Can He Win? He Can.

"Ha! Kakashi, I found you~!!!"

"What!"

"Eat up, kid!!"

"Huh?" Naruto watched as Kakashi hurriedly scooped the centipede meat frying in the oil and dropped it into the little pots in front of them.

"You hid away to eat without me, Kakashi! What happened to our friendship!!!"

Might Guy stood on a rock, pointing at Kakashi as he shouted.

Kakashi ignored Might Guy and busied himself urging Naruto to finish eating.

Wincing at the heat, Naruto swallowed all the fried centipede meat, and Kakashi polished off his portion too.

"Finished, Guy." Kakashi showed Might Guy the empty pot.

"What! I thought you'd leave me some!!"

"I'd never let you have any, Guy."

"Fine, let's settle this with a showdown!!"

Might Guy charged over.

"Wait!!"

Kakashi raised a hand to stop Might Guy.

"We just ate. It's not a good time for strenuous exercise."

"Let's call off today's contest," Kakashi said.

"No! I refuse!"

"Hmm..." Kakashi rubbed his chin, then looked at Naruto Uzumaki.

"All right. How about this, Guy: let your student compete against mine."

"What?" Might Guy thought he'd misheard.

"Hey, Kakashi, no one in your team has ever passed. As the team's Jonin instructor, you still don't have a single student!"

"I do now." As he spoke, Kakashi glanced at Naruto Uzumaki.

"How about we each teach our students a new technique, then have them face off?" Kakashi looked at Might Guy.

"Him?"

"Hmm... all right, let's do it! What a challenge!"

"My students only graduated from the Ninja Academy this year. I feel like I'd be picking on him."

Might Guy crouched down and met Naruto's gaze.

"Hey, what are you two going to do to me?" Naruto nervously glanced between Kakashi and Might Guy.

"Next, I'll teach you a few things so you can beat Guy's student," Kakashi told Naruto.

"Me? Can I really do it?"

"You probably don't know this, but I'm the dead last in my class."

Naruto really didn't want to admit he was a dead last, but this man had just treated him to some delicious centipede meat. He was a good person, and Naruto didn't want him to lose.

"That's okay."

"The result doesn't matter. What matters is the process of competing," Kakashi said.

"Exactly! That's youth!!" Might Guy smiled at Naruto, his gleaming white teeth flashing.

"..." Naruto was completely stunned.

"When?" Might Guy asked.

"One day isn't really enough," Might Guy said to Kakashi.

"One week."

"Let's meet here and compete in a week," Kakashi replied.

"Good, it's settled. Just you wait, Kakashi!"

Might Guy leaped powerfully into the air, vanishing from Naruto and Kakashi Hatake's sight in a pose like a great peng spreading its wings.

"Finally, some peace and quiet," Kakashi said.

"Ah, ah, yeah."

"Don't mind him. We compete all the time, and the contests are usually a little strange," Kakashi explained to Naruto.

"Then, then what are you going to teach me?"

Naruto's eyes wandered, then he suddenly realized he'd come out way ahead!

Wasn't being taught by a Jonin better than going to the Ninja Academy?!

His opponent in a week was a Genin who'd graduated from the Ninja Academy. If Naruto beat him, he could go back to school and utterly surpass that cocky Sasuke Uchiha!!

Just thinking about it made him excited!!

He was happy!

Whenever Naruto got happy, his eyes narrowed into slits, making him look just like a little fox.

"Hmm, first, go into the woods and find a sturdy stick that feels right in your hands."

"Huh?"

"I'll find one too."

"Once we have our sticks, we'll start practicing," Kakashi said.

"Yeah~!"

Naruto happily planned to skip class for a whole week.

"What I'm going to teach you is a staff technique."

"It's called the Dog Beating Technique," Kakashi said.

"The Dog Beating Technique?" Naruto swung his stick a couple of times. "If I use this technique to hit someone, does that make them all dogs?"

"Just don't tell them you're using the Dog Beating Technique," Kakashi said, looking at Naruto.

"Mm-hmm."

Hearing the name of the staff technique he was going to learn made Naruto even more eager to study. He could hardly wait to master it and go beat Sasuke.

"Watch carefully. I'll demonstrate."

Kakashi held the stick and demonstrated the technique in front of Naruto. Naruto watched with great concentration.

"Understand it?" After demonstrating it once, Kakashi turned and asked Naruto.

"Huh? That's it?"

"Can you do it one more time?" Naruto asked.

"Sure, I'll do it again."

After that, Kakashi demonstrated it ten times right in front of Naruto.

"Show me," Kakashi said.

"I... think it goes like this?"

"..."

Disappointing.

Kakashi was very disappointed in Naruto.

Kakashi had picked up the moves after seeing them once, but even after demonstrating them ten times for Naruto, the kid still hadn't understood.

What a fool, just like Obito.

"I'll teach you hands-on."

Kakashi moved beside Naruto and adjusted his posture, carefully breaking the Dog Beating Technique down into individual moves to make them easier for Naruto to memorize and practice.

Kakashi kept teaching until the sun went down. By then, Naruto had basically mastered the moves.

"All right, that's enough for today."

"I'm heading back. You should go home too," Kakashi said.

"Okay."

As soon as Naruto finished speaking, Kakashi vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

"Thank you..." Naruto murmured.

Even after Kakashi left, Naruto stayed where he was and kept practicing.

He was afraid that if he slept, he'd forget every move Kakashi had taught him that day.

Naruto treasured everything Kakashi had taught him that day beyond measure.

He felt that, finally, someone valued him.

He absolutely couldn't lose the contest a week later.

He would repay Kakashi for showing that he "valued" him.

The next day, Kakashi arrived at the training ground and found Naruto asleep against a rock.

Kakashi shook Naruto awake.

"Didn't you go home last night?" Kakashi asked.

"I, I practiced here all night. I didn't go home," Naruto answered honestly.

"..."

"Don't push yourself too hard. If you don't get enough rest, your practice will be half as effective for twice the effort."

"Really? I don't feel tired at all."

"Hmm?"

Could it be because of his unusual constitution? Kakashi wondered.

"All right. Let's go over the moves again first, then we'll do some practical training."

"During the practical training, I'll teach you how to channel your strength and apply force."

After practicing diligently all night, Naruto had completely memorized the moves of the Dog Beating Technique. He'd committed them to muscle memory. They were only in his short-term memory for now, but once he started putting them into practice, he'd never forget them.

Kakashi was very satisfied with the results of his teaching the day before. His temporary student, Naruto Uzumaki, was also very determined and knew how to persevere.

After they finished practicing the moves, Kakashi used the Summoning Technique to summon his eight Ninja Dogs.

"Naruto, go practice with them."

"Eight dogs... C-can I win?" Naruto turned to look at Kakashi.

"You can win." Kakashi encouraged him with his eyes.