Let's Improve Together, Kakashi!

"Hey, why are you following us again?!"

Obito was speechless. What was wrong with Kakashi today?

"Just passing by." Kakashi lied with a perfectly calm expression.

Hideki merely smiled without saying anything. How could he not see through Kakashi's little thoughts?

It was like a college dorm. No matter how much someone liked secretly studying alone, they still couldn't resist the temptation of gaming with their roommates.

Kakashi had simply awakened his secretly mischievous side early.

After all, wasn't the future Kakashi the kind of guy who stayed up all night reading naughty little books?

But looking at Kakashi like this...

Hideki suddenly recalled an idea he had before.

The reaction behind Hydrogen Release was complicated. It required Water Release enhanced by Yang Release, Lightning Release to electrolyze the Water Release, and an open flame to ignite it.

With his finely controlled chakra, he could handle most of it by himself.

But at its core, this was neither some so-called Bloodline Limit nor a Bloodline Elimination. There was no such thing as "Hydrogen Release chakra."

At best, it was a combination ninjutsu.

The key lay in the words "combination."

Hideki's heart itched a little.

Objectively speaking, the power of Hydrogen Release depended on the amount of chakra.

He could use it alone, but he still had to spend at least three portions of chakra.

But if he sought cooperation...

He could handle the combination of Yang Release and Water Release, Kakashi could handle Lightning Release, and Obito could be in charge of lighting it...

Not to mention anything else, the power would increase several times over!

"Stop lying, idiot! From the training ground all the way here, do you think Lord Obito is stupid?!" Obito said as he moved to chase Kakashi away.

How could the secret base shared by him and Hideki allow a third person to intrude?

"..." Kakashi was left speechless. He did not know how to explain himself, but fortunately, he saw Hideki's exceptionally friendly smile at that moment.

How should he put it? Kakashi felt like there was a price tag hanging over his head, while Hideki seemed to be calculating how to sell him!

"Obito, that's where you're wrong."

Hideki soothed Obito, then turned toward Kakashi beneath Obito's baffled gaze.

"When friends come from... uh, Kakashi is our classmate at least. He even covered for us during the day. How can you treat him like that?"

"It's true that we need to train hard, and it's true that we seek improvement. But there is strength in numbers. Kakashi joining us will only make our little group stronger."

"One chopstick snaps easily, but a bundle of chopsticks stands firm. Didn't the two of us beat Uchiha Beiying and his cousin all the way into the hospital through unity and teamwork?"

"Trust me, Obito." Hideki held Obito's hand with his left and Kakashi's with his right, his face radiant with saintly light.

"Kakashi will definitely be a great companion for us, won't he?"

Obito: ?????

He really wanted to know whether Hideki had taken the wrong medicine or suffered some kind of shock.

Otherwise, why was he spouting such nonsense?

Kakashi was equally baffled.

Wait... when did I say I was joining you two?!

I... can't I just stop passing by? Can't I leave? Why do you feel like some pyramid scheme master?!

The two boys whose hands had been forcibly linked by Hideki both began to question their lives.

It took Kakashi several full seconds before he finally came to his senses and pulled his hand out of Hideki's grasp.

Obito immediately dragged Hideki aside and whispered, "What's going on, Hideki? What are you doing?"

"Are you brain-dead?!" Hideki's expression changed at once. "Where else are you going to find such a good sparring partner? Besides, do you know what work that old man will assign tomorrow? Isn't having another person to help a good thing?"

Obito froze, but this time, he quickly sorted out the logic. "Damn! You should've said so earlier!"

The two immediately turned back, only to see Kakashi looking at them with utter contempt.

"You know I can hear you from this distance, right?"

Hideki's old face flushed red at once. He had been exposed.

Still, he waved his hand as if nothing had happened. "Don't worry about those details, Kakashi."

"Don't you want to become stronger? Don't you want to know how we became so powerful?"

As Hideki spoke, his expression suddenly turned mysterious. "It's a combination ninjutsu. According to my theory, under ideal conditions, only three people can maximize its power."

"We might be able to usher in a new era! A new era after Konoha's White Fang, after Konoha's Three Ninja!"

"You... really don't want to give it a try?"

Honestly, Hideki nearly moved himself with those words.

Sure, there was probably some deception involved in luring Kakashi in, but Hydrogen Release truly had limitless potential!

As long as he had more chakra, mastered more ninjutsu, and found a faster reaction method...

Forming Hydrogen Release with a flick of his wrist, bringing nuclear peace to the Shinobi World with a snap of his fingers—one day, that would no longer be just a slogan!

Kakashi's gaze shifted from contempt to suspicion, then gradually became conflicted.

Of course he did not believe Hideki's nonsense. A new era? Hah! Even the lousy ghost stories his father told had more persuasive power than that.

But then again, training together, becoming stronger together... that did not sound so bad?

To Kakashi, the words "together" were even more appealing than that "combination ninjutsu."

Kakashi hesitated once more.

Someone valued by Dad and that person probably won't hold me back, right?

That was what Kakashi thought.

In the end, beneath Hideki's "sincere," clear eyes, and while Obito pretended not to care while secretly figuring out how to trick Kakashi into becoming his lackey...

"Fine, but don't expect me to help you with your work. I want to become stronger, but I don't want to become stupid."

Kakashi spread his hands and spoke as if he did not care.

But in truth, his little heart was already pounding faster.

How exciting!

Am I... going to have companions too?

Would we fight together in the future? Skip class together?!

Inside every secretly mischievous person lived a little monster.

Even children were no exception...

"Excellent, then let's begin!" Hideki shouted, and Obito rolled up his sleeves as well.

Kakashi was left somewhat confused by the sight and asked doubtfully, "How do we begin?"

"By sparring, of course! Only battle can bring the fastest improvement. Otherwise, why do you think we're so strong?" Hideki replied as if it were only natural.

Was that... really how it worked?

Kakashi was doubtful, with a healthy dose of contempt mixed in.

Making fighting sound so refined—only you could do that.

However, the two fists charging toward him left Kakashi no room to think.

"Damn it!" Kakashi hurriedly dodged with a string of backward flips, finally landing atop a huge rock with a stunned expression.

"What are you two doing? Didn't you say we were sparring?!"

"Aren't we sparring right now?!" Obito formed hand seals with both hands, and a moment later, he was ready. "Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

Whoosh—!

Flames condensed into a fireball and shot straight toward Kakashi!

"That's going too far!" Kakashi was about to curse himself for being stupid enough to join a den of thieves when he formed hand seals with both hands, preparing to block the fireball with an Earth-Style Wall.

But the crafty Hideki had somehow circled around to his side!

At some point, a Rasengan had already formed in his hand!

"Let's improve together, Kakashi!" Hideki, ever true to his original intentions, did not forget to shout.

Ten minutes later.

The panting Kakashi lay on the ground. His clothes were torn to shreds, and his face was swollen and bruised. He was a complete mess!

Normally, beating Obito alone would have been easy for Kakashi.

The training he had undergone since childhood was not something a half-baked fighter like Obito, who only knew how to brawl, could compare to.

But one must not forget Hideki, a strategic ninja who rejected close combat at every turn with a Rasengan.

With a brute in front and a schemer behind, it was no easy task for Kakashi to escape unscathed.

Still, to be fair, Kakashi felt quite exhilarated.

After the two worked together to beat him flat, they did not press their advantage. Instead, they began fighting each other again.

It looked like they had been targeting him, but in reality...

Hiss—!

Kakashi touched the corner of his eye and grimaced in pain.

They really had been targeting him, damn it!

But...

This feeling did not seem so bad, did it?