Disguised Training

Seeing Kakashi like this, Gu Qi couldn't help sighing. "Another mission?"

Gu Qi knew Kakashi well. Whenever Kakashi wore that relaxed expression, it meant he was about to leave on another mission.

"That's right, so you'd better behave while I'm gone!"

"I'll wait for you to come back."

"Mm!"

After that, the two fell silent.

Although he knew it couldn't be helped, Gu Qi worried every time Kakashi went on a mission.

"I heard you ran into some trouble?" Kakashi spoke first, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Gu Qi wasn't surprised Kakashi knew. The three Ninja Dogs had already caught the familiar scent of Pakkun's shampoo.

"I put together a scroll with techniques for disguises, tracking, and countertracking. As for hiding your presence, I'll teach you when I get back from this mission," Kakashi said, taking out a scroll.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Gu Qi said without hesitation.

"Mm. I'm off, then."

As soon as Kakashi left, Gu Qi was on his own again. But he was used to it by now, so he didn't mind.

"Wait." Only after Kakashi had vanished from sight did Gu Qi realize what had happened. "That damn bastard didn't leave me any spending money!"

He scratched his head in frustration. He'd already blown through most of his share from the Secret Recipe Dried Meat.

And the rest had gone into the system.

Knowing how the system worked, he could forget about getting back any money that went into its coffers.

His next share was still with Kakashi, and now that Kakashi was gone, Gu Qi couldn't just rush over to the Nara clan and demand money.

"I'm done for. Am I going to starve to death?" Gu Qi was starting to lose it.

"No way!" Unwilling to sit around and wait for disaster, Gu Qi decided to take the initiative.

"Aunt Tsume, money!"

At the Inuzuka clan compound, Gu Qi went straight to Inuzuka Tsume, placed a scroll in front of her, and held out his hand.

"Huh?" Inuzuka Tsume stared at Gu Qi, completely baffled. She had no idea what he was up to.

Gu Qi planted his hands on his hips. "A special scent-tracking formula. It's colorless and odorless, won't wash off with water, and lasts up to a month. It can be made into *** for use."

"Do you have a finished sample?" Hana Inuzuka asked.

Gu Qi had come prepared and immediately took out a small bottle of liquid.

Inuzuka Tsume opened the bottle and twitched her nose. "Why can't I smell anything?"

"I can smell it. It smells like a magnolia," Blackmaru said from beside her.

"Hmm." Inuzuka Tsume was surprised. The Inuzuka clan's noses were far sharper than an ordinary person's.

And yet even she couldn't smell it, let alone an ordinary person.

Inuzuka Tsume picked up the scroll and asked with a smile, "Little Gu Qi, how much do you want?"

"Five hundred thousand Ryo, and the formula is yours. Other than my own Hatake clan using it, I won't share it with anyone else," Gu Qi said.

"Deal!"

Inuzuka Tsume agreed at once. Fifty thousand might sound like a lot, but this tracking agent's formula could greatly improve the Inuzuka clan's tracking abilities.

Before long, Inuzuka Tsume handed Gu Qi a bag full of silver coins.

"By the way, my formula needs a lot of plant extracts. I'd suggest working with the Yamanaka Clan."

After getting the money, Gu Qi was so pleased that he offered the advice casually.

"Thanks! If you come across anything good in the future, just remember your aunt," Inuzuka Tsume said with a smile.

"Don't worry!"

With money in hand, Gu Qi left the Inuzuka clan compound in high spirits. Now it was time to blow it all.

Over the next few days, thanks to the tracking agent, Gu Qi managed to dodge Anko perfectly every time she tried to intercept him.

As far as Gu Qi was concerned, he was simply a gentleman who didn't fight women. After all, picking on girls all the time would tarnish his shining image.

After several failed attempts to catch him, Anko seemed to realize something—or perhaps she'd gone on a mission—and stopped bothering Gu Qi for the time being.

With these few days to rest, Gu Qi finally had a chance to settle down and study the scroll Kakashi had left behind.

