"Yesterday?"
Kyoichi figured it out.
He had guided Might Guy to find Kakashi, but Kakashi clearly hadn't been satisfied. He had asked Might Guy who the "culprit" was, and today he had deliberately ambushed him for revenge.
However.
He was still a little too weak.
Kakashi's assassination skills and Sword Technique were both excellent, and his ability to adapt was impressive too. Unfortunately, Kyoichi had mastered Earth Spear, which took effect without any hand seals. Combined with his powerful body, he had simply snatched away Kakashi's sword.
Of course.
The key was still dodging the first wave of attacks.
"..."
Kakashi really wanted to turn around and leave, but the White Fang Short Sword was still in Kyoichi's hand.
At first, he had only wanted to teach Kyoichi a lesson, so he hadn't even drawn his sword. He hadn't expected to lose so badly that he would lose his sword too.
Damn it!
"Do you know where you lost?"
"..."
Kakashi shot him a glare.
Kyoichi smiled and said, "First, you underestimated your opponent."
"Mm."
Kakashi nodded without denying it.
He had indeed underestimated him.
He had assumed Kyoichi was merely a Chunin teacher and no threat at all. Only after attacking did he realize how frighteningly strong the other man was.
It wasn't just Earth Release and Taijutsu.
Even the Body Flicker Technique he had used earlier seemed to conceal some kind of trick, one Kakashi couldn't figure out for the moment.
The key was...
He was too fast!
Kakashi considered himself very fast. Many Jonin weren't as quick as him, but compared with Kyoichi, he was still far slower.
Earlier, from the moment he attacked until he struck the "clone," he hadn't even realized when the other man had formed the seals and used the Body Flicker Technique.
"Second..."
Kyoichi's fingers danced, and the short sword swirled in his hand.
It looked flashy!
It wasn't very useful in battle, but it could at least show that he knew Sword Technique too.
Kakashi didn't understand.
His exposed eye stared fixedly at Kyoichi as he waited for the rest of the answer.
"I think this is the kind of problem you should review and reflect on yourself."
???
Kakashi was instantly dumbfounded.
He had waited so long, only to get that sentence?
He should have said so earlier!
He took the short sword and turned to leave.
Kyoichi couldn't help laughing.
No matter how serious he acted, he was still just a child.
He glanced at Might Duy and Might Guy. After Guy's sarcastic remarks earlier, Might Duy had given him another lecture. The scene had been extremely violent, and only now had it stopped.
Afterward, the three of them continued training.
Kakashi followed behind them.
He had indeed left at first, but after thinking it over for a while, he couldn't stop considering his own shortcomings.
However.
He felt...
There was nothing wrong with him?
Kakashi was very proud.
If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with losing. He would only have believed that, given enough time, he would eventually surpass his opponent.
That was a genius's confidence!
But.
Kyoichi was different.
He was only fifteen.
The six-year gap was neither huge nor insignificant, but the other man was well-rounded, with practically no weaknesses.
Kakashi didn't have enough confidence.
"Shortcomings..."
Images from the battle repeatedly flashed through his mind, and he gradually came up with a few ideas.
The sword!
The problem was with the sword!
He suddenly understood and quickly caught up to ask, "Is it the sword?"
"Oh, Kakashi, you didn't leave? I knew it! You must want to challenge me. Come, let's have a passionate battle!"
Might Guy instantly became enthusiastic.
Kakashi ignored him.
This guy.
Kakashi had clearly won yesterday, yet the other man's reaction made it seem as if he had lost instead.
Annoying!
He stared at Kyoichi.
Kyoichi smiled and said, "Your Sword Technique, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu are all decent, but you don't have any particularly outstanding ability. Your Sword Technique is strong, but deep down, you resist it. You refuse to let it grow stronger."
"..."
Kakashi clenched his fist. The veins on his forehead throbbed as he glared angrily at Kyoichi. "What makes you think you can say that?"
"Am I wrong? I heard that the Hatake Clan were samurai in their early days and only later became ninja, so Sword Technique has always been passed down through the family. If you truly trusted your Sword Technique, why wouldn't you fuse your Ninjutsu and Taijutsu into it?"
Kyoichi didn't know how good White Fang's Sword Technique had been.
But.
Whether in the anime or in their fight just now, he didn't think Kakashi truly believed in the short sword.
He relied on it, yet resisted it.
That was Kakashi as he was now.
"..."
Kakashi had nothing to say.
White Fang's Sword Technique naturally wasn't like his.
Ninja Sword Technique!
That was White Fang's Sword Technique. The White Fang Short Sword in his hand was actually a chakra weapon, one that could be used with chakra to unleash even greater power.
But.
He resisted it in his heart.
Because Kakashi couldn't help thinking of his father—the man who had brought "shame" upon him and the clan.
"Do you really understand your father?"
"If you think White Fang was disgraceful, then you might as well abandon the sword. Someone like you doesn't deserve to use the White Fang Short Sword. You should give it to someone who needs it more."
"If you're interested, I can exchange the Earth Release Ninjutsu I used just now and one secret technique for it. It'll absolutely be worth your while."
Kyoichi said it with a beaming smile.
Those words...
They struck straight at the heart.
Might Duy looked at Kakashi.
"Your father was a great man."
Duy had met Kakashi's father. He had been a great man.
Yes.
A man, not a ninja.
From a ninja's perspective, Sakumo had naturally failed in his duty by abandoning the mission to save his comrades. But as a person, he had protected his comrades and dared to give up certain things for them.
A person like that deserved great respect.
"You don't understand anything!"
Kakashi gripped the White Fang Short Sword tightly and left directly with the Body Flicker Technique.
Kyoichi shrugged and said, "It seems he doesn't understand. Let's continue training."
"Sigh..."
Might Duy let out a soft sigh.
Guy, however, didn't really understand.
In many respects, he simply wasn't that clever. Otherwise, Kisame Hoshigaki wouldn't have called him a Rare Beast.
"But he still relies on it psychologically. Even so, he refuses to abandon Sword Technique."
Kyoichi spoke with apparent meaning.
Kakashi hadn't gone far. With a ninja's hearing, he could definitely hear those words.
However, Kyoichi really did leave afterward.
There was a limit to enjoying teaching others.
Chasing after someone to teach them was simply too undignified.
He was a life mentor, not an incompetent teacher desperate for students. If Kakashi could figure it out, he could do so himself. If he couldn't, that had nothing to do with Kyoichi. He would let Minato Namikaze deal with the headache.
Kakashi sat on a tree beside the river, staring blankly at his sword.
"Do you really understand your father?"
Those words echoed in his ears.
They were very direct!
It wasn't the first time someone had said that, but Kakashi's reaction was especially intense this time.
The other man's words seemed unreasonable, yet they had caught Kakashi's attention deeply.
Did he resist the sword?
He didn't know.
After thinking for a while, Kakashi clenched his fists again.
No!
It was precisely because his father had abandoned the mission that he had committed suicide and brought shame upon the Hatake Clan.
He left in anger.
Kyoichi didn't receive any system notification, but he wasn't surprised. If Kakashi could be swayed so easily by Talk no Jutsu, he wouldn't have been trapped in his own thoughts for so many years, becoming hated by everyone in the ninja ranks.
However.
His "original self" had truly lacked any sense of presence before. He had clearly been on the same team as Kakashi for a short time, yet that kid hadn't recognized him at all.
After running for a while, he continued training beside the same forest as usual.
This time, he deliberately trained with the Seven Heavenly Breathing Methods!
Before you continue