"Kakashi, huh? Who's this...?"
At noon the next day, at the entrance to Training Ground 42, Gu Qi arrived with three Ninja Dogs and found Kakashi—and Uchiha Itachi, who was with him!
"My teammate. We're about to head out on a mission," Kakashi said casually.
Gu Qi nodded and didn't ask anything else.
At the time, Kakashi was still working in the Anbu, so all his missions were confidential.
Gu Qi remembered that Uchiha Itachi had joined the Anbu at the age of ten and gone on missions with Kakashi, but he didn't know exactly when.
"So you're Senior's younger brother? Hello, I'm Uchiha Itachi." Itachi greeted Gu Qi with a nod.
Gu Qi smiled in reply. "I remember you. We met in the woods before, along with your younger brother."
"I remember now. I heard you were going to spar with a Chunin, and I was curious, so I came along with Senior. Sorry for intruding," Itachi said politely.
Gu Qi shrugged. "It's fine. There's just one more spectator watching the show."
"Then thank you."
The three of them and the three Ninja Dogs didn't linger. They entered the training ground together.
"Kakashi, are all you Jonin this free?"
Glancing at Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma inside the training ground, Gu Qi couldn't help complaining.
It was the middle of a blizzard, bitterly cold, yet somehow these guys still had time to come watch the show.
"Yo, Gu Qi, you're here! My adorable student challenged a Chunin. That's the spirit of youth!" Guy gave a thumbs-up, showing off his neat, white teeth.
"Heh." Gu Qi couldn't help rolling his eyes. If he weren't afraid of getting beaten up every day from now on, he wouldn't have done it either!
If he'd known things would turn out like this, he never would've provoked Anko in the first place.
"Good luck, Gu Qi! I'm rooting for you!" Asuma said with a grin.
"Heh!" Gu Qi didn't even want to respond to the guy. Just because he'd called him "Uncle" a few times, did Asuma really have to hold a grudge?
"Good luck, Gu Qi!" Kurenai Yuhi cheered him on, too.
"I will. Sister Kurenai's the best! You really mean it when you wish me luck, unlike certain people!" Gu Qi glanced at the men present.
Kakashi went straight to Anko. "Don't hold back later. Give that guy a good thrashing!"
"Don't worry," Anko said, giving him a thumbs-up. "I won't hold back!"
"..." Gu Qi had a certain swear-filled phrase on the tip of his tongue, but wasn't sure if he should say it.
When Anko, Gu Qi, and the three Ninja Dogs entered the training ground, Might Guy, serving as referee, stepped between them.
"All right, this is just a spar, not a fight to the death. No high-powered ninja tools. That means you, Gu Qi. Put those grenades away!"
Seeing Gu Qi silently pull out more than ten grenades and strap them to his waist, Might Guy's face twitched.
"Oh, what a hassle!" Gu Qi grumbled as he reluctantly removed a few high-explosive grenades from his waist.
Might Guy pointed at the grenades still there. "Gu Qi, don't push it!"
Gu Qi scratched his cheek. "These are special grenades that can't hurt anyone. Don't worry, they definitely won't explode."
"Really?" Guy wasn't convinced.
Gu Qi pointed to his eyes. "Really. Just look at my pure, innocent eyes!"
"...Ahem. Second, no lethal attacks. If I think someone's life is in danger, I'll step in immediately and end the match," Might Guy continued.
"No problem!" Anko replied.
Gu Qi pressed his palms together. "Teacher Kai, make sure you step in quickly! My life is in your hands."
"Ahem." Ignoring Gu Qi's puppy-dog act, Might Guy continued, "Third, you're all comrades, so try not to hit too hard."
"Sure, no problem." Anko nodded casually, licking her lips as she grinned at Gu Qi.
"All right, tell me when you're both ready!" Might Guy said.
"I'm ready anytime!" Anko replied.
But when Gu Qi heard Guy, he plopped down on the ground and rolled up his pant legs. "Wait a second. I forgot to take off my weights!"
Ever since Gu Qi started learning Taijutsu from Might Guy, he'd worn weights constantly.
After more than half a year, his weights had gone from a few kilograms to twenty kilograms on each leg.
And after wearing them for so long, he seemed to have gotten used to them.
"Yo, you're wearing weights too? Not bad, kid!" Anko said in surprise, not realizing Gu Qi had been holding back all this time.
"I'm ready!" With the weights off, Gu Qi immediately felt much lighter.
"All right. Since you're both ready, the match begins!"
After Guy announced the start, he immediately flashed off the stage.
The instant Might Guy announced the match, Gu Qi pulled a grenade from his waist, swiftly pulled the pin, and tossed it between them.
With a bang, thick smoke blanketed the entire training ground.
"Saye, Lass, Hachi, surround her."
Amid the thick smoke, Gu Qi gave the three Ninja Dogs their orders in a strange accent.
"Yo, Gu Qi's pretty clever! He's creating an advantage for himself right from the start. Kakashi, you've got a good younger brother!" Asuma said with interest.
Kurenai Yuhi smiled. "His opponent is a Chunin, after all. If he doesn't go all out from the beginning, he might not get another chance."
While the two of them were discussing the match, something changed on the training ground!
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Anko wasn't a pushover either. She immediately used a jutsu to blow the smoke away.
But by then, Gu Qi and the three Ninja Dogs were charging at Anko from four directions!
For some reason, Gu Qi now had a mask on his face.
"Think you can win with numbers?" Anko licked her lips excitedly. "I can do that too! Summoning Technique!"
With a poof, three thick pythons appeared on the training ground.
As soon as they appeared, the three pythons charged straight at Gu Qi's Ninja Dogs.
"Damn it!" Seeing the Ninja Dogs tied up, Gu Qi immediately halted his attack.
"Shadow Snake Hand!" Gu Qi had stopped attacking, but Anko wasn't about to go easy on him.
"Lightning Release: Earth Flow!" Seeing the four little snakes about to wrap around him, Gu Qi swiftly formed Hand Seals and pressed his hands against the ground.
Bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere and shot straight toward the four little snakes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Caught off guard, three of the little snakes were struck and vanished. The last one held its ground, wrapping itself around Gu Qi's left leg.
At the same time, Anko took advantage of the opening to close in on Gu Qi.
She followed up with a roundhouse kick aimed straight at his face.
Gu Qi reacted quickly, crossing his arms and taking Anko's heavy kick head-on.
Not only that, he grabbed the right leg she'd kicked at him and was about to swing her around like a windmill.
"Uh-oh!" But when Gu Qi caught sight of the playful look in Anko's eyes, he knew he was in trouble.
Sure enough, Gu Qi felt his left leg tighten. The little snake he'd overlooked gave it a tug, throwing him off balance.
Anko seized the moment. Using Gu Qi's force against him, she twisted at the waist and lashed her left leg at him like a whip.
With a bang, Gu Qi went flying.
But Anko didn't stop there. She charged after Gu Qi, leaving him no chance to recover.
"She's ruthless!" Gu Qi muttered as he flew through the air, catching sight of Anko right behind him.
Though he said that, his hands were already moving.
He quickly grabbed a grenade with white stripes from his waist, pulled the pin, and threw it at Anko.
"Hmph, a cheap trick." Anko pulled out a Kunai and knocked the grenade away.
"Hmm?"
When Anko looked back at Gu Qi, she saw that he'd somehow put on a pair of black sunglasses. It made her suspicious.
Boom!
Instead of smoke, the grenade burst into a blinding flash of light.
The grenade had exploded right beside Anko. Though she hadn't looked directly at it, the intense flash still affected her, leaving her vision blurry for a moment.
"Now it's my turn to fight back!"
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