Kakashi Couldn't Stay Cool for More Than Three Seconds

Waves swept in.

Seawater submerged their ankles.

The Hidden Mist captain, Ao, seemed to have some self-awareness. Though he had been looking down on Kakashi, he would not relax in battle. He directed two Hidden Mist ninja to keep Kakashi Hatake occupied.

His target was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

Moreover, Ao was not purely a combat ninja. He was better suited to being a sensory-type ninja. Especially after he had happened to seize a Byakugan from a member of the Hyuga Main Branch during the Shinobi World War, Ao's sensory abilities had grown even stronger!

When facing Kakashi, he could only barely put on the airs of an older brother. If they truly fought, it would already be good enough if he could maintain an even match...

Unfortunately, this time, Ao was destined to kick an iron plate!

Under Ao's command, the Hidden Mist ninja quickly divided their tasks. Aside from the two responsible for tying up Kakashi, the remaining four or five rode the waves toward Team Seven!

Sasuke Uchiha flicked a shuriken into one of the ninja and swung his kunai to block another!

And that was not all...

Sasuke pulled four diamond-shaped shuriken from his ninja tools pouch and hurled them at the other Hidden Mist ninja. He was trying to stop every enemy on his own!

This guy was fierce!

Naruto Uzumaki adjusted his forehead protector. After only a few days of training, his teammate had suddenly become so aggressive that he was still not quite used to it...

The next moment, the Hidden Mist ninja struck by the shuriken abruptly turned into splashes of water and fell into the sea. They were Water Clones!

Several Hidden Mist ninja reappeared and rushed forward!

Naruto Uzumaki's eye twitched. So it had been an illusion...

One Hidden Mist ninja tossed out a chained weapon and flung it toward Sasuke Uchiha from afar. "Brat, you dare fight us Hidden Mist ninja at sea? You're courting death!"

Sasuke, who was entangled with another Hidden Mist ninja, was clearly a little flustered. Besides, there was nothing on the sea's surface for him to use with the Substitution Technique to evade...

"Rasengan Bullet!"

Naruto Uzumaki instantly condensed a tiny chakra vortex and flicked it into the Hidden Mist ninja, blasting him away!

After Sasuke Uchiha let out a sigh of relief, he quickly followed up with a shuriken!

Seeing this, Ao, who had been calmly watching, shouted at his subordinates with displeasure written all over his face, "Hey, focus! You're the village's Hunter-nin Squad. Can't you even capture a few brats?"

"Please leave it to us, Lord Ao! Owl was just too careless!"

Another Hidden Mist ninja swiftly formed hand seals and spat a massive torrent toward Team Seven. "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

"It's an opening!"

Just as he unleashed his ninjutsu, Sasuke Uchiha suddenly appeared behind him, grabbed a kunai, and drove it into his throat!

Naruto Uzumaki refused to be outdone, kicking another charging Hidden Mist ninja away!

A Rasengan immediately followed, striking the enemy and driving him into the sea. He never surfaced again!

Sasuke Uchiha spat out a mouthful of seawater and looked contemptuously at the last Hidden Mist ninja, who was dodging around. "These enemies are weaker than I imagined!"

Sakura Haruno narrowed her eyes and smiled as she praised him. "It's not that they've become weaker. Sasuke-kun has become stronger!"

Naruto Uzumaki: "..."

Sasuke Uchiha: "..."

That was indeed true.

Improving chakra control also greatly enhanced taijutsu. At the very least, after chakra was concentrated beneath his feet, his speed had become faster!

Besides, the Hidden Mist ninja assigned to capture Naruto were merely chunin. The remaining two jonin enemies were still tangled up with Kakashi Hatake!

As Team Seven's jonin instructor, Kakashi had never looked particularly impressive. After the Survival Exercise, he had ended up in the hospital. After encountering an ambush during a C-rank Mission, he had been slashed until he was covered in wounds.

Yet now, facing the combined assault of two jonin, Kakashi Hatake had actually gained the upper hand through his varied ninjutsu and fluid taijutsu!

Kakashi Hatake had finally displayed his powerful side!

