Chapter 162: Kakashi, Corrupted by Icha Icha Paradise
The next second, Kakashi's figure suddenly accelerated.
Sakura, who was hidden in the grass, was directly snatched out and thrown into the air. Just as he was preparing to give her a taste of her own medicine and use the Hell Viewing Technique on her, Naruto had already created ten shadow clones, which charged at him with a great clamor.
With a flurry of punches and kicks, Kakashi quickly cleared away Naruto's clones.
By this time, Sakura had already adjusted her position and landed, once again disappearing behind the trees.
Sasuke also threw kunai and shuriken to interfere with him, buying time to build up chakra for his next Fire Style jutsu.
Kakashi's advance was blocked again, and he finally began to take his three genin seriously. Their strength was a little off. Sasuke's continuous Fire Style and exquisite throwing skills, Sakura's one-handed seals and superb genjutsu, and then Naruto, who seemed reckless but took on the role of initiator and tank and could even pull out a large-scale wind jutsu... If this combination had a sensory ninja...
Just as he was thinking this, a kunai shot out from a distant tree, landing right where he was about to step. The moment it hit the ground, fragments scattered in all directions.
This naturally couldn't hurt him; he used a Body Flicker to dodge it. But this had once again forced him to display strength exceeding that of a Chūnin.
Arriving at a safe distance, Kakashi looked at Sasuke and Naruto, and a Sakura who was hidden somewhere, with a headache. There was no point in continuing this fight. He would win, of course, but it would be a win through sheer strength, which would defeat the purpose of teaching the three of them about teamwork.
"You three seem to have forgotten something."
He spoke slowly, deciding to switch to a psychological attack.
"There are only two bells. One of you is destined to be eliminated. It seems you've already discussed this—or have you forgotten?"
Naruto's expression changed, and he looked uneasily at Sasuke.
Sasuke just snorted. In any case, he wouldn't be the one eliminated.
Sakura, who had been hiding, jumped out, her hands behind her back, and looked at Kakashi with a gentle smile. "If someone has to be eliminated, then let it be me."
"My parents don't like me being a ninja anyway, and the person I have my heart set on isn't a ninja either. Besides, not being a ninja doesn't affect my ability to improve my strength."
Kakashi looked at her seriously, not knowing if she was telling the truth. But regardless, it meant his psychological attack was now useless. Naruto even looked as if he were moved to tears, and might just have a power-up the next second.
A helpless Kakashi relaxed his stance. "Forget it. Let's stop here. You all pass."
The three of them looked at each other. They won just like that?
"Kakashi-sensei, you can't do that!" Sakura cried out anxiously. "I was just saying that! I want to be a ninja! I still have to protect Makoto-kun!"
"How about we just eliminate Naruto!"
"Hey! No way!"
Sasuke sighed. "Stop arguing, you idiots. None of us will be eliminated. This was just a test from Kakashi-sensei."
He had figured it out. The village had no reason to eliminate any of them, because their strength was already above the Genin level. Even if Kakashi-sensei didn't like one of them and didn't want to lead them, wouldn't the village just arrange for another teacher?
Only Naruto was still in the dark. He looked blankly at Sasuke, then at Sakura.
Sakura shrugged, as if she had understