RNP Chapter 22 Sparring
Chapter 22 Sparring
An unusually large fireball shot out from the forest, exploded on the water's surface, and stirred up huge waves. The high temperature evaporated a large amount of water vapor, covering the entire lake surface and shore.
"Oh dear, there's more than one combination ninjutsu?" Kakashi had already closed the book in his hand. He knew that the thick fog wouldn't affect the two children's movements; one was a sensory type, and the other had the Sharingan, so they could easily lock onto him even in the fog.
In just a brief exchange, he realized the two children were unusual. Naruto used the Shadow Clone Technique, and the smoke generated by the dozen or so clones perfectly concealed their real bodies. Kakashi only discovered this when he destroyed the clone "Sasuke," because even the Sasuke who had secretly jumped out to attack was a clone—this was clearly abnormal. Sure enough, the two children gave him a big surprise; as soon as the clone "Sasuke" exploded, a Great Fireball enhanced by Wind Release techniques came hurtling towards him.
Kakashi didn't have a chance to form hand seals to block, because Naruto's clones hadn't all been destroyed at that time. Their death charge was faster than before, and the lightning attribute's sharpness flashed by but was still sensed.
The giant fireball engulfed Kakashi's figure, as well as the remaining two or three clones. The mist quickly became an obstacle to vision. Kakashi escaped using the Substitution Jutsu and crouched in the treetop to observe carefully, only to find that the two children's presence had vanished.
...Could it be that they ran away?
The answer is of course no.
A kunai flew from the front, aiming straight for his brow, while several shuriken circled around his back, tracing graceful arcs through the air past the tree trunk, attacking his entire body from almost every angle. In a flash, Kakashi chose to charge straight ahead. He knocked the kunai away and dodged the shuriken, but what met him head-on was an invisible wind blade.
Kakashi narrowly dodged the wind blade, losing several strands of hair and nearly his head. However, the attack wasn't over; several lightning arrows rained down from behind, taking advantage of his suspended state and the moment he couldn't react quickly enough after his evasive maneuver. All the attacks were propelling him forward, but his intuition told him it wasn't a good choice. Sasuke's side had been launching the larger-scale attacks all along, but in reality, Naruto's chakra reserves far exceeded Sasuke's; he was the one more likely to unleash a killing blow.
It seems we underestimated them; we can't hold back any longer.
Lightning crackled in Kakashi's hands; the lightning arrows, touched by the electric net, were quickly absorbed, ironically aiding the enemy's attack. Kakashi whirled around and charged backward; the arrow rain's range was far less than the wind blades, and Sasuke was much closer. Sasuke, indeed, was in the bushes behind the tree, his blood-red eyes wide as he narrowly dodged the attack. Two consecutive jutsu, coupled with the strain on his Sharingan, had left him exhausted. But Kakashi's attack was unconventional. Instead of pressing his advantage, he kicked Sasuke away while simultaneously turning to attack Naruto, who was approaching from afar. A sensory ninja capable of concealing their own and their teammates' chakra was always a top priority target on the battlefield, especially since Sasuke's chakra was likely nearly depleted; the real threat was Naruto.
He had gotten a little serious without realizing it; he was genuinely curious about what kind of results these two children would produce.
A raging torrent of water appeared out of nowhere, obscuring Naruto's figure, but the water barrier was insufficient to withstand the impact of the lightning, so what greeted the lightning was a vast sea. Kakashi was directly hit by the massive water jutsu, while Sasuke, whom he had kicked away, used the momentum to climb a tree and escape. This water jutsu, covering half a dense forest, not only dispersed Kakashi's attackers but also brought Kakashi's true form out of the water.
"Finally decided to show yourself?" Naruto quickly returned to Sasuke's side and waved to Kakashi, who jumped out of his hiding place.
Kakashi secretly wiped away a cold sweat. He hadn't expected Naruto to use such an exaggerated Water Release technique at such a young age. "Your sensory abilities are really strong. You knew I was around all along, didn't you?"
Sasuke wiped the dust off his face, looked at Kakashi again with a more scrutinizing gaze, and said stubbornly, "Your strength... is not bad."
"Sasuke, don't say that. Kakashi-sensei definitely wasn't serious with us."
"So you're calling him 'teacher' now?"
"Wasn't he the teacher the Third Hokage arranged for us? Besides, he just used Lightning Release! Does Sasuke really not want to learn?"
"...Who said I wanted to learn, you big idiot!"
"Huh? How am I an idiot! Idiot Sasuke!"
These two little brats have completely opposite personalities, don't they? How did they even grow up like that? They have such a good relationship; even when they fight, they're in perfect sync...
"Silly Kaka! What are you daydreaming about!"
"Kakashi-sensei?"
A figure hidden deep in his heart appeared, but his deep black hair instantly faded, replaced by gold. Kakashi then noticed that the two children had already tugged and pulled each other in front of him, and little Naruto was blinking, looking at him with slight worry.
"Did I hit it too hard just now?"
The silver-haired teacher suddenly smiled, swiftly ruffled the heads of the two children, and said, "How about I treat you to dinner today as a greeting gift?"
"Really? I want to eat Ichiraku Ramen!!" Naruto immediately put on a sparkling expression, because not only would he stop Sasuke from eating tomatoes every day, but Sasuke would also stop him from eating ramen as a meal.
"Oh, you've already made up your mind? Then you'd better give it your all in this afternoon's special training!"
Minato-sensei, he's a teacher now. Is this what it feels like to be a teacher? Looking at his energetic juniors, even someone like him feels needed again, regained his vitality. Obito, this child is so much like you. Although he doesn't like to talk about protecting others, he always shields his comrades during battles, and his smile is just as silly as yours. He's the teacher's child, inheriting the best qualities of both his teacher and his wife, radiating light like a little sun. If you could see him, you would definitely like him very much…
"Kakashi Hatake, known as the Copy Ninja and Sharingan Kakashi. He'd be perfect as your teacher, Sasuke." As soon as they got home, the two kids started exchanging information.
"Sharingan?" Sasuke's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this incredible term. "The eye he's covering is the Sharingan? I knew the color was strange. How could he have the Sharingan?"
"It's said that it was given to him by his friend." Naruto couldn't be too explicit, after all, his friend who had already been placed on the memorial tablet was still alive and would occasionally appear in Konoha, often waking him up from his dreams.
Sasuke remained silent for a moment. Considering Kakashi's age, he didn't believe his father was unaware of this. Since the Uchiha clan hadn't made a fuss about taking back the eyes when they were around, he saw no need to pursue the matter further.
How could you know such a thing?
Naruto lowered his voice mysteriously, "Before the Anbu didn't know I could sense them, they would get very close, and they would whisper among themselves while they were at work."
"..." Are the Anbu really that unreliable? Spending time slacking off at work and all that...?
"Kakashi-sensei used to be the captain of the Anbu. He was super popular, and the Anbu members would sometimes talk about him."
"..." So that's how it is? I'm not surprised at all.
"So we can't waste this great opportunity, we must learn his Lightning Release!" Sasuke.
"...Fine, I know, you're so annoying!"
"I'm doing this for your own good, aren't I? And you're still blaming me!"
It's foreseeable that life will be very exciting from now on, but... if it's Kakashi-sensei, he won't be able to fool him with shadow clones anymore... It seems he'll have to be the remote leader for a few more years, how troublesome!