So-called Geniuses Also Have Tiers

Kakashi and Seisui stood facing each other.

Kakashi wore a black tight-fitting suit, steel arm guards on his forearms, and his sheath rested on his back just like his father's. The whole man was like a drawn blade, sharp and gleaming.

Hatake Sakumo crossed his arms, his gaze flickering between Kakashi and Seisui.

Though he'd told himself not to let Kakashi get anxious, this was still his own son. Sakumo was genuinely looking forward to seeing what Kakashi could do.

"Seisui-san, I'm coming!"

"Come on, Kakashi-san."

The moment the words left his mouth, Kakashi exploded into motion, pushing his speed to the limit in one fluid motion. His short blade was already in hand as he closed in on Seisui with steps so subtle they were nearly impossible to track.

He really is a blend of samurai and shinobi—the ferocity of a warrior and the swiftness of a ninja...

Seisui sighed inwardly, raised Muramasa, and the Sharingan behind the black membrane began to turn slowly.

With Tobirama Senju's motor nerves combined with the dojutsu of the Sharingan, Kakashi's speed, though impressive, played out in Seisui's eyes like a slow-motion replay.

Seisui casually swung his blade to the right.

The next moment, it was as if Kakashi had thrown himself into the path of the strike. His short blade clashed precisely against Muramasa, the sound of metal ringing through the air.

Kakashi's pupils dilated sharply.

Coincidence? How could he predict my position so accurately?

Off to the side, Hatake Sakumo's expression gradually turned serious.

He didn't think it was a coincidence. In close-quarters blade combat, where every move had to be efficient to maintain rhythm, losing that rhythm meant becoming passive and flustered.

Feeling the force transmitted through the short blade, Seisui smiled. "Kakashi, I'm a few years older than you, so I've got a bit of an advantage. Don't hold it against me."

With that, Seisui pressed Muramasa's edge firmly against the short blade, steadily increasing the pressure.

Kakashi immediately felt the strain. Seisui's strength completely overwhelmed him, and the blade seemed to stick to his own, forcing him into a contest of pure power.

One miscalculated move, and Kakashi was already at a disadvantage. The match seemed to be tipping toward defeat in an instant.

"Seisui Uchiha's strength... something's off..."

Sakumo stared hard at Seisui's arm. He knew Kakashi's strength—though it couldn't match his own, it wasn't a total loss among Special Jonin either.

But the scene before him made Sakumo question: compared to Seisui's strength, how would he himself measure up?

Sweat dripped from Kakashi's hairline. His arms grew increasingly sore and weak as he stared at Muramasa's eerie, bewitching edge.

If he dodged, Muramasa would follow through with a swift slash...

If this keeps up, I'll run out of strength, and then the match is over!

Kakashi steeled himself. He suddenly released the pressure, and as Muramasa's blade came down, he hurled a shuriken from his sleeve with lightning speed, aiming straight for Seisui's throat.

"Nice move."

Seisui sidestepped slightly, dodging the shuriken, while Kakashi quickly put distance between them.

The body is still too frail... For a shinobi, even with the power to move mountains and overturn seas, being this wary of iron weapons is really unnecessary.

If I could fix that weakness, my safety would improve dramatically, and it'd be a huge boon in battle.

While Kakashi worked the soreness out of his arms, Seisui reflected on the fight, absorbing lessons from it.

If he'd had techniques like the Hydrification Technique or Lightning Release Chakra Mode to evade ordinary physical attacks, he wouldn't have had to bother dodging Kakashi's shuriken.

The Hydrification Technique is a secret art, and as for Lightning Release Chakra Mode... I don't have Lightning Release chakra nature...

As Seisui pondered, an electronic sound rang in his head:

Detected that Hatake Kakashi has developed a strong desire to defeat the host. Binding as a laning target!

Seisui's eyes lit up.

Kakashi's will to win was stronger than he'd thought.

Compared to the all-element Tobirama Senju, that old man knew too much, making his rewards scattered and his stimulation threshold too high for Seisui.

