Chidori, Made Legit

Outside the school, Sarutobi Asuma and the others saw Might Guy rush out alongside Yuki Yuichi. They were a little curious, but didn't say much.

It didn't really matter whether there was one more or one fewer person training with them.

Only Kakashi Hatake, looking at Might Guy, remembered what his father had said earlier.

This guy in the green, skin-tight suit is my Rival for Life?

Looking at Might Guy, Kakashi Hatake found it hard to imagine him as his rival.

In his heart, his only rival was Yuki Yuichi.

There was no way someone as unreliable-looking as Might Guy could be his rival!

Kakashi Hatake thought to himself, then smiled.

But his mask hid his smile from everyone else.

Might Guy! Could never be a match for me, Kakashi Hatake!

Just then, the school bell rang.

"Come on, let's go!" At the sound of the bell, Sarutobi Asuma urged them on. "The teachers might turn a blind eye, but if we hang around outside the school, they might think we're skipping class."

Kakashi Hatake and Yuki Yuichi gave Sarutobi Asuma strange looks.

Yuhi Kurenai hesitated, but finally asked, "Aren't we skipping class right now?"

Sarutobi Asuma: "..."

My mistake.

As they chatted, they headed toward the training ground.

As luck would have it, they ran right into Uchiha Obito, who was sprinting toward them.

"Obito, are you late?" Sarutobi Asuma asked uncertainly.

It had been four days since school started.

Uchiha Obito had failed to arrive on time three of those days. Even Sarutobi Asuma had noticed something was off.

At Sarutobi Asuma's question, Uchiha Obito panted and said, word by word, "I'm not late. I was just waiting here for you guys."

That excuse sounded like nonsense to Yuki Yuichi and the others. Even Sarutobi Asuma, who had only known Uchiha Obito for a day but had gotten along with him pretty well, thought it was ridiculous.

But just as he was about to speak, a green figure shot forward.

Sarutobi Asuma swallowed his words.

"Obito!"

"You actually waited here for us!"

"This is the passionate, energetic spirit of youth!" Might Guy threw his arms around Uchiha Obito, tears streaming down his face.

Uchiha Obito was startled by the sudden embrace. Before he could react, Might Guy had him in a hug.

Might Guy was incredibly strong. Uchiha Obito was already short of breath from all that running, and now he could barely breathe with Might Guy squeezing him. He frantically pounded on Might Guy's back.

"Waaah! Obito, you felt the passionate spirit of youth too?!"

"You're so moved!"

Might Guy let go of Uchiha Obito, then grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously. "I'm just so touched!"

"Is he going to be okay?" Sarutobi Asuma took a few steps back, then sidled up to Yuki Yuichi and Kakashi Hatake and whispered, "I have a feeling that guy Obito's going to die."

"Don't worry. Guy can be a little unreliable sometimes, but he's still very attentive."

"Before Obito dies, he'll make sure to get him to Konoha Hospital." Yuki Yuichi smiled, though his words sounded downright sinister.

What did he mean, "get him to Konoha Hospital before he dies"?

Wasn't that just saying he'd beat the guy half to death?

Kakashi Hatake's mind was full of complaints as he gave Yuki Yuichi a dead-fish stare.

"We should get going."

By now, Kakashi Hatake had put Yuki Yuichi in the same category as Uchiha Obito and Might Guy: unreliable.

"Don't be so serious, Copy Ninja." Yuki Yuichi grinned. "You'll die alone like that."

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Kakashi Hatake retorted, flustered. "I'd rather all those girls leave me alone!"

Yuki Yuichi shook his head at Kakashi Hatake's words. I hope your hands won't be too busy once Jiraiya writes Icha Icha Paradise.

Come to think of it, Yuki Yuichi was pretty curious about Icha Icha Paradise. He wondered what kind of erotic novel could become so popular throughout the Shinobi World.

He'd read plenty of erotic stories in his previous life, like the ending of that one novel, The Love Emperor.

He'd even read erotic stories on adult websites: The Neighbor's Aunt, The Landlady, My Female Boss.

"Mm, I should check it out sometime."

Yuki Yuichi murmured under his breath. Yuhi Kurenai, standing beside him, noticed and turned to look at him curiously. "What should you check out?"

Yuhi Kurenai's question pulled Yuki Yuichi out of his thoughts. Before he could answer, she continued, "Whatever it is, I can go check it out with you, Yuichi."

As she spoke, she gave him a sweet smile, her eyes curving into crescents.

Yuki Yuichi gazed at her, stunned. After a long moment, he finally said, "Kurenai, you're so nice."

"Mhm~"

Yuhi Kurenai lifted her chin, as if to say that she had always been this nice.

Kakashi Hatake and Sarutobi Asuma exchanged a look, then walked on without a word. They separated Uchiha Obito and Might Guy, dragging one each toward the training ground.

Sarutobi Asuma swore to himself, "I'm going to find a girlfriend who's even gentler than Kurenai!"

Kakashi Hatake glanced at his monkey-like appearance and shook his head.

He didn't say a word, but he'd said everything.

Sarutobi Asuma flew into a rage. "You bastard, Kakashi! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Kakashi Hatake kept walking and added, "Don't get so worked up."

Sarutobi Asuma reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail, hopping with indignation. "Worked up? What do you mean, worked up? I'm not worked up!"

"Making baseless accusations can land you in jail!"

"Right, you're not worked up." Kakashi Hatake sighed. Beneath his mask, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, though his eyes remained as dead as ever.

This feeling was pretty nice.

Yuki Yuichi and Yuhi Kurenai followed the four of them from behind, holding hands.

He wasn't planning to slack off during training today.

He was going to properly practice and master chakra nature transformation and shape transformation!

He hadn't forgotten the Chidori among the three skills Uchiha Sasuke's Sharingan had given him.

One Great Fireball, one Sharingan, and one Chidori.

Uchiha Sasuke's template was far more powerful than that useless Hayate Sakura template.

One Kekkei Genkai and two ninjutsu—every single one of them was useful to him.

Yuki Yuichi was going to legitimize Chidori.

After all, Chidori's creator, Kakashi Hatake, wouldn't invent the technique for another six years.

And Yuki Yuichi couldn't wait that long.

It was frustrating to have a technique and be unable to use it.