In the morning, he ate buns bought with all his money.
Hideki arrived at the meeting spot early. It was around six-thirty, and although it was not time to gather yet, Hideki wanted to get in some extra training.
Hydrogen Release: Second Stage—chakra nature transformation and fusion. He needed to hurry.
Yesterday had been incredibly dangerous. He had used the Transformation Technique to escape, but an experienced ninja might have sent clones after him.
Honestly, even if they were only clones, the two of them definitely would not have been able to beat them.
It had been a huge gamble, betting on the enemy's intelligence.
Fortunately, he had won. Otherwise, Obito might have awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan on the spot.
In fact, if he had been able to activate the second stage of Hydrogen Release yesterday, react instantly, and ignite freely, that Kumogakure ninja would never have gotten close to him.
He could have just hurled little hydrogen bombs at the guy one after another. Who could withstand that?!
But mastering chakra nature transformation was not so simple.
The old man had said that mastering chakra nature transformation was essentially a process of tempering chakra quality.
The more ninjutsu one mastered, the better one's chakra control became, and naturally, one could gradually grasp chakra nature transformation.
Of course, some people could only master two or three types in their entire lives. Someone like Hideki, who was born with two, already had pretty good talent.
Hideki felt it was easy enough to understand.
Imagine chakra as a pool of water. By controlling the temperature, water could become ice, boil, or turn into vapor.
If other variables were added—if two types of chakra reacted at once—it could even be electrolyzed into hydrogen gas or turned into magma. Kekkei Genkai like Lava Release worked on that principle.
But understanding it was one thing; actually doing it was another.
Hideki already knew that his talent was definitely decent, but he was not arrogant enough to think he could create a Kekkei Genkai at six years old—at least, if only Lightning Release and Water Release were involved.
Add Fire Release, and it would become a Kekkei Tōta.
"Let's start with Water Release."
He took a deep breath, recalled the contents of the scroll, mobilized his chakra, and formed hand seals.
Before becoming an ambassador of nuclear peace, Hideki decided he should first accomplish the modest goal of becoming a Sea Release ninja.
Even if he could not achieve Sea Release, he should at least become a River Release ninja...
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A little after eight, the sun clocked in.
Obito and Minato arrived one after the other, while Kakashi nearly showed up late.
At first, Hideki had been so absorbed in training—almost addicted to it—that he had not noticed.
But when he saw Kakashi apologize to Minato, he was immediately stunned.
He could understand Obito not being late. Women always slowed down the speed of getting out of bed.
But Kakashi nearly being late? That was a little miraculous...
Hideki secretly observed Kakashi. Sure enough, something was off. His dead-fish eyes had found their soul again, but Kakashi himself seemed to have lost his.
Looks like White Fang shut himself away again, Hideki sighed inwardly.
He had predicted this long ago. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. The teammates White Fang had risked his life to save had not only failed to thank him, but had joined the army of critics instead. That kind of blow was massive.
But then again, the problem still lay with Kakashi.
White Fang's weakness was not a fragile heart. It was his precious son.
"Kakashi, after today's mission, Obito and I will go to your place to restock. We'll settle up the money from this period while we're there."
Hideki found an excuse and patted Kakashi on the shoulder as he spoke.
He had originally wanted to say that he wished to seek White Fang's guidance, but with Minato right beside them, he had to consider the man's feelings.
"Huh?" Kakashi, still spacing out, did not understand at first. "Forget about the money. Just take whatever you want."
The generous Kakashi had not thought much of it.
Obito, on the other hand, looked rather smug. "I'm not going. The clan head himself is going to guide my training. You know, as the Uchiha Clan's number one genius, I'm always... Huh? Wait for me!"
D-rank missions were always tedious and simple.
Helping an old man prune his trees took Kakashi and Hideki only half a day to finish.
As for the Uchiha Clan's number one genius, he was still working hard on being able to stand on a tree parallel to the ground...
Of course, Obito had not done nothing. Clearing away branches was his job.
In the afternoon, around four o'clock.
Team 7 finally earned its first pot of gold.
The reward was six thousand ryo. Minato did not take a single bit, leaving each of the three with two thousand ryo.
Kakashi said it felt pretty good. It was a little little, but they had earned it themselves.
But Hideki and Obito could not stay calm at all...
"Hideki, hurry and hit me. Am I dreaming? Two thousand ryo for half a day, damn..."
Obito was stunned. He counted the money again and again, feeling every time that he had somehow counted too much, then repeating the cycle endlessly.
"Tch! It's only two thousand ryo. Look at how pathetic you are!"
Hideki, who was also counting money, declared that he disdained keeping company with Obito!
At four-thirty, Hideki followed Kakashi home.
"I'm back! Father, we have a guest." Kakashi greeted him in a seemingly normal manner.
"Coming, coming!" A middle-aged man's voice came from inside. It was very different from what Hideki had imagined—bright and hearty. Not as gentle and soothing as Minato's, but deeper and heavier, carrying the same sense of security.
Then Hideki's eyes widened.
A burly, silver-haired middle-aged man with a ponytail came rushing out. He bore a 70.08% resemblance to Kakashi, wore a smile, and looked bright and cheerful, like the friendly uncle next door.
His face was fine, but everything below his neck was wrong.
He wore an apron, a kitchen knife in his left hand and a spatula in his right. The deadly part was the picture on the apron: a shar-pei wearing a pink accessory. It was cute and generous, but also rather eye-searing.
Fortunately, White Fang wore clothes beneath that apron rather than bare muscles, or Hideki might have needed to wash his eyes on the spot.
"I'm Kakashi's teammate, Hideki! It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me!" Hideki bent over in a bow, giving his eyes a chance to rest at the same time.
"Hahahaha! No need to be so polite, little Hideki. Kakashi talks about you often. You're a reliable partner!" White Fang laughed heartily, showing no sign whatsoever of being suicidal over a fragile heart.
"Well then... Kakashi, hurry and take little Hideki inside to rest for a bit. Wash your hands and get ready to eat!"
"Your old man made grilled fish for you today~"
White Fang left humming a tune Hideki could not understand.
That left behind a calm-faced Kakashi, and Hideki, who was so calm that his face was completely expressionless.
"Come on. Let's get the ninja tools." Kakashi called out.
"...Yeah." Hideki was deeply puzzled.
With White Fang acting like this, Kakashi should not have been depressed, right?
Had something happened that he did not know about? That should not be the case...
When he bought buns that morning, he had even heard plenty of complaints.
"Forget it. I'll take things one step at a time."
Hideki suppressed the doubts in his heart and followed Kakashi forward.
Before you continue