After kicking one jonin into the other, Kakashi Hatake let out a low shout. "Lightning Release: Lightning Cutter!"

Electric light danced in Kakashi's palm. Under his control, it suddenly pierced through the chests and abdomens of the two Hidden Mist ninja. Blood gushed out and stained the sea red. They clearly were not going to survive...

He had defeated two jonin in a single move!

Both Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno widened their eyes in astonishment. Their jonin instructor had finally pulled through for once...

Just when Team Seven thought the situation was settled, Ao, who had been directing everything, suddenly made his move. He brought two fingers together and struck Kakashi Hatake in the chest. "Water Release: Azure Dragon Piercing Hand!"

That attack had come far too suddenly!

And it came right after Kakashi Hatake had used Lightning Cutter. With almost no ability to retaliate, Kakashi was caught by Ao's sudden attack!

Ao's fingers tapped Kakashi's body in rapid succession, quickly using water-nature chakra to seal Kakashi Hatake's chakra points!

And it was not over yet!

A deep azure dragon head suddenly formed in Ao's palm. The dragon head and his palm struck Kakashi Hatake one after another. "Water Release: Azure Dragon Palm!"

Ao's ambush was so fast that Kakashi had not even had time to react before he was sent flying!

Team Seven's jonin instructor could never stay cool for more than three seconds...

After defeating Kakashi with two Nintaijutsu techniques, Ao shook his head and put on a helpless expression. "I didn't expect that I'd still have to step in myself..."

Naruto Uzumaki: "..."

Why did this guy love putting on airs so much?

Someone who didn't know better would think he was Kirigakure's Mizukage!

Sakura Haruno rushed over and saved Kakashi Hatake. This time, the injuries their jonin instructor had suffered were evidently far more serious than they had imagined, and worry immediately appeared on the little girl's face...

Sasuke Uchiha was the first to attack Ao, scattering four shuriken from his hand. "Tch, I hate people like you who put on an act..."

Under his throw, the four shuriken each traced an arc through the air, nearly forming an encirclement as they shot toward Ao!

As long as he made any evasive movement, he would be hit by the shuriken!

Yet the blue-gray-haired middle-aged man stood steadily on the sea, entirely unafraid of the incoming attack. The four shuriken grazed past his body and fell into the water!

"What?!"

Sasuke Uchiha stared at the scene in shock. He had actually evaded Sasuke's shuriken attack with such confidence!

Sasuke's eyes instantly turned scarlet, two black tomoe reflected within his pupils. "Sharingan: Activate!"

He held eight shuriken in both hands and violently hurled them out...

This time, he would see the enemy's movements clearly!

Ao merely took one slow step toward the northwest, evading every shuriken attack!

"An Uchiha Clan member?"

The middle-aged man looked at Sasuke Uchiha and smiled. "But compared to your predecessor, you're far too inferior!"

Back then, he had led people in an attack on Konoha under orders, only to be so frightened by Shisui Uchiha's genjutsu that he retreated on the spot. Now, bullying an Uchiha child felt somewhat shameful by instinct and did not suit his status...

But it felt really good!

First update. Ao really did love acting like an elder in the original story!

Konoha was somewhat boring, and Kakashi Hatake had become a rare source of entertainment. Whenever he came around, he always looked weak and powerless. "One Kakashi's worth of chakra."

After saying that, he would unleash nine ninjutsu.

The Konoha ninja would emerge, laughing as they watched him. "Kakashi, you must have stolen someone else's ninjutsu again!"

Kakashi Hatake would widen his eyes and say, "How can you slander me out of nowhere!"

"What slander? Last time, I saw you copying the Second Hokage's Water Release ninjutsu at the training ground. Not only did you fail to copy it, you even got hung up and beaten!"

Kakashi Hatake's face would flush red, veins bulging across it as he argued, "A ninja's business... can't be called stealing! Can Sharingan copying be called stealing?"

Then came a bunch of incomprehensible remarks, things like, "This Sharingan isn't mine, so it doesn't count as me stealing it," and, "I invented Lightning Cutter too"...

The ninja all burst into laughter, and Konoha was immediately filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

—Excerpt from Sasuke Uchiha's "My Teacher Kakashi"