Kakashi

As a mage who had been single for almost 20 years, Kakashi was completely unaware of the momentary emotional fluctuation in the girl beside him.

He saw Sakura Haruno turn to leave and asked, a little puzzled, "Aren't you going to finish the exam, Sakura?"

"There's nothing much to see anymore. The result won't change much," Sakura Haruno explained, turning around. "Besides, our mission is to patrol the exam venue. It's not really appropriate for us to just stay here and leisurely watch the game, is it?"

"Or... does Kakashi-sensei want to slack off a little longer? Master Tsunade will dock his pay, you know!"

She blinked, and as she walked forward with light steps, she said thoughtfully.

A bright smile still lingered on her face, and when she looked at Kakashi, her eyes were full of teasing and mischievous amusement; the melancholy she had felt earlier had completely vanished.

"Um... Teacher, I just wanted to check on the new batch of test takers." Kakashi scratched his head, quickening his pace to catch up with the girl. "Of course, I wouldn't forget about the mission."

"Really?" Sakura drawled out the last syllable, looking at him suspiciously.

The two left the examination hall, leaped onto the uneven rooftops, and began to move rapidly along the perimeter of the hall, while the girl's soft laughter drifted on the wind.

"But in my memory, Kakashi-sensei was always late, not very enthusiastic about training, and always had a pornographic book inappropriate for children in his hand!"

"Cough cough...!"

Even Kakashi, with his thick skin, couldn't stand such teasing. He awkwardly scratched his face as he leaped forward, unsure what to do. As a teacher, to be so scorned by his adorable student—his dignity had completely crumbled!

Sakura has become so unlovable.

Kakashi, his lifeless eyes wide, followed behind Sakura Haruno, trying to explain, "Sensei, I've been training really hard lately!"

And then there's the "Make-Out Hall" thing, which isn't considered erotic literature, and the claim that being late is just because you got lost... which fills the air with a cheerful atmosphere.

However, Sakura Haruno knew that Kakashi-sensei had really become much more diligent in the past two years.

Because he took Sasuke as his disciple.

Sasuke's progress is evident to all, and if Kakashi doesn't want his newly accepted disciple to be surpassed by him, he has no choice but to work hard in his training as well.

If I continue to be a lazy bum, I really won't even have the dignity of a teacher in front of Sasuke!

Sakura Haruno had no intention of breaking this rule. After all, Kakashi had been her teacher, and a little teasing and chatting was fine. Did she really want to find a sense of superiority in Kakashi by looking down on her teacher? Even if Kakashi didn't mind, Sakura Haruno would still feel embarrassed by it.

"I know you've been training very hard lately, teacher. It seems Kakashi-sensei's strength has really improved this year." The girl stopped teasing Kakashi, and the two stopped on a platform of a tall building. Sakura looked him over seriously for a few moments and said, "I can feel it..."

It wasn't something you could sense from his aura or imposing presence—though you could vaguely perceive an improvement in Kakashi's strength from the occasional, superficial Chakra emanations.

The main reason is that Sakura Haruno recently experienced the feeling of Shisui's Sharingan.

Beneath Kakashi's Forehead Protector, the Sharingan occasionally emanated an aura that Sakura found very intriguing—

Mangekyō Sharingan

The two walked side by side. Kakashi couldn't control his eye, and with her keen senses, Sakura Haruno easily confirmed it. It had been a long time since the two, teacher and student, had performed a mission or trained together like this, and Sakura Haruno could only guess that Kakashi had achieved his breakthrough this year.

Feeling the girl's gaze linger on his Sharingan, Kakashi instinctively covered his left eye, somewhat surprised. "Sakura, you noticed..."

Sakura Haruno nodded. "Actually, I should have guessed this when Master Tsunade arranged for the two of us to patrol together."

A more ideal setup would be Sakura Haruno paired with a reconnaissance ninja, such as Hotaru Hyuga.

The only explanation for Kakashi's arrangement to patrol with her is that his strength is considered to have reached the "Kage" level.

