The Great Victim, 50/50

Ito Makoto felt quite uneasy after rejecting Might Guy. After all, the man had kindly come to teach him ninjutsu, yet he had been picky about the man's ninja beast; anyone would likely feel uncomfortable in such a situation.

"So that's how it is," Might Guy said, not minding at all. "No worries, no worries! Having your own preferences for ninja beasts is the very embodiment of youth!"

"However, if you don't have a ninja beast, there's no way for you to learn the Summoning Jutsu." At this point, Might Guy looked troubled, as he wasn't sure how one could learn the Summoning Jutsu without a ninja beast.

"That won't be a problem; I have already learned the Summoning Jutsu," Ito Makoto said.

With that, he formed the hand seals—Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram—and slammed his right hand onto the ground.

"Wait, if you use the Summoning Jutsu without a summoning animal, your body will be transported to an unknown location!" Might Guy hurriedly tried to stop him.

However, nothing happened when his hand hit the ground.

"Guy-sensei, don't worry, I didn't use any chakra," Ito Makoto said.

In the original story, Jiraiya used the Summoning Jutsu without a summoning animal and was transported directly to Mount Myoboku. Ito Makoto didn't consider himself the protagonist of a novel; if he imitated Jiraiya, he might end up on a cliffside and be smashed to pieces. Without absolute certainty, he wouldn't use ninjutsu recklessly.

Might Guy let out a long sigh of relief.

"But just learning the hand seals without understanding the corresponding chakra flow doesn't mean you've mastered the jutsu."

Might Guy hesitated. He had come specifically to help Doctor Ito and teach her son ninjutsu; if the boy couldn't learn it, wouldn't that be a failure of his youthful instruction?

"It's fine, I have completely mastered this ninjutsu, including the chakra circulation path."

Ito Makoto spoke with conviction. He had specifically prepared sunglasses earlier to hide the presence of his Sharingan, precisely so he could use it to observe the chakra flow and copy the ninjutsu.

With the help of the Sharingan, even if he couldn't learn it in one go, the copying ability of the Sharingan would help him master it.

"Let's learn the Reverse Summoning Jutsu next."

According to Ito Makoto's own understanding, the Summoning Jutsu was a technique to summon a ninja beast to one's side, while the Reverse Summoning Jutsu was a technique to transport oneself to the side of a ninja beast. Only by mastering the Reverse Summoning Jutsu could one truly claim to have mastered this heaven-defying space-time escape technique.

Believing he understood the mechanics of the ninjutsu, he naturally didn't bother asking about its functions. Meanwhile, the absent-minded Might Guy didn't know how to teach the technique either.

An interesting misunderstanding occurred between the two.

Upon hearing Ito Makoto's request, Might Guy's face suddenly turned red, and he became incredibly shy.

Ito Makoto had a bad feeling about this.

"Xiao Cheng, actually, I have only mastered the Summoning Jutsu so far; I haven't mastered the Reverse Summoning Jutsu yet," Might Guy stammered, acting coy like a shy little girl. For a muscular man to make such gestures was truly an eyesore.

"Doctor Ito only told me you wanted to learn the Summoning Jutsu; she didn't mention the Reverse Summoning Jutsu. So, I wasn't prepared."

"But don't worry, I've already thought of a good solution; we can definitely solve this problem!" Might Guy said, patting his chest passionately. "Although I don't know the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, my good friend is a master of this art. I specifically asked him for help earlier, and with his assistance, we will definitely be able to teach you the Reverse Summoning Jutsu."

A friend? Given Might Guy's personality, who else could his friend be?

Sure enough, Might Guy was gone for only five minutes before returning with a familiar pair of dead fish eyes.

Silver hair, a black mask, a black tight-fitting combat suit, and a green jonin flak jacket worn over it. Combined with those familiar dead fish eyes, he was the genius ninja of Konoha and Might Guy's long-suffering friend—Kakashi Hatake.

"Hey, hey, hey... I was just about to go to the bookstore to buy the latest volume of Icha Icha Paradise! Why did you drag me here?"

Kakashi Hatake's tone was flat, revealing neither anger nor joy, his dead fish eyes fixed on Guy.

"Kakashi, how can the passionate fire of youth be wasted on something as boring as reading books?" Might Guy exclaimed passionately.

"So? The 'meaningful thing' you mentioned is to teach this little guy the Reverse Summoning Jutsu?"

Kakashi turned his head and pointed at Ito Makoto.

"That's right, Kakashi! This child is a genius no less than you. When he grows up, he will surely be an important rival for both you and me. Isn't personally cultivating a rival a heart-pounding, passionate endeavor?"

Sigh—Kakashi let out a long sigh, one that contained far too much helplessness.

Ito Makoto felt as if he were looking at those poor souls from his past life who, without knowing any better, had been signed up for obstacle course shows by their "friends."

But how did Might Guy manage to find Kakashi in just five minutes and drag him here without him knowing? Could it be that he really possessed some sort of "Kakashi radar"?

