In July of Year 43, Konoha's Ninja Academy once again entered its "private tutoring" period.
Students could choose to attend the school-organized wilderness survival camp, or use the time as they pleased and make their own plans.
At the training ground behind the school, Might Guy leaned against a massive tree, his eyes fixed on the two figures clashing above.
"Clink..."
The sharp ring of kunai striking kunai sounded again and again. Wearing a Forehead Protector, Kakashi sprinted along a thick tree trunk, leapt several times, then paused briefly to gather strength and rebound, closing in once more.
Kakashi swung a kunai in each hand in a flurry, sparks flying as the blades clashed. When he saw Shu Furukawa flip swiftly overhead, he hurriedly twisted around.
He crouched to block, sparks flying again. After barely dodging a string of attacks, Kakashi tried to counter with a high kick, then quickly twisted and thrust at his opponent.
In a flash, Shu slipped aside and caught Kakashi's arm with pinpoint precision. Shu's left-hand kunai blocked the attack. Before Kakashi could overpower him, there was a "poof," and he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
The thought had barely crossed his mind when Kakashi sensed the kunai behind him. The sharp look in his eyes turned back into his usual dead fish stare, and he let out a long breath before asking quietly:
"When did you use the Shadow Clone Technique?"
"That's a secret, Kakashi. How's your exam preparation going?"
Shu asked as he jumped down from the branch. Kakashi followed him, and when Shu mentioned the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams, he began complaining again:
"The captain didn't recommend me for the joint exams. It's just an internal selection for the village."
"You know how it is. Ordinary Genin can't keep up with me. I just don't want to do those boring D-rank missions anymore."
Kakashi shrugged with his hands in his pockets. Shu gave a slight shake of his head, while Guy perked up at their conversation and eagerly asked:
"How were the C-rank missions, Kakashi? How much did you get paid?"
"Ten thousand ryo? I didn't pay attention. Most of them were escort or intelligence-gathering missions. Guy would have a hard time with those. I don't think you're good at infiltration."
Kakashi said this with his hands still in his pockets, then gave a shrug, clearly "getting back at" Guy for his earlier "youthful blow."
Everyone heard what Kakashi was implying, but Guy himself folded his arms and fell into thought. After a while, he looked up and said:
"My Transformation Technique still has some problems. If I'm going to take infiltration missions, I'll need to keep training."
"To get C-rank missions as soon as possible, I'll do five hundred side kicks!"
"..."
At the mention of Guy's "daily youthful challenge," Obito Uchiha turned his head stiffly. He was starting to regret coming to see Kakashi. He couldn't keep up with their pace at all.
"Come on, let's go fishing! I don't want Rin to go hungry."
Obito quickly changed the subject and called everyone over to the river. Rin Nohara and Shizune had just finished gathering some wild vegetables nearby, ready for the day's "barbecue."
It was everyone's first time fishing, and after half a day, Kakashi was the only one with a decent catch.
Shu hadn't expected to come up empty here, either. Feeling a little awkward, he ultimately chose the ninja way:
"Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"
"Hey?! You...!"
As Obito shouted in surprise, several fish surfaced at once. Shu calmly walked over and picked them up, dropping them into a bucket. The hot-blooded Uchiha boy yelled angrily:
"You're cheating again! Damn it, we agreed to settle this with a fishing contest..."
"I see! This is another kind of training. I'm in!"
Guy casually tossed his fishing rod aside and charged onto the water. Though he couldn't stay steady for long, he didn't sink immediately.
Water splashed everywhere. Obito shouted angrily from the shore, while Kakashi reeled in his line, picked up the bucket, and calmly walked away. He had already caught enough food.
They didn't know what kind of fish they were, but they were meaty and had few bones, making them perfect to eat. Guy bent over and wolfed them down.
Meanwhile, Obito was still upset about losing the fishing contest and kept grumbling every so often.
"Kakashi, are the Chunin Exams difficult?"
