Can We Win? We Can Win.

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

"What!"

"Eat up, kid!!"

"Huh?" Naruto watched as Kakashi hurriedly fished the centipede meat frying in the oil pot and placed it into his and his own small bowls.

"Sneaking off to eat in secret, Kakashi, where is our friendship!!!"

Might Guy stood on a rock, pointing at Kakashi and shouting the question.

Kakashi ignored Might Guy, busy urging Naruto to finish eating quickly.

Naruto braved the heat and swallowed all the fried centipede meat, and Kakashi also polished off his own portion.

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

"Nani! I thought you would have saved some for me!!"

"I wouldn't make it that easy for you, Guy."

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

Might Guy charged over.

"Wait a second!!"

Kakashi raised his hand to stop Might Guy.

"Just finished eating, not suitable for strenuous exercise."

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

"Impossible! I refuse!"

"Hmm..." Kakashi rubbed his chin and looked at Naruto Uzumaki.

"Fine. How about this, Guy? Let your students compete against my student."

"What?" Might Guy thought he had misheard.

"Hey, Kakashi, no one has ever passed your team. As a jonin instructor, you don't even have a single student yet!"

"I have one temporarily now," Kakashi said, glancing at Naruto Uzumaki.

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

"Him?"

"Hmm... alright, let's do it! Very challenging!"

"My students all just graduated from the Ninja Academy this year; I feel like it might be bullying him."

Might Guy squatted down and looked Naruto Uzumaki in the eye.

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

"From now on, I will teach you some things so you can defeat Guy's students," Kakashi said to Naruto.

"Me? Can I do it?"

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

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

"It doesn't matter."

"The result isn't important; what matters is the process of the competition," Kakashi said.

"That's right! This is youth!!" Might Guy smiled at Naruto, his white teeth flashing.

"..." Naruto was completely stunned.

"What about the time?" Might Guy asked.

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

"One week."

"Let's have the match right here in one week," Kakashi replied to Might Guy.

"Fine, it's decided. Just you wait, Kakashi!"

Might Guy leaped with great force, disappearing from the sight of Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi Hatake in a spread-eagle pose.

"Finally quiet again," Kakashi said.

"Ah, ah, yeah."

"Don't mind him, the two of us compete often, and the content of our competitions is usually a bit strange," Kakashi explained to Naruto.

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

Naruto's eyes darted around, suddenly realizing he had hit the jackpot!

Having a jonin teach him things—wasn't that better than attending the Ninja Academy?!

His opponents in the match a week later would be genin who had graduated from the Ninja Academy. If he could defeat them, he would surely be able to fiercely surpass that arrogant Sasuke Uchiha when he returned to school!!

Just thinking about it was exciting!

So happy!

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

"Hmm, first, go into the woods and find a wooden stick that feels right to you."

"Huh?"

"I need to go find one, too."

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

"Oh yeah!"

Naruto was happily planning to skip a week of classes.

"What I'm going to teach you is a set of stick techniques."

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

"Dog Beating Technique?" Naruto swung his wooden stick around a couple of times. "So if I use this technique to hit people, does that make them all dogs?"

"You just need to make sure you don't tell them that's what you're using," Kakashi said, looking at Naruto.

"Mm, mm."

Hearing the name of the technique he was about to learn, Naruto's motivation soared; he couldn't wait to master it and use it on Sasuke.

"Watch closely, and look at my demonstration."

Kakashi held the wooden stick and began to demonstrate in front of Naruto, who watched with intense focus.

"Did you understand it?" After finishing the demonstration, Kakashi turned and asked Naruto.

"Eh? Is that it?"

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

"Fine, I'll do it again."

Following that, Kakashi performed the routine ten more times right in front of him.

"Now you try it for me," Kakashi said to Naruto.

"I... I think it's like this?"

"..."

Disappointment.

Kakashi felt very disappointed in Naruto.

The moves that Kakashi had mastered after seeing them just once, he had demonstrated ten times, yet Naruto still hadn't grasped them.

He really was a dunce, just like Obito.

"I'll teach you hands-on."

Kakashi walked over to Naruto's side and began adjusting his posture, meticulously breaking down the moves of the Dog Beating Technique to make them easier for Naruto to memorize and practice.

They kept at it until the sun went down, and only then did Naruto manage to grasp the basic movements.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

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

"Oh."

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

"Thank you..." Naruto whispered.

After Kakashi left, Naruto stayed in the same spot to keep practicing.

He was afraid that if he went to sleep, he would forget all the moves Kakashi had taught him today.

Naruto cherished everything Kakashi had taught him that day more than anything.

He felt like, finally, someone was taking him seriously.

He absolutely could not lose the match in a week's time.

He had to repay Kakashi for the "attention" he had shown him.

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

Kakashi shook Naruto awake.

"You didn't go home last night?" Kakashi asked.

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

"..."

"Don't push your body too hard. If you don't rest well, your practice will be half as effective."

"Is that so? I don't feel tired at all."

"Hmm?"

Is it because of his special constitution? Kakashi pondered.

"Alright, then, let's run through the movements once more before we move on to actual combat."

"During the sparring, I will teach you the techniques for exerting and channeling your strength."

Through a whole night of diligent practice, Naruto had completely memorized the movements of the Dog Beating Technique; he had committed them to his muscle memory. Although it was still only short-term memory, once he began putting them into actual practice, Naruto would never forget them again.

Kakashi was very satisfied with the results of yesterday's teaching, and his temporary student, Naruto Uzumaki, possessed great perseverance and knew how to stay the course.

After finishing the drills, Kakashi used the Summoning Technique to call forth his eight ninja hounds.

"Naruto, go and practice with them."

"Eight dogs... can I actually win?" Naruto turned his head to look at Kakashi.

"You can win." Kakashi encouraged Naruto with his gaze.