Kakashi Returns

"Whew, I didn't expect the aftereffects to be this bad. I slept for a whole day and night."

By the time Gu Qi woke from his faint, it was already the following evening.

Still haunted by all the dried meat he'd eaten, Gu Qi dragged his famished body to Ichiraku Ramen.

"Gu Qi! It's been ages since I last saw you!" Ayame greeted him with a smile when he arrived.

Gu Qi replied weakly, "Big Sister Ayame, give me a giant serving of Special Ramen. I'm starving to death."

"Gu Qi, what happened to you?" Ayame asked, tilting her head in puzzlement.

"Nothing. I'm just hungry~" Gu Qi said, looking like he might keel over at any moment.

"Just a moment, Gu Qi. I'll tell Dad to hurry up with the ramen."

After Gu Qi had polished off a giant serving of Special Ramen, he let out a deep breath. "Whew~ I'm finally alive again."

"Thanks, Big Sister Ayame. I thought I was going to starve to death!" Gu Qi said to Ayame, embarrassed.

Ayame waved her hand. "It's nothing!"

After paying, Gu Qi got ready to leave. He planned to push through and finish the Electromagnetic Shield today.

But just as he was about to go, Ayame suddenly said, "Gu Qi, Naruto's been really worried about you while you've been away these past few days!"

Gu Qi paused, then smiled. "Tell that guy I'm fine. Once I've finished what I'm busy with, I'll go see him."

"Okay!"

Back at home, Gu Qi began the next stage of his ninjutsu training.

He had already created the electromagnetic confinement field. The next step was to feed chakra into it and form a complete Electromagnetic Shield.

Compared with creating the electromagnetic confinement field, this step was much easier.

Before long, a blue Electromagnetic Shield appeared in front of Gu Qi.

[Ding! Mission 4 complete!]

[Mastered the ninjutsu version of the electromagnetic shield; reinforcing knowledge...]

[Mission 4 reward issued. Congratulations, you received: mithril ingot.]

[Ding! Item added to the system shop: mithril ingot/100,000 ryo.]

At that moment, Gu Qi found that his understanding of the Electromagnetic Shield had gone from basic familiarity to complete mastery.

"Impressive. Now I've got another incredible trump card."

As the feeling slowly faded, Gu Qi grew more and more excited.

If he could turn all the technical materials provided by the system into ninjutsu, he'd be able to master a great many ninjutsu at full proficiency.

With a thought, a sky-blue shield appeared out of nowhere in front of Gu Qi in an instant.

"A hand-seal-free ninjutsu! Little Gu Qi, looks like you've been keeping busy while I was away!"

Gu Qi jolted, and the Electromagnetic Shield vanished at once.

Gu Qi glared at Kakashi with dead-fish eyes. "Do you know there's a thing called a door, you jerk?!"

"Sorry, sorry! It's a habit." Kakashi apologized, but he was grinning and didn't look sorry at all.

"By the way," Kakashi asked, tilting his head, "what kind of ninjutsu is this, Gu Qi?"

Gu Qi didn't hide anything and explained, "It's a defensive ninjutsu. I call it the Shield of Protection. It can defend against attacks like shuriken and ninjutsu."

"Oh~" Kakashi looked surprised. "What level of ninjutsu can it withstand?"

Gu Qi awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Well, I only just finished it, so I haven't tested it yet."

Kakashi tilted to one side, nearly falling over. "What? So you don't know either?"

"Perfect timing. Since you're back, help me test it out!"

Kakashi was at a loss for words, but still dutifully followed Gu Qi to a forest on the outskirts of Konoha.

"Come on, Kakashi. I'm ready." Gu Qi stood in the middle of the clearing and raised the Electromagnetic Shield against Kakashi.

"Be careful!" Kakashi pulled a kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch and threw it at Gu Qi with only thirty percent of his strength.

Clang!

"Interesting!" Kakashi watched with interest as the kunai bounced off the Electromagnetic Shield, then pulled out a shuriken.

"This time, I'm going all out!" Kakashi warned him.

Gu Qi grinned. "Bring it on!"

Kakashi didn't waste time. He hurled the shuriken in his hand at the shield in front of Gu Qi with all his strength.

The shuriken spun toward the shield at high speed. With a clang, it bounced off just like the kunai before it.

However, a visible ripple appeared on the shield in front of Gu Qi.

"Gu Qi, how does it feel?" Kakashi asked, unable to help himself when he saw the ripple on the shield.

Gu Qi waved his hand to show he was fine. "Not bad. My chakra consumption just suddenly went up a bit."

"Glad you're okay. Do you need to recover?" Kakashi asked.

"No, I've still got plenty of chakra left," Gu Qi said confidently.

Seeing this, Kakashi didn't waste time. He lifted his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan.

"What the heck, Kakashi? What are you trying to do?" Gu Qi swallowed nervously, suddenly struck by a bad feeling.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Since we're testing it, we should use the strongest ninjutsu! Gu Qi, here I come!"

"Hey, hey, hey~"

Seeing the astonishing amount of chakra gathering in Kakashi's right hand, Gu Qi panicked.

He quickly increased his chakra output, and the shield in front of him immediately expanded into a huge hemisphere, covering him.

"Chirp~ chirp-chirp~"

The sound of Chidori was like a thousand birds chirping at once, loud enough to give Gu Qi a headache.

"Chidori!"

Kakashi's feet kicked up a crater in the ground, and then he vanished. By the time Gu Qi saw him again, Kakashi was already right in front of the shield.

Boom!

The instant Chidori collided with the shield, a visible shock wave radiated outward from the two of them, spreading toward the surrounding trees.

"Cough, cough~ Kakashi, were you trying to kill me, you jerk?!" When the dust kicked up by the shock wave cleared, Gu Qi glared at Kakashi, looking disheveled.

Kakashi shrugged, unconcerned. "Relax. I made sure to avoid your vital points. At worst, you'll be sore for a few days."

"..." If Gu Qi hadn't been weaker than Kakashi, he would've spat in his face right then.

Kakashi ruffled Gu Qi's hair. "I have to say, you're a real genius."

Although Chidori had broken through Gu Qi's shield, the shield had still genuinely blocked Kakashi's attack.

"Of course! Does this mean I've opened up a new path for the Shinobi World?" Gu Qi said smugly.

Looking at Gu Qi, whose tail was practically in the sky, Kakashi clicked his tongue. "You didn't come up with the theory behind this new technique yourself. If I'm not mistaken, you developed it from the scrolls left by your father, right?"

Gu Qi froze. Then he remembered the scroll on his desk, where he'd copied the technical theory behind the Electromagnetic Shield, and realized Kakashi had misunderstood again.

After thinking it over, Gu Qi decided that, given his age, it was best not to attract too much attention. So he played along.

"Even so, it's still impressive that I used the technical theory to create a new ninjutsu, isn't it?"

Kakashi smiled. "Of course. Our Gu Qi is the best."

"Since I'm so amazing, why don't you teach me another ninjutsu, Kakashi?" Gu Qi asked, looking at Kakashi expectantly.

Kakashi didn't refuse this time. "Sure, but not now. Tomorrow. Let's have a proper match so I can see how strong you are now."

"Great, it's a deal," Gu Qi replied readily.

"Oh, right," Gu Qi added suddenly. "Kakashi, I want a Ninja Dog. Can you help me get one?"

"A Ninja Dog?" Kakashi rubbed his chin. "When it comes to Ninja Dogs, the ones from Konoha's Inuzuka Clan are the best. But Gu Qi, do you want one for support or for combat?"

Gu Qi thought for a moment. "If possible, I want both."

Only kids had to choose. Adults took them all.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "All right. In a couple of days, come with me to the Inuzuka Clan compound and have a look."

"Kakashi, I knew I could count on you."

"Heh!"