Spar

Autumn turned to winter, and before he knew it, it was the beginning of year 53 of Konoha.

"Kakashi, I succeeded!"

In a snow-covered Konoha, Gu Qi, covered in sweat, found Kakashi reading a trashy romance novel.

"Huh~" Kakashi looked at Gu Qi blankly. "Succeeded at what?"

"Training Chakra under the waterfall! I succeeded!" Gu Qi had a look on his face that clearly said, Praise me quickly.

Kakashi thought for a long time before realizing with a start, "Oh, that's what you mean!"

Thinking of this, Kakashi looked at Gu Qi with a hint of horror. "Wait a minute, you actually finished it?"

"Huh?" Gu Qi was confused. "Didn't you tell me to train like this?"

Kakashi's mouth twitched. "I told you to do that to feel the essence of water, not to actually train Chakra under a waterfall. That's impossible!"

"Huh huh~" Gu Qi was bewildered. What did he mean by that?

Kakashi looked at Gu Qi speechlessly. "So, what have you been training all this time!"

"No, wait a minute, didn't you tell me to train like this?"

"Yes, but I didn't tell you to feel the flow of water! Training Chakra was just something I said casually."

"So you lied to me from beginning to end! All my hard work these past few months was for nothing?"

Gu Qi's face immediately fell. So he had worked hard for months, even neglecting his Ninjutsu training, and it was all for nothing!

Seeing Gu Qi's expression turn from sunny to gloomy, Kakashi quickly said, "It's not like that. Training under the waterfall still has benefits, like strengthening your body, and this and that..."

Gu Qi, whose face was already dark, became even more sullen upon hearing about strengthening his body.

The pain of training under the waterfall was indescribable. The mere thought of it made Gu Qi explode.

"Kakashi, I learned a new Ninjutsu. I'll demonstrate it for you now!" Gu Qi said to Kakashi with a smile.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, why are you using your Sharingan just to demonstrate Ninjutsu! Hey, this is a public street, you can't just use Chakra like that!"

In the end, Gu Qi suppressed the urge to kill Kakashi. After all, those guys from the Uchiha Guard were not to be trifled with.

"Sorry, sorry! I really didn't expect you to misunderstand me." On the road, Kakashi kept apologizing to Gu Qi.

"Hmph!" Gu Qi turned his face away, completely ignoring Kakashi.

Kakashi put his arm around Gu Qi's shoulder. "Don't be angry anymore. At worst, I'll teach you a few Ninjutsu."

"Hmph!"

"Alright, I'll teach you all the Ninjutsu I've learned in my lifetime, okay?"

"Really?" Gu Qi asked softly.

Kakashi, known as the Copy Ninja, had accumulated quite a few Ninjutsu over the years.

"Of course, you're my little brother."

"Fine, I'll let you off this time." Gu Qi's mood greatly improved, and he decided to be magnanimous and let the matter go.

Seeing Gu Qi smile, Kakashi finally felt relieved. After all, it was easier to dodge a spear than a hidden arrow.

If the other party secretly caused trouble, his hard-earned vacation would likely be ruined.

"But speaking of which, your Chakra control is pretty good. Are you interested in learning some Medical Ninjutsu?" Kakashi changed the subject.

Gu Qi looked at Kakashi in surprise. "You want me to learn Medical Ninjutsu? Can I?"

Medical Ninjutsu was not easy to learn. It required extremely strong Chakra control.

Otherwise, a single mistake could cost a life.

"You can do it. Believe in yourself," Kakashi affirmed.

Gu Qi couldn't help but ask, "If you were my age right now and we dueled, who would win?"

Kakashi stroked his chin. "Probably fifty-fifty. Back then, I specialized in swordsmanship, and it wasn't a fight to the death, so it's hard to say."

"So, that means I can become a Ninja now?" Gu Qi asked expectantly.

Kakashi didn't answer, instead stiffly changing the subject. "Speaking of which, you'll be entering the Ninja Academy in a year. You'd better study hard then!"

"Tch!"

