Smack!
"No good. My aim is terrible. If I can't hit the enemy, it doesn't matter how powerful it is."
Gazing at the tree in the distance, snapped in half by a coin, Gu Qi shook his head in disappointment once again.
He had hit a tree, sure, but his actual target had been the third tree to its left.
With the Railgun, increasing its power and rate of fire was simple. Gu Qi only needed to use more Lightning Release Chakra and increase the speed at which the current traveled.
But if he couldn't hit the enemy, a higher rate of fire and greater power would be useless.
As for his aim, Gu Qi planned to improve it by practicing throwing ninja tools and sharpening his awareness.
But whichever way he went about it, he would need time to practice.
As for the one-handed coil Railgun, Gu Qi understood that biting off more than he could chew would do him no good. So he planned to wait until he had mastered the railgun before starting to turn this technique into a ninjutsu.
For the rest of the day, the trees in the forest began to suffer.
Some were mangled by Gu Qi's Railgun, while others became targets for him to practice throwing ninja tools.
By midnight, Gu Qi had nearly ravaged the entire forest.
He stretched, then cheerfully called Saye and the others over before heading home.
But not long after Gu Qi left, a figure wearing an animal mask emerged from the shadows.
After inspecting the coins embedded in the tree trunks, the figure quickly disappeared into the forest.
The figure sped through the silent streets and soon reached a concealed cave entrance on the outskirts of Konoha.
But just as the figure was about to enter, someone suddenly appeared and blocked the way.
"If anyone follows Kakashi Gu Qi again, I don't care who they are—they die." Kakashi stared at the Anbu Ninja before him, his face murderous.
"I'll report this to the commander," the other replied in a completely emotionless voice.
"See that you do." With that, Kakashi used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared.
Only after Kakashi had left did the Anbu member enter the base.
"I understand. Withdraw the people monitoring Kakashi Gu Qi," Shimura Danzō said.
The Anbu Ninja wandered through the cave for a long while before finally reaching a room.
One of Konoha's High Command, Shimura Danzō, was inside.
"Yes, sir."
Looking at the file on Kakashi Gu Qi in his hands, Shimura Danzō murmured, "Could he be the next Hatake Sakumo?"
Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi Hatake's father, was a gifted and powerful ninja who wielded a short chakra blade that glowed white. He was hailed as "Konoha's White Fang."
His name resounded across nations. Even the "Legendary Sannin" held him in high regard.
Yet this mighty figure, feared by all, had ultimately taken his own life.
Shimura Danzō, of course, knew the truth behind Hatake Sakumo's death.
After all, he had been one of the people pulling the strings behind the scenes.
"Such a shame. With Kakashi Hatake around, there's no way to get close to Kakashi Gu Qi." Shimura Danzō couldn't help sighing.
Shimura Danzō could deceive Kakashi once, but he couldn't deceive him a second time.
Now that Kakashi was on his guard, there was no way for Shimura Danzō to get close to Kakashi Gu Qi.
Even if Danzō could use the village to send Kakashi Hatake away on a mission, knowing the Third Hokage, he would surely find a way to stop him from approaching Kakashi Hatake.
So, much as Danzō regretted it, he could only watch a genius like Kakashi Gu Qi slip away from him.
As for killing Kakashi Gu Qi, Shimura Danzō had never even considered it.
After all, Kakashi Gu Qi was a true son of Konoha, and Danzō was more than happy to see the village grow stronger.
His conflict with Hiruzen Sarutobi, in the end, came down to a difference in ideals. Danzō believed that everything he did was for Konoha's sake.
Meanwhile, Gu Qi, unaware that he'd narrowly avoided a threat that wasn't quite a crisis, returned home. After settling the three little ones in, he began his chakra training.
Once his daily chakra training was over, Gu Qi called out to the system.
"System, give me four hours of math lessons." Then he suddenly remembered something and added, "Oh, and no discounts!"