In other words, Kakashi was able to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"How's it going, Kakashi-sensei? Doesn't the Mangekyō Sharingan feel amazing?"

The girl, curious, circled around him, pressing him for answers.

"If you're a pure- Uchiha Clan, you'd probably feel great after awakening the Mangekyō," Kakashi said with a wry smile, "But every time I activate Mangekyō, I only feel a heavy burden..."

Kakashi didn't tell Sakura Haruno that when he first activated his Mangekyō, he tried out a Mangekyō Secret Technique and ended up lying in bed for a whole week afterward.

"It's probably because your body isn't used to the intensity of the Mangekyō yet!" Sakura Haruno comforted him with a smile. "If it were Kakashi-sensei, he would definitely be able to master the Mangekyou Mangekyō in a short time!"

"Your confidence in me actually puts more pressure on me..."

Kakashi, with his lifeless, drooping eyes, said listlessly; his expression and tone were like those of a salted fish that had lost all its ideals...

"Besides, I don't have much Chakra, so even if I train hard, I won't see results quickly." He adjusted his Forehead Protector, writing listlessly, recalling the scenes of his training.

That technique is called "Kamui Secret Technique".

Its power is extremely strong, but its energy consumption is also extremely astonishing!

Hearing this, Sakura Haruno didn't know how to continue the conversation. After all, with the Yin Seal, she had never felt a lack of Chakra or a feeling of emptiness in her body due to the extremely high consumption of the Mangekyō Sharingan... Without these worries, she didn't know how to help Kakashi. Forcing comfort would be meaningless to Kakashi and would only seem annoying.

Sakura Haruno simply walked to the edge of the platform, stepped onto the edge of the cement wall, squatted down in a rather boyish manner, and looked down at Konoha.

--Pretend to be conducting a thorough inspection.

The wind was very strong on the turf, making it quite noisy.

The wind howled, lifting her soft, long hair at her temples, which danced and fluttered in front of her eyebrows, somewhat annoyingly. Sakura Haruno casually brushed her messy hair behind her ears, looking at the peaceful afternoon in Konoha, where people flowed like water, undisturbed.

This wasn't some feigned calm before the storm; there was genuinely no one causing trouble in Konoha at this juncture. After all, not every Chunin Ninja Exams would coincide with a Konoha Crush Plan.

Even Akatsuki would have to consider whether it was worth offending five ninja villages at once, given that the "Kage" of three ninja villages were present and the Five Great Nations had sent representatives.

However, this Chunin Ninja Exams is of great importance. Tsunade went to great lengths to bring in the Sand Ninja and Mist Ninja, not just to have them take the exam, but also because there are many important matters to discuss with Gaara and Mei Terumi, the two Kage. Therefore, even to prevent the slightest possibility, she had to bring in the village's strongest fighting force—two Kage-level individuals—to be present and oversee the operation in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

In this situation, patrolling the surrounding area becomes a tedious task where, even though nothing unexpected is likely to happen, one has to keep a close eye on things, remain vigilant, and be ready to act at any moment...

Kakashi remained silent, his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground below, circling the platform again and again; the high building where the two stood was the highest point in the vicinity, with an extremely wide view, from which one could see the entire area of Konoha.

Although the mission was tedious and boring, the two still carried out their orders diligently. In fact, a large number of ninja missions are like this: uneventful, without any excitement, requiring no risk of life or even combat, just the hard work of completing small tasks.

Time slipped away silently amidst the work, until a long, drawn-out bell rang in the distance, breaking the tranquility.

The first exam is over.

Sakura Haruno stood up, looked in the direction of the examination hall, and said calmly.

"Well then... our mission for today is over," Kakashi, walking over as well.

"Hmm... speaking of which," he touched his nose and looked at Sakura, "Sakura, are you free lately?"

"... Huh?"

[I really wanted to update more, but my writing rhythm hasn't returned to normal yet, and I've also been busy back home. So I can only update once every few days. Please forgive me...]