Although he was dissatisfied with Kakashi's overprotectiveness, Gu Qi thought about it and extinguished the idea of becoming a Ninja immediately.

After all, he could easily do what he wanted right now. Why would he pursue the precarious life of a Ninja?

Rather than becoming cannon fodder on the battlefield now, it was better to accumulate strength and face the future with an awe-inspiring posture after graduation.

"Oh, right. Anko is back. You should be careful!" Kakashi suddenly warned.

"What am I afraid of? I can take her down in minutes," Gu Qi said confidently.

"Oh, you've got some nerve."

At some point, Anko's figure appeared before them.

"Ha, you coward, you're back!" Gu Qi said disdainfully.

Creak, creak!

Anko cracked her knuckles, her hands making a loud creaking sound as she glared sinisterly at Gu Qi. "I didn't expect to run into you right after coming back. This is great!"

"You want to fight me! Kakashi, go! Kakashi..."

Gu Qi looked up at the sky speechlessly. That bastard Kakashi had set him up again.

"Go ahead and shout. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will save you," Anko sneered, slowly walking towards him.

Gu Qi suddenly extended his right hand and shouted after taking a deep breath, "Wait a moment!"

Anko stopped. "What? Want to beg for mercy?"

"Begging for mercy is impossible. I'll never beg for mercy in this lifetime. I mean, we need to settle this," Gu Qi said.

Anko looked at Gu Qi with interest. "Oh? How do you want to settle it?"

"Tomorrow at noon, training ground 42. We'll have a match. Regardless of win or loss, I'll treat you to dumplings for a week."

"Fine, it's settled then." Anko turned and left immediately.

"That was close. At least I didn't embarrass myself in the middle of the street." Once Anko was gone, Gu Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tomorrow, do you have the confidence to win?" Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Gu Qi and asked.

Gu Qi flinched, turning to him angrily. "Where were you just now, you bastard!"

"Ah, about that, I was just lost on the path of life."

"Go to hell!"

"So, do you have the confidence to win?" Kakashi asked again.

Gu Qi shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Then why did you propose a match?"

"Anko no longer has the scent of the tracking agent on her, meaning she could intercept me and beat me up at any time. Rather than being beaten by her every day, I'd rather have one good fight tomorrow and summarize the results of my training these past few days." Gu Qi said frankly.

"Haha! I wonder if Anko will beat you soundly if she knew the truth, little Gu Qi."

"Sister Kurenai~"

Gu Qi's eye twitched. Kurenai and Anko seemed to have a good relationship. If she told Anko, he'd be in real trouble tomorrow.

Seeing Gu Qi looking miserable, Kurenai smiled. "Don't worry, I'll keep this a secret for you!"

"Thank you, Sister Kurenai!" Gu Qi finally relaxed.

"However, I can't help you for free!" Kurenai said with a mysterious smile.

Gu Qi was speechless. "Sister Kurenai, just tell me what you want!"

"Kakashi's ninja tools were probably made by you, Gu Qi. How about selling some to me?" Kurenai asked.

Gu Qi smiled slightly. "I thought it was something big. No problem!"

A single Kunai cost no more than 50 Ryo. Although it didn't have the same destructive power as an Exploding Tag, it was cheap.

Ever since Gu Qi gave Kakashi some to test, the latter seemed to have taken a liking to this little gadget.

And some Ninja, who were on good terms with Kakashi and had heard the news, also intended to buy them once they knew Gu Qi made them.

Gu Qi also saw a business opportunity in this. The Kunai cost 50 Ryo from the system, and Gu Qi sold them for 100 Ryo, making a profit of double.

Furthermore, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Gu Qi had always controlled the quantity he sold. He usually only shipped them out after receiving pre-orders.

After all, Gu Qi claimed that he made them all by hand. If he sold too many at once, the lie would be exposed.

Even so, Gu Qi had made quite a bit of money these days.

"Then thank you, Gu Qi. Tomorrow at noon, I'll be there to cheer you on!"

"Heh!"

[You're just going to watch me get beaten! Gu Qi thought maliciously.]