"Hatake Kakashi, you backstabbing traitor! I've made up my mind. From now on, I'm joining Teacher Kai's ranks."
On an autumn evening with a gentle breeze, Gu Qi, whose old facial injuries had barely healed before new ones were added, finally cornered Kakashi outside the Jiying Hall.
Kakashi fought back a smile and asked with a bewildered expression, "What did I do?"
Gu Qi exploded. "You bastard! You told Anko about my plans, and she beat me up again!"
Gu Qi had already bought a big bag of snacks, planning to visit the little girl from the Hyuga Clan whom he hadn't seen in over half a year.
But before he could even reach the Hyuga Clan's compound, Anko suddenly appeared out of nowhere and gave him a thorough beating.
Gu Qi had been completely stunned. He had no idea what was going on.
And Anko had come and gone in a flash. After beating him up, she'd slipped away—and disappeared without a trace.
After searching the whole village and failing to find Anko, Gu Qi had gone straight to Kakashi.
After all, aside from Kakashi, no one else was supposed to know he was going to visit the little girl from the Hyuga Clan.
"Ahem. I was just chatting with a comrade about our kids. How is that betraying you?" Kakashi spread his hands, claiming innocence.
Gu Qi's face twitched. "Tell me where Anko is, and we'll call it even."
Kakashi shrugged. "You'll have to find her yourself. Don't you have Hachi and the other two? They're Ninja Dogs, and tracking is their specialty."
That was also why Kakashi had ultimately decided to tell Anko about Gu Qi's plans.
Kakashi figured that Gu Qi might grow from this little scuffle.
As a ninja, you'd run into all kinds of problems during missions.
You could be ambushed without warning, have to track someone or evade pursuit, or face an enemy's assassination attempt at any moment.
Anko was an excellent Konoha Chunin. If Gu Qi could settle down and deal with her properly, he was sure to learn a lot.
Yes! That was it. Kakashi was doing this entirely for Gu Qi's sake!
"Hmph. Enough talk." Reminded by Kakashi, Gu Qi left without looking back. He planned to go home and think things over.
Kakashi smiled faintly at the sight, set down his book, and headed home.
For a good long while, Kakashi knew he could leisurely enjoy his vacation.
The next morning, Gu Qi and the three Ninja Dogs began their usual morning training.
As for his plan to deal with Anko, Gu Qi intended to start putting it into action that afternoon.
"Hey, I heard you're planning to take me on!" Just as Gu Qi's training was nearly over, Anko appeared again.
Gulp~
Gu Qi swallowed nervously. He felt like his face was about to suffer again.
"Y-you, don't come any closer, or I'll fight back!"
Gu Qi looked terrified, which only made Anko happier. "That's okay. Big Sis will make sure to take good care of you!"
"Gu Qi, I bought everything you asked for. Where should I put it?"
Inside Gu Qi's Ninja Tool Shop, Kakashi ignored the bruises covering Gu Qi's face and asked him.
"In the basement!" Gu Qi said expressionlessly.
Kakashi had no intention of provoking him. He obediently had the items unloaded, then quietly left the scene of the crime.
After Kakashi and the others had gone, Gu Qi made his way to the basement and inspected the items Kakashi had prepared.
After confirming everything was in order, Gu Qi began setting up the laboratory.
A little over an hour later, a small but professional laboratory had taken shape in Gu Qi's basement.
Next, Gu Qi carried the remaining equipment through the laboratory's entrance and into the laboratory space.
As for the forging equipment, Kakashi had arranged for a simple shed to be built in the backyard a day earlier, and the equipment had already been placed inside.
Once inside the laboratory space, Gu Qi began assembling the rest of the equipment.
However, he had purchased all the core equipment from the system at a hefty price.
The system was a real miser, but the quality of its equipment was guaranteed.
After a busy day, the Nonexistent Laboratory finally looked like a proper laboratory.
