Whose Youth Wasn't Full of Doubt?

Hatake Sakumo's gentle voice wiped most of the confidence from Kakashi's face. For a moment, he stood stunned.

Ever since he had first learned to refine chakra, his extraordinary talent had carried him through everything. He had never lost at anything, crushing everyone his age along the way. The sense of superiority his talent gave him had made him arrogant.

Kakashi stared at the cherry blossoms in the courtyard. After a long silence, he spoke quietly, with none of his earlier smugness. "I... really did overlook all that."

He had spotted a weakness in the Shadowkhan and hastily built his strategy around it. But he had failed to consider one thing: how could someone capable of developing an entirely new secret technique have so little else up his sleeve?

Seeing that his son had caught on, Sakumo stopped what he was doing and slid the freshly polished White Fang's Short Sword into its sheath.

"Kakashi, I have never doubted your talent. But talent has never decided who wins or loses in the shinobi world. For a ninja, underestimating an opponent is the greatest weakness of all."

Sakumo spoke slowly, drawing on his own experience to teach his son.

"Don't underestimate Nara's intelligence. If you could spot the weakness in his Shadowkhan technique, how could that boy, the one using it, not know about it? Either the technique isn't his real trump card, or he deliberately showed everyone an obvious weakness to mislead them."

Kakashi shuddered. He lowered his head and clenched his fists. He had thought he had seen through his opponent's weakness, never imagining that his own arrogance might have been plain to see all along.

"I was too arrogant, Father." Kakashi's voice was subdued. His earlier pride was gone, replaced by a steadier resolve.

Seeing that Kakashi finally understood, Sakumo's expression softened. He gently patted his son's shoulder.

"For the next two weeks, set your arrogance aside. Study him as though he were the strongest opponent you could face. If you give it everything you have and still lose, that won't be a disgrace. It'll be your best chance to grow. But if you lose because you underestimated him, that weakness will stay with you for the rest of your life."

A breeze passed through the courtyard, carrying away the restlessness in the boy's heart. Remembering Nara Tsukimi's unfailing smile, Kakashi stood and bowed slightly to his father, his eyes earnest.

"I understand, Father. For the next two weeks, I'll put my arrogance aside, give it everything I have, and prepare for this fight."

Just you wait, Nara Tsukimi!

Sakumo watched his son settle down at last and smiled with satisfaction.

Two weeks flew by. Before they knew it, only one day remained before the practical sparring matches began.

Within the Nara Compound, blows landed one after another as two figures darted around each other.

Every one of Nara Tsukimi's attacks was crisp and powerful, his movements fluid even as he twisted and turned. Across from him, Might Guy wore an intensely focused expression. Every muscle in his body was tense as he fought Tsukimi's assault with all his strength.

After the last practical test, Tsukimi had invited Guy to practice taijutsu with him. It was also a way for him to adapt more quickly to the power boost from the Shadowkhan.

When they first began sparring, Guy had been able to overpower Tsukimi with his solid taijutsu fundamentals. But in just two weeks, everything had reversed.

Tsukimi's progress in taijutsu had far exceeded Guy's expectations.

Only Tsukimi knew that it wasn't because he had some incredible talent for taijutsu. He was still adapting to the boost in physical strength from the Troll Tribe. Each day in class, he practiced controlling the chakra provided by the Ninja Tribe. At night, after Guy went home, he practiced the Samurai Tribe's swordsmanship.

"Hah!"

With a low shout, Guy swept out a powerful Leaf Whirlwind. Tsukimi raised his arm without a hint of panic and caught Guy's full-force kick. Tsukimi did not budge. Guy, on the other hand, stumbled back several steps, his right leg numb from the impact.

Guy straightened, breathing a little hard. Tsukimi's breathing was still steady. Loss and confusion filled Guy's face, and the frustration in his voice was impossible to hide.

"Tsukimi... you've improved at taijutsu so fast. I train every day, but it took you only two weeks to surpass me. Does hard work really mean nothing against talent?"

Unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, Guy had poured all his energy into taijutsu. Every day, he rose before dawn to train, running with weights and pushing himself to the limit with push-ups. He had never slacked off.

Yet Nara Tsukimi had needed only half a month to overpower him with taijutsu alone.

In the face of overwhelming talent, hard work seemed worthless. If hard work could never measure up to talent, what was the point of the youth he and his dad had dedicated themselves to?

Who didn't have doubts in their youth? Just ask the mighty Guy!

Guy was still only six years old. After seeing what Tsukimi could do, it was only natural for him to doubt himself.

"No, you've got it wrong! You've seen how quickly I've improved these past two weeks, but you haven't seen the foundation I built by training in taijutsu since I was four."

Tsukimi still wore a gentle smile as he patted Guy on the shoulder.

He wasn't making it up. He really had trained in taijutsu without stopping since he was four. He had been too young and weak back then to accomplish much, but he had built a solid foundation.

Now, with the power boost from the Shadowkhan, his taijutsu had improved by leaps and bounds. Of course, the clan's secret medicines had helped strengthen his body too. The Nara Clan was in the medicinal herb business, after all.

But there was no need to bring any of that up while comforting someone.

What, was I supposed to go around telling everyone I had a cheat?

Nope. Not happening!

Tsukimi looked earnestly at the passionate boy before him. "My years of training might let me stay ahead of you for now, but not one bit of your hard work will go to waste. Who's stronger today doesn't decide everything. Never giving up and always giving it your all—that's what youth is really about, Guy!"

That was right. What did one win or loss matter?

Youth wasn't about talent that delivered instant success. It was about never giving up!

Guy snapped his head up. The disappointment vanished from his eyes, and the fire of youth blazed in them once more.

"Thank you, Tsukimi! I won't give up. At tomorrow's ranking matches, I'll give it everything I have and challenge you and Kakashi again!"

Watching Might Guy regain his fighting spirit, Tsukimi knew he was still young and inexperienced. A temporary setback could leave him lost, and in the original story, he had even felt ashamed that his father had remained a genin all his life.

But one day, Guy would break free of his cocoon and spread his wings. Just as he himself had said, he would become stronger than anyone!

Even after sparring with Tsukimi, Guy still wasn't a match for Kakashi. But if that little white-haired brat underestimated the bowl-cut boy, he was in for a nasty surprise!

Heh, another surprise for you, foolish Kakashi!