The Third Hokage's Recommendation

"Hmm. Let's call it a draw!"

Hearing Uchiha Yue's words, Hatake Kakashi opened his mouth several times to argue, but in the end, he agreed.

Seeing Kakashi's reaction, Yue smiled again. Then, with a helpless shrug, he went to find Uchiha Obito and Rin so they could get lunch.

Perhaps Yue's parting gesture had annoyed him. As Yue started to walk away, Kakashi suddenly called out, "Uchiha Yue, would you be interested in accepting another challenge from me?"

"Gladly!"

Seeing the usually aloof Kakashi speak up first, Yue turned around and casually replied before continuing toward Obito and Rin.

Still, Yue wasn't as calm as he appeared. Deep down, he really wanted another chance to fight Kakashi.

There was no doubt about it: the draw between Yue and Kakashi had come about because Yue had resorted to a bit of a trick.

In a real fight, Kakashi wouldn't have hesitated at all when thrusting with the White Fang Blade. Yue had simply seized the moment when his opponent hesitated, using Chakra Threads to control the Kunai that had fallen to the ground earlier. In the end, he'd forced Kakashi into a draw.

As for how Yue had learned to use Chakra Threads, that was naturally one of the results of his three months of intensive training.

After building up his chakra, Yue always practiced chakra control. He couldn't simply give up on such important training just because his mental energy was exceptional and he could control chakra more easily than ordinary people. So, he persevered and mastered Water Walking within three months. He had even learned to control chakra well enough to form the Chakra Threads used by Puppet Masters from Sunagakure.

After learning to form Chakra Threads, Yue began applying them to his use of weapons. As long as he had enough chakra, he could control every Kunai he threw. Even if an opponent knocked one to the ground, Yue could catch them by surprise and send it flying through the air again, just as he had done in their fight.

However, because he'd been low on chakra earlier, Yue hadn't used up a large amount to form Chakra Threads.

All in all, even though Yue now had as much chakra as an ordinary Genin, he still couldn't sustain its use for long in a fight. Just like the battle he'd fought moments ago, if he'd had a little more chakra, Kakashi would surely have lost.

However, Yue had never been one to make excuses for failure. He simply felt that he hadn't been strong enough to defeat Kakashi.

"I need to train even harder!"

"I thought I'd be able to beat Kakashi easily. Who knew I'd have to go all out in the end!"

"Ugh, I really underestimated the talent of the Naruto world!"

After thinking this to himself, Yue caught up with Obito and Rin, and they set off for the dining hall.

On the way, Obito and Rin naturally talked about the fight, and of course, they were on Yue's side. To Obito, Yue's failure to beat Kakashi was his biggest regret. He spent the whole walk complaining that Yue hadn't won in the end.

But Rin thought Yue was already incredibly strong. After all, Kakashi had long been known as a genius at the Ninja Academy!

Having fought Kakashi to a draw, Yue had become a shining hero in Rin's eyes.

So whenever Obito complained, Rin would speak up for Yue.

Seeing Obito get shot down by Rin, Yue's mood instantly lifted.

But just as Yue and the others were about to reach the dining hall, he spotted a familiar figure. Wasn't that the Third Hokage of Konoha?

He'd wondered ever since his fight with Kakashi ended why he hadn't seen the Third Hokage.

As it turned out, the Third Hokage hadn't missed Yue's fight. He'd been waiting along the way for Yue to come by.

As if he'd noticed Yue spot him, the Third Hokage smiled warmly and waved him over.

At the Third Hokage's summons, Yue couldn't have lunch with Obito and Rin, so he said goodbye to them and hurried over.

"Hello, Third Hokage."

Looking at the Third Hokage, Yue no longer felt the excitement he'd had when they first met. Instead, he was a little nervous about what the Hokage was going to say.

Perhaps noticing Yue's nervousness, the Third Hokage smiled kindly, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "I saw your fight with Kakashi just now. I have to say, you're quite bold to take a risk at the very end. Still, Kakashi should have been the one to win, shouldn't he? If you hadn't cheated, he would have won."

"That's right, but I don't think I cheated."

Even in front of the Third Hokage, Yue firmly disagreed. "In a real fight, would Kakashi have time to hesitate? So I don't think I drew with him because I cheated. On the contrary, I think I should have won this time, because I was able to seize the opportunity and defeat the enemy in front of me!"

"But that wasn't a real fight, was it?"

Hearing Yue's retort, the Third Hokage's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Heh. Yue, even if you didn't actually beat Kakashi, you still performed very well in that fight. You've only been at the Ninja Academy for a short time, and you're already able to fight Kakashi like that. You really are a genius of our Konoha. So I've decided to keep my promise and introduce you to a good teacher."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage beckoned to Yue and continued, "Come with me!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Third Hokage standing before Yue held the highest authority in Konoha. Naturally, Yue had no room to refuse him.

Besides, even though Yue knew why the Third Hokage wanted to introduce him to a teacher, he couldn't help feeling a little eager.

At this stage, Yue could clearly plan his own training, but he still needed a teacher to guide him. His father, Uchiha Nara, was often away on missions and didn't have much time to teach him. So Yue was eager to meet the teacher the Third Hokage had chosen for him.

Surely the Third Hokage wouldn't just pick any random person to teach him, would he?

As Yue followed the Third Hokage along the way, he kept guessing who his future teacher might be.

Yue thought the Third Hokage was most likely to introduce him to one of the Sannin.

But...

When Yue followed the Third Hokage into a tavern and saw the teacher he'd chosen for him, even Yue, who was usually calm, couldn't hide his surprise.

"The teacher the Third Hokage introduced me to..."

"Is actually him!"