But Kakashi was different. He was also an all-element genius, but still a kid. Aside from his chakra natures, there wasn't much to write home about.

"Kakashi... I don't think I can hold back anymore..."

Seisui's expression shifted. Muramasa burst into roaring flames.

The swordsmanship derived from Uchiha Izuna—though it was Tobirama's analyzed version—paired surprisingly well with Muramasa, with no awkwardness at all.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Alarm bells rang in his mind as a fierce sense of danger assaulted his instincts.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

A towering wall of earth rose before Kakashi, giving him a sliver of security.

"Oh... that's a decent amount of chakra."

Seisui looked up at the towering wall. For a seven-year-old shinobi, this was definitely not something a chakra-deficient ninja could pull off.

Kakashi's chakra reserves had always been Schrödinger's cat.

"But it won't work, Kakashi..."

Seisui swung Muramasa, the flames at its edge surging forth like a fire dragon, roaring as it slammed into the Earth Style Wall, melting the earthen barrier with sheer heat!

"Tch, flashy but impractical. That brat learned that bastard's sword technique."

Tobirama Senju clicked his tongue. This Ninja Sword Technique was Uchiha Izuna's early fighting style. In their later battles, both of them had stripped things back to basics, no longer wasting Chakra...

But Kakashi, facing the blade's flames, didn't have Tobirama's critical mindset. He stared dumbfounded at the sky full of fire.

Then.

Seisui descended from above, wrapped in flames and blade wind, expressionlessly swinging his sword down at him!

And at that moment.

A azure-blue Chakra slash shot in from the side, colliding with Muramasa at incredible speed!

Boom!

Instantly, dust filled the training ground!

Seisui narrowed his eyes, looking at his slightly numb hands, then at Hatake Sakumo, who wore an apologetic expression.

That slash just now—he was the one who'd unleashed it.

Wait, are you a Great Swordsman from a pirate world, or are you Ichigo Kurosaki?

Hatake Sakumo, did you walk onto the wrong set and get forced off-screen?

Seisui grumbled inwardly. At this moment, he finally saw Hatake Sakumo's fighting style!

Kakashi sat frozen on the ground, staring at Seisui, who still looked calm, and finally recognized the gap between them...

That was Hatake Sakumo—his father's slash! And Seisui had actually blocked it!

That one scene alone was enough to make him understand that the two of them were nowhere near the same level as ninjas.

From target Kakashi Hatake: You have obtained Lightning Release Chakra Attribute!

From target Madara Uchiha: You have obtained Fire Release Ninjutsu Mastery!

Seisui's desired rewards had arrived, but there was one extra.

Seisui took a deep breath, glanced around helplessly, but couldn't find anything unusual.

Wait, is some old man peeping?

Come on, don't you know what personal space means?

So sleepy! Need some votes to comfort me, wuwuwu!

Also, a note on Hatake Sakumo's time of death:

In the original manga, the reference comes from Minato Namikaze and Obito saying, "Kakashi's father died five years ago..."

That was during the Kannabi Bridge battle, when Kakashi had just become a Jonin at age 12. The databook says 13 years ago, so from that, it's inferred that Hatake Sakumo died when Kakashi was 7-8 years old.

In the anime, the reference is Kakashi visiting Hatake Sakumo's grave, then Obito comforting him. At that time, Kakashi already had his headband. (TV 636-637)

That doesn't give a clear timeline, only that it was after graduation.

As for the rest, it's mostly fanon...

I'll also explain when Kushina became a Jinchuriki in the relevant chapters, based on the latest Minato novel.

In short, I've researched the timeline—I'm not a fake Naruto fan—and I hope readers won't worry too much about timeline issues.

Even Kishimoto himself had a bunch of bugs...

For example, whether the Nine-Tails Incident was in year 48 or 51—that's just two databooks giving different timelines, a three-year conflict. Technically, both are fine.

After all, it's a manga that started as a short story and expanded into a long one. There are bound to be some holes. I hope readers understand.