After returning home, Kakashi excitedly pulled two scrolls from his clothes, 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 knew how long it would take to master it?"
Having made up his mind, Kakashi sat cross-legged and spread the scroll Jiraiya had given him on the floor.
In the center of the scroll was a large character for "Senjutsu," surrounded by an ordinary sealing formula.
Kakashi's hands flashed through a series of signs before he 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 the Senjutsu Chakra of Mount Myōboku felt warm.
Kakashi lifted his forehead protector and returned to his old profession: copying.
Who knew how much time passed before Kakashi rubbed his somewhat sore eyes.
"As expected, the structure of Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu Chakra is also incredibly complicated. I'm afraid it'll take at least a few months to figure out even part of it."
Kakashi sighed. "At this rate, I'll become severely nearsighted before I even use Kamui more than a few times."
How about... taking 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 his own hand with the other. "You can't just give in to depravity, Kakashi!"
Gritting his teeth, he opened the other scroll containing the Flying Thunder God.
At that moment, two little birds were chirping and fighting outside Kakashi's window, but he was completely unaware of them.
He heard nothing beyond the window, focusing solely on learning the Flying Thunder God!
"Smack!"
Kakashi slammed the scroll onto the floor. "Why did people have to study while they were alive? This is way too painful!"
"I'll just read for a little while. Just a little while..."
Kakashi was caught in a difficult inner struggle. When he was studying, the temptation of that sort of book was simply too great.
"I've got it!"
Kakashi's eyes lit up. He got to his feet, first burned the scroll recording the forbidden Flying Thunder God, then began bustling around noisily.
He wrote the key points of the Flying Thunder God that he did not understand onto slip after slip of paper in symbols only he could comprehend. Then he opened "Make-Out Paradise" and tucked one inside 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 up looking utterly drained, then headed to the ANBU training ground.
When ANBU members were not on missions, they generally stayed there to chat, fool around, spar with one another, or 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 could simply wait there.
Since he had nothing better to do, why not study while he waited?
And so, Kakashi once again pulled out "Make-Out Paradise."
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 enter the training ground.
The youth's most striking features were the deep tear troughs resembling nasolabial folds and his pair of scarlet Sharingan.
After a moment of silence in the training ground, the ANBU members seated in the rest area began whispering among themselves.
"So it really is someone from the Uchiha Clan. I didn't think the rumors were true."
"Who knows what the higher-ups are thinking? Letting an Uchiha into the ANBU—aren't they just asking for trouble?"
"From now on, whatever we do around here will be watched by Uchiha eyes."
"The Uchiha Clan should have been kicked out of Konoha long ago. Last time, the Military Police Force arrested my little brother. A bunch of arrogant bastards—they wouldn't release him no matter what, not even for my sake!"
"They should have gotten out long ago. Without them, Konoha would immediately look brand new."
"Heh, maybe back when the Nine-Tails..."
The youth acted as though he had heard nothing and continued walking forward slowly.
Suddenly, someone took the lead and hurled a kunai at him. Then shuriken, senbon, darts... over a dozen concealed weapons flew toward the youth.
Yet the youth seemed not to see them at all and kept walking forward slowly. The weapons skimmed past him as though merely tracing his outline, and not one struck him.
When he reached the crowd, the youth bowed slightly. "Greetings, seniors. I am the newly transferred ANBU member, Itachi Uchiha."
Itachi Uchiha clearly did not take those who had attacked him seriously. His calmness was like a vicious slap across the faces of those people.
One Against Seven...
Kakashi frowned and raised a hand, catching four kunai between his fingers before throwing them at the four people who had attacked earlier.
The four ANBU members rose while cursing and dodged. The youth, whose expression had been as still as an ancient well, also 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 doing again?" Kakashi asked coldly.
"A new brat showed up, and we just wanted to see whether he had what it took to join the ANBU," Cloudy Day said self-righteously.
Kakashi stood with his arms folded. "Oh? I just wanted to see whether you had the qualifications to test him—or whether your assessment carried any weight."
"You!"
Cloudy Day wanted to say more, but he was a rank below Kakashi and had no justification on his side. He could only swallow his anger and glare at Kakashi with shadowy eyes.
Cloudy Day's captain could not stand it any longer and rose to his feet. "Kakashi, just mind your own team's business. Don't you think you're meddling too much?"
"Heh. Itachi Uchiha is a new member of my team." Kakashi spread his hands.
"Your subordinates attacked my team member, attacked fellow ANBU comrades. Clearly, you've failed to discipline them."
"Since that's the case, what's wrong with me disciplining your subordinates for you? You should be thanking me, Captain Sunny Day."
Sunny Day was so furious that he laughed. "Kakashi, if your strength were as formidable as your mouth, your teammates wouldn't have died."
This damned bastard!
Killing intent flashed through Kakashi's eyes. Sunny Day had touched his reverse scale!
Seeing that Kakashi, who normally always looked careless and indifferent, had actually gotten angry, Sunny Day felt that he had won back a round, and his mood brightened.
"Oh? What's wrong, Kakashi? Did you get addicted to killing your own people? Are you planning to kill me too?" Sunny Day sneered.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Behind Sunny Day, the members of his team laughed nonstop as though they had heard the funniest joke in the world.
Before you continue