It Was All for His Own Good

Hearing Might Guy's shout, Kakashi finally understood why he was getting farther and farther from the ground.

He had actually been sent flying.

How could Uchiha Chi be so strong?

Almost as soon as the confusion arose,

Kakashi finally felt the excruciating pain running through his entire right arm, as though every bone from his fist to his shoulder had fractured.

However, there was no time to think. The physical reaction brought on by his rapid descent tore him from his thoughts. He instinctively tried to grab onto something, but there was naturally nothing in the open sky to brace himself against.

Kakashi could only twist his waist slightly in midair, making all kinds of subtle adjustments to his body in an attempt to land at a stable angle.

The instant he touched the surface of the Naka River.

Light blue Chakra flared beneath Kakashi's feet as he tried to stand atop the river.

But even as a Chunin, he simply could not use Chakra to withstand that impact. After holding on for a moment, he plunged beneath the surface again!

Splash!

Watching Kakashi vanish entirely into the Naka River, leaving only bubbles gurgling on the surface, Might Guy jogged over. There was an unusual trace of worry on his normally smiling face.

"Chi-san, Kakashi won't die, will he?"

Falling into water from that height, the water's surface was practically no different from the ground.

If an ordinary Genin failed to handle the angle properly, they would probably be seriously injured and have to lie in Konoha Hospital for over half a month before regaining mobility.

Even he himself would probably need to use Taijutsu to offset the impact and avoid injury.

Looking at the river surface gradually settling down, Uchiha Chi said nothing and merely shook his head lightly.

"He won't."

Almost the instant he spoke.

Behind the two of them, a lean figure emerged from beneath the water.

Soaked from head to toe, Kakashi lightly stepped on the water's surface and sprang gracefully into the air.

His right arm hung naturally at his side, clearly having lost the ability to move after exchanging that punch with Uchiha Chi earlier.

Yet his left hand still tightly gripped the Chakra Dagger, swinging it down from above.

"I admit I underestimated you just now."

"But..."

This time, he would not let his guard down again!

Kakashi's listless dead-fish eyes became razor-sharp as the Chakra Dagger in his hand streaked toward Uchiha Chi's back like a meteor!

Just then.

Uchiha Chi turned slightly to the side, tilted his head toward Kakashi, and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.

"But what?"

Seeing the smile on the youth's face,

Kakashi's pupils suddenly contracted as a bad premonition surged through him.

"Kakashi!" At nearly the same instant, Might Guy, standing on the shore, cried out in alarm. Seemingly worried about the two of them, he hurried over.

Kakashi pressed his lips together. Ignoring Uchiha Chi's question and Might Guy's shout, he continued driving the short blade down with all his strength.

Pfft.

It was the sound of a blade piercing flesh.

Yet Kakashi's heart suddenly sank.

The feeling from the short blade was wrong!

That sluggish resistance felt like he had struck wood...

Just as that thought surfaced.

"Your sneak attack doesn't seem very impressive."

Uchiha Chi, whose back had been stabbed, spoke with an indifferent expression.

"Let me teach you instead."

As soon as he finished speaking, a cloud of white smoke rose from Uchiha Chi's body.

Bang!

Kakashi swiftly withdrew his blade and retreated, narrowing his eyes at the white smoke. A rotten log splashed into the water.

The Substitution Technique?

Kakashi's dead-fish eyes widened instinctively.

Then where had he hidden?

Front, back, left, right—Kakashi's calm gaze swiftly swept across the surroundings of the Naka River.

But he could not find Uchiha Chi anywhere. He only saw the worried Might Guy arrive behind him, seemingly intending to check the condition of his injured right arm.

Just then, a familiar shout came from the distance.

"Kakashi—"

Hearing the voice, Kakashi casually glanced in its direction.

The next second, his dead-fish eyes froze.

He saw Might Guy walking over from that direction, waving at him!

How could there be two Might Guys?

Wasn't he standing behind him?

Could it be...

Kakashi's breath caught as he sharply twisted his neck, wanting to look behind him.

But faster than his movement was a bone-chilling cold that spread between his legs.

Thud!

With a solid, muffled impact.

Kakashi staggered forward two steps from the force, nearly falling over.

Yet even so, Kakashi still maintained a cold expression, appearing utterly calm and composed.

As though nothing had happened, he skimmed across the water's surface and returned to shore in the blink of an eye.

Then, bit by bit, he crouched down.

"Oh, oh..." Kakashi clutched the injured area and gulped down breaths like a fish about to suffocate.

It was a dull pain from the depths of his soul.

It was the unbearable weight of life that no male creature could endure.

At the instant before he fainted.

With his vision going black, Kakashi finally turned his gaze behind him.

He saw "Might Guy" standing on one leg atop the river, smiling as he raised the knee still suspended in the air at him.

"This is called... Thousand Years of Knees."

After hearing those words, Kakashi completely passed out.

Ten minutes later.

Beneath a large Banyan Tree.

Might Guy stood to one side, watching in amazement as Uchiha Chi's hand emitted a green glow over Kakashi's body.

"My friend, you actually know Medical Ninjutsu."

"Just a little, just a little."

Uchiha Chi answered with a smile as he continued treating Kakashi.

Might Guy looked past Uchiha Chi at Kakashi.

Kakashi's eyes remained tightly shut, and from time to time his brows furrowed, as though he were dreaming of something terrible. He curled up like a shrimp.

Seeing his once cool and aloof rival reduced to this state, a trace of worry appeared between Might Guy's thick brows.

"My friend," he asked carefully, "my rival won't have to use the women's restroom from now on, will he?"

"Of course not." Uchiha Chi held up his glowing right hand and spoke leisurely. "Isn't that why I'm here?"

In this ninja world, where extraordinary powers like Chakra existed, Medical Ninja could accomplish far more than doctors in his previous life.

Jiraiya was often beaten severely by Tsunade, yet wasn't he back to sneaking into alleys a few days later?

A minor issue with a lone warrior was nothing worth mentioning.

"Oh..." Might Guy nodded as if he understood.

As long as his rival would not become a girl, he had nothing to worry about.

"Then, my friend," he looked at Uchiha Chi curiously, "why did you think of using that move?"

At the mention of "that move," Might Guy could not help clenching his legs together.

"I did this today to make Kakashi more vigilant in the future."

Uchiha Chi explained earnestly. "If he sees someone familiar on the battlefield later, he won't stupidly trust them without question."

"So it was all for Kakashi..." Might Guy clenched his fist in emotion. "So passionate! So youthful!"

"That's right." Uchiha Chi nodded vigorously and cast a slightly guilty glance at the System Panel.

"It was all for his own good!"