Kakashi's Shock

"I know." Chiya sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked Yuhi Kurenai's face. He knew that after today, if he didn't make things clear, he might never have another chance. He then straightened his expression and said, "Kurenai, are you willing to wait for me to grow up?"

"What do you mean by that?" A rosy flush spread across Yuhi Kurenai's cheeks; while she felt happy, a faint sense of unease also stirred within her heart.

"Exactly what it sounds like: a confession." Chiya smiled slightly.

"Con-confession?" Yuhi Kurenai was stunned. Joy, hesitation, agitation, excitement, and worry—all sorts of emotions flashed through her eyes until her mind went completely blank.

"Yes, a confession." Chiya nodded.

"Are you serious? I'm seven or eight years older than you. Besides, I don't have the best temper, I have a pile of bad habits, and I like to drink at night." She blurted out all her flaws in one go.

"They say a woman three years older is like holding a golden brick." Chiya chuckled. "As for the rest, I don't consider them flaws. After all, no one is perfect, and I have my own shortcomings as well."

Yuhi Kurenai was taken aback. "What flaws do you have?"

Young, handsome, gifted, and powerful—aside from when he faced Sarutobi Hiruzen, he was almost always unflappable.

He was calm and composed, yet not rigid, and he managed to tease her mercilessly every single time.

He was like a veteran of the romantic game.

If one had to name a flaw, there was indeed one: he was a flirt.

It seemed that while this kid liked her, he was also entangled with that young girl from the Uchiha Clan.

"It seems you already know." The smile on Chiya's face faded. Before Yuhi Kurenai could react, he pulled her into his arms and said softly, "For a long time to come, we might be separated, or I might take the initiative to distance myself from you. I might even make you feel like a stranger."

"But please believe that no matter what happens, I will always be the 'me' you know."

Ten years from now, the Fourth Shinobi World War would begin.

By then, everything would be settled.

The next day.

Chiya sheepishly arrived at the meeting spot he had agreed upon with Kakashi: a secluded mountaintop outside Konoha.

It was nearing noon, and the sun was blazing like fire.

Kakashi seemed to have arrived early to wait, and by now, he looked nearly exhausted from the heat.

"You're late, junior." This was the first thing Kakashi said upon seeing Chiya.

"Sorry, Kakashi-senpai, I lost my way on the path of life today." Chiya used the same excuse the original Kakashi had used to brush off Naruto's Team 7, casually tossing him a bottle of ice water.

Kakashi caught the water, giving him a look that said he didn't believe a word of it, then turned away, pulled down his mask, and downed the water in one go.

"How about this? As compensation, I'll treat you to lunch later, and you can pick the place." Chiya continued.

"Then I won't be polite." Kakashi said with his back to Chiya. "The Hokage asked me to teach you a few ninjutsu suitable for you. Have you tested your chakra nature?"

"Lightning and Earth." Chiya concealed his Fire, Water, Yin, and Yang affinities.

The Yin and Yang attributes were already beyond the understanding of ordinary ninjas, so it was better not to mention them.

As for Fire-style ninjutsu, he had already mastered the Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Technique, and Great Dragon Fire Technique; Kakashi had nothing left to teach him there.

As for Earth-style, he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to, having already used the Headhunter Jutsu.

As for Water-style, Kakashi didn't have anything particularly impressive, and in the future, he could simply copy it from others using Shisui's right eye.

As for the Lightning attribute, it was purely because he wanted to learn Kakashi's Chidori.

He couldn't reveal four chakra attributes all at once, especially not with their nature transformations pushed to the limit.

Otherwise, that old fox Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

"Born with two attributes? Not only are you skilled in genjutsu, but you also possess Lightning, which is second only to Wind in rarity. It seems you really are a genius." Kakashi pulled his mask back up and turned around. "So, have you decided what type of ninjutsu you want to learn?"

Chiya feigned thought for a moment before saying, "I specialize in genjutsu. Although I usually gain a huge advantage in battle, it becomes ineffective once I encounter a ninja like you, Kakashi-senpai, who possesses a Sharingan and can easily break through genjutsu. In that case, I would be in a very passive position."

"Therefore, I hope Kakashi-senpai can teach me one defensive ninjutsu and one offensive ninjutsu."

"For the defensive one, I'll choose the B-rank Earth Style: Earth Wall. As for the offensive one, I think your Chidori is quite good."

"Your appetite is certainly not small. It seems Kurenai hasn't kept much from you regarding me." Kakashi's mouth twitched violently. "Earth Wall is fine, but the Chidori is probably out of the question."

"I'm not questioning your talent, but the Chidori has a fatal flaw: it requires high-speed movement during the attack. You might fail to see a counterattack from your opponent, so it requires the Sharingan to be used effectively. I can't teach you that."

"You don't have to worry about that, Senpai. My dynamic vision is naturally superior to others, so that's not an issue for me. Furthermore, I don't intend to use it for a frontal assault, but rather to supplement my genjutsu and make up for my lack of raw attack power." Chiya said calmly.

"I see..." Kakashi realized. "In that case, let's begin. But I must warn you, the Hokage only approved us for one day. No, strictly speaking, we only have half a day left."

As he said this, he shielded his forehead with his right hand, looked up at the sun burning like a fireball, and added, "Which means I only have half a day to teach you. As for how much you can learn, that's up to you."

"That's fine, let's start." Chiya said.

For someone like him, whose Earth and Lightning nature transformations were already maxed out, mastering these two ninjutsu was not difficult.

Half an hour later, Kakashi looked at the massive earthen wall behind Chiya—which even had a carving of his signature dog mask on it—and then at the high-intensity current crackling like a blade in Chiya's hand. He instantly began to question his life.

"You learned a B-rank Earth-style ninjutsu and an A-rank Lightning-style ninjutsu in less than half an hour..." Kakashi's mouth twitched. "Tell me, are you a monster? If your eyes weren't normal, I'd suspect you had a Sharingan transplanted."

"Haha, Senpai, you're joking. I don't have the guts for that, nor do I have the twisted hobby of digging out my own eyes to transplant a Sharingan. Of course, I'm not talking about you; after all, that was a gift from your best friend." Chiya said with a sheepish smile.