Puppeteer

Pass or Fail

"You're late!"

"A black cat crossed my path so... Let's move on. The alarm is set to 12 AM. Today's topic is to get one of these bells from me. Whoever can't will have no lunch. I'm going to tie you there and eat in front of you." he indicated to three wooden posts protruding from the ground just to his right, "Since there are only two bells, one of you will have to be tied to the log. That person will fail because they failed to complete the mission. The person will go back to the academy. It might just be one,  or all three. You can use your shuriken. You won't be able to do this unless you have the will to kill me. Now then, let's begin, shall we?" 

Sakura instantly grabbed both boy's jackets, pulling them into the dense forestry that surrounded the clearing. "Okay you two, we're going to have to do this together." Naruto and Kiba opened their mouths to argue but were cut off by Sakura, "Don't give me that Hokage garbage either, you first actually have to be a ninja, alright, and no offence, but you two are no match for him." the two boys instantly becoming miserable at the blatant insult. Sakura nodded to herself when they stopped trying to fight her, "Now, here's the plan..."

Kakashi stood in the middle of the clearing, it was quite unusual for somebody to not have attacked him already. In fact, it was beginning to worry him. He began to withdraw his book from his pouch, body tense and ready for an attack. The bushes across from his then began to rustle. Eye shooting towards it, he watched a small white dog leave the bush - Akamaru. He instantly began to search for Kiba who never left the dog's side. That was until another dog, identical to the first, came out the bush on his right. Slowly putting his book away, he looked left as a third Akamaru wandered out of a bush, a fourth coming from behind. He braced himself as they all raced at him in sync. As he fought the small dogs (the weirdest experience of his life) he heard a chime coming from the bells, a strange wooden creature had begun to climb onto him. Eyes widening at the realisation that it was a puppet. Hand shifting to flick it off, he continued to dodge the dogs. Sighing, he soon found himself summoning some of his own summonings. Bull appearing beside him, "Can I have a hand here, Bull?"

Sakura cursed in the bushes, she wasn't aware of the fact he had summonings. Quickly thinking over her plans, she turned to Naruto who was in the bushes with her. Out fighting was Akamaru, Kiba, a clone and her Akamaru puppet. She'd put a smaller puppet on Akamaru's back, just big enough to, when the back opened, fit the bells inside. "Naruto, change in plans, we're going to need clones... a lot of them. I want this entire clearing surrounded by them. In the trees, on the floor, just keep them hidden, alright." the boy grinned, nodding his head before his fingers slipped into the Kage Bunshin symbol. A couple of hundred Naruto's suddenly appearing behind them, racing around to surround the clearing as Sakura planned out what they should do. Summoning another small puppet, she scribbled out a message of retreat and quickly moved it towards Kiba-Akamaru. She watched as the 'dog' received it and turned tail to flee, the others copying his actions. "On the signal Naruto, I want you to send your clones out. When you do, take this puppet with you for me, please. I don't care how you do it, just get it on Kakashi and I'll get the bells." Naruto nodded his head as he took the small wooden model from her hands, tucking it into his pocket. "Now," Sakura said the moment she spotted the Akamaru's leave and Bull be returned to where he came from.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the volume of clones Naruto had summoned, drawing a kunai, he remained where he was. It was only fair he gave them a chance. Unknown to him, one of the many Narutos had slipped a small spider-like puppet onto his trouser leg. Sakura instantly connecting her chakra strings before instructing the puppet to begin removing the strings on the bells. This time, the bells had been put in its back first so the ringing sound that had given them away last time was non-existent. The moment it was undone, the spider dropped to the ground, the original Naruto noticing its sudden presence on himself before leaping backwards and racing away from the crowd. Kakashi choosing this moment to flee himself, quickly performing a replacement jutsu with one of Naruto's clones as he switched his appearance, causing an uprising amongst the clones.

Sakura face-palmed at the clones' stupidity before grinning as the original Naruto passed her the spider back. Carefully taking the spider back, she tucked it into her pocket before high-fiving the boys. "Now let's hide." the pair nodded as they raced away from where Kakashi was currently.

It didn't take Kakashi more than five minutes after returning to his original form to notice the lack of bells on his trousers. Smiling to himself, silently impressed, the man took the spider he'd caught earlier out of his pocket. The craftsmanship of it was highly detailed, the legs each made up of three parts and the back opening to reveal empty storage space. So that must have been how she intended -and succeeded- in keeping them hidden. He smiled before tucking it away. 

At 12 AM on the dot, the alarm rang, Kakashi -who'd previously been hunting the trio down- returned to the clearing, interested to know in the outcome. Only minutes after he'd returned, the trio joined him. "So, which one of you will be returning to the academy?" the trio turned to him in shock, almost as if they completely forgot that one would be going home. "Uh...." the three watched as Sakura withdrew the two bells from the spider and placed them on the floor, squatting next to them, they stared blankly. That was a very good question...