Swordsmanship Master

"I refuse."

Kakashi refused without a second thought. You've got to be kidding. Me, Kakashi, a genius of my caliber, having to join Mai's team just to get promoted?

"And your reason?" Uchiha Mai asked with a narrowed-eyed smile.

"Umm..."

Kakashi had no answer.

Could he say that he had refused because of his pride, because joining a team led by a classmate from the same year felt humiliating?

For ordinary ninja, having someone from the same class pull them up was something to be happy about.

But when it came to Kakashi, it became something he could not accept.

I'm Kakashi, a genius of my caliber! I can become an Anbu captain without your help!

"You brat!"

Seeing this, Hatake Sakumo immediately understood that Kakashi's pride was acting up. He slapped Kakashi on the back of the head.

He was not angry because Kakashi had turned down a chance at promotion. It was only a small team captain position.

If they took a stroll through the Hokage Office someday and casually mentioned it, forget a division assignment—at the very least, they would have to arrange a small team captain position for Kakashi, right?

What angered Hatake Sakumo was that Kakashi had given up an opportunity to grow stronger because of pointless pride. To some extent, he was running away from reality.

"Hmph!"

Kakashi snorted and offered no further explanation. With a haughty look, he said, "You want me to join your team? Fine.

But you have to prove that you're stronger than I am, that you're someone powerful enough to deserve my assistance and pursuit.

And if one day my strength catches up to or even surpasses yours, I'll definitely leave the Void Division. You can't stop me."

"See? What did I tell you?"

Master Minato shrugged. This kid