"Byakugan."
The world became greyscale and bigger. It is difficult to describe what is nearly 360 degree vision with any kind of accuracy because a human mind not used to it; and the brain doesn't expect its cone of vision to suddenly become different. It gets even worse when you try to marry it with normal human vision, hence keeping his normally closed.
He focused the gaze mentally. The best way to describe it would be like adjusting a microscope with your mind, but whilst needing to keep totally still with one eye shut fast whilst your other is the microscope. When the world is composed of grey and chakra signatures.
He could see four scattered ahead of him.
'Hmm, one large signitature must be the Jonin sensei. Three smaller ones though.'
He mentally stopped the Byakugan and moved forwards to get a better view. He was now within fifty metres of the Jonin.
'White hair, headband covering the eye, and book, which is a grey that means its orange. Well, Lord Danzo told me they were eccentric. The headband and hair mean this should be Hatake Kakashi. He's good.'
He looked around at the bushes, and quickly picked out the genin team members.
'Have any of them done any stealth lessons? Their positions are wrong, their clothing is wrong. She's even poking her damn head out from under her cover. Idiots. Their sensei knows exactly where every single one of them is.'
He watched, working out how he would attack the Jonin much as the team probably were. Ah well, his job was to observe the test, not to pass it.
One of the team members jumped out from his hiding spot and charged Kakashi. Naruto was taken aback at the laziness with which he was stopping the genin's assault on him.
The genin was using what taijutsu he had, and it was sloppy and unrefined even to Naruto's inexperienced eyes. The jonin hadn't even taken his eyes off his book. It wasn't even an interesting fight, it was...boring really.
With the genin dispatched and humiliated, the Jonin continued to wander gently through the training ground. Naruto followed, keeping either high in the trees or low to the ground, not following too quickly. Keeping out of the way.
He settled into a new position as the second genin attacked with a barrage of shuriken and kunai from above. Whilst the accuracy of five projectiles at once was impressive for a genin, Naruto found himself almost offended by it.
Who wastes five shots when you only needed one? Either way, the jonin had used a karawimi without delay and been utterly unaffected by the assault. He then disappeared away from a fireball jutsu.
Naruto watched the giant jutsu as he became more and more confused by their attacking style. Whilst undeniably powerful, it was far too showy for his liking. In fact, all of these shinobi were far too of them seemed to have any plan of action and were acting individually.
He briefly wandered whether the three genin could combine to win, but decided against it. The Jonin was just too strong. And was moving in his general direction.
His hands flicked through the handsigns for his shadow deepening genjutsu and shrunk back deeper into the undergrowth. He found a hollow tree and ducked inside it, cloak taking on the mottled texture of the rough bark. That done, he activated the Byakugan once again.
He checked his surroundings. The sensei had managed to take the final genin member, the mixed chakra signals around the girl indicating a genjutsu. And the jonin was moving towards him, still reading his book.
He held his nerve, only if the Jonin was a very good sensor and paying attention would he actually be spotted. He kept his watch as the man approached.
The man was still reading the book, although Naruto could see his visible eye glancing left and right as he did. Not only was he extremely competent, but he intentionally gave off a goofy air to ensure his genin weren't ready for his true strength.
The man glance up at the tree, and looked directly at Naruto for just the slightest second. He then checked to see if anyone was around, and pulled his headband up to reveal his second eye.
Naruto cursed the fact he was wearing a mask, previously hidden by the book. He could have read the facial expression much better if it hadn't been there. His eye saw the other eye.
The Byakugan shows life in greyscale except for chakra. Chakra is usually a pale blue, although different personalities could show different colours. Kakashi's eye was a subtlety darker colour than the rest of him. And spun gently.
'Like Lord Danzo's eye! He has the sharingan too, it must be Hatake Kakashi.'
Naruto realised that if he could see Kakashi's eye, it meant Kakashi could see through his genjutsu. He had been found.