The equipment he'd bought occupied only one-twentieth of the laboratory, but it was more than enough for Gu Qi's current needs.
Originally, Gu Qi had planned to use his knowledge of chemistry to make a batch of explosives once the laboratory was set up.
But after Anko had beaten him up twice over the past few days, his plans had changed.
"How dare she hit me? Heh heh..." Gu Qi muttered to himself as he worked, looking like a deranged scientist.
With the materials in his test tube glowing as they reacted, he looked downright evil.
"Phew, finally done."
Once Gu Qi had carefully assembled a ***, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"The first stage of preparation is complete. Next, it's time to put the plan into action," Gu Qi murmured.
The next day, Gu Qi acted as if nothing had happened and once again took the three Ninja Dogs out for a new day's training.
Just as they were about to finish, the evil Anko appeared again.
"Heh heh, I'll give you one more chance! Just admit I'm your boss, and I'll let you off!" Anko licked her lips and said wickedly.
Gu Qi replied disdainfully, "A gentleman's revenge can wait ten years. The east bank of the river today, the west bank thirty years from now. Don't bully a poor young man!"
Anko smiled faintly, appeared behind Gu Qi in a flash, and grabbed him by the collar. "If there's nothing to discuss, then don't blame me for being rough!"
"What are you going to do? Don't hit my face! No, don't!"
Gu Qi wasn't screaming like that on purpose. Anko's blows really hurt.
"Go ahead and scream. You could scream your lungs out, and no one would hear you," Anko said with a grin.
Gu Qi roared, "I'm taking you down with me!"
Then Gu Qi pulled a *** from the Ninja Tool Pouch on his thigh.
"Huh?" Anko looked puzzled as Gu Qi pulled the pin on the *** and threw it.
Smack!
A thick cloud of smoke enveloped them, and while Anko was caught off guard, Gu Qi broke free of her grasp.
"Just a little trick. Wind Release: Great Breakthrough." Anko smiled faintly. She'd thought he had some kind of powerful weapon.
But when the gale swept away the smoke, Gu Qi and the three Ninja Dogs had already vanished.
"What the—" Anko pursed her lips. "So he was just running away. I really let my guard down."
Anko felt unsatisfied after missing the chance to give Gu Qi a proper beating today.
"Fine, fine. I've got the next couple of days off, so I'll try again tomorrow. I refuse to believe I can't beat some sense into you tomorrow."
As she spoke, Anko stretched and slowly headed toward the center of the village.
"Wow, I've never seen Gu Qi get beaten this badly. Kakashi, are you really going to keep standing by and doing nothing?"
Not long after Anko left, Pakkun and Kakashi appeared out of nowhere atop a towering tree.
Without looking up, Kakashi replied, "If he can't handle something this trivial, then it just means Gu Qi's talent is limited. In that case, rather than dying on the battlefield, he'd be better off staying in the village and living a peaceful life."
"Isn't that unfair to Gu Qi? Even if he can't become a strong ninja, he could still be an ordinary one!" Pakkun said, puzzled.
Kakashi lifted his head and replied calmly, "If he were an ordinary person, that wouldn't matter. But unfortunately, he's the younger brother of Copy Ninja Kakashi.
If he isn't strong enough, my enemies will eventually target him—either to get revenge or to take their anger out on him."
"I see!" Pakkun said in realization.
"Do you think Gu Qi can handle this problem?" Pakkun continued.
Kakashi smiled. "Gu Qi can handle it. For all we know, he's already started fighting back."
Kakashi hadn't missed the meaningful look on Gu Qi's face before he left.
Knowing Gu Qi, Kakashi figured he'd probably already come up with a way to deal with Anko.
"Really? Now I'm curious what Gu Qi will do to deal with Anko!" Pakkun said, full of curiosity.
"Who knows? Come on, time to go." Kakashi looked up at the hawk circling overhead and spoke as calmly as ever.
The hawk's appearance meant only one thing: there was another mission.
Before you continue