Hatake Compound.
Kakashi's brow twisted into a knot. His hand froze over the notes he was taking.
Just as Sasuke Uchiha had thought, there were only four videos in total, and he appeared in three of them. In two, he got humiliated; in the other, he outright died. Didn't he have any dignity to preserve?
Yet those very videos had earned him the title of Copy Ninja, since he could trade a few blows with anyone, weak or strong.
[The video continued.
Caw!
Naruto successfully snatched back his forehead protector and tied it around his head.
"Listen up, you eyebrowless freak! My name is Naruto Uzumaki..."
He spoke of his dream, but after hearing him out, Zabuza burst into laughter!
"Hey, Sasuke, come here for a second. I've got a plan!"
Sasuke Uchiha froze at those words. Naruto had been scared of dying just moments ago, yet now he had changed so much!
"Heh, I never thought you'd know how to work as a team."
"Leave the rest to us!"
Trapped in the Water Prison, Kakashi's pupils trembled violently!
"Have you forgotten? Our mission is to protect him! The outcome was decided the moment I got trapped. Hurry up and run with him!"
"Good, good, good, good! Very good!"
After a hearty laugh, Zabuza vanished into the mist!
Naruto and Sasuke instantly panicked!
"Whoa!"
He suddenly emerged and struck with taijutsu, slamming into Sasuke so hard that he immediately coughed up blood!
Thud! He stomped him hard into the ground!
"Sasuke!"
Seeing this, Sakura grew so frantic that tears sprang to her eyes!
Naruto merely wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then formed hand seals!
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
But sheer numbers couldn't overwhelm a powerful opponent. His clones were beaten back relentlessly, and as Naruto was knocked away, he pulled two enormous shuriken from his backpack!
"Catch, Sasuke!"
Sasuke understood at once. Ignoring his injuries, he took the giant shuriken in his hand without even stopping to wipe the blood from his mouth.
Clack, clack!
"Fūma Shuriken-Shadow Windmill!"
Zabuza's shadow clone hesitated briefly, then tried to catch it, only for the shuriken to fly straight past him!
He turned around as it flew straight toward his real body behind him!
Yet Zabuza showed no sign of panic.
"A good plan, but you picked the wrong opponent!"
With a casual grab of his free hand, he caught the giant shuriken by its central ring. He hadn't expected another one beneath it, though. His expression grew grave, and he barely dodged!
With a puff, the shuriken transformed into Naruto, who hurled a kunai at him!
Zabuza's expression changed drastically. Forced to abandon the Water Prison Technique, he allowed Kakashi to escape!]
"Nice teamwork!"
Seeing this, Kakashi nodded in satisfaction. As for his own humiliation, he was already so used to it that he simply chose to ignore it.
His students had actually needed to rescue him because he'd let his guard down!
Still, their decision not to flee was a good one. Had they really run off with the client, Zabuza would have had nothing else to worry about and could have simply finished Kakashi off!
If Kakashi died, there would be no one left who could fight Zabuza. They were only genin and couldn't get far even if they ran.
They would either die or unleash the Nine-Tails. Either way, it would be a disastrous loss.
"I've really gotten lax, needing these kids to save me."
Judging by Sasuke and the others' ages in the video, they weren't much different from how they were now. That meant these events would happen this year.
"Heh, since I'm practicing swordsmanship, I'll need a good blade. I'll be taking that Kubikiribōchō!"
The Diary had let Kakashi learn about his future opponent in advance, so he could take precautions before embarking on this mission.
Combat methods and habits were difficult to change. Now that he knew Zabuza excelled at ambushing people in the mist, he could guard against it.
All he had to do was finish him off and take the Kubikiribōchō!
[The final part of the video showed a dazzling little sequence of moves, followed by the Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
Waves battered the three youngsters and their elderly client!
Zabuza and Kakashi's eyes sharpened at the same time, and they raised their right hands.
They formed hand seals simultaneously!
"I won't lose to a clown like you!" x2
Kakashi activated genjutsu and gained a slight edge, successfully unleashing his technique!
"Water Release-Great Waterfall Technique!"
Under Zabuza's astonished gaze, he was slammed hard against a tree trunk!
Whoosh!
Using the Body Flicker Technique, Kakashi appeared right beside Zabuza, kunai in hand, ready to stab him!
Just then, an unexpected visitor arrived, and two ice spikes pierced Zabuza's neck!]
The footage ended there.
Kakashi's eyes widened instantly. Couldn't it have played for two more seconds? He wanted to see who had arrived at the end!
Ice Release?
There didn't seem to be anyone in the village skilled in Ice Release, so it most likely wasn't reinforcements!
Then it had to be an enemy!
It looked like he needed to prepare a few explosive tags to counter their Ice Release.
With a cheat like this that could predict the future, how could he possibly let himself get humiliated again? He had to prepare in advance!
Seeing himself trapped, leaving his three students helpless and forcing them to risk their lives to save him, pained Kakashi deeply.
After briefly recording the information he'd obtained from the Diary today, he picked up the notes his father had left him and began reading and studying them. Taking a ninja blade in hand, he practiced various movements and even assumed attacking stances.
After all, his habit of using Chidori would be difficult to break, so he needed to start adjusting now.
Just as tense as Kakashi, Sasuke Uchiha finished reading the Diary and concluded that Kakashi was unreliable after all. He would have to depend on himself.
Rustle, rustle~
The sound of someone rummaging through things immediately filled the house.
He needed to get stronger quickly, which meant learning other ninjutsu. He wanted to see what techniques were still at home that he could learn.
Lightning-related techniques, for instance. The video showed that he possessed lightning release, and his future self used it with exceptional ease. That useless bastard hadn't taught him Chidori yet, so he could learn some other types first.
Tonight was destined to be a busy night.
Pocket World.
Compared to their frantic activity, Luo Mang was much more relaxed. He had watched several times but hadn't copied anything.
"Could mine be defective? Is that why I can't copy it?"
"Whatever. If I can't figure it out, why not try the lottery?"
Today's lottery attempt had arrived. He shook it up and down, making a praying gesture.
Whoosh, whoosh~
A green light flashed!
He hurriedly struck it with his consciousness!
[Substitution Technique mastery (Allows you to evade certain fatal attacks and escape if you're discovered during an assassination. But use it sparingly-be careful you don't run out of points!)]
Luo Mang: "Nice."
"Diary, you're a transmigrator too, aren't you?"
Complaints aside, this reward was pretty good. A green light had actually produced mastery. Not bad at all!
Indeed, the Substitution Technique was excellent for assassinations and evading fatal attacks. Although it would be useless once the godlike fighters started battling later on, it would still come in handy early on.
Before you continue