Naruto: My Bedroom Connects to Rin Nohara 14 Years Ago

'Is that all?' Facing Taro and Jiro's pincer attack, Kakashi dodged with ease, a trace of disappointment flashing through his eyes.

Among the three, only Ishikawa had briefly caught his attention. But that was it.

To Kakashi, who graduated at age five, became a Chunin at six, and reached Jonin by twelve, Ishikawa's performance was interesting but hardly worth taking seriously.

Considering him as 'interesting' was just a flattering word, something thrown around because of his commoner background. Taking that too seriously would be a mistake.

"Go!" Spotting Kakashi momentarily distracted, Ishikawa shouted and charged again.

Just a moment ago, he'd almost experienced the pain of being on the receiving end of that infamous jutsu. What a nightmare.

Seeing Ishikawa rush out again, Taro and Jiro immediately followed, drawing their long swords to join the offensive.

"Teamwork?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow and casually pulled out a kunai, preparing to test their taijutsu.

[So this is the difference between Minato-sensei and us? Too weak. How can people like this graduate and become Genin, trusted with dangerous missions?

No… that's not fair.

Obito, Rin, and I weren't much stronger at the start either.

No matter how skilled a Genin team is, facing a Jonin means they're all equally helpless. Our tragedy wasn't because Minato-sensei let us graduate. I'm just using that as an excuse…

At least… these three chose to work together faster than we ever did.

Back then, I was still using Obito and Rin… Minato-sensei must have noticed that.

So now, are they like me in the past—using their teammates to pass the mission?]

As fists, blades, and kicks clashed, Kakashi moved absentmindedly, lost in thought. Without realizing it, he stepped right into the center of a trap—surrounded by thick trees on all sides.

"Now!" Ishikawa suddenly shouted, and the three retreated at once—activating the mechanism.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!! Dozens of sharpened wooden spears shot from the trees in all directions, pinning Kakashi in a deadly crossfire.

"What?!" Kakashi's expression changed instantly. Snapped out of his thoughts, he leaped to dodge, but in that instant:

"Ding-ling-ling..." A sharp jingle rang out as the bells tied to his waist fell, ripped by a tree branch.

"Now's our chance!" Reacting instantly, Ishikawa stepped onto the tree trunk and dashed upward like a gust of wind.

"Whoa! Awesome!"

"Big Brother's amazing! He can run up trees like it's nothing!"

The two younger boys cried out in awe.

Despite their shock, they acted immediately, launching kunai and shuriken to suppress Kakashi's movements and buy time.

"Got it!" Within two breaths, Ishikawa grabbed both bells from the branch and grinned victoriously.

"Unfortunately… you fell for it too." The moment Ishikawa spoke, the bells in his hand suddenly transformed into Kakashi!

"What?!" At the same time, the Kakashi who had been fending off Taro and Jiro vanished in a puff of smoke, replaced by two ringing bells that hit the ground with a soft thud.

"Substitution jutsu?! No way!" The two younger boys froze in place, completely stunned.

"You idiots—go grab the real bells!" Seeing their shocked expressions, Ishikawa roared in frustration.

At the same time, he tightly locked his arms around Kakashi's elbows. "You're not getting away this time, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Uh, why should I run? You're the one who's eliminated." Kakashi was momentarily stunned, staring at Ishikawa, who didn't seem the least bit concerned about having lost the bell.

"Even if you set the trap cleverly, the reality is that you've been eliminated. The two of them passed—they'll become my students and carry out missions with me."

"So what?" Ishikawa replied calmly, completely unfazed by Kakashi's words. "We grabbed the bells. Mission complete. One out of three has to be eliminated, right? So why can't that person be me?"

"After all, we're up against Kakashi-sensei, a Jonin..."

"You brat..." Kakashi's pupils narrowed. A flicker of surprise and something deeper flashed in his eyes. That line carried the very essence of Konoha's Will of Fire.

'He's naive. But this kid...' Suddenly, before Kakashi could respond, Taro and Jiro ran over, each holding one of the bells.

"Teacher Kakashi… Brother Ishikawa..." The two glanced at each other, then faced Kakashi and spoke with determination.

"We've made up our minds. We've decided to eliminate one of us and let Brother Ishikawa graduate." 

"Compared to Brother Ishikawa, we're just not strong enough. If one of us has to be eliminated, it shouldn't be him!"

"Taro... Jiro..." Ishikawa blinked in disbelief. He hadn't expected this sudden burst of loyalty from his 'little brothers'.

Now that's what you call a surprise! With this perfect assist, if Kakashi still failed them, then Ishikawa would truly have nothing left to say.

"I see..." Kakashi narrowed his eyes, looking amused. "Then—who do you want to eliminate?"

"I..."

"I..."

Both boys instantly pointed at themselves and shouted, eyes brimming with emotion. Despite their hesitation before, there was no way they'd betray the oath they made this morning by pointing at the other.

"Heh..." Kakashi's smile faded. His gaze sharpened, his presence intensified, and the air grew tense.

"So, you think you can change the rules I set? You think this is a game where you can bend the outcome as you like?" His voice turned cold.

"Let me tell you this. In the world of ninjas, rules and missions are absolute. Once you take a mission, you follow the client's orders. Once the Hokage issues a command, you execute it. Can you just change that?"

The two younger boys flinched as if struck.

"Hmph. Since you managed to grab the bells, I'll give you one final chance—after lunch, we'll have the last trial." Kakashi's tone was harsh, his disappointment clear.

Then, without another word, he tied Ishikawa to a wooden stake in the center of the field.

"Brother, we're sorry! We shouldn't have acted without thinking and made the teacher angry..."

"That white-haired sensei is cold-blooded! We'll get revenge later!" The two boys hovered around the stake, remorseful but still fired up.

Then they turned to the lunch boxes Kakashi had prepared.

"We share the good and the bad. We haven't even eaten breakfast yet. Let's eat together, Brother Ishikawa!" Taro grabbed some meat with his chopsticks and held it up to Ishikawa's mouth.

"Yeah! Forget the rules. Worst case, we just go back to school again." Jiro nodded and offered more food.

Ishikawa blinked in disbelief—but opened his mouth to eat.

Right then—

Bang!

Kakashi reappeared, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"You three really don't take the rules I set seriously, huh?" His voice was calm, but laced with warning. "Didn't I say? A man tied to a stake doesn't get to eat!"