He also worked on his ninjutsu. He'd already gotten the railgun version of the electromagnetic cannon down pat.

And he'd begun work on adapting the coilgun into a ninjutsu.

"Why do I have to bear pressures that someone my age shouldn't have to?"

While his friends spent their days eating and playing, he was the only one battling the future, Kakashi, and now Anko too.

Thinking about it all, Gu Qi felt surrounded by malice.

"Forget it. Time to sleep."

"To disguise yourself perfectly, the most important thing is to make use of your surroundings."

On October 1, Year 52 of Konoha, Kakashi returned and kept his promise. As soon as he got back, he taught Gu Qi how to conceal his presence.

"Make use of my surroundings?" Gu Qi tilted his head, looking at Kakashi in confusion.

Kakashi explained, "A disguise is meant to fool someone. Whether you're escaping an enemy or catching them off guard, the first step is making sure they don't notice you."

"I know that. Tell me something useful." Gu Qi rolled his eyes. He hadn't come to listen to Kakashi drone on about theory.

Kakashi didn't seem offended. He continued, "No matter how well we hide, we're still there. So if we don't want the enemy to notice us, we have to fool them."

"How do I do that?" Gu Qi asked.

"If there's a person up ahead, what's your first reaction?" Kakashi asked in return.

Gu Qi thought about it and seemed to understand. "I see a person?"

Kakashi looked impressed. "As expected of my little brother."

"Heh." Gu Qi shot Kakashi a scornful glance.

Kakashi didn't mind. "Whether or not there really is someone up ahead, the first thing we do is see that person. In other words, our first reaction is to look with our eyes."

"So we have to fool the enemy's senses?"

"Exactly. The simplest disguise fools the enemy's eyes. Next, you can fool their sense of smell—or a Ninja Dog's. Last, you have to fool their instincts," Kakashi explained.

"Instincts?"

Kakashi went on, "An experienced enemy might see through your tricks and smell through your disguise. But they can still sense your presence through instinct.

"Don't underestimate someone's instincts. Sometimes they're more reliable than their eyes."

"The scroll I gave you covers the first two. Your teachers will teach you those at the Ninja Academy, too. What I'm going to teach you now is how to fool an enemy's instincts," Kakashi told Gu Qi.

"What do I have to do?" Gu Qi asked.

Kakashi pointed at the waterfall ahead. "Go play in the water!"

"Huh?" Gu Qi stared at him, dumbfounded.

Kakashi smiled. "Water has no fixed shape. It can flow gently like a stream or surge like a waterfall. You need to feel its movements with your whole being."

Just feel it? What the hell was he supposed to feel?

"That's it?" Gu Qi asked in disbelief.

Kakashi shrugged. "Presence is intangible. Intangible things are like ghosts—they don't exist. How can I teach you something that doesn't exist?"

"So after all that, you were just spouting nonsense?" Gu Qi said irritably.

"You could say that."

"Heh."

Kakashi patted Gu Qi on the shoulder. "Go train your chakra beneath the waterfall. Once you can train your chakra the way you usually do, you'll be ready."

In the end, Gu Qi followed Kakashi's advice and went to bathe beneath the waterfall.

After all, just as Kakashi had said, presence was intangible, and the only way to understand something intangible was to experience it for yourself.

"What a strong current! Kakashi, is it really okay for me to train like this? Kakashi..."

When he got no answer, Gu Qi turned around and realized Kakashi had already disappeared.

"That guy!" Gu Qi's face fell. In his mind, he silently put Kakashi through the wringer ten thousand times.

Wearing nothing but his underwear, Gu Qi swam to a rock beneath the waterfall.

But after years of erosion, the rocks below the waterfall were extremely slippery. Forget training on them—even climbing up was impossible.

After a great deal of effort, Gu Qi finally made it onto the rock with the help of his all-purpose chakra.

But instead of training his chakra right away, Gu Qi used it to firmly stick his feet to the rock, letting the waterfall's powerful current crash over him.