Learning Ninjutsu

"Hey, it's rare to see you not out and about today."

When Kakashi arrived at the Ninja Tool Shop, he saw Gu Qi sitting there with an air of leisure, apparently waiting for him.

"Kakashi, do you remember our deal?" Gu Qi asked confidently.

Kakashi thought for a long moment, then suddenly realized. "Oh... I forgot."

"..." If you forgot, what are you suddenly realizing?!

"The deal we made half a month ago, you idiot! You said that if I could use the Three Basic Jutsu with the least amount of chakra, you'd teach me ninjutsu!" Gu Qi was about to lose it.

Talking to Kakashi made Gu Qi feel like it shaved several seconds off his life.

"Oh!" Kakashi slapped his palm. "That! So, can you do it now?"

"Of course. Why else would I be waiting here for you?" Gu Qi rolled his eyes.

"All right, I keep my word. Go ahead and show me what you've got." Kakashi revealed his Sharingan.

Gu Qi's lips curled into a smile as he quickly formed hand seals. "Transformation Technique!"

With a poof, Gu Qi transformed into Kakashi.

Then Gu Qi formed another set of hand seals. "Clone Technique!"

Poof! After a cloud of smoke, two Kakashis appeared in front of Kakashi.

"Substitution Technique!"

With a poof, one of the Kakashis vanished, and the other turned into a chair.

Clap, clap, clap!

"Not bad, not bad!" Kakashi praised him sincerely. "Gu Qi, you did really well."

"So, does that mean I passed?" Gu Qi grinned.

Kakashi nodded. "You do. You did great."

"Awesome! So now you can teach me ninjutsu, right?" Gu Qi asked eagerly.

"Of course, but first I need to determine your chakra natures."

Kakashi walked over to the shelves in the Ninja Tool Shop and took out a sheet of Chakra Paper.

"Put your chakra into it, and it'll show you your chakra natures," Kakashi explained.

Gu Qi nodded. He knew about Chakra Paper, of course.

He took the paper and channeled his chakra into it.

Soon, the Chakra Paper showed three different reactions.

A large portion became crinkled, another section split down the middle, and the smallest part caught fire.

"Looks like you have Lightning, Wind, and Fire natures. That's pretty rare, though your Fire nature is quite weak," Kakashi said.

Gu Qi said proudly, "Looks like I'm a genius too!"

Kakashi patted him on the head. "Don't get carried away. Having three natures only means you have good talent. But unless you work hard, your talent won't do you any good."

Kakashi had seen too many geniuses die young. Some had died in war before they could grow up.

Others had been so gifted that they'd lost all desire to improve.

A genius who hadn't grown into their potential was worth nothing.

"Don't worry. One day, I'll make the whole world remember the name Kakashi Gu Qi."

"It's getting late. I'll treat you to a meal! After we eat, I'll tell you about ninjutsu," Kakashi added after a moment. "Anything but barbecue."

"Tch, stingy."

"Kakashi and Gu Qi! What can I get for you two?" Teuchi had his usual cheerful smile.

"Special Ramen," Kakashi said.

"Special Chashu Ramen," Gu Qi said, then thought for a moment and added, "With an extra egg and two bottles of cola."

"Hey, when did you start liking cola?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Sometimes you have to try something new," Gu Qi said casually.

"Heh."

"Here's your cola." Miss Ayame was the one who brought it over, as usual.

"I'll take those!" Gu Qi took the cola and the wrench.

"Here, this one's yours." Gu Qi handed one of the bottles to Kakashi.

Kakashi looked at him suspiciously. "Come on, what do you really want?"

Gu Qi was suddenly being so nice to him that Kakashi couldn't figure out why.

"Hehe, nothing, nothing."

"Really?"

"Just look into my innocent eyes!"

"...You definitely want something."

Kakashi knew Gu Qi. If it were something serious, he wouldn't act like this.

Since it wasn't anything serious, Kakashi didn't care.

After they'd eaten their fill, Kakashi took out his wallet to pay.

