Flying Thunder God Technique Acquired

As the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi was at least a man of his word.

The very next day after the incident, no matter how unwilling he was, he still copied the Flying Thunder God Technique from the Book of Seals by hand, handed the scroll to Kakashi, and had him deliver it to Yun Yan.

Naturally, Kakashi obediently went to deliver it.

As Kakashi concealed himself all the way and infiltrated the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan compound for the nth time, approaching Yun Yan's home, he discovered that Yun Yan was already standing beneath the eaves, seemingly waiting for him.

Or had this guy known all along that he was about to arrive?

Several black lines appeared over Kakashi's head. With a Body Flicker, he appeared before Yun Yan.

Yun Yan was still wearing that loose, casual bathrobe, looking utterly lazy and laid-back.

The moment he saw Kakashi appear before him, Yun Yan unceremoniously held out his hand.

Even more black lines appeared over Kakashi's head as he helplessly handed Yun Yan the scroll from his robes.

Yun Yan took the scroll and unfurled it right in front of Kakashi.

Hmm, it was genuine. He nodded in satisfaction.

Although Yun Yan had never seen the contents of the Flying Thunder God Technique before, he clearly knew his stuff. A single glance at the scroll was enough for him to tell whether it was real, damaged, or missing anything.

There was no need to worry that Hiruzen Sarutobi had given him a fake Flying Thunder God Technique, or that he had deliberately altered something while copying it to secretly set a trap and make Yun Yan fail in his training.

That old man might be underhanded, but he was not low enough to do something so tasteless. Yun Yan believed that much.

So, after confirming that everything was in order, Yun Yan happily tucked the scroll into his robes.

He had received his reward and was satisfied. This matter was now completely settled. As for what happened with Danzō and Root... Yun Yan intended to keep his promise and leave them alone for now.

Of course, leaving them alone did not mean lowering his guard. Yun Yan was two thousand percent certain that after this failure, Danzō would not let it go and would definitely make another move against him.

However, Danzō had probably learned some of his capabilities this time. Without sufficient confidence, he would not act rashly.

Having accepted the Flying Thunder God Technique and become thoroughly pleased with himself, Yun Yan did nothing else. He merely raised his head and calmly looked at Kakashi standing before him.

The meaning in his gaze was perfectly clear: Why are you still here?

Under Yun Yan's stare, even more black lines appeared over Kakashi's head. He finally could not hold back any longer and said to Yun Yan:

"Come on, Yun Yan. Do you really dislike me that much? We're friends, aren't we?"

Yun Yan folded his arms, looking down on him.

"Friends? What kind of friend sneaks over every day to monitor me for half an hour?"

Kakashi was not exactly thin-skinned either, and he was not embarrassed in the slightest.

"I can't help it. How could I disobey the Hokage's orders?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Yun Yan sounded utterly perfunctory. "You're the Hokage's favorite, his trusted subordinate. Of course you have to obediently follow his arrangements."

Then Yun Yan's expression suddenly changed.

"But if one day old man Sarutobi really can't stand me anymore and orders you to kill me, what would you do? Would you obey that order?"

That was a difficult question for Kakashi to answer, but he still replied with an honest-looking expression:

"Even if... that happened... I can't beat you."

"That does seem to be true." Yun Yan nodded thoughtfully. "But aren't you Hatake Fifty-Fifty? You can fight anyone for a while. If old man Sarutobi really gave the order, would you go fifty-fifty with me too?"

At that, Kakashi could not help the black lines filling his face.

"What the hell is Hatake Fifty-Fifty? You gave me that nickname ages ago. It's seriously offensive."

Even so, Kakashi did not try to change the subject further.

After thinking for a while, Kakashi, who truly regarded Yun Yan as a friend, gave his answer.

"If you really fall out with Lord Hokage in the future, and he orders me to deal with you... like you said, my strength is what it is. At most, I could go fifty-fifty with you. What else could I do?"

Yun Yan immediately understood, suddenly enlightened.

"So that's it. You'd hold back, right?"

Kakashi immediately denied it.

"I never said that. It's just that I'm not strong enough. Even if I gave it everything I had, I could only fight you to a draw.