It was a rare chance to spend time with the boy she admired, so Rin took the initiative and asked softly. Obito choked on his grilled fish at the sight...
"The village's internal selection shouldn't be too difficult. They care more about a ninja's qualities and personal abilities."
"There are a lot of missions for Jonin these days, so more people are needed to handle the low-rank missions."
Kakashi didn't seem to care much about promotion. He explained calmly, but the confidence he showed without even trying only got under Obito's skin.
"Kakashi has what it takes to be an outstanding ninja. I wouldn't be surprised if he became a Jonin at twelve."
Shu smiled as he praised him. Rin looked at Kakashi with an admiring gaze once more, and Obito shouted:
"What do you mean, 'what it takes'? If I awaken the Sharingan, becoming a Jonin will be no problem! I'll easily surpass this show-off."
"Kakashi has excellent chakra control."
Even the usually quiet Shizune spoke up to praise him. Shu nodded, then briefly explained to the unconvinced Obito:
"The chakra that gathers and flows through the body's meridian system is limited. To keep the body safe, the eight gates in the body restrict how much chakra can flow through."
"The body can only contain and envelop so much chakra, too, which makes extracting and controlling it extremely important."
"The Uchiha Clan has enormous reserves of chakra. If they can't control it precisely, they'll have trouble making the most of their advantage."
"..."
As Shu launched into a lesson and explained "the difference between strong and weak ninjas" in terms of the meridian system and chakra flow, Guy listened intently, and Kakashi seemed thoughtful.
The two girls had studied Medical Ninjutsu, so they understood the basics. Only Obito was left staring blankly, grilled fish in hand, as if to say:
"What are you even babbling about?"
"Extracting a large amount of chakra in an instant and controlling it precisely—that's Kakashi's talent. When he becomes a Jonin in the future, that talent will make his ninjutsu even more powerful."
Shu said no more. He raised his eyebrows and started enjoying the delicious fish.
These theories applied to all ninjas, but some people could still break through those inherent limitations.
The most striking examples were Hashirama Senju, with his "chakra tons," the Uchiha who could summon "giant mecha," and the Child of Prophecy who could churn out Rasengan after Rasengan...
"What's the big deal? You just have to make your body remember how to fight!"
Obito's head was spinning, and he loudly complained, pretending he hadn't understood a thing. Shizune chuckled at the sight, and Rin couldn't help smiling too.
Kakashi noticed Obito grinning stupidly along with the girls. He gave an exaggerated sigh, then shrugged and said:
"Of course. This is too much for the dead-last to handle!"
The two quickly started arguing again, but Guy was left feeling a little heavyhearted.
He couldn't help thinking about his own limits. He also understood why his father was so reluctant to use the forbidden technique. The damage was worse than he'd expected.
In late September, news of Hatake Kakashi's promotion to Chunin swept through the village. Even merchants from out of town praised Konoha's talented young ninja.
As time passed, word of the six-year-old Chunin spread farther and farther, and a wave of eager studying swept through the Ninja Academy...
The Konoha High Command seemed intent on setting an example, and more and more youths began clamoring to graduate early.
Before afternoon class, their homeroom teacher, Ryosuke Kimura, once again praised Kakashi, then announced to everyone:
"By this time next year, Shu won't just have graduated from the Ninja Academy; he'll also be able to officially work as a medical ninja."
"Lady Tsunade has evaluated the Military Ration Pill Shu recently improved and given it extremely high praise."
"..."
Starting with Military Ration Pills, Ryosuke moved on to missions and war. The more he talked, the more excited he became, until he seemed unable to stop.
Seated by the window at the front of the classroom, Shu's mind wandered elsewhere. Ever since he'd started using essence to cultivate some medicinal herbs, his experiments in pharmacology had made rapid progress.
But after solving the problem of mutation, another issue had come up. Thinking about his recent attempts, Shu silently pondered:
"Can I only use Senjutsu Chakra for one minute..."