The Genin Life Officially Begins

"What's wrong with Kakashi-sensei? He looked kinda pained when he left." Naruto watched Kakashi's retreating figure, clearly eager to get away, and asked with some confusion.

"All thanks to your Shadow Clone. The medicine already touched his skin, but don't worry—it just makes you itchy. A bath will fix it." Nanfeng said casually.

He knew exactly what his own concoctions could do. It was just a pity that Konoha's pharmacists were too weak. If he could get pointers from Tsunade or Shizune, today's fight would've gone even smoother.

"Heh heh, wasn't our teamwork pretty good though?" Naruto scratched his head.

"Alright, let's hurry up and review this fight. If we can refine some of our battle strategies, today's result could've been even better." As a training maniac, Sasuke quickly spotted the shortcomings in their performance.

Nanfeng agreed. The three of them slung arms over each other's shoulders and headed to their usual training spot. Today's battle experience summary was bound to be a long one!

After half a day of discussion, they reached a conclusion: Jonin far surpassed them in combat ability and experience. Though Naruto's Shadow Clones didn't have much Chakra, their physical strength was exactly the same as the original.

Naruto was confident he could knock out a Chunin with one punch, but against Kakashi, it had zero effect!

"And most importantly, we didn't even see his trump card today. He hasn't used his hidden Sharingan yet." Nanfeng sighed. In short, the abilities he could bring out were still too few, and the only reason he'd spotted Kakashi's figure in the end was thanks to his Sharingan (Modified).

Still, Kakashi had gotten a close look at Nanfeng's eyes and hadn't realized it was a special dojutsu.

"Why does he have a Sharingan?" Sasuke asked, a bit surprised. Plenty of people in the ninja world coveted the Sharingan, but seeing one on someone else was a first for him.

"Think about his titles: Konoha's Late King and the Copy Ninja, Kakashi. That eye was probably a memento from his old teammate—a kind of entrusted conviction. Rumor has it that after that, he became someone who values his teammates above all else. He should be a trustworthy person going forward." Nanfeng sighed.

If Kakashi-sensei ever found out Obito was still alive and had become the ninja world's big boss, Nanfeng wondered how he'd react. But thinking about how they'd awakened their eyes, Nanfeng fell silent.

"Valuing teammates... I value you guys too!" Sasuke muttered to himself.

"Don't worry. If either of you stops valuing your teammates, don't blame me for punishing you." Nanfeng said. "To me, the first rule of being a ninja is cherishing your comrades. In this world, people who don't respect the rules are called trash, but those who don't value their friends are worse than trash!"

As Nanfeng finished speaking, clapping came from behind. The three turned around in confusion and were a bit surprised to see Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Of course, Nanfeng's surprise was fake. He'd said all that because he'd sensed Hiruzen's approach.

"Well said, Nanfeng. Ninja are human too. If a person can't cherish the people beside them, they don't belong to this species. I heard about your fight today from Kakashi—well done. But Nanfeng, your medicine doesn't seem to have improved much?" The Hokage looked at Nanfeng with a knowing smile.

Nanfeng felt a bit awkward. After all, the first person he'd tested that Itchy Powder on was the Hokage himself—by accident, sure, but it had kept Nanfeng on edge for a long time.

"The hospital folks could only teach me so much, and I haven't been diligent with my pharmacology studies. I have to squeeze in training every day. If another teacher could guide me, maybe I'd make a breakthrough." Nanfeng said honestly.

"What does the old man Hokage want with us today?" Naruto asked curiously. He didn't have much respect for the Hokage—this was the guy who'd graffiti the Hokage Rock, after all. Expecting respect from him? Dream on. And because Hiruzen felt guilty toward Naruto, he was especially lenient with him on things like this.

"Just came to congratulate you. I've visited the other teams too—this isn't a special privilege for you alone." The Hokage explained with a smile. "Your ninja life is going to get harder from here, but the early missions should be simple enough. I hope you can adapt to the rhythm quickly, because..."

The Hokage seemed to realize he was saying too much. He stopped, sighed, and turned to leave.

"Hokage-sama!" Nanfeng called out as Hiruzen prepared to go.

"Hm?" The Hokage turned back, puzzled.

"Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you." Nanfeng said from the heart. He understood exactly why the Hokage had shown up—to warn off someone lurking in the shadows watching them.

With the Hokage's attention, even if Danzo had any ideas, he'd have to hold back for now.

The Hokage smiled and patted Nanfeng's shoulder before leaving, leaving Naruto and Sasuke exchanging confused glances. Were these two speaking in code?

Nanfeng didn't explain either. It wasn't time yet. For now, he'd enjoy these rare moments of peace...

"What a joke. We're ninja, and we're here to catch someone's cat?" A few days later, Nanfeng had had enough of genin missions. Weeding, babysitting, and now cat-catching!

But watching the cat owner pet the feline, Nanfeng suddenly felt like he understood why the cat kept running away.

"You're genin. Genin missions are all like this. If you want higher-level missions, build up your experience. Become Chunin, and you can start living the ninja life you imagine." Kakashi said flatly.

He was enjoying the recent pace of life. No fighting, just watching them do missions every day. He'd even catch up on the Icha Icha Paradise he'd fallen behind on. This was...

Heaven!