"I know." Chiya sat down on the edge of the bed and gently caressed Yuhi Kurenai's face. He knew that if he didn't make things clear after today, he might never get another chance. He straightened up and said, "Kurenai, are you willing to wait for me to grow up?"
"What do you mean?" Yuhi Kurenai blushed, happy but also feeling a faint unease.
"I mean exactly what it sounds like. I'm confessing my feelings." Chiya smiled.
"C-confessing your feelings?" Yuhi Kurenai stared at him, joy, uncertainty, excitement, exhilaration, and worry flashing through her eyes. In the end, her mind went completely blank.
"That's right. I'm confessing my feelings." Chiya nodded.
"Are you serious? I'm seven or eight years older than you. And I have a bad temper, a pile of bad habits, and I like drinking late at night." In one breath, she listed all her flaws.
"They say a woman three years older is like a treasure," Chiya said with a soft laugh. "As for the rest, I don't think those count as flaws. Nobody's perfect, and I have flaws too."
Yuhi Kurenai was taken aback. "What flaws do you have?"
Young, handsome, exceptionally gifted, and powerful. Except when dealing with Sarutobi Hiruzen, he was almost always unflappable.
He was calm and composed, but not rigid. Every time, he managed to leave her completely flustered.
He seemed like a seasoned ladies' man.
If he had to name a flaw, there was one: he was a womanizer.
It seemed that while this kid liked her, he was also entangled with that little girl from the Uchiha Clan.
"Looks like you already know." Chiya's smile faded. Before Yuhi Kurenai could react, he pulled her into his arms and said gently, "For a long time to come, we may be apart. I might even keep my distance from you on purpose, and make you feel like I'm a stranger."
"But please believe me: no matter what happens, I'll always be the person you know."
In ten years, the Fourth Shinobi World War would begin.
By then, everything would finally be settled.
The next day.
Chiya arrived sheepishly at the meeting place he'd agreed on with Kakashi: a remote mountaintop outside Konoha.
It was nearly noon, and the sun blazed overhead.
Kakashi seemed to have arrived early. By now, the heat had nearly left him on the verge of collapse.
"You're late, junior." That was the first thing Kakashi said when he saw Chiya.
"Sorry, Kakashi-senpai. I lost my way in life today..." Chiya repeated Kakashi's excuse from the original story when he'd kept Naruto and Team 7 waiting, then casually tossed him a bottle of ice water.
Kakashi caught it and gave him a look that said he didn't believe a word of it. Turning away, he removed his mask and downed the water.
"How about this? As compensation, lunch is on me. You can pick wherever you like," Chiya continued.
"Then I'll take you up on that." With his back to Chiya, Kakashi said, "Lord Hokage asked me to teach you a few suitable ninjutsu. Have you tested your chakra nature?"
"Lightning and earth," Chiya replied, concealing fire, water, yin, and yang.
Yin and yang were beyond the scope of an ordinary ninja's understanding, so there was no point bringing them up.
He had already learned the Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Technique, and Great Dragon Fire Technique, so Kakashi had nothing to teach him in the way of fire-style ninjutsu.
As for earth-style ninjutsu, he couldn't hide it after using the Headhunter Jutsu.
Kakashi didn't have any especially powerful water-style techniques. Later, Chiya could copy them from other people with Shisui's right eye.
As for lightning, that was purely because he wanted to learn Kakashi's Chidori.
He couldn't reveal four chakra natures all at once, let alone show that he'd mastered the nature transformations for each one.
Otherwise, old man Sarutobi Hiruzen would never get any sleep.
"Two natures from birth? You're skilled at genjutsu and possess lightning, a rarity second only to wind. You really are a genius." Kakashi adjusted his mask and turned around. "So, have you decided what kind of ninjutsu you want to learn?"
Chiya pretended to think for a moment, then said, "I specialize in genjutsu. It gives me a huge advantage in battle, but it doesn't work so well against a ninja like you, Kakashi-senpai, who has a Sharingan and can easily break genjutsu. That would put me at a serious disadvantage."
"So I hope you can teach me one defensive jutsu and one offensive jutsu."
"For defense, I'll choose the B-rank Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall. And for offense, I think your Chidori would be great."
"You sure have a big appetite. Looks like Kurenai has told you plenty about me." Kakashi's mouth twitched. "The Earth-Style Wall is no problem, but I'm afraid the Chidori is out of the question."
"It's not that I doubt your talent. The Chidori has a fatal flaw: you have to move at high speed when you attack, and you might not see your opponent clearly enough to avoid a counterattack. It needs the Sharingan to work at its best. I can't teach it to you."
"Don't worry, senpai. My dynamic vision is naturally exceptional, so that won't be a problem for me. Besides, I don't plan to use it for a frontal attack. I'll pair it with genjutsu to make up for my lack of offensive power," Chiya said calmly.
"I see." Kakashi understood. "In that case, let's get started. Just so you know, Lord Hokage only approved one day for this. No—strictly speaking, we only have half a day left."
He raised his right hand to shade his forehead and looked up at the blazing sun, then added, "That means I only have half a day to teach you. How much you learn is up to you."
"That's fine. Let's get started," Chiya said.
For someone who had already maxed out the nature transformations for earth and lightning chakra, mastering these two jutsu wouldn't be difficult.
Half an hour later, Kakashi stared at the massive earthen wall behind Chiya, complete with Kakashi's signature dog-head carving. Then he looked at the blade-like current of high-voltage electricity in Chiya's hand, and began to question his own existence.
"You learned a B-rank Earth Style jutsu and an A-rank Lightning Release jutsu in less than half an hour?" Kakashi's mouth twitched. "I mean, are you a monster? If your eyes looked normal, I'd suspect you'd had a Sharingan transplanted."
"Haha. You're too funny, senpai. I wouldn't dare do that, and I'm not perverse enough to gouge out my own eye just to transplant a Sharingan. Of course, I'm not talking about you. After all, it was a gift from your dear friend," Chiya said with an awkward laugh.
Before you continue