"Thanks for your business! That'll be 350 Ryo in total!" Uncle Teuchi said with a beaming smile.

"Huh? Boss, when did you raise your prices?" Kakashi asked, baffled.

Uncle Teuchi kept smiling. "I didn't raise them. Half of that is for the meal little Gu Qi treated his friend to earlier."

"..." All right, Kakashi finally understood what this was about.

After finishing their ramen, the two returned to Gu Qi's Ninja Tool Shop.

"It's time to make good on your promise. Come on, I'll teach you ninjutsu."

"Really? What ninjutsu are you going to teach me? Lightning Blade? Chidori?" Gu Qi asked, full of anticipation.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Forget about those. The first thing I'm going to teach you is Chakra Nature Transformation.

"You need to learn how to change the natureless chakra inside you into a corresponding nature before you can use ninjutsu."

Gu Qi wasn't stupid; he understood quickly.

Changing the nature of chakra required a great deal of Spiritual Power.

Alternatively, you could train gradually and spend years completing the transformation.

But some geniuses, like Sasuke, could complete a Lightning Release nature transformation in only a few days, even during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Fortunately, Gu Qi had the soul of an adult, so this wasn't difficult for him.

And so, in the space of an afternoon, Gu Qi completed his Chakra Nature Transformation.

"Not bad, not bad. Looks like you're a genius too. In that case, let me teach you your first ninjutsu!" Kakashi said, very pleased.

Gu Qi was so talented that Kakashi was even thinking of passing his legacy on to him.

The only pity was that Gu Qi didn't have a Sharingan, so Kakashi couldn't teach him many of the techniques that relied on one.

But that didn't stop Kakashi from teaching Gu Qi. He'd already decided he would find him a good teacher someday.

"This is a Rank C ninjutsu called Lightning Release: Earth Flow. It works by releasing lightning from both hands and sending it through the ground or water.

"That way, the enemy will be paralyzed, their body stiffening or their ninjutsu being interrupted," Kakashi explained.

As a promising young man from the 21st century, Gu Qi wasn't disappointed that this was only a Rank C ninjutsu.

He believed in one principle: there were no useless jutsu, only useless users.

Seeing that Gu Qi wasn't disappointed by the low rank of the jutsu, Kakashi was quite pleased.

He'd seen too many shinobi die on the battlefield because they'd chased after more powerful jutsu.

It was true that powerful jutsu could kill plenty of enemies, but they also consumed a lot of chakra.

Once you ran out of chakra on the battlefield, death was all that awaited you.

Jutsu that were weaker and used less chakra could be just as effective as powerful ones if used well.

"Here's a scroll with the training method for this jutsu. I've also written down some of my own insights, so study it carefully."

After demonstrating the jutsu once, Kakashi handed Gu Qi a scroll.

"You're not going to teach me in person?" Gu Qi asked, dissatisfied.

Kakashi grinned. "I'm sure someone as clever as you will find it easy."

"Heh."

"And here's a Taijutsu training scroll. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask Might Guy. This is a swordsmanship scroll; you can practice it yourself if you're interested." Then Kakashi took out several more scrolls and handed them to Gu Qi.

"Is something going on?"

"I have a mission, and I leave tomorrow. So I won't be able to help you train in ninjutsu for a while," Kakashi explained.

Gu Qi grumbled unhappily. "What the heck? Another mission!"

Kakashi had only been off for a week this time, and now he was already going on another mission.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Kakashi patted Gu Qi on the head and smiled.

"Really?" Gu Qi wasn't sure he believed him.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "I can't be certain, so just in case, I'll leave you some extra spending money. If you run out, go borrow some from Uncle Shikaku."

"I understand." Gu Qi sighed. He knew this was a shinobi's duty, and there was no getting around it.

"All right, nothing's going to happen to me. I hope you'll be even stronger by the time I get back, Gu Qi!" Kakashi said reassuringly.

"Don't worry! When you get back, I'll make you see me in a whole new light."