Kakashi, Learn Chidori or Not?

"Don't lose."

Before Akiyama Shun stepped onto the arena, Hatake Kakashi delivered this single line.

Akiyama Shun turned his head, looking at Hatake Kakashi with an expression of inexplicable confusion: "Do you lose to bread?"

Hatake Kakashi did not answer Akiyama Shun, choosing instead to lower his head.

Once Akiyama Shun stepped onto the arena, the entire stadium erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

It couldn't be helped; Akiyama Shun's performance over the past two days had been far too dazzling—tying with Hatake Kakashi for first place in the written exam and clearing the Forest of Death in a single day.

Either of these achievements would be brilliant on their own, but now they were both concentrated in one person!

After entering the arena, Akiyama Shun calmly summoned the White Fang Blade. Unlike his composure, Shoumon Tetsu, facing Akiyama Shun, felt immense pressure mounting.

Soon, both were ready, and the battle officially began!

The moment the fight started, Shoumon Tetsu immediately fired several shuriken at Akiyama Shun.

Facing shuriken thrown with such a lack of technique, Akiyama Shun couldn't even be bothered to deflect them with his own shuriken.

He raised the White Fang Blade, carefully observing the trajectory of the projectiles. Then, the sound of air being torn apart rang out around him, and the White Fang Blade in his hand moved so fast that only afterimages remained.

When the afterimages faded, the shuriken lay scattered on the ground.

Before Shoumon Tetsu could even react or prepare his next attack, Akiyama Shun had already used the Body Flicker Technique to appear at his side, the White Fang Blade slashing toward him!

Shoumon Tetsu's strength was not lacking; he reacted quickly, attempting to dodge sideways. However, Akiyama Shun suddenly retracted the blade, shifting into a side kick that struck Shoumon Tetsu squarely in the abdomen. The powerful impact sent Shoumon Tetsu flying backward!

"Bang!"

Shoumon Tetsu's body slammed into the wall, leaving spiderweb-like cracks before he collapsed to the ground.

Lying there, Shoumon Tetsu spat out a large mouthful of blood with a groan. He hadn't given up yet, though, and was just about to push himself off the ground to stand.

However, Akiyama Shun had already arrived before him once more. His shadow loomed over Shoumon Tetsu, and just by looking into Akiyama Shun's calm eyes, Shoumon Tetsu felt a wave of intense terror wash over his entire body.

"I forfeit!"

Before Akiyama Shun could even raise his blade, Shoumon Tetsu conceded, ending the one-sided match.

The entire duel had lasted less than half a minute, with most of that time spent on Akiyama Shun deflecting the shuriken.

Still, this remained the fastest victory record to date!

"Too strong..."

"Is this really Akiyama Shun?"

"Good thing I didn't get matched with this guy in the preliminaries. Heh, once the main tournament starts, as long as I perform well, I can still become a Chunin."

"Do you really think you'll have a chance to perform if you get matched with him?"

"..."

The audience was filled with constant discussion.

"Is this... the White Fang Sword Technique?"

The Third Kazekage narrowed his eyes as he watched Akiyama Shun's retreating figure.

The White Fang Sword Technique—wasn't that supposed to be known only by that brat named Hatake Kakashi?

How did Akiyama Shun know it too? Was he a disciple of the White Fang of Konoha?

"Yes, that is indeed the sword technique of the White Fang of Konoha. I didn't expect this kid Akiyama Shun to have practiced it to such a level."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with a chuckle.

"Haha, no wonder those two were able to finish so quickly in the Forest of Death. Two users of the White Fang Sword Technique—that's not something those brats can handle."

The Third Kazekage didn't say much more.

It didn't matter. Let that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen be smug for a while longer; when it was her turn to step out, she would see if he could still keep that smile on his face!

Akiyama Shun returned to the spectator stands.

Hatake Kakashi opened his eyes, glanced at Akiyama Shun, said nothing, and lowered his head again to continue acting aloof.

Soon, it was Hatake Kakashi's turn.

"Next match, Hatake Kakashi versus Sunamaru!"

Just like Akiyama Shun's match, it was Konoha versus Sunagakure.

As soon as he entered the arena, Hatake Kakashi instantly drew the White Fang Blade; he didn't want to give his opponent any chance to resist.

The moment the battle began, Hatake Kakashi charged forward. He had intended to end the fight with a single strike to break Akiyama Shun's record.

But things did not develop as Hatake Kakashi had expected. Because Akiyama Shun had used the White Fang Sword Technique earlier, everyone had realized that it was a style centered on high-speed combat.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Sunamaru began to avoid direct confrontation.

He kept dodging, using various long-range Earth Style jutsus to kite Hatake Kakashi, occasionally throwing a few kunai to annoy him.

After dodging another kunai, Kakashi finally reached his limit.

With a Great Dragon Fire Technique, he decisively ended the battle.

The final battle duration: 40 seconds.

Ten seconds longer than Akiyama Shun.

In the subsequent matches, Akiyama Shun did not hear any familiar names, nor were there any spectacular fights, so he stopped paying attention.

It wasn't until the final match that a familiar name reached Akiyama Shun's ears, causing him to open his eyes.

"Next match, Karura versus Tobitake Akito!"

Karura!

The underlying logic of Mother Susanoo, Gaara's most benevolent mother.

Akiyama Shun did not know why she was still a genin, but her strength among the genin could be described as a dimensional strike.

Through precise sand control and absolute defense, Tobitake Akito had no room to resist and was defeated.

Akiyama Shun watched this match from start to finish, and even Kakashi watched the entire thing.

Immediately after Karura's battle concluded, the drawing for the official tournament to be held in a month began.

Akiyama Shun had assumed he would draw Karura, but in reality, the one who drew Karura was...

Kakashi.

At this moment, Kakashi's expression was very serious; to him, Karura was another major rival besides Akiyama Shun.

She was worth treating with the utmost seriousness!

The following month was the preparation time given to them for the official tournament.

For the first twenty-plus days, Kakashi would head out to train as soon as the sky brightened.

Akiyama Shun hadn't even seen Kakashi during these twenty-plus days, despite the two of them being assigned to the same room.

It wasn't until a week before the official tournament that Akiyama Shun saw Kakashi return from training at night, looking utterly exhausted. He chuckled softly, "Have you figured out how to deal with that absolute defense?"

Kakashi hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I've figured it out, it's just going to be very troublesome."

Looking at Kakashi, a strange idea suddenly occurred to Akiyama Shun.

In the original work, to deal with Gaara's absolute defense, Kakashi taught Sasuke the Chidori.

Now that Kakashi didn't know the Chidori, why shouldn't he teach it to Kakashi to deal with Gaara's mother?

If he did that, wouldn't it count as a form of legacy when Kakashi eventually taught Sasuke how to deal with Gaara?

As for the difficulty of teaching, Akiyama Shun didn't care at all.

First, Kakashi's talent was not lacking, and second, after being educated by the Chidori that one time, Kakashi's training had become even more frantic; his physical fitness, reaction speed, and all other conditions had perfectly reached the requirements for using the Chidori. Now, it could be said he was only a step away.

"Kakashi, do you want to learn the Chidori?"