Seeing that the matter was settled, Kakashi stopped struggling. He turned around, stared at Ito Makoto for a while, and said to him, "Although I don't know why you want to learn a technique like the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, I will explain the tricks of the Summoning Jutsu and the Reverse Summoning Jutsu as thoroughly as possible. If there is anything you don't understand, bring it up. I will answer your questions."

Ito Makoto nodded. Although he was a bit reluctant, he was glad that someone was willing to teach him.

The Reverse Summoning Jutsu was a heaven-defying escape technique that he certainly had to learn, but Kakashi was a genius ninja—how could he fail to see the utility of such a technique?

Ito Makoto was a bit puzzled, but he didn't bring it up.

However, Kakashi was indeed different from Might Guy. Kakashi explained the use of the Summoning Jutsu in detail, covering every nuance and trick, and clearly laid out the chakra circulation paths.

After explaining both the Summoning Jutsu and the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, Kakashi, fearing that Ito Makoto might not understand, specifically demonstrated both techniques several times.

Every execution of the ninjutsu was flawless. Through Ito Makoto's Sharingan, it seemed as if Kakashi could multitask; while carefully explaining the principles and tricks of the ninjutsu, he was simultaneously synthesizing large amounts of stable chakra, circulating it through his meridians, and continuously casting one jutsu after another.

His chakra usage was also incredibly precise; often, the exact amount of chakra required for the jutsu was synthesized and ready to be used just before the technique was cast. This fluid synthesis of chakra resulted in absolutely zero waste. It was like art.

Chakra production, chakra circulation, and ninjutsu activation—the steps were like the interlocking gears of a machine, one following the other. There wasn't the slightest margin of error.

Is this the genius ninja—Kakashi Hatake? Ito Makoto thought to himself. These characters from the original story, even without their "cheat" abilities, were not simple figures.

Take Kakashi, for example: if he lost his Sharingan, although his upper limit would decrease, he would still maintain powerful combat capabilities thanks to his immense ninjutsu prowess and excellent tactical planning.

"Even without a ninja beast, with this theory, you can try to use the ninjutsu now. Just stop before the final moment. I will correct your mistakes."

Kakashi pulled down his mask, revealing a blood-red eye.

"With the Sharingan, I can observe the chakra flow within your body."

Ito Makoto nodded. He also possessed the Sharingan, so he was naturally clear on its various abilities.

As for the internal chakra circulation, the hand seals for the Reverse Summoning Jutsu were almost identical to those of the Summoning Jutsu; only the direction of the chakra flow was reversed. Having mastered the Summoning Jutsu, there was no issue at all with the Reverse Summoning Jutsu.

Sure enough, the chakra flowed logically through Ito Makoto's body, eventually forming the ninjutsu, which he halted at the very last moment before activation.

"Not bad. Judging by the state of your chakra, you have completely mastered this ninjutsu," Kakashi said calmly.

Might Guy was right; this child was indeed a genius no less than himself. To be able to master a C-rank ninjutsu like the Reverse Summoning Jutsu on the first try at the age of three—his talent might even surpass his own. But why had he never heard of him before?

"How about it, Kakashi? This kid is a genius, just as I said. In the future, he will definitely grow into an important rival for us. This is the intuition of the Blue Beast." Might Guy draped his arm over Kakashi's shoulder and laughed heartily.

"You flatter me, Might Guy-sensei. I am just relatively skilled at this type of ninjutsu. Everyone has ninjutsu they excel at."

Ito Makoto explained; he did not want to enter Kakashi's field of vision. Once he was dragged into the sight of the Third Hokage, the incident involving the Uchiha Clan might face further complications.

Kakashi nodded in understanding. There were indeed people in the ninja world who excelled at one or two specific ninjutsu. For instance, the Genma Squad, as the guards of the Fourth Hokage, had mastered the Flying Thunder God. And he, Kakashi, despite his reputation as a genius, had never been able to grasp even the basics of the Flying Thunder God.

"Although you have mastered the Summoning Jutsu, without your own summoning animal, the technique is useless." Kakashi took out a notebook, tore off a piece of paper, wrote down an address, and handed it to Ito Makoto.

"My summoning animals are family heirlooms and cannot be contracted by you. This paper contains the address of the Ninja Beast Market in Konoha; you can go there to purchase a suitable summoning animal."

Ito Makoto accepted the note and thanked him. As an unrelated party, Kakashi had already done more than enough.

"Kakashi, the task of teaching the seed of youth is complete. Now it is time for me to challenge you!" Might Guy's blood surged with passion as he grabbed Kakashi, preparing to initiate a spar.

"Hey, hey, hey, are you ever going to stop? I still have to go buy books!" Kakashi sighed helplessly and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

Might Guy followed closely behind.

Although Kakashi's expression revealed helplessness, looking at his actual performance, it was hard to tell whether he was enjoying it or trying to escape.

"Thank you very much, Might Guy-sensei, Kakashi-sensei!" Ito Makoto quickly shouted his thanks.

In the distance, only the figures of Might Guy and Kakashi remained, one chasing and one fleeing.