Ito Makoto felt uneasy after turning down Might Guy. The man had come out of the goodness of his heart to teach him ninjutsu, yet Makoto had nitpicked his Summoning Beast. Anyone would have felt uncomfortable in that situation.
"I see," Might Guy said, completely unfazed. "It's fine, it's fine! Having your own preferences when it comes to Summoning Beasts is the very essence of youth!"
"But without a Summoning Beast, there's no way for you to learn the Summoning Technique." Might Guy looked troubled. He wasn't sure how to teach the Summoning Technique to someone without a Summoning Beast.
"That won't be a problem. I've already learned the Summoning Technique," Ito Makoto said.
Then he formed the Hand Seals—亥-戌-酉-申-未—and slapped his right hand on the ground.
"Wait! If you use the Summoning Jutsu without a Summoning Beast, your body could be transported somewhere unknown!" Might Guy hurriedly tried to stop him.
But when Makoto's hand hit the ground, nothing happened.
"Teacher Guy, don't worry. I didn't use any chakra," Ito Makoto said.
In the original story, Jiraiya had used the Summoning Jutsu without a Summoning Beast, and his body had been transported straight to Mount Myoboku. Ito Makoto didn't consider himself the protagonist of some novel. If he imitated Jiraiya, he might end up on a sheer cliff and be smashed to pieces. Without complete confidence, he wasn't about to use a jutsu recklessly.
Might Guy let out a long sigh of relief.
"But just knowing the Hand Seals isn't enough. If you don't understand the corresponding chakra flow, you can't be sure you've mastered the jutsu."
Might Guy hesitated. He'd come especially to help Dr. Ito by teaching her son ninjutsu. If the boy couldn't learn, wouldn't that make his youthful teaching a failure?
"No problem. I've completely mastered this jutsu, including the chakra flow."
Ito Makoto spoke with absolute confidence. He'd prepared sunglasses beforehand to conceal his Sharingan, planning to use it to observe the chakra flow and copy the jutsu.
With the Sharingan's help, even if he couldn't learn it in one go, its copying ability would help him master it.
"Next, let's learn the Reverse Summoning Jutsu."
As Ito Makoto understood it, the Summoning Jutsu brought a Summoning Beast to you, while the Reverse Summoning Jutsu transported you to a Summoning Beast. Only by mastering the Reverse Summoning Jutsu could he be said to have fully learned this heaven-defying space-time escape technique.
Confident in his understanding of what the jutsu could do, he saw no need to ask about its function. Meanwhile, Might Guy, whose brain had gone offline, had no idea how to teach ninjutsu.
And so, the two of them fell into an amusing misunderstanding.
When he heard Ito Makoto's request, Might Guy's face suddenly turned red, and he became terribly bashful.
Ito Makoto had a bad feeling.
"Xiao Cheng, the truth is, I've only mastered the Summoning Technique. I haven't mastered the Reverse Summoning Jutsu yet." Might Guy stammered, fidgeting like a shy little girl. But seeing a musclebound man behave that way was painful to watch.
"Dr. Ito only told me you wanted to learn the Summoning Technique. She didn't mention the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, so I wasn't prepared."
"But don't worry! I've thought of a good solution. We can definitely sort this out!" Might Guy thumped his chest with fiery enthusiasm. "I may not know the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, but my good friend is an expert in it. I asked him for help in advance, and with him here, I'm sure you'll be able to learn the Reverse Summoning Jutsu."
A good friend? Who else could Might Guy's good friend be?
Sure enough, Might Guy was gone for just five minutes before returning with a familiar pair of dead-fish eyes.
Silver hair, a black mask, a tight black combat outfit, and a green Jonin flak jacket. Add those familiar dead-fish eyes, and there was no mistaking him: Konoha's genius ninja, Might Guy's hapless friend, Kakashi Hatake.
"Hey, hey—don't I have to go to the bookstore to buy the latest Icha Icha Paradise? Why'd you drag me here?"
Kakashi spoke in an even tone, giving no hint of his mood. He fixed Might Guy with his half-lidded eyes.
"How can you waste your hot-blooded youth on something as boring as reading?" Might Guy cried passionately.
"And? This meaningful activity you mentioned is teaching this little guy the Reverse Summoning Jutsu?"
Kakashi turned and pointed at Ito Makoto.
"That's right, Kakashi! This child is every bit as talented as you. When he grows up, he'll surely become an important rival to us. Isn't personally nurturing your rival a thrilling, hot-blooded experience?"
Sigh—Kakashi let out a long sigh, full of helplessness.
Ito Makoto could almost see those hapless friends from his previous life who'd been signed up by their clueless buddies for a couples' game show without their knowledge.
But how had Might Guy found Kakashi in only five minutes and dragged him here without telling him what was going on? Did he really have some sort of Kakashi radar?
