Kakashi: Suddenly I Want to Live on Another Planet

By the time Wu Yu and the other three finished eating, Kakashi's bento was still sitting untouched on his chest, and he continued lying there like a corpse...

Sakura stepped forward in concern. "Kakashi-sensei, should we take you to the hospital?"

Elite Jonin Kakashi Hatake taking his students to their first Survival Exercise, only to be carried into Konoha Hospital by them because he had overused his Sharingan...

Just imagining that scene sent a shiver down Kakashi's spine.

"I'm fine, really," he said calmly. "I just collapsed from exhaustion. I'll be fine after resting at home for a few days." Then he stressed it again: "No hospital."

Naruto Uzumaki asked in puzzlement, "Is Wu Yu too strong, or is Kakashi-sensei too weak?"

Kakashi: "..."

Wu Yu said, "It's not that Kakashi is too weak. The Sharingan is just ridiculously messed up!"

Sasuke: "..."

Sakura said, "Then let's take Kakashi-sensei home."

"I'll do it." Wu Yu clapped his hands, stepped forward, pulled Kakashi up, and hoisted him onto his back.

With Naruto and Sasuke's physical condition, they had already recovered quite well by now—especially Naruto, who was practically bursting with energy—but unfortunately, neither of them was tall enough. If they carried Kakashi, his feet would have to serve as mops.

And so, Wu Yu carried Kakashi out of the Third Training Ground alongside the three members of Team Seven.

As luck would have it, they ran into Team Ten, who were also leaving a nearby training ground. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi, three newly promoted Genin from the same class, were following their Jonin teacher, Asuma Sarutobi. The four of them seemed to be discussing which barbecue restaurant to visit for a celebration.

"Uh..." Shikamaru scratched his head, unable to make sense of Team Seven's situation.

Was Nakamori Wu Yu carrying their supervising Jonin?

After the Survival Exercise, the four Genin were perfectly fine, while the Jonin had been taken down instead... Could something that absurd really happen?

Asuma Sarutobi also thought he was seeing things. With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he asked in surprise, "Kakashi, what happened to you...?"

Kakashi Hatake lay draped over Wu Yu's back and said blandly, "As you can see, my students exceeded my expectations. I'm very pleased."

"He's being carried around and still talking in that cool voice..." Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka silently complained at the same time, sweatdropping before exchanging a glance.

Sakura Haruno gave a smug little "hmph" and held up a V-sign. "Pig Ino, Sasuke and I are in the same class now."

Ino Yamanaka sneered. "Yeah, and Sasuke will get a close look at all your flaws. He definitely won't be able to stand you in the end, Forehead Girl!"

"Women are such a pain..." Shikamaru rolled his eyes, while Choji beside him tore open a fresh bag of chips and kept crunching away.

While Wu Yu was explaining Kakashi's eye overuse to Asuma, Asuma's girlfriend, Kurenai Yuhi, arrived from the other side with her three newly promoted Genin, including Hinata Hyuga and Kiba Inuzuka.

"Asuma, what is this...?" Kurenai greeted them, naturally looking at Kakashi in surprise as well. Her red eyes always made Wu Yu wonder whether her family might be related to the Uchiha somehow.

"Isn't that Sasuke? Naruto, you actually became a Genin too!" Kiba Inuzuka said boisterously, a small ninja dog perched atop his head.

As for Nakamori Wu Yu, that repeat student from the next class over, Kiba did not think much of him. He figured that with a top student like Sasuke around, those people had probably only managed to scrape through the Survival Exercise by riding his coattails.

"N-Naruto..." Hinata Hyuga called softly, but Naruto Uzumaki did not hear her at all.

The three Genin teams gathered and launched into an extensive discussion over why Kakashi Hatake was unable to move.

"Seriously, are you people done yet..."

Listening to Asuma and Kurenai gossip about him right in front of him left Kakashi utterly speechless.

He secretly patted Wu Yu, hinting that this was not a place to linger, but Wu Yu did not react in the slightest. Kakashi was nearly at his limit. What an awful personality. He likes seeing his teacher make a fool of himself... Every last one of them is a problem child.

After Wu Yu and the others left, Kiba heard the puppy on his head bark twice and said curiously, "You're saying Sasuke and Naruto really respect that Nakamori Wu Yu? How could that be, Akamaru? Isn't he a poor student who got sent back to the Ninja Academy several times? The bottom of the barrel among the bottom of the barrel! Hahaha! He's even worse than Naruto!"

Hinata Hyuga said timidly, "I remember... Neji-niisan seemed to have mentioned him before..."

"You mean that genius Neji? No way!" Kiba Inuzuka said in disbelief.

Asuma Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled. "I did hear the Jonin who sent him back to the Ninja Academy last year mention this Genin named Nakamori Wu Yu. He said that... Nakamori Wu Yu had actually deliberately refused to cooperate or show his abilities, which was why he had been stripped of his Genin qualifications for two years in a row."

Kurenai Yuhi asked in surprise, "Why would he do that?"

Choji Akimichi said, "Maybe he's like Shikamaru and hates trouble! If not for his family's demands, Shikamaru might have wanted to get sent back to the Ninja Academy too, then laze around for another year..."

Shikamaru Nara: "..." Why were they blurting out such harsh truths?

"That Jonin said," Asuma continued with a smile, "that Nakamori Wu Yu's overall abilities—especially his Chakra control and Seal Proficiency—were above the level of an ordinary Genin, and that his Taijutsu technique was quite good as well."

"'But'?" Shikamaru supplied for him.

"But," Asuma said, pressing a hand down on Shikamaru's head, "his stamina, Chakra reserves, explosive power, speed, and other physical attributes are all quite average. The kid apparently feels very anxious about that. He thinks he can't survive in the ninja world, so he wants to hide for as many years as he can."

"Honestly, I thought that if he kept dragging it out, he'd eventually give up on becoming a ninja altogether." Asuma flicked away his cigarette butt and pulled out a fresh one. "I didn't expect him to become Kakashi's student. Did he finally come around?"

Just as he was about to light it, Kurenai Yuhi snatched it away. She said, "Since we've run into each other, how about our two teams have a meal together?"

It could have been all three teams, if only Kakashi had not been too weak to get back on his feet.

Unable to get up, Kakashi was escorted all the way back to his apartment by Wu Yu and his four students, drawing all kinds of looks from people who knew him along the way...

By the time Wu Yu set Kakashi down on his single bed, Kakashi was already drenched in sweat.

Why did he suddenly feel like moving to another planet...

Just as Wu Yu and the other three were discussing whether they should stay behind and take care of Kakashi today, the apartment door was suddenly shoved open. A middle-aged man with a bizarre Watermelon Bowl Haircut, extraordinarily thick eyebrows, and strange Green Spandex charged inside. Seeing Kakashi Hatake lying motionless on the bed while being looked after by his four students, tears streamed down his face as he shouted, "My rival, Kakashi! I heard you died, but I never thought... I never thought it was true... Boohoohoo... Youth!!"

Under Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura's synchronized stares, Kakashi Hatake's entire body stiffened, sweat pouring down his back. This would be better if I were dead...