Instinct honed by hours of training kicked in. He dropped smoke, created a couple of shadow clones and fled, each clone going in a different direction.
Byakugan active, he focused his real eye ahead to stop him hitting everything, and his Byakugan behind him as best he could. Aside from the blind spot where the optical nerve connected it to his brain, as best he could see he wasn't being followed at all.
In fact, the figure was waving goodbye in a faintly surprised manner to each clone in turn.
He stopped. Kakashi had clearly seen him but had made no move to follow or speak to him. In fact, he had been pleasantly surprised. That didn't square up.
He stopped moving and ducked instinctively under the thickest cover he could find and looked out once more using the Byakugan.
Kakashi was moving off again in the slow deliberate fashion he done when the test had started. No urgency, just a slow stroll with the book held out in front of him.
So...he had been found by an experienced ninja, who, instead of demanding to know who he was and why he was there had let him escape. The last part was almost definitely true, Naruto was quick for his age and agile, but there was no way he could match the speed of a full grown and experienced jonin, especially one with the record Kakashi had.
No...He had been pleasantly surprised. That meant he was slightly expecting him to be there. But how?
'The Hokage must have told him.'
Naruto filed that away. It was obvious he was being tested. The 'Don't be spotted' instruction the Hokage had given on the rooftops had been an obvious one. This one was more subtle, he was being evaluated by the jonin with the team.
He continued to observe from a distance, wary that Kakashi could spot him too easily if he got too close. He was lecturing his team, one of them tied to a post. He eventually turned away and walked off.
The team wasn't going anywhere, might as well see what Kakashi was doing. He had a hunch.
The trees and shrubbery barely rustled as he moved quickly from place to place, Byakugan eye focused on the elite Jonin.
He had been right. Kakashi was hiding with a clear view of his charges, and was watching them closely.
Naruto stopped a short distance away, and considered throwing up a genjutsu. He dismissed the option, it hadn't worked the first time, it probably wouldn't a second time. Could he get a shot off with the bow? Maybe, but this man was elite.
He looked through the trees at his target again. His focus on the genin was very tight. Maybe from above?
He moved up into the branches of the trees, and reached behind him. The reassuring black leather grip of the tanto blade he kept on his back slid into his palm in a very practised motion. He crept along the branch until he was nearly above Kakashi, and unsheathed the blade slowly, well oiled sheath barely whispering as the blade slipped from it.
He took a grip, and dropped, blade moving towards Kakashi's back through the air as he pushed it down to increase the power it would hit Kakashi with.
Kakashi reacted at the last possible moment, rolling away and launching a kunai at him. He shifted the blade just enough to block the projectile with a clang. It slammed into the earth as he prepared to move again.
"You're good; I only knew you were there just before you dropped. Although you're not retreating like last time."
"How did you spot me?"
"Luck. The shadow in the tree didn't look right. I've seen enough genjutsu in my time and decided to take a better look. It was good work. I expected as much."
"Hokage-sama sent me here for you to test me."
Kakashi found himself a little taken aback. The way he'd said it bore absolutely no hint that he doubted it at all. It was a fair deduction.
"Yeah. You're good. Although a chunin, if they spotted you, would be enough to stop you at this stage. Your block with the tanto wasn't particularly good, and that cloak will get in your way in a straight up fight. You are quick though."
"I don't get spotted. Even if I do it's usually because I want to get guards to move."
"Quick too. Well, we'll both report to the Hokage later about each other I guess. What do you think of my team?"
"Too brash. No stealth at all. No dress sense either."
Kakashi shrugged.
"Well, I have to pass them; they seem to have finally worked out to work as a team. Quite rare. Ja Ne."
He disappeared to pass the team. Naruto moved off back towards the briefing room to wait again. It should only take a couple of hours, and he could wait.
...
I'm on p@treon too, just copy the link and replace '@' with 'a'.
Read advance chapters on p@treon
[email protected]/guilty_greed