Different Paths

At the end of February, Jiraiya officially took over the work of the Intelligence Division, and the Jonin Division began an orderly mobilization.

Some low-level missions were taken over by Chunin captains, while Kakashi, Might Guy, and Shu Furukawa seized the opportunity to become "mission maniacs"...

Despite their young age, the three-man squad won the trust of their clients through sheer strength.

Arriving at the Memorial Stone alone once again, Kakashi, with the short blade strapped to his back, stared at the tombstone of Hatake Sakumo in long silence before finally lowering his head to murmur:

"Father, those three people chose to commit suicide as well."

"Such comrades are not worth saving; if you had chosen the mission, perhaps everything would have been different."

"I will not make the same mistake again. Shu is also preparing to participate in the Chunin Exams; in a few years, we will be able to lead squads on missions independently."

"Keep watching me; I have already steeled my resolve."

"..."

It was already noon by the time he reached the training ground. Despite the rare, beautiful weather, Kakashi maintained his dead-fish eyes, his entire demeanor lifeless.

Shu Furukawa, dressed in a black training suit, did not mind Kakashi's expression; compared to the memories in his mind, his current state was already much better.

Drawing the short blade from his back, Shu Furukawa infused it with wind-style chakra. The White Fang Short Blade, radiating a white glow, made Kakashi's eyes widen.

"The short blade in Teacher Sakumo's hand could cut through almost anything."

"Kakashi, if you want to inherit—"

"No, I will not be as weak as my father. I will continue to use it, but I will find a style of swordsmanship that suits me better."

Kakashi retorted, taking several deep breaths after finishing his sentence.

Whenever he thought of his father wielding the White Fang Short Blade to save those so-called comrades, his chest would ache faintly.

Noticing the shift in Kakashi's emotions, Shu Furukawa did not lecture him. He tossed a prepared scroll to the other boy and then said solemnly:

"Since you don't want to use the nature transformation of wind-style chakra, then let's try a different path."

"This is an incomplete A-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu. You can choose your own direction for its development."

"Don't use it blindly. After activating your body, the speed will cause you to lose your field of vision."

Just as Kakashi was about to ask a question, Shu Furukawa had already tossed the short blade to him and quickly formed hand seals:

"Ox, Rabbit, Monkey."

"Zzz...!"

Visible blue electric arcs appeared on Shu Furukawa's right hand. The screeching sound ringing in his ears was like a thousand birds chirping. Kakashi, standing frozen in place, stared with wide, unblinking eyes.

"The key to this technique is to generate a massive amount of chakra after activating the body."

"Be careful with the amount of chakra released through your hand; an excess will severely harm you, and may even damage your meridians."

"If you conduct it into the short blade, you can avoid this flaw. In this regard, you will need to develop it yourself."

Shu Furukawa followed the "excellent inheritance" from his memories, offering advice while releasing the Chidori. Seeing Kakashi nod, he increased the release of his lightning-style chakra once more.

"Whoosh—Boom!!"

In the blink of an eye, Shu Furukawa vanished from where he stood, and a massive circular crater appeared in the rock wall opposite him. Kakashi's eyes widened; the power far exceeded his imagination.

"Do not blindly pursue the power of the technique. If you continuously activate your body to extract chakra, you know what the consequences will be."

Shu Furukawa warned him again. Seeing the serious expression on his friend's face, Kakashi lowered his head, remained silent for a moment, and replied:

"I would die! I will not abuse this technique."

"I will make Father see my choice."

After a simple explanation and demonstration, Shu Furukawa began to guide Kakashi through the nature transformation of lightning-style chakra.

With the body activation optimized by Tsunade, secondary stimulation and extraction were not difficult; precise control of chakra was the key.

Subconsciously using Kakashi to evaluate chakra levels, even if he succeeded in the training, he would barely be able to release it once, whereas Shu Furukawa could release the full-power Chidori four times.

"Is it already '4 Kakashis' worth? The secret medicine and [Collection] are still constantly strengthening my body."

The Strength of a Hundred Technique relied entirely on secret medicine to accumulate sage chakra; when Shu Furukawa refined it, he even had the illusion that he was "cultivating immortality."

"Damn it, it's harder than I imagined. My hand has gone completely numb..."

Having failed to release it, Kakashi gasped for air and slumped to the ground, his right hand trembling uncontrollably. Shu Furukawa, snapping back to reality, used the Mystical Palm Technique and took the opportunity to warn him again:

"Initial body activation is enough to handle most battles."

"Given your talent, try to avoid linear attacks. I don't want to see you thrusting into an enemy's embrace only to perish together."

--

By mid-March, the season of cherry blossoms had arrived once again.

Rin Nohara, about to enter the fourth grade, had finally become an outstanding student in Class A through her own persistent efforts!

Her grades were consistently in the top five, and her study of medical ninjutsu was progressing quite smoothly.

However, the girl had been in low spirits lately; she hadn't seen Kakashi for a long time.

The rumors circulating recently made Rin Nohara quite worried. Every time she went to visit Kakashi, he was out on a mission...

During the lunch break, the girls gathered around Shizune as usual; lately, Shu Furukawa had been appearing by Tsunade's side, which meant more bento boxes had arrived.

"Shu-kun is truly amazing!"

"It looks like Shizune has definitely succeeded—a love-filled bento!"

"How is the beef marinated? The taste is excessively good..."

"Do you want to give up being a ninja?"

"There's nothing wrong with being a housewife; being a ninja is still very dangerous."

"..."

The chattering voices constantly rang in Shizune's ears; ever since she shared her extra-large bento, this situation had occurred frequently.

Previously, some of the girls would still try to hide it, but once everyone gathered together, they stopped pretending.

Shizune, buried in her meal, never participated in these topics; she only wanted to keep up with the progress, and every time she saw Shu Furukawa and Tsunade discussing new techniques and drug development, a sense of frustration would arise in her heart.

She couldn't even master the basics of the Strength of a Hundred Technique, and she had even fainted while trying to accumulate chakra...

"Shizune, has Shu mentioned anything about Kakashi lately? Did that really happen?"

Shizune, having just finished her hearty lunch, nodded slightly after hearing the whisper in her ear. Seeing the worried expression on Rin Nohara's face, she softly comforted her:

"Give Kakashi some time; he will get better."

Obito Uchiha, who had been pricking up his ears nearby trying to eavesdrop, looked conflicted, and during class in the afternoon, he would glance at Rin Nohara from time to time.

After school, Rin Nohara waved goodbye to everyone but did not head home immediately as she usually did. Obito, feeling uneasy, sensed something and immediately followed quietly behind her.

Discovering that the girl was actually going to find Kakashi, Obito's heart began to turn sour again, and he comforted himself along the way:

"It must be a coincidence!"

Kakashi, who pushed open the door, was slightly stunned to see Rin Nohara. Before the girl could speak, his nose twitched slightly as he looked into the distance and said:

"Come out."

Obito scratched his head in embarrassment and walked to Rin Nohara's side. Just as he was about to speak, Kakashi looked at the two of them with an expressionless face and responded quickly:

"Thank you for coming to see me, but I don't need incompetent partners."

The door slammed shut. Noticing the tears welling up in Rin Nohara's eyes, Obito shouted angrily:

"You guy, come out here! You must apologize to Rin!"

"..."