory.

This was the harsh reality—and the true test that dug straight into one's heart.

"Brother, I also—"

"I'm the weakest one here. I should be the one to give up!" Almost simultaneously, both of them cried out, their voices filled with shame.

After all that talk about brotherhood earlier that morning, it would be too embarrassing to back out now.

Seeing their loyalty and spirit, Ishikawa breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Taro, Jiro, don't overthink it. I'm the strongest here. Even if I don't pass now, I can graduate next year. But it's different for you two."

"So just listen to me. If you really feel bad, then let me eat more at lunch."

"Alright, no more nonsense! I'll take the lead—you two support me. Let's begin!"

With that, Ishikawa stepped out of the bushes under their grateful and ashamed stares and charged forward.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Three shuriken sliced through the air, heading straight for Kakashi's face.

'Here they come!' Kakashi's visible eye gleamed as he casually caught all three shuriken with a sweep of his hand. Then, without warning, he kicked off the ground and disappeared—only to reappear instantly behind Ishikawa.

With practiced hands, he swiftly formed the Tiger Seal and crouched.

'Wait... this pose—!!' Catching a glimpse of Kakashi's stance from the corner of his eye, Ishikawa felt a cold chill down his spine. His pupils shrank, and sweat poured down his back.

'He's going for the jutsu, Thousand Years of Death!' Without thinking, he released chakra through his legs—BOOM!—blasting himself off the ground in the nick of time.

"Huh?" Kakashi froze mid-thrust, stunned as he watched Ishikawa flee. That kind of reflex and chakra control... not bad. Could he actually be a genius?

"Don't you dare touch Brother Ishikawa!"

"Teacher Kakashi, it's time you see our strength!" 

While Kakashi was distracted, Taro and Jiro burst out from both sides, throwing kunai and shuriken in a pincer attack.