The Blade Isn't Needed, Can You Give It to Me

"Yesterday?"

Kyoichi understood.

He had directed Might Guy to find Kakashi. It seemed Kakashi wasn't willing to let it go, had asked Guy about the "culprit," and was now lying in ambush specifically for revenge today.

But.

His strength was still lacking.

Kakashi was strong in assassination and swordsmanship, and his adaptability was quick, but unfortunately Kyoichi had mastered Earth Spear, which required no hand seals to activate. Coupled with his powerful physique, he simply took the blade from him.

Of course.

The key was dodging that first wave of attack.

"..."

Kakashi wanted to turn and leave, but the White Fang Short Sword was still in Kyoichi's hand.

He had only intended to teach a lesson, so he hadn't even drawn the blade from its sheath, but he never expected the result to be that he lost to the point of losing his sword.

Damn it!

"Do you know where you lost?"

"..."

Kakashi's gaze snapped toward him.

Kyoichi smiled and said, "First, you underestimated your opponent."

"Hm."

Kakashi nodded, not denying it.

He had indeed underestimated him.

Mistakenly believing Kyoichi was just a Chunin teacher, nothing to fear, only to realize after making his move that the other's strength was terrifying.

It wasn't just Earth Release and Taijutsu.

The Body Flicker Technique from earlier also seemed to hide some secret, one he couldn't quite figure out for now.

The key was.

The speed was too fast!

Kakashi considered himself fast—many Jonin weren't even as fast as him—but compared to Kyoichi, he was still much slower. From the moment he struck to hitting the "Clone," he hadn't understood when the other had formed hand seals to execute the Body Flicker Technique.

"Second..."

Kyoichi's fingers flipped, the short sword dancing in his hand.

Flashy!

Useless in combat, but it could show a little—he knew swordsmanship too.

Kakashi didn't understand.

His exposed eye stared fixedly at Kyoichi, waiting for the answer to follow.

"I think it's better for you to review and reflect on this kind of problem yourself."

???

Kakashi was instantly dumbfounded.

He waited all that time, just for that?

Why didn't he say so earlier!

He took the short sword and turned to leave.

Kyoichi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

No matter how serious he pretended to be, he was still just a kid.

He glanced at Might Duy and his son. After Guy's earlier sarcastic remarks, he'd been scolded by Might Duy again, the scene quite violent, and it had only just stopped.

Then, the three of them continued their training.

Kakashi followed behind.

He had actually walked away at first, but after thinking for a while, his mind kept circling back to the problem of his own flaws.

However.

He felt...

There wasn't a problem?

Kakashi was proud.

If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have thought his loss was an issue at all. He would only think that given time, he would eventually surpass them.

That was the confidence of a genius!

But.

Kyoichi was different.

He was only fifteen.

A six-year gap wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. The problem was that his opponent was well-rounded, with almost no weaknesses.

Kakashi didn't have enough confidence.

"A flaw..."

Scenes from the earlier fight flashed through his mind repeatedly, and a vague idea began to take shape.

The blade!

The problem was with the blade!

It suddenly clicked. He quickly caught up and asked, "Is it the blade?"

"Yo, Kakashi, you didn't leave? I knew it—you must want to challenge me, to have a hot-blooded battle!"

Might Guy's enthusiasm ignited instantly.

Kakashi ignored him.

This guy.

He'd clearly won yesterday, but the way the other reacted, it was like he was the loser.

Annoying.

He stared at Kyoichi.

Kyoichi smiled and said, "Your sword technique, ninjutsu, and taijutsu are all decent, but you don't have any one outstanding ability. Your sword technique is strong, yet deep down you resist it, unwilling to develop it."

"..."

Kakashi clenched his fist, veins bulging on his forehead as he glared at Kyoichi. "What gives you the right to say that?"

"Isn't it true? I heard the Hatake Clan were originally samurai before becoming shinobi, so they've always passed down their sword technique. If you truly trusted the blade, why not integrate your ninjutsu and taijutsu into it?"

Kyoichi didn't know how White Fang's sword technique compared.

But.

Whether from the anime or their earlier exchange, he didn't think Kakashi truly believed in the short sword.

Dependent yet resistant.

That was the Kakashi of now.

"..."

Kakashi had nothing to say.

White Fang's sword technique was naturally nothing like his.

Ninja Sword Technique!

That was White Fang's true swordsmanship. The White Fang Short Sword in his hand was actually a chakra weapon, meant to be used with chakra to unleash greater power.

But.

He resisted it in his heart.

Because Kakashi couldn't help but think of his father—the man who had brought "shame" to him and the clan.

"Do you really understand your father?"

"If you think Lord White Fang was disgraceful, then just abandon the blade. A person like you isn't worthy of wielding the White Fang Short Sword. Better to give it to someone who needs it more."

"If you're interested, I can trade you the Earth Release jutsu from earlier and a secret technique. It'll definitely be worth more than the blade."

Kyoichi said with a smile.

Those words...

Cut deep.

Might Duy looked at Kakashi.

"Your father was a great man."

Duy had met Kakashi's father. He was a great man.

Yes.

A man, not a shinobi.

From a shinobi's perspective, Sakumo abandoning a mission to save a comrade was naturally a dereliction of duty. But as a human being, he protected his comrade, dared to give up something for others.

That kind of person deserved respect.

"You don't know anything!"

Kakashi gripped the White Fang Short Sword tightly and used Body Flicker Technique to leave.

Kyoichi shrugged and said, "Looks like he doesn't get it. Keep training."

"Sigh..."

Might Duy let out a light sigh.

Might Guy didn't quite understand.

In many ways, he simply wasn't that sharp—otherwise, he wouldn't have been called a Rare Beast by Kisame Hoshigaki.

"But he's still emotionally dependent on it. Even so, he refuses to give up the blade."

Kyoichi seemed to be implying something.

Kakashi hadn't gone far. With a ninja's hearing, he could definitely catch these words.

But then, Kyoichi actually left.

There was a limit to being a self-appointed teacher.

Chasing after someone to teach them—that would be too undignified.

He was a life mentor, not some incompetent teacher desperate for disciples. If Kakashi could figure it out on his own, fine; if not, it had nothing to do with him. Let Minato Namikaze deal with the headache.

Kakashi sat on a tree by the river, staring blankly at his blade.

"Do you really understand your father?"

Those words echoed in his ears.

So direct!

It wasn't the first time someone had said it, but this time, Kakashi's reaction was especially intense.

Because the other party's words seemed unreasonable, yet they bothered him deeply.

Resisting the blade?

He didn't know.

After thinking for a while, Kakashi's fists clenched again.

No!

It was because his father abandoned the mission that he committed suicide, that he brought shame to the Hatake Clan.

He stormed off in anger.

Kyoichi didn't get a system notification, but he wasn't surprised. If Kakashi could be swayed so easily by Talk no Jutsu, he wouldn't have been stuck in his own stubbornness for years, nor would he have become so universally despised among ninjas.

Still.

"Himself" had really been invisible before. He'd even briefly been on the same team as Kakashi, yet that brat didn't recognize him at all.

After running for a while, he resumed training by the same forest as before.

This time, he deliberately trained the Seven Heavenly Breathing Methods!