Kakashi had it rough. First, he lost his father. Just when he'd finally found two companions, Obito died, and then he "killed" Rin with his own hands. Before long, his teacher and his teacher's wife died, too. He'd barely been left with two children, and one of them was a Jinchūriki. Forget genius Kakashi—even divine Kakashi couldn't have taken all that.
"So now you've gone from protecting my mom to protecting me?"
"Mm. The Third Hokage told me to protect you in secret." Kakashi nodded without denying it.
"Let's go home." Yin Xiang took Kakashi's big hand in his little one. Kakashi nodded, put his mask back on, and led Yin Xiang away.
As the two walked down the street, everyone greeted Yin Xiang and tried to press tasty treats and fun toys into his hands. Everyone knew he was Minato's child. Now that Minato had died fighting to seal the Nine-Tails, Yin Xiang had become the village hero's son—the orphan left behind by a hero.
Everyone had already liked Yin Xiang, but after what happened to Minato, the villagers looked after him even more. Seeing Kakashi carrying a whole pile of things, Yin Xiang sighed to himself. If Naruto were treated this way, would he be able to grow up properly?
Maybe. If it were Naruto... Yin Xiang thought.
When Yin Xiang got home, Kakashi handed everything over to the nanny. Though Minato and his wife were gone, Yin Xiang could still afford to pay her. He didn't want to keep the nanny around, but he was simply too small to cook or take care of things himself, so he had no choice.
Twelve years passed in the blink of an eye. Yin Xiang had grown into a rather handsome young man, with tousled black hair and an all-black outfit. Unlike everyone else, he wore black shoes instead of open-toed sandals, and now he was racing through the forest.
Whoosh.
A streak of black flashed by as someone plucked a Kunai from a tree. It was identical to Minato's Kunai, right down to the markings. The person who'd pulled it out was Yin Xiang.
"Ten years, and I'm still not as fast as Dad." Yin Xiang removed the Kunai and shook his head.
"You should be in class, Yin Xiang." Kakashi appeared below him and called up to him. Kakashi had already taken off his mask and was no longer an Anbu member. He was just passing by and had spotted Yin Xiang, so he'd called out.
"My Shadow Clone already went for me. This Flying Thunder God Technique uses way too much chakra. With the little I have, I can only move five times. It's exhausting. I need to recover my chakra." As he spoke, Yin Xiang sat down to meditate.
"That's impressive. You learned the Flying Thunder God and Shadow Clone so quickly," Kakashi said with a smile.
"That's not all. If those were the only two techniques I'd learned in all these years, the reputation I've got as a genius would be a joke." Yin Xiang boasted shamelessly. In reality, aside from the Flying Thunder God and Shadow Clone, he'd only learned the Rasengan in the last two years. He hadn't even learned a single C-rank technique.
It wasn't that he didn't want to learn more. There simply weren't any other ninjutsu scrolls in the house, only scrolls of Sealing Jutsu. But those seals were extremely complicated, and without anyone to guide him, Yin Xiang couldn't make heads or tails of them.
So, at twelve years old, Yin Xiang had only these three techniques, along with the basic Three Body Technique and Taijutsu. The Flying Thunder God Technique and the Rasengan were enough to make people jealous, but in this world, Yin Xiang wasn't much to look at with only those two techniques.
"You'll be graduating soon. Then you can take on some Genin missions."
"Genin missions are just a bunch of odd jobs. I'll leave those to my Shadow Clone. Kakashi, do you have any Lightning Release or Wind Release scrolls? I'd like to study them."
"They're at home. I'll go get them for you." Kakashi nodded and left. Before long, he came back with two scrolls for Yin Xiang, containing Wind Release and Lightning Release techniques.
"These only have a few C-rank techniques. I memorized the B-rank ones with my Sharingan. If you want them, I can write them down on a scroll and bring it to you tomorrow."
"Great, thanks, Kakashi." Yin Xiang jumped down from the tree and took the scrolls from him. "You've got a lot of free time, huh?"
"Yeah. Nothing much has been happening lately." Kakashi nodded.
"How's Naruto?" Yin Xiang asked.
"Same as ever. He's out causing trouble every day, and the Third Hokage has a serious headache." Kakashi hadn't learned Naruto's identity until he started leading Team 7, but because of Yin Xiang, he'd found out about Naruto earlier. It didn't make much difference, though.
"Does he wear the new clothes I gave him?"
"He does. You really go to a lot of trouble for him. You prepare new clothes for him every year, and you always get the size just right. You also get him a present for his birthday every year. He doesn't know who they're from, but he's always happy to accept them." Kakashi smiled.
"I can't go see him, so I have to do something for him. Otherwise, I'd feel like I was letting Mom and Dad down." Yin Xiang smiled too as he opened the scroll and looked it over.
"Once you're both able to go out on missions, you're bound to run into each other."
"I'm looking forward to that day. Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" As Yin Xiang spoke, he formed Hand Seals and blasted a powerful gale from above. The entire forest bent to one side, and countless leaves tumbled from the trees.
"..." Kakashi was speechless. "You only looked at it once, right? And you already learned Great Breakthrough?"
"These Wind Release techniques just come naturally to me. I get the hang of them after seeing them once. It's probably because of my body." Yin Xiang smiled. No wonder the Insoro Clan had become one of the three great clans through Wind and Lightning Ninjutsu. He really did pick up Wind and Lightning Ninjutsu incredibly quickly.
"Then take a look at this." Kakashi raised a hand, electricity crackling around it. "Chidori!"
"Chidori!" Yin Xiang's eyes lit up. He leaned in to get a better look, then held out his right hand. Chakra gathered in his palm, and a crackling light flashed across it. "Chidori!"
"I don't think you're a genius. You're a freak of nature." As Kakashi watched the electricity crackle in Yin Xiang's hand, the light in his own hand slowly faded.
Bang!
Yin Xiang slammed his Chidori into the tree in front of him. The tree crashed to the ground.
"That's incredible." Yin Xiang stared at his right hand, excitement on his face. With a body that let him learn Wind and Lightning Ninjutsu at a glance, he could almost keep up with the Sharingan.
"Looks like I can pass on all my Wind and Lightning techniques to you. At least that way, I won't have let my teacher down." Kakashi was happy, too.
Before you continue