[Beep! 40,000 Ryo deducted... Starting classroom...]
As the system's voice rang out, Gu Qi promptly fainted.
......
When the sun rose again, Gu Qi had completed his four-hour lesson. He climbed out of bed feeling refreshed.
Although he'd studied math in the system for four hours, Gu Qi was surprised to find that he didn't feel mentally tired at all.
"I can't believe studying can replace sleep. Looks like I'll never have to worry about running out of time again." Gu Qi was delighted by the thought.
After washing up in a hurry, Gu Qi prepared breakfast and dog food, then woke the three Ninja Dogs, who were sleeping soundly.
"Time to get up! Once we've eaten, it's time to train." Gu Qi grinned at the three bewildered Ninja Dogs.
At the mention of training, the three Ninja Dogs jolted fully awake. In that moment, they remembered the terror of being ruled by training half a year ago.
They let out a mournful howl and began eating breakfast with great reluctance.
Although the three Ninja Dogs had sworn only yesterday that they wouldn't hold Gu Qi back anymore, they were still just kids. After a night's sleep, they'd already forgotten their promise.
"Life is all about exercise! Come on, let's sweat our youth away!" Gu Qi shouted, fired up.
"Woof~" Saye and the others stared at Gu Qi like he was an idiot.
"Letting Gu Qi train in Taijutsu with Gai really was a mistake."
Outside the Ninja Tool Shop, Kakashi stared after Gu Qi with dead-fish eyes and muttered to himself.
As Konoha's villagers went about earning their daily bread, they were surprised to see that the boy who had vanished half a year ago had appeared again.
"What a hardworking little fellow!"
From the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Gu Qi leap about in the street and smiled.
Turning away from the window, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up a report from his desk and murmured, "To invent a ninjutsu all by himself at just four years old... The Hatake Clan really is blessed with incredible talent!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of Kakashi Hatake, who had also created the astonishing Chidori on his own as a boy.
But he hadn't expected Kakashi Gu Qi's talent to be even more remarkable than Kakashi's: at only four years old, he'd created a Lightning Release ninjutsu all by himself.
"Is it really all right to just leave that child to his own devices?" Mitokado Homura asked from the doorway of the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. "If Kakashi believes the Ninja Academy is the best place for Gu Qi, then we should respect his opinion."
"Exactly, Hiruzen. The village isn't under threat of war right now. That child may be exceptionally talented, but things haven't gotten so bad that we need to send a child charging into battle." Utatane Koharu appeared as well.
Mitokado Homura furrowed his brow. "But Gu Qi won't enter the academy for another two years. Should we have someone guide him in the meantime?"
"No. With Kakashi there, I don't need to do anything."
"Understood."
......
"These are the steel ingots you requested. Would you like me to have someone deliver them for you?"
While Konoha's Hokage and advisors were discussing Gu Qi, he had just bought a large quantity of prepared steel ingots from Mandiandian, Konoha's biggest Ninja Tool Shop.
"Thanks. Please have them delivered to the Ninja Tool Shop That Sells Nothing, two streets from here," Gu Qi said with a cheerful grin.
At Gu Qi's words, the shopkeeper's face darkened. Forcing a smile, he said, "I never expected you to be in the ninja tool business too, sir. But why are you buying steel ingots?"
"What? Do I have to explain why I'm buying something from you?" Gu Qi glanced at the shopkeeper.
"No, not at all." The shopkeeper waved his hand, then decided to let it go.
Though the customer also owned a Ninja Tool Shop, as the biggest Ninja Tool Shop in Konoha, he wasn't worried about the competition.
"Then hurry up and deliver them!" Gu Qi said, wearing the expression of a customer who believed the customer was always right.
"Yes, yes, of course. Please wait a moment," the shopkeeper replied politely. Business was business, after all.
"Great. I've got the materials and the idea. Now all that's left is to get to work."
When the steel ingots Gu Qi had bought arrived at his home, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work.
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