Kakashi's Uncharacteristic Behavior

"Did you hear? Hideki and Obito got into a fight with someone!"

"Those two are such troublemakers. Teacher Guangtai hates people like that the most!"

"Hideki... he probably wouldn't get into a fight, right?"

"And it wasn't just an ordinary fight. They... seem to have beaten someone badly enough to put them in the hospital!"

"What? That's way too terrifying!"

"Those Uchiha said it themselves. Even the ANBU uncles went to their homes to investigate!"

Good times were always short-lived.

The weekend ended, and Hideki arrived in class with his little backpack slung over his shoulders, only to feel that the way his classmates looked at him was somehow off.

The girls were fine. After all, Hideki had the face of an anime protagonist. Beauty was justice, and that never went out of style.

But the boys were different.

Their gazes all seemed evasive; they did not even dare meet his eyes. Especially those Uchiha—when his gaze swept over them, they shuddered on the spot and did not dare say a word.

Hideki instantly felt that his carefully crafted image might have collapsed. He had always been the low-key top student before this.

"Hideki... what we did has been exposed."

When he reached his seat, Obito had arrived before him for once. The Uchiha Compound was already remote, but its remoteness was on a completely different level from Hideki's home.

And this guy even lived in the most remote part of the Uchiha Compound. Just getting to school was nearly a quarter marathon.

Being late should have been normal.

Yet Obito seemed somewhat excited today, as well as a little nervous.

"That's normal. Those guys from the Northern Film Academy probably told their parents. But don't worry, the actual victims have already forgiven us, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

Hideki remained calm. If anything happened, please contact my lawyer.

"I see." Obito suddenly understood, but after thinking about it, he still seemed uneasy. Finally, he declared righteously, "Don't worry, Hideki. If anything really happens, I'll take all the responsibility!"

"Then could you trouble yourself to give me half your lunch? I got up late and didn't make any food."

"No problem!"

At that moment.

Hideki inadvertently noticed someone from the front row secretly glancing his way.

It was a white-haired boy sitting in the very first row, where he could hear the teacher clearly and be the first one out after school.

He was the top student of the Ninja Academy's first year, the White Fang's son, Hatake Fifty-Fifty.

Hideki raised an eyebrow and, out of courtesy, gave him a smile.

But the other boy apparently did not appreciate it. His brows furrowed, his eyes instantly filling with disdain, before he turned away and ended their eye contact.

Well, well!

You turned away. How noble of you.

Hideki had no temper left for that, but then again, he and Obito were so close. When they were assigned to teams in the future, there would not be a third wheel, would there?

Between Fifty-Fifty and Rin, who would voluntarily give up?

Hideki glanced at Obito beside him, who was already getting drowsy. Today's lesson was <Ninja Virtues—Start with the Three Prohibitions and Become a Good Ninja>, the second-most effective sleep-inducing class.

Number one was Shinobi World history.

Still, Hideki did not want to see Obito go dark.

That whole process was too heartbreaking. He would devote himself to someone until he had nothing left, only to be tricked into working in a pyramid scheme for eighteen years.

If possible, Hideki still wanted to pull Obito back.

He had already figured out how.

He would start with Yang Release.

On one hand, he would begin winning Guy over and see whether he could get the Eight Gates from him.

But that would only let him "come into contact with" and "possess" Yang Release chakra. If he wanted to actually "use" it, he would need to find another path.

[Mystical Palm Technique] was the path Hideki had thought of.

Win over Might Guy, raise his Yang Release, learn the Mystical Palm Technique, master Yang Release, and thereby achieve a perpetual chakra machine plus dehydration work.

Most importantly, he could replace Rin and become the team's medical ninja.

The plan was theoretically perfect, and it even formed a closed loop.

Hideki planned to register at the ninja hospital after school. Given his relationship with that nurse, it should not be a problem.

"Ding, ding, ding—!"

The dismissal bell finally rang.

Obito woke as though from a dream and instinctively looked at Hideki beside him.

"Is it lunchtime?"

"No, there's still one practical combat class," Hideki said calmly as he looked at the nearly empty classroom.

"Oh... then wake me when it's lunchtime. I didn't sleep well last night, I... huh? Practical combat class?"

Obito suddenly came alive, springing upright with his eyes shining!

Practical combat class!

That was a perfect opportunity to show off. How could Lord Obito possibly miss it?

"Let's go! Hideki, it's time to show them what we've got!"

Obito rolled up his sleeves, adjusted his goggles, and strode out with his head held high.

Hideki sighed as well.

He really was just a kid. The moment he heard there was gym class, he got excited.

Then again, wasn't practical combat class at the Ninja Academy basically an especially hardcore version of gym class?

They practiced shuriken throwing, the Three-Body Technique, and even fights between classmates, rather than basketball, singing, dancing, and rap.

Hm?

Why did it feel like something strange had slipped in there?

Hideki did not think much about it. He packed his things and immediately headed out toward the training ground.

But just as he reached the classroom door.

A cold, distinctly unfriendly voice rang out.

"Using Explosive Tags in a fight—even if you win, there's nothing honorable about it."

"You and Obito broke the rules, Hideki."

In the past, anyone who dared speak to their top-student-plus-dead-last duo in that tone was usually an Uchiha.

But the Uchiha had cowered today. The speaker was none other than the aloof Kakashi.

Hideki's expression immediately turned strange.

Explosive Tags? Could Explosive Tags achieve zero pollution? Your perspective is too narrow, Fifty-Fifty!

But on second thought, being misunderstood like this did not seem like a bad thing.

He had no intention of handing over Hydrogen Release... the Shinobi World's tech tree was crooked. If an elementary school student like him could do it, other ninja could too.

Even if he exaggerated things a little and claimed his delicate chakra control was an extraordinary talent rarely seen in the Shinobi World, couldn't a Water Release ninja and a Lightning Release ninja still use a combination technique?

At that thought, Hideki suddenly raised his brows.

Speaking of Lightning Release ninja... wasn't Kakashi standing before him one?

If they formed a team in the future, he could provide Water Release, Kakashi could use Lightning Release for electrolysis, and Obito could handle the ignition...

Well! Forget Kannabi Bridge. If those Iwagakure bastards wanted to trigger a landslide to kill Obito, they would first have to see whether Hydrogen Release agreed!

With that in mind, Hideki turned to look at Kakashi.

Kakashi was propping up his dead-fish eyes, and just as during their eye contact in class, he made no effort whatsoever to hide the disgust in his gaze.

After just one look into those eyes, Hideki abandoned the thought he had just had.

He's begging for a beating...

Better to rely on himself.

Once he mastered chakra nature transformation in the future, forget the reaction process—even the ignition step would be something he could complete himself.

He could even use Wind Release to control hydrogen gas. Whether it was compression or long-range strikes, he could do it all himself.

What use do I have for you, Kakashi!

Obito, holding a match: What about me? (T.T)

"Anyway, I hope you two won't go so overboard in practical combat class later."

Who knew what medicine Kakashi had taken? He actually was not done yet.

Hideki even wondered if he had missed some major event that had recently happened in Konoha.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right about everything."

Impatient, Hideki waved a hand and walked away with a perfunctory expression.

Leaving Kakashi alone in the classroom, his brows tightly furrowed and his gaze unfriendly.

"That guy..."