Just like last time, after watching the storyline, Kakashi immediately obtained the new Ninja: Naruto Uzumaki [Four-Tails].
But what Kakashi didn't expect was that this character was only a B-Rank Ninja?
'The Four-Tails Naruto's performance in the storyline didn't seem like something a B-Rank Ninja could pull off, right?'
As usual, Kakashi headed to the training grounds to test out the new Ninja.
At first, Kakashi was a bit confused, 'Is this it? This strength doesn't match the performance in the storyline at all.'
But after getting the hang of it, Kakashi gradually discovered the playability of this Ninja.
Although the skill set sacrificed some mobility, all three skills had decent utility. If used well, the burst damage could be incredibly fast!
Kakashi then tried pairing the shark summon with Wooden Spikes and chaining it into the Four-Tails Naruto's skill combo.
And then he understood why the art-style-breaking man in the storyline had struggled against the Four-Tails Naruto.
The storyline for Naruto Uzumaki [Sage Mode] largely overlapped with the storylines of Naruto [Shippuden] and Naruto [Four-Tails]. It wasn't particularly long, but the content was thrilling.
As for the introduction, Naruto [Sage Mode] was summoned through a Summoning Technique performed by the legendary summoner… Haruno Sakura.
This also made Kakashi understand why Naruto had fought that man.
And where those boulders had come from.
'So they were ripped from the Hokage Rock?'
'The place where they fought was on the ruins of Konoha.'
'Wait, did that mean all the Konoha Ninjas were dead?'
Kakashi suddenly felt offended. Out of nowhere, he saw himself dead in the future, and without even a single scene.
But as he watched further, after Naruto [Sage Mode] defeated Deva Path, a few words of 'Talk no Jutsu' directly converted the enemy, and all the Konoha Ninjas were revived.
At this point, Kakashi also understood why Naruto had awakened the "Talk no Jutsu" ability, 'So he really had the power to convert people with his words.'
Watching Naruto [Sage Mode] being hailed as the 'Hero of Konoha' by the revived villagers, Kakashi felt deeply moved.
Infected by the emotions of the Konoha Ninjas in the storyline, a relieved smile appeared on his face.
'Naruto, this kid, really grows into an incredible person in the future.'
'With such achievements, Naruto is bound to become the next Hokage. But according to the requirements, Naruto's Ninja Rank...'
Then he was left speechless by the following storyline.
"Idiot…"
The next part of the storyline included some scenes of Naruto [Shippuden].
The storyline showcased the Chunin Exams hosted by Sunagakure.
And Naruto... was in the same batch as Konohamaru.
During his match with Konohamaru, Naruto was caught off guard, and Konohamaru managed to turn the tide.
Seeing the situation take a bad turn, Naruto, who always gave his all in any fight... didn't hold back against his junior and immediately activated Sage Mode.
This made Kakashi couldn't help but curse.
Konohamaru's face was beaten to a pulp by Naruto. He finally found an opportunity to use the Jutsu taught by his grandfather, Hiruzen, and his uncle, Asuma, to regain some ground (A/N: meaning Naruto wasn't hurt by the Jutsu but tripped over a rock instead).
It was like using a skill to scratch a big boss, dealing 1% of its health.
And Naruto, the boss, directly entered the second stage, Sage Mode, scaring the excited Konohamaru out of his wits.
'Huh? I'm fighting Sage Mode Naruto?'
The fair and impartial judging panel quickly announced, "Since the rule of not using Sage Mode was set before the match, Uzumaki Naruto is disqualified for breaking the rules!"
…
In response, the five-star critic Hatake Kakashi stated that such a Ninja failing to reach Chunin was purely due to stupidity.
After watching Naruto's thrilling battles for so long, Kakashi had almost started to see the grown-up Naruto as the Fourth Hokage.
But outside of these exciting battles, he knew Naruto was still the same natural airhead.
After obtaining Uzumaki Naruto [Sage Mode], Kakashi also headed to the training grounds to try out the character.
He had seen this Ninja once before during his match against Naruto.
Kakashi was well aware that this Ninja had terrifying long-range poke potential.
The first skill, Rasengan, had two different activation methods: short press and long press.
Kakashi was already familiar with this mechanic, as it was similar to Tobirama [Edo Tensei]'s first skill, Flying Thunder God Slash.
Moreover, Naruto [Sage Mode]'s second skill, Frog Kata, also had short and long press variations.
The difference between the short and long press mainly lay in whether the attack was performed by the main body or a shadow clone.
So Kakashi quickly mastered both skills after just a few tries.
But Naruto [Sage Mode]'s ultimate skill truly caught Kakashi's attention.
If it were just the regular first and second skills, they would be fairly average among A-Rank Ninjas… not particularly strong, but with decent long-range capabilities.
However, the awakened mode after activating the ultimate skill was something Kakashi highly approved of.
Activating the ultimate skill not only significantly reduced the cooldowns of the first and second skills but also enhanced both skills.
The Rasengan became a double Rasengan, and the long-press Frog Kata could now summon two shadow clones!
The basic attack combo even included a Rasengan attack. Although the overall boost wasn't massive, the ability to shorten skill cooldowns was incredibly powerful.
Kakashi could already envision it, 'Starting with full chakra or three chakra bars, I could mindlessly spam the first and second skills to poke. With two skills, there was roughly a 2/3 chance of landing the first hit, which was already quite high.'
'After landing the first hit, if the opponent dared to substitute, I could immediately activate the ultimate to shorten or even reset the skill cooldowns, then spam the first and second skills again.'
"A very good Ninja, with relatively novel skills and mechanisms."
Kakashi gave a fair assessment.
In his eyes, while this Ninja still had a noticeable gap compared to the current popular S-Rank Ninjas, it was stronger than the vast majority of Ninjas.
At the very least, it wouldn't drag the team down in ranked matches.
Just as Kakashi was about to exit the training grounds, he suddenly remembered something, "Wait, this Ninja seems to have a second stage to the ultimate."
Because this 'awakening' mechanic was quite innovative, if Kakashi hadn't fought against Naruto earlier and known that this Ninja had an ultimate skill that could chain into other skills, Kakashi might have really missed it.
After activating the first stage of the ultimate, Kakashi tried pressing the second stage.
In the game, Naruto [Sage Mode] formed a Sage Art: Rasengan, creating a suction force, pulling the training dummy toward him.
Kakashi even specifically tested it and found that this suction could even pull in enemies with Indomitable Spirit.