With the matter settled, Kakashi stopped resisting. He turned around, studied Ito Makoto for a while, then said, "I don't know why you want to learn a jutsu like the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, but I'll explain the principles and techniques behind the Summoning Technique and Reverse Summoning Jutsu as thoroughly as I can. If anything's unclear, ask me. I'll answer your questions."
Ito Makoto nodded. He wasn't entirely pleased, but as long as Kakashi was willing to teach him, that was good enough.
The Reverse Summoning Jutsu was a heaven-defying escape technique, so of course he wanted to learn it. But Kakashi was a genius ninja. How could he not see what a useful jutsu it was?
Ito Makoto was puzzled, but he didn't say anything.
Kakashi was indeed different from Might Guy. He thoroughly explained how to use the Summoning Technique, covering every detail and trick, and laid out the chakra flow clearly.
After explaining both the Summoning Technique and the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, Kakashi worried Ito Makoto might not understand, so he demonstrated each jutsu several times.
He performed them smoothly every time. Through Ito Makoto's Sharingan, Kakashi seemed capable of concentrating on two things at once. He patiently explained the jutsu's principles and techniques while steadily molding large amounts of chakra, circulating it through his network of pathways, and performing one jutsu after another.
His chakra usage was precise to the last detail. Before he performed a jutsu, he would have molded exactly the amount of chakra it required, no more and no less, ready to use. That smooth chakra molding wasted nothing. It was practically an art.
Chakra molding, chakra circulation, jutsu activation—the steps meshed together like the gears of a machine, each one fitting tightly into the next. Not a single mistake.
So this was the genius ninja, Kakashi Hatake? Ito Makoto mused. The characters from the original story were no ordinary people, even without all those cheat abilities.
Take Kakashi, for instance. Without the Sharingan, his potential might be lower, but with his powerful ninjutsu and excellent tactical skills, he could still remain a formidable fighter.
"Even without a Summoning Beast, you've got enough theory now to try the jutsu. Just stop before the final moment. I'll correct any mistakes."
Kakashi pulled down his mask, revealing a blood-red eye.
"With the Sharingan, I'll be able to observe the chakra flowing through your body."
Ito Makoto nodded. He had the Sharingan too, so he already knew its various abilities.
The chakra flow through his body and the Hand Seals for the Reverse Summoning Jutsu were almost identical to those of the Summoning Technique; only the chakra's direction was reversed. Since he'd mastered the Summoning Technique, the Reverse Summoning Jutsu posed no problem.
Sure enough, chakra flowed naturally through Ito Makoto's body, eventually forming the jutsu. He stopped it himself at the last moment before activation.
"Not bad. Judging by your chakra, you've completely mastered this jutsu," Kakashi said calmly.
Might Guy was right. This child truly was every bit as talented as Kakashi. To master a C-rank jutsu like the Reverse Summoning Jutsu in a single try at the age of three—perhaps his talent surpassed Kakashi's. But why had Kakashi never heard of him before?
"What do you think, Kakashi? This kid really is a genius, isn't he? He'll definitely grow into an important rival of ours. That's the intuition of the Blue Beast!" Might Guy slung an arm around Kakashi's shoulders and laughed.
"You flatter me, Teacher Guy. I'm just better at this kind of jutsu. Everyone has jutsu they're good at."
Ito Makoto explained. He didn't want to attract Kakashi's attention. If he ended up on the Third Hokage's radar, the Uchiha Clan incident might take an unexpected turn.
Kakashi nodded in understanding. There really were people in the Ninja World who specialized in one or two jutsu. Take Genma Squad, for example. As the Fourth Hokage's guards, they had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. Meanwhile, Kakashi, despite his reputation as a genius, couldn't even grasp the basics of it.
"Even though you've mastered the Summoning Technique, without your own Summoning Beast, it's useless." Kakashi took out a notebook, tore off a sheet, wrote down an address, and handed it to Ito Makoto.
"My Summoning Beasts are family heirlooms, so I can't let you make a contract with them. This is the address of the Ninja Beast Market in Konoha. You can go there and buy a suitable Summoning Beast."
Ito Makoto accepted the note and thanked him. As someone who had no obligation to help, Kakashi had already done more than enough.
"Kakashi, my mission of guiding the seed of youth is complete. Now it's time for me to challenge you!" Might Guy's blood was up. He grabbed Kakashi, ready to start a match.
"Hey, hey, when will this end? I still have to buy my book!" Kakashi said helplessly, using the Body Flicker Technique to leave.
Might Guy immediately chased after him.
Although Kakashi looked helpless, judging by what he actually did, it was hard to tell whether he was enjoying himself or trying to escape.
"Thank you so much, Teacher Guy, Teacher Kakashi!" Ito Makoto hurriedly shouted after them.
In the distance, only the figures of Might Guy chasing Kakashi remained.
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