Taiichi, Kakashi, and Guy Spar (Please Bookmark and Follow)

After returning home, Taiichi tidied himself up a little before heading out to the Training Ground. To his surprise, he found Might Guy and Kakashi sparring there.

Kakashi's father was Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha. Although Guy's father was only a Genin, he was a top-tier Genin capable of opening the Eight Gates and taking down the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Both of them had received guidance from their fathers.

It showed in their exchange. Their movements were orderly and disciplined. Unlike Taiichi, who was a complete rookie with no fighting experience at all.

Watching the two trade moves and switch between attack and defense, Taiichi began imagining how he would respond if he were in their place.

At that moment, the two sparring boys noticed Taiichi beside them. After clashing once, they used the force to leap back.

"Taiichi, you're a little late today! Kakashi and I got here early in the morning! Youth cannot be this lazy!" Guy flashed his dazzling white teeth and exaggeratedly declared.

"I had something to do at the Orphanage this morning." Taiichi did not elaborate. "By the way, when did you two get so close? You're already practicing together."

"Haha, Kakashi is my lifelong rival! We met before school started." He then turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, this is Taiichi Matsushita, also my best friend!"

"Idiot. We're classmates. Do you need to introduce him?" Ignoring Guy's embarrassed foolish grin, Kakashi invited Taiichi. "Taiichi, let's have a spar!"

Oh? Why was Kakashi so competitive at this stage? Still, Taiichi would not refuse. This was exactly the experience he currently lacked.

"No problem. But I haven't sparred before, so don't be disappointed."

With that, the two walked to the center of the field, formed the Seal of Confrontation, and began fighting.

Kakashi lowered his center of gravity, his movements as fluid as a cheetah's. He dashed forward and swept his left leg toward Taiichi's lower body. Taiichi hurriedly leaped back to avoid it, but Kakashi switched moves with astonishing speed. Planting both hands on the ground, he sprang up and followed with a high kick aimed at Taiichi's chest. With nowhere to brace himself in midair, Taiichi could only cross his arms over his chest to block. Kakashi's kick sent him crashing solidly to the ground.

Taiichi did not hesitate after hitting the ground. He rolled backward to disperse the impact and used the motion to get back on his feet. The moment he steadied himself, he charged forward, throwing a rapid barrage of straight punches. His punches were even slightly faster than Kakashi's.

The fierce assault caught Kakashi off guard for a moment, but he quickly regained control. Seizing an opening, he whipped a kick toward Taiichi's waist. Taiichi blocked with his arm, but Kakashi used the force to spin and drove an elbow forward, knocking Taiichi back several steps.

The two exchanged blows evenly, but Kakashi still held the upper hand overall. Taiichi ultimately lacked experience, and many of his responses were poorly handled. Only occasionally could he use an unexpected move to pull back some ground.

After more than a dozen exchanges, Kakashi finally knocked Taiichi to the ground with a flying kick. Taiichi did not get back up.

Taiichi lay on the ground, gasping for breath as sweat slid down his cheeks. Kakashi withdrew his offensive stance, walked over, and offered a hand to pull up Taiichi, who had already sat up.

"You're impressive, Taiichi. I can tell you rarely spar, but it's rare to perform this well." As he spoke, Kakashi recalled his father's earlier assessment of Taiichi and Guy, and agreed with it even more.

Guy, who had been watching from the side, ran over as well. He gave a thumbs-up from afar. "Taiichi, I never expected you to be this strong. The hot blood of my youth is burning!"

"Come on, Taiichi, let's have an exhilarating duel too!" Guy excitedly said, already assuming his opening stance.

"Sure!" Taiichi was not intimidated. After resting for a while, he had recovered his strength. He stood up and took his own stance.

Watching the fighting spirit between the two, Kakashi stepped aside to observe.

Once Guy saw that Taiichi was ready, he charged in without hesitation. Compared to Kakashi's focus on technique, Guy's attacks were powerful and heavy. Every punch and every kick made Taiichi's blocks extremely difficult.

Gradually, Taiichi found the trick. He stopped meeting Guy's moves head-on and instead used binding and deflecting techniques to dissolve Guy's attacks. Whenever he found an opportunity, he launched a fierce counterattack, occasionally leaving Guy scrambling as well.

Kakashi, watching from the side, could see it even more clearly. Taiichi's technique had improved tremendously. In just two sparring matches, while he had not become a completely different person, he had clearly risen to a different level.

During Taiichi's duel with Guy, Kakashi could even see traces of himself in Taiichi's movements. Such inhuman growth speed was unbelievable.

Taiichi's rapid improvement was not surprising. His Lv6 Basic Taijutsu was no weaker than that of an ordinary Genin. What he lacked was simply combat experience to bring out the full potential of his Lv6 foundation.

As the two continued clashing, Taiichi's stamina gradually began to fail. His movements started to lose form, and blocking and parrying became increasingly difficult. In the end, his delayed response left him a step too slow to defend, and Guy's punch struck his chest, knocking him down.

The battle ended with both of them panting heavily. Taiichi's stubborn resilience had forced Guy to expend considerable energy before winning.

"Taiichi, whew..." Guy panted. "As expected of my best friend, whew... Your improvement is so great, whew..." Even while gasping, he did not forget to show off his dazzling white teeth.

Meanwhile, Taiichi was staring at the panel in his mind.

[You conducted Taijutsu sparring. Relevant insights increased.]

[Your skill Basic Taijutsu has improved. Experience +2.]

[You focused on ninja combat training. Genin profession experience +2.]

...

Seeing the greater amount of experience than usual, Taiichi realized that the path of "leveling up by fighting monsters" really suited him better. The experience gained from just two sparring matches exceeded what he usually gained from two hours of training.

Kakashi came over and helped Taiichi, who was still lying on the ground, to his feet. The three sat beneath the shade of a tree to rest for a while and discuss what they had learned from the fight. Once their stamina had recovered, they resumed their individual training, occasionally sparring again to reinforce their earlier gains.

The cherry blossoms beside the Training Ground swayed gently in the breeze, their petals drifting between the three boys. The sun slowly sank westward, its setting glow falling over them and stretching their shadows long, bearing witness to their friendship as well.

That evening, Taiichi dragged his exhausted body home, made something simple to eat, and headed into the study.

Thinking over everything he had gained that day, the matter of making money had finally been settled. All that remained was to wait for Tsunade's reply. If things went quickly, there would probably be an answer tomorrow.

Then there was the sparring with Guy and Kakashi that afternoon, which had revealed another way for Taiichi to gain experience. Everything was developing in a good direction.

Name: Taiichi Matsushita

Profession: Genin Lv2 (127/200)

Talent: Diligence Makes Up for Mediocrity, Academic Overachiever

Age: 6

Constitution: 10

Strength: 11

Agility: 10

Spirit: 18

Chakra: 657 (4200)

Attribute Points: 5

Skill Points: 5

Skills: Basic Taijutsu Lv6 (324/1000), Basic Meditation Lv6 (815/1000), Chakra Refinement Technique Lv2 (15/200), Ninja Tool Throwing Lv1 (94/100)

Evaluation: A champion among nobodies. Looking forward to seeing you go further.

Looking at his panel, compared to before school started, he had not only gained two more skills, but his experience and level had also risen considerably. There was just one shortcoming—he did not know a single ninjutsu.

Lowering his head to look at the scroll on the table, Taiichi now had chakra. It was time to put ninjutsu training on the agenda.

At the same time, on the other side of Konoha, inside an izakaya.

Tsunade was already dead drunk, sprawled across the table and sleeping soundly. She had completely forgotten about what happened during the day.

Across from her, Jiraiya and Orochimaru exchanged helpless looks with wry smiles. Tsunade had originally dragged them out for drinks, but judging by the situation now, not only had they gotten no drinks, they also had to deal with the mess left behind by a drunk.