Kakashi Gu Qi Appeared

In Year 51 of Konoha, three years had passed since the Nine-Tails attacked the village.

Over those three years, some people's grief had gradually begun to fade.

"Konoha, Naruto... I never thought I'd actually end up in this world one day."

Perched on a tree branch, a three-year-old boy leaned against the trunk and gazed at the snowflakes swirling through the sky, lost in thought.

The boy was called Gu Qi. He wasn't from this world—or, more precisely, his soul wasn't.

He had been an ordinary young man in the twenty-first century. Who would've thought that one day, while playing a game and watching a Naruto movie on his phone, he'd get electrocuted and die?

When he woke up again, the first thing he saw was a colossal orange cat.

Except this cat had nine tails.

Just as the enormous cat was about to stomp Gu Qi into a pulp, a white-haired man wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector whisked him away at the last possible moment.

Gu Qi was completely stunned. "Holy crap, that's Kakashi Hatake in the flesh! He's so damn cool!"

Thinking of the giant orange cat he'd just seen, Gu Qi immediately realized this was October 10, Year 48 of Konoha—the day the chosen one, Naruto Uzumaki, was born.

On that same day, Obito Uchiha broke the seal on Uzumaki Kushina and released the Nine-Tails, the Demon Fox.

Even with Gu Qi's arrival as a butterfly in this world, history still followed its course. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sacrificed himself for the village.

"Man! What am I supposed to do from here on out?"

Thinking about everything that would happen in the Naruto world, Gu Qi couldn't help sighing.

Things would be manageable before the Chunin Ninja Exams, but after Konoha's destruction, once the Shippuden era began, the village's enemies would only grow stronger.

Gu Qi knew that if he couldn't keep up, he'd end up as nothing but cannon fodder.

Even being a transmigrator wouldn't help him in the slightest.

"Man!"

"Hey, isn't that a kid from the Hyuga Clan?"

"Yeah, yeah. Why don't you activate your Byakugan for us?"

"If you don't want to, then don't look over here."

"She's just a monster, anyway."

"Hahaha!"

Watching three older boys bully a little girl about his own age, Gu Qi couldn't help sighing.

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

Unwilling to just stand by, Gu Qi packed a snowball and threw it.

Smack!

"Ow!"

The snowball that suddenly came flying smacked the boy standing in the middle right on the head.

What could he do? The kid was the tallest one.

"Who was that? Who did it?"

"Hey, the three of you picking on a little girl is pretty pathetic," Gu Qi called from where he was leaning against the tree trunk.

"What? You've got the guts to say that again?" one of the boys shouted.

"I said, every one of you is pathetic."

"Damn you! Get down here if you've got the guts. I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Gu Qi wasn't stupid. The three boys were all seven or eight years old. Why would he climb down and get beaten up?

So he grinned and unleashed his snowball technique again.

"Just you wait!"

"You're finished!"

"Damn it!"

Watching the three boys scramble away after he pelted them, Gu Qi clapped his hands in satisfaction.

Only after they'd gone did Gu Qi climb down the tree trunk.

"Are you okay?" Gu Qi went over to the girl and gently brushed the snow off her clothes, trying to comfort her.

"I-I'm okay."

Looking at her pale, pupil-less eyes, Gu Qi said, "You're from the Hyuga Clan, right? I'll walk you home."

"T-thank you."

"Listen, if anyone bullies you again, don't back down, okay? The more you act like that, the harder they'll bully you." Gu Qi shared the lessons he'd learned, speaking like someone who'd been through it all.

"Mm!"

"And you're a girl, so don't go out alone next time, okay? It's dangerous!"

"Mm."

"You must be hungry. Here, have this lollipop." Gu Qi somehow produced a lollipop.

"Thank you!"

The little girl from the Hyuga Clan gazed at the cheerful boy before her and committed his face to memory.

Before they knew it, the two of them had walked all the way to the gates of the Hyuga estate.

"Oh, we're here! Go on in. I'm off!" Gu Qi waved to the girl and turned to leave.

"Um... could I know your name?" The girl's voice grew quieter and quieter. Gu Qi only caught the word "name."

"My name? I'm Kakashi Gu Qi. Pleased to meet you."

Kakashi Gu Qi was the name Gu Qi had in this world.

And the famous Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, was his first cousin.

After rescuing a damsel in distress and serving as her escort, Kakashi Gu Qi slowly made his way home through the heavy snow, to his two-story Ninja Tool Shop.

The shop had been left to Gu Qi by his late parents.

During the Nine-Tails' attack, if Gu Qi's parents hadn't protected him with their lives and Kakashi Hatake hadn't arrived in time, Gu Qi might have followed his parents to their deaths beneath the Nine-Tails' feet.

"Yo, Kakashi, looking after the shop?" Gu Qi walked into the Ninja Tool Shop and saw Kakashi Hatake reading an erotic novel.

At Gu Qi's words, the one visible eye above Kakashi's mask turned into the Hyuga Clan's signature Byakugan.

"You've got some nerve! Who runs a shop like you do? You slap up a sign and then go wandering off."

The thought made Kakashi furious.

He'd just left the Hokage Building and, worried about Gu Qi being alone, had come by to check on him.

Who could've guessed that the only thing in the Ninja Tool Shop would be a sign saying, "Owner's out. Take what you need and leave the money," with nobody else there at all?

If his mask hadn't covered his face, Kakashi's mouth would probably have been twisted into who knew what expression by now.

"Come on, come on! People in Konoha are kind and united. There aren't any thieves around," Gu Qi said indifferently.

"Thief! Stop him!"

It was as if even the heavens couldn't stand it. A thief appeared right away and slapped Gu Qi in the face.

"..."

"..."

"Ahem. That was an accident, an accident. People in Konoha are very friendly. This was just an accident," Gu Qi explained awkwardly.

"Get away from me, you demon!"

"Drop dead, you monster!"

"..."

"..."

A little boy in an orange jacket walked down the street, looking dejected.

On both sides of the road, the friendly villagers Gu Qi had talked about were cursing the boy with the vilest words they could muster.

"It's him," Gu Qi murmured, his expression complicated.

Gu Qi felt deeply sorry for the so-called prince.

It wasn't his fault, yet those ignorant villagers blamed him for everything because someone had manipulated them.

Kakashi Hatake sighed inwardly. There were some things he couldn't do anything about, even when the boy was his teacher's child.

Seeing Gu Qi's expressionless face, Kakashi Hatake worried that he might join in, so he changed the subject. "What did you go out for today?"

Gu Qi gave Kakashi a look as if he were an idiot. "You're being way too obvious. I'm not stupid. I'd never blame that kid for any of this."

"Ahem. What's with that look?" Kakashi smiled awkwardly.

"But I did get to play hero today. The other person was from the Hyuga Clan, too!" Gu Qi thought about how strong each side was and decided to give the other person some credit.

"Oh? What was her name?" Kakashi asked.

"...I forgot to ask!" Gu Qi was annoyed with himself for forgetting that.

"Could she have been the young lady of the Hyuga Main Family?" Kakashi joked.

Gu Qi rolled his eyes. "How could she be? She's the young lady of the Hyuga Clan. She'd definitely have guards with her."

Gu Qi remembered that there hadn't been any guards with the girl at all.

"That's true." Kakashi had only been joking around. He didn't think they'd been that lucky.

"What do you want for dinner? My treat," Kakashi asked.

"How about barbecue?" Gu Qi grinned.

"...Can't you let me save a little money?" Kakashi rolled his eyes.

Barbecue tasted great, of course, but it wasn't cheap.

"You don't have a girlfriend anyway. What do you need all that money for?"

"..."

But since Gu Qi had asked, Kakashi agreed.

Yakiniku Q, one of Konoha's seven most profitable restaurants.

"This one, this one, and this one."

At the barbecue restaurant, Gu Qi took the menu and ordered a whole bunch of dishes with a wave of his hand. Kakashi's face turned a little green.

"If you waste any of it, I'll stuff every last bite into your stomach," Kakashi threatened, looking terrifying.

Heh. Like that's going to scare me! Gu Qi grinned, ready to teach him a lesson.

Kakashi saw Gu Qi's expression and knew trouble was coming.

Sure enough, Gu Qi scrunched up his face and burst into tears.

As he sobbed, Gu Qi pointed at Kakashi and cried out that he was a bad person.

Kakashi stared at his cousin with a dark expression. If he hadn't known him so well, Gu Qi's acting might even have fooled him.

With a sigh, Kakashi glanced at the diners around them and realized he'd have to pay up if he wanted to avoid a scene.