"Kakashi, today I'm going to teach you a ninjutsu called the Shadow Clone Technique. Watch closely."
Hatake Sakumo began forming hand seals.
Ox-Dog-Dragon-Rat-Dog-Boar-Snake-Tiger!
As the chakra inside Sakumo divided, another Sakumo appeared beside him.
Kakashi looked curiously at the newly appeared Sakumo and reached out to touch him.
"Does he have a physical body?"
"Yes. The Shadow Clone Technique creates a clone with a physical body and a portion of your chakra. A shadow clone only disappears when you dispel it yourself, when the chakra inside it runs out, or when it suffers a fatal injury."
"What's more, a shadow clone can use most of the ninjutsu you possess. It's a very practical B-rank ninjutsu."
Kakashi's eyes lit up at that.
Then he began performing the Shadow Clone Technique, following the sequence of hand seals Sakumo had just used.
As the chakra inside him flowed, a shadow clone appeared beside him, though it was extremely unstable. Kakashi also dropped onto his bottom, panting heavily.
"Creating a shadow clone draws out some of the chakra inside you. If you don't control it well, it might suddenly draw out half, leaving you feeling extremely weak. So you need to control it carefully."
"I understand."
After the imperfect shadow clone dispersed, a large amount of chakra returned to his body. Kakashi slowly rose from the ground, carefully controlled his chakra, and began performing the Shadow Clone Technique.
It had to be said that Kakashi, who could become a chunin at six and a jonin at twelve, truly had terrifying talent. On just his second attempt, he completely mastered the Shadow Clone Technique.
"Very good. That's my son."
Seeing this, Sakumo was very pleased with Kakashi's performance.
"Now, there's one more ninjutsu I want to teach you."
"When it comes to attacking, you have our Hatake Clan's swordsmanship, with the Hell Viewing Technique and Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu for support, as well as the offensive ninjutsu Lightning Release: Earth Flow. But you're lacking in defense. Sometimes, you have no choice but to meet an opponent's attack head-on, so what I'm going to teach you next is a defensive ninjutsu."
With that, Sakumo began forming hand seals again.
Snake-Ram-Horse-Dragon-Ox.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
At Sakumo's shout, a thick earthen wall rose from the ground.
"Earth Release has the best defensive capabilities of all the elements. This technique is also very practical and can effectively block most frontal attacks. Of course, ninjutsu can be used in various ways. Sometimes, even defensive ninjutsu can catch an opponent off guard."
Kakashi nodded and began learning Earth Style Wall.
Sakumo carefully guided him from the side. About an hour later, Kakashi successfully performed this B-rank ninjutsu, his remarkable talent leaving even Sakumo amazed.
At that age, he had not been nearly as capable as Kakashi.
In terms of ninjutsu, Kakashi was already every bit a match for a chunin. All he lacked was proficiency and combat awareness.
After finishing their training, the two headed toward where Yuzuru was.
Before they even reached Yuzuru's training ground, they could already feel that the surrounding temperature had dropped considerably.
"Could it be?"
Father and son hurried over to take a look, only to find many ice pillars and chunks of broken ice in the training ground. Kakashi's eyes widened.
"Dad, this..."
"Yuzuru did this."
Just then, an ice wolf's head suddenly emerged from the pile of ice and lunged at Sakumo, snapping its jaws.
Facing the oncoming ice wolf, Sakumo drew his blade without hesitation and slashed its head. Surprisingly, however, the strike only left a notch in it.
"Such hard ice!"
Sakumo was a little surprised too. Then electricity appeared along his blade, and with its reinforcement, the Chakra Blade cleaved through the wolf's head without the slightest resistance, shattering it.
Comparing the hardness of his blade with that of the ice, Sakumo was surprised to discover that the ice was already no less hard than ordinary metal.
"What do you think? My Ice Release is pretty good, isn't it?"
Yuzuru came up to Sakumo and Kakashi and spoke with a smile.
"It's impressive. Unfortunately, I can't offer you much help with Ice Release. You'll have to rely on yourself."
Sakumo patted Yuzuru's head.
"Dad, you've done more than enough. With all these Ice Release ninjutsu, I have enough to forge my own path."
"All right, it's getting late. Have something to eat and get some rest. You still have school tomorrow."
Sakumo chuckled, then ruffled both boys' hair in turn.
It had to be said that he really liked patting heads.
"Speaking of that, Dad, I want to apply to graduate early. I already know everything they teach at the Ninja Academy."
Kakashi voiced his thoughts then.
"Are you sure you want to graduate early? That would mean setting out on the path of a ninja ahead of time. I'd still like you to enjoy a little more of your carefree student days."
"No, thanks. My dream is to become a great ninja like you, Dad. The Ninja Academy is good, but it isn't right for me."
Kakashi shook his head in refusal.
"I see. What about you, Xiao Xian? Do you want to graduate early too?"
Sakumo looked at Yuzuru beside him.
"No. I still prefer just going to the Ninja Academy. Being with my classmates is a pretty good choice too."
Yuzuru made a choice completely different from Kakashi's.
"All right, then. Whatever you choose, I'll respect your decisions."
The next day, Kakashi arrived at school and stated his request to graduate early.
Their teacher immediately reported Kakashi's situation to the higher-ups, and, unsurprisingly, Kakashi's request was approved.
The school arranged for Kakashi to fight an official genin, and the entire class came over to watch.
As for the result, naturally, there were no surprises: Kakashi defeated the genin facing him.
And so, having attended school for less than two months, Kakashi graduated amid everyone's amazement and became a genin.
Before leaving, Kakashi glanced at Yuzuru.
During class, looking at the suddenly empty seat in front of him, Yuzuru abruptly realized that without Kakashi blocking him, he was completely exposed to the teacher's gaze. Zoning out or sleeping was now entirely impossible.
"Tsk, this isn't right! Kakashi, you left and saddled me with this huge problem."
Fortunately, this situation only lasted a few days before a new student joined the class.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Kato Shizune."
Hearing that name, Yuzuru raised his eyebrows slightly.
Just then, Rin Nohara waved to her, and Kakashi's former seat became Shizune's.
Hmm, so now I'm surrounded by girls?
Behind him was a wall, to his left was a window, to his right was Kurenai, and in front of him were Shizune and Rin.
Ooh, noice!
And so, with a new shield in place, Yuzuru once again fell comfortably asleep in the sunshine.
Despite sleeping, zoning out, and ignoring lessons every day, he was still a good student.
Meanwhile, at the Hatake Clan's training ground.
"Say, you barely pay attention in class, so why are you still wasting time at school?"
Kakashi lay exhausted on the ground and asked Yuzuru beside him.
"Well, I am attending class. Who told you I was the original?"
"?"
Hearing that, Kakashi immediately sat up, his face filled with disbelief.
"I have half the original's chakra, you know. That's enough to complete most training. Ever since he learned this technique, the original has been getting lazier and lazier. Right now, he's either flirting with girls or sleeping."