And even that draw would probably only be temporary. It definitely couldn't last. I probably wouldn't be able to fight you for long before you defeated me."

Yun Yan smiled and nodded, sharing an unspoken understanding with Kakashi.

"I get it, I get it. Fifty-fifty."

He was quite satisfied with Kakashi's answer.

It seemed that Kakashi was not especially loyal to Hiruzen Sarutobi either. He was probably only forced by circumstances to obediently work under him.

Kakashi was a good friend to Yun Yan. If it really came to that, he could neither defy the Hokage's orders nor seriously fight his friend, so all he could do would be hold back.

In any case, this friendship could continue.

Having confirmed that, Yun Yan pointed at the two cushions beside him.

"Come on, Kakashi, sit.

We haven't properly met in years. Let's have a good chat."

Kakashi looked somewhat troubled.

"I'd like to chat with you too, but unfortunately, I don't have that much time. After delivering this Flying Thunder God Technique, I still need to report back to Lord Hokage."

"What's so difficult about that? The excuse is right there.

Don't you have to come lurk around here for half an hour every day? When you report back, just tell old man Sarutobi that after giving me the Flying Thunder God Technique, you took the opportunity to carry out your mission and kept watch for a while. After confirming that there was nothing unusual about me, you returned."

"Well... that's true, but Yun Yan, Lord Hokage has already rescinded the order for me to monitor you every day."

"What?" Yun Yan had not expected that, but he quickly understood. "Oh, I get it. Yesterday, I revealed my strength in front of old man Sarutobi. He knows I'm not someone to be messed with, so it wouldn't be appropriate for him to keep sending you here every day."

Kakashi nodded deeply, indicating that was exactly the case.

Just then, Izumi, having finished her daily housework, came out of the house. As she walked, she was about to say something to Yun Yan.

"Yun Yan, I remember there should still be some..."

The moment Izumi stepped outside, she saw Kakashi. Caught completely off guard, she jumped in fright.

Yes, Kakashi was currently dressed in ANBU attire. Generally speaking, the Hokage's ANBU coming to one's home was never a good sign.

Seeing Kakashi standing before Yun Yan, Izumi could not help being frightened and worried. Had Yun Yan done something? Had the ANBU come for him?

Yun Yan naturally saw Izumi's panic and concern. To reassure and explain things to her, he casually pointed at Kakashi and introduced him.

"This is Kakashi, my friend. He works in the ANBU and came to see me about something today.

You... have probably heard of him."

Upon hearing that the white-haired ANBU before her was the famous Kakashi, Izumi was startled again. She could not help looking him over.

"So you're Kakashi-senpai. I... have indeed heard of you."

Being called senpai, Kakashi scratched his head, seeming a little embarrassed.

"I see... though I doubt what you've heard was anything good, right?"

Izumi nodded somewhat sheepishly.

Of course not. As a representative figure among Konoha's younger generation, Kakashi was known publicly by titles such as the Copy Ninja or Sharingan Kakashi.

Whether it was Copy Ninja or Sharingan Kakashi, every such title revolved around one trait of his: the Sharingan.

This was the Sharingan. Kakashi was not a member of the Uchiha Clan, yet he possessed a Sharingan—one that the Uchiha Clan had no choice but to accept as having ended up outside the clan.

For all those reasons, Kakashi was quite well-known within the Uchiha Clan, and that reputation was indeed not very good.

Naturally, Izumi had heard those rumors as well. For a time, Kakashi's name had been practically thunderous in her ears.

Still... Izumi was rather surprised.

She looked at Kakashi, then at Yun Yan beside her. Her expression was shy yet delighted.

"I never expected Kakashi-senpai to be Yun Yan's friend.

I thought Yun Yan didn't have any friends in the village at all."

Yun Yan could not pretend he had not heard that. He immediately became displeased and instinctively retorted:

"How do I not have friends in Konoha? Isn't Kakashi one!?"

Izumi smiled sweetly.

"Other than Kakashi-senpai?"

"Other than Kakashi, there's... there's... there's..."

Each successive "there's" from Yun Yan came with more hesitation.