Gift

Two days later, at the Akimichi barbecue restaurant, Aoba, Kakashi, Might Guy, Anko, Asuma, and Kurenai Yuhi gathered together.

To be fair, Aoba had not expected the latter two. Kakashi had invited them. He just hadn't expected those two to already be showing signs of something at this point. Looking at it now, their relationship really had lasted a long time. They had not officially gotten together until Asuma died.

Aoba did not like Hiruzen Sarutobi. But he did not mind Asuma. The kid went against Hiruzen Sarutobi at every turn, which made it hard for Aoba not to like him. As for Kurenai Yuhi, she actually held quite a respectable position in Konoha.

Especially after the Uchiha Clan was wiped out, she had become one of the few ninjas in Konoha proficient in Genjutsu. Don't let her utterly ineffective Genjutsu against Itachi fool you. That was because Itachi Uchiha's Genjutsu was at a master level, with the Sharingan's added advantage.

Kurenai Yuhi had become a Special Jonin through her Genjutsu alone. Her skill was obvious.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they sat in the restaurant chatting. At that moment, Aoba took out several items and placed them before them.

"Recently, I've been studying Sealing Jutsu and made a little progress. I prepared some gifts for everyone. See if you like them."

"Wow, Aoba, you even prepared gifts? I really can't wait." Guy looked rather excited.

He was actually quite lonely in the village. Though he had an optimistic personality, he was still the sort who found it difficult to receive gifts during holidays.

In truth, most ninjas had rather distant relationships with one another. Mainly because being a ninja was not an ordinary profession meant for a normal life.

Especially since the weakest people present were Special Jonin. Most of the ninja techniques they used involved killing and arson. And their partners differed with every mission.

Don't think ninjas had no psychological issues. Just look at that lunatic Itachi Uchiha. Most Konoha ninjas had problems in their hearts, and relationships between people tended to be cold.

In fact, that was precisely why Naruto, after growing up later on, became Konoha's beloved darling. He was simply too sunny and enthusiastic.

To a ninja world that had once been cold and indifferent, Naruto was like a beam of light that made everyone unable to resist gathering around him.

"Kakashi, try this." Aoba took out a smooth, circular metal piece and handed it to Kakashi.

After taking it, Kakashi found extremely intricate formulas engraved upon it.

"What is this?"

"Stick it onto your forehead protector, over the side covering your Sharingan, and test the effect."

Kakashi seemed to understand something. He took the metal piece, attached it over his Sharingan, and then pressed it down with his forehead protector.

"Now inject a little chakra. Just a little. The formula needs chakra to activate."

After Kakashi did as instructed, a trace of surprise flashed across his face.

"This effect..."

"According to my design, it should temporarily put your Sharingan into a dormant state. Not shut it off, but a kind of... low-energy mode. It reduces chakra consumption to the minimum. This should alleviate your lack of chakra to some extent."

In the original world, Kakashi's lack of chakra had practically become a running joke. But in reality, the issue was actually extremely fatal.

Kakashi's tactical ability was very high. Aoba even believed that, in terms of on-the-spot adaptability, he was not much inferior to Itachi Uchiha. Moreover, Kakashi possessed all five chakra natures and knew over a thousand ninja techniques. In actual combat, he theoretically had few weaknesses.

But because of his lack of chakra, the tactics he could choose were far too limited. That was why, when facing Itachi Uchiha, he had almost no ability to fight back.

After all, when facing an opponent whose tactical ability was no weaker than his own, who did not suffer from insufficient chakra, and whose Sharingan completely suppressed his own, Kakashi had truly lost without any excuse.

Aoba believed the Sharingan had made Kakashi, but it had also constrained him. So he wanted to help ease this problem and see just how far Kakashi could go.

"This is truly thoughtful." Kakashi had not expected Aoba to produce such a valuable gift. It was worthless to anyone else, but to him, it was help in his darkest hour.

"As long as it works. Making this was rather troublesome, and I was afraid the final result might not be satisfactory."

"No, it's extremely useful. Thank you, Aoba."

"Between friends, there's no need to say much. Guy, this one is for you."

Aoba opened the box in front of Guy. Inside were four items resembling wristguards. But upon closer inspection, they were made from thin metal strips pieced together. They too were covered in incomprehensibly impressive formulas.

"Put them on and try them."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Guy put on the wristguards and moved around a little.

"They fit perfectly, but they should have some special function, right?"

"That's right. Try injecting a little chakra."

"Like this?" Guy followed his instructions. Though he could not use ninja techniques, he could still circulate chakra in simple ways. Otherwise, how could he climb trees or walk on water?

"This..."

After Guy injected chakra into the wristguards, he felt them suddenly become dozens of times heavier.

"These are weighted wristguards. They have no other function and are meant for taijutsu training. As long as you inject a small amount of chakra, the wristguards will become extremely heavy through the formula's effect.

They can't really be used in battle, and their defensive power is also very limited. But they should still be useful for training."

"This is... absolutely incredible. Aoba, you really put so much thought into this. I've always been troubled by the weights on my body. I wanted to find weighted gear that was compact and convenient to move in. Your wristguards have completely solved my problem."

"As long as you can use them. In all of Konoha, you're probably the only one who needs something like this."

In fact, Aoba also wore a pair of these. He was just not as crazy as Guy. Neither the weight nor the intensity of his training could compare to Guy's.

"Anko, this is yours."

Anko's gift was a small device worn over the ear, similar to an earpiece.

"Wear this, and when you're out in the wilderness, it can enhance your perception, especially your hearing. It'll make it easier for you to catch subtle sounds."

This had been custom-made for Anko. The two had fought together once, and Aoba had noticed then that Anko's perception was quite ordinary.

As a Special Jonin, she often had to leave the village on missions. And once outside, perception was extremely important. After all, danger could strike at any moment in the wild. The earlier you noticed it, the better your odds of victory.

That was also why the Hyuga remained one of Konoha's great clans. No team heading out would refuse a Hyuga Clan partner.