At the end of February, Jiraiya officially took over the Intelligence Division's work, and the Jonin Division also began an orderly redeployment.
Some low-level missions were taken over by Chunin squad leaders, while Kakashi, Might Guy, and Shu Furukawa seized the opportunity to become "mission maniacs"...
Though young, the three-man team earned their clients' trust through their strength.
Once again arriving alone at the Memorial Stone, Kakashi, with a short blade strapped to his back, stared silently at Hatake Sakumo's gravestone for a long time before finally lowering his head and murmuring:
"Father, those three also chose suicide."
"Those kinds of companions weren't worth saving. If you had chosen the mission, perhaps everything would have been different."
"I won't make the same mistake again. Shu is preparing to take the Chunin Ninja Exams too. In a few years, we'll be able to lead teams and carry out missions on our own."
"Keep watching over me. I've made up my mind."
"..."
It was already noon by the time he reached the training ground. Though it was rare fine weather, Kakashi still wore his dead-fish eyes and seemed utterly lifeless.
Shu Furukawa, dressed in a black training outfit, did not pay much attention to Kakashi's expression. Compared with the memories in his mind, Kakashi's current state was already much better.
Pulling the short blade from his back, Shu Furukawa infused it with Wind-nature Chakra. The White Fang Short Blade glowed white, making Kakashi's eyes widen.
"The short blade in Teacher Sakumo's hand could cut through almost anything."
"Kakashi, if you want to inherit it..."
"No. I won't be weak like my father. I'll keep using it, but I'll find swordsmanship that suits me better."
Kakashi spoke up in rebuttal, taking several deep breaths after saying that.
Whenever he thought of his father wielding the White Fang Short Blade to save those so-called companions, his chest ached faintly.
Noticing the change in Kakashi's mood, Shu Furukawa did not lecture him. He tossed over a prepared scroll, then said solemnly:
"Since you don't want to use Wind-nature Chakra transformation, take another path."
"This is an incomplete A-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu. You can choose its development direction yourself."
"Don't use it blindly. Once it activates the body, the speed will make you lose your vision."
Kakashi was about to ask a question when Shu Furukawa tossed him the short blade and rapidly formed hand seals:
"Ox, Rabbit, Monkey."
"Crackle...!"
Visible azure arcs of lightning appeared in Shu Furukawa's right hand. The shrill sound ringing beside their ears was like a thousand birds crying out, and Kakashi stood frozen in place, his eyes blank.
"The key to this technique is activating the body to generate a large amount of Chakra."
"Pay attention to how much Chakra you release through your hand. Too much will severely injure you and may even damage your meridians."
"If you channel it into the short blade, you can avoid that flaw. You'll need to develop that aspect yourself."
Following the "excellent inheritance" in his memories, Shu Furukawa released Chidori while offering instructions. Seeing Kakashi nod, he increased the output of Lightning-nature Chakra once more.
Whoosh—boom!!
In the blink of an eye, Shu Furukawa vanished from before him. A huge round crater then appeared in the rock wall opposite them, and Kakashi's eyes widened. Its power far exceeded his imagination.
"Don't blindly pursue a technique's power. If you repeatedly activate your body to extract Chakra, do you know what will happen?"
Shu Furukawa warned him again. Seeing the serious expression on his friend's face, Kakashi lowered his head. After a moment of silence, he replied:
"I'll die! I won't abuse this technique."
"I'll let Father see the choice I've made."
After the simple explanation and demonstration, Shu Furukawa began guiding Kakashi through the nature transformation of Lightning-nature Chakra.
Tsunade had optimized the body-activation aspect, so extracting Chakra through secondary stimulation was not difficult. Precise Chakra control was the true key.
Using Kakashi as the standard to estimate the amount of Chakra, even if he succeeded in training, he would only barely be able to release it once. Shu Furukawa, meanwhile, could unleash Chidori four times at full power.
Have I already reached four Kakashis? The secret medicine and [Collection] are still continuously strengthening my body.
The Strength of a Hundred Technique accumulated Senjutsu Chakra entirely through secret medicine. Whenever Shu Furukawa refined it, he even felt as though he were cultivating immortality.
"Damn it, it's harder than I imagined. My hand is completely numb..."
Kakashi, who had failed to release the technique, panted heavily and collapsed onto the ground, his right hand trembling without stop. Returning to his senses, Shu Furukawa used the Mystical Palm Technique and reminded him again:
"Initial body activation is enough to handle most battles."
"With your talent, avoid straight-line attacks whenever possible. I don't want to see you thrust into an enemy's arms and die with them."
--
By mid-March, it was once again the season when cherry blossoms bloomed.
Rin Nohara, who was about to enter her fourth year, had finally become an outstanding student of Class A through her tireless efforts!
Her grades remained steadily within the top five, and her study of medical ninjutsu was progressing quite smoothly.
However, the girl had been feeling down lately. She had not seen Kakashi in a long time.
The rumors circulating recently worried Rin Nohara greatly. Several times she had gone to visit Kakashi, only to find that he was away on missions...
During lunch break, the girls automatically gathered around Shizune again. Shu Furukawa had recently reappeared by Tsunade's side, which meant there would be lunchboxes again.
"Shu is really amazing!"
"Looks like Shizune has definitely succeeded! A love lunchbox!"
"How was this beef marinated? It tastes ridiculously good..."
"Are you planning to give up being a ninja?"
"There's nothing wrong with being a housewife. Being a ninja is still very dangerous."
"..."
The chattering voices kept sounding beside Shizune's ears. Ever since she had shared her enormous lunchbox, this sort of thing had often happened.
Some of the girls had still tried to hide it before, but once everyone began gathering together, they no longer bothered pretending.
Shizune, who kept her head down while eating, never participated in such topics. She only wanted to keep up. Whenever she saw Shu Furukawa and Tsunade discussing new techniques and medicine development, a sense of frustration arose in her heart.
She could not even get started on the Strength of a Hundred Technique, and she had even fainted while accumulating Chakra...
"Shizune, has Shu mentioned anything about Kakashi lately? Did that kind of thing really happen?"
Shizune, who had just finished her lavish lunch, heard the whisper beside her ear and nodded slightly. Seeing the worry on Rin Nohara's face, she softly comforted her:
"Give Kakashi some time. He'll get better."
Obito Uchiha, who was beside them with his ears pricked up in an attempt to eavesdrop, wore a conflicted expression. During afternoon class, he kept glancing toward Rin Nohara beside him.
After school, Rin Nohara waved goodbye to everyone, but unlike usual, she did not immediately head home. Sensing that something was wrong, Obito followed quietly behind her.
When he discovered that the girl was actually going to see Kakashi, jealousy welled up in Obito's heart again. He even consoled himself along the way:
"It must be a coincidence!"
Kakashi was slightly startled when he opened the door and saw Rin Nohara. Before the girl could speak, his nose twitched as he looked into the distance and said:
"Come out."
Obito scratched his head awkwardly and walked over to Rin Nohara. Just as he was about to speak, Kakashi looked at them both expressionlessly and replied quickly:
"Thank you for coming to see me, but I don't need talentless companions."
The door shut. Seeing tears appear in Rin Nohara's eyes, Obito shouted angrily:
"You bastard, get out here! You have to apologize to Rin!"
"..."