Itachi Uchiha and Provocation

After returning home, Kakashi excitedly pulled two scrolls from his chest, unable to decide which one to open first.

Maybe this was the trouble that came with happiness!

"I should look at the Senjutsu Chakra first. After all, I don't even have the slightest foundation in the Flying Thunder God, so who knows how long it'll take me to master it."

Having made up his mind, Kakashi sat cross-legged and spread the scroll Jiraiya had given him on the floor.

A large character for "Senjutsu" sat in the middle of the scroll, surrounded by an ordinary sealing formula.

Kakashi's hands flashed through a series of seals before he finally clapped them together. "Seal—Release!"

The writing on the scroll gradually faded, and a mass of pure chakra emerged. It was Senjutsu Chakra!

After carefully sensing it, Kakashi discovered that the Senjutsu Chakra of Mount Myōboku felt completely different from that of Ryūchi Cave.

The Senjutsu Chakra of Ryūchi Cave gave off a cold, sinister feeling, while Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu Chakra felt warm.

Kakashi lifted his forehead protector and began plying his old trade of copying.

Who knew how much time passed before Kakashi rubbed his slightly sore eyes.

"Sure enough, the structure of Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu Chakra is just as complicated. I'm afraid it'll take several months before I can figure out even part of it."

Kakashi sighed. "At this rate, I'll get severe nearsightedness before I've even used Kamui a few times."

Why not... take a little break?

A thought surfaced in Kakashi's mind, and one of his hands slowly reached toward the copy of "Make-Out Paradise" beside him.

"No!"

Kakashi grabbed that hand with his other one. "You can't just give in to depravity, Kakashi!"

Gritting his Kiba, he opened the other scroll, the one that recorded the Flying Thunder God.

At that moment, two little birds outside Kakashi's window were chirping and fighting, but Kakashi remained completely unaware.

Deaf to all things beyond the window, his heart was set solely on learning the Flying Thunder God!

"Smack!"

Kakashi slammed the scroll heavily onto the floor. "Why do people have to study to live? This is too painful!"

"I'll just read for a bit. Just a little bit..."

Kakashi was caught in a difficult inner struggle. Whenever he studied, those kinds of books held an overwhelming temptation for him.

"I've got it!"

Kakashi's eyes lit up. He got up, burned the scroll containing the forbidden Flying Thunder God technique, then bustled about with a clatter.

He wrote down the key points of the Flying Thunder God that he could not understand on small slips of paper in symbols only he could comprehend. Then he opened "Make-Out Paradise" and tucked one in every ten pages.

"This way, I can enjoy reading while motivating myself to study. Kakashi, you really are a genius!"

The next morning, Kakashi got out of bed looking utterly drained, then headed to the ANBU training ground.

When they were not out on missions, ANBU members generally stayed here to chat, fool around, spar with one another, and train.

Today was Itachi Uchiha's first day in the ANBU. He would not be assigned a mission immediately, so he would most likely come to the training ground. Kakashi only needed to wait here.

Since he had nothing else to do, why not study while he had the time?

Thus, Kakashi pulled out "Make-Out Paradise" again.

By late morning, Kakashi keenly noticed that the conversations among the surrounding ANBU members had suddenly stopped.

He put away his book and poked his head out, seeing a young man slowly walk into the training ground.

The young man's most striking features were the deep tear troughs that looked like nasolabial folds, and those Kurenai Sharingan eyes.

After a moment of silence in the training ground, the ANBU members seated in the rest area began whispering among themselves.

"An Uchiha Clan member? So the rumors were true?"

"What are the higher-ups thinking, letting an Uchiha Clan member into the ANBU? Aren't they just asking for trouble?"

"From now on, whatever we do will be watched by Uchiha Clan eyes."

"The Uchiha Clan should get out of Konoha. Last time, the Military Police Force arrested my little brother. A bunch of arrogant bastards—they wouldn't release him no matter what I said!"

"They should've been kicked out long ago. Without them, Konoha would immediately be a whole new place."

"Heh, maybe back when the Nine-Tails—"

As if he had heard nothing, the young man continued walking forward slowly.

Suddenly, someone took the lead and threw a kunai at the young man. It was followed by shuriken, senbon, darts... twenty or so concealed weapons flew toward him.

Yet the young man acted as though he could not see them, continuing forward at the same leisurely pace. The weapons merely skimmed past him as though tracing his outline, and not a single one struck him.

When he reached the crowd, the young man gave a slight bow. "Greetings, seniors. I am the newly transferred ANBU member, Itachi Uchiha."

Itachi Uchiha clearly did not take the attackers seriously. His calmness was like a hard slap across the faces of those people.

One against seven...

Kakashi's brows furrowed. With a flick of his hand, he caught four kunai between his fingers and threw them at the four people who had attacked earlier.

The four ANBU members rose while cursing and dodged. Even the previously unruffled young man showed a trace of surprise as he looked toward Kakashi.

"Kakashi, what the hell are you doing?" one ANBU member demanded angrily.

"Cloudy Day, what are you all doing?" Kakashi asked coldly.

"We just saw a new kid arrive and wanted to test whether he has what it takes to join the ANBU," Cloudy Day said righteously.

Kakashi stood up with his arms folded. "Oh? Then I merely wanted to see whether you have what it takes to test him, or whether your judgment carries any weight."

"You!"

Cloudy Day wanted to say more, but he was one rank below Kakashi and had no justification on his side. He could only swallow his Ki and glare at Kakashi darkly.

Cloudy Day's captain could not stand it any longer and rose to his feet. "Kakashi, just mind your own squad's business. Don't you think you're sticking your nose in too far?"

"Heh, Itachi Uchiha is the new member of our squad." Kakashi spread his hands.

"Your subordinate attacked one of my squad members, a fellow ANBU comrade. It's clear you've failed to discipline your people."

"In that case, what's wrong with me disciplining your subordinate for you? You should be thanking me, Captain Sunny Day."

Sunny Day laughed in Ki. "Kakashi, if your strength were as formidable as your tongue, your teammates wouldn't have died."

This damned bastard!

A flash of killing intent passed through Kakashi's eyes. Sunny Day had touched his reverse scale!

Seeing that Kakashi, who usually looked perpetually carefree, had actually become Ki, Sunny Day felt that he had won back a round. His mood brightened as well.

"Oh? What's wrong, Kakashi? Have you gotten addicted to killing your own people? Are you going to kill me too?" Sunny Day sneered.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Behind Sunny Day, the members of his squad laughed endlessly as though they had heard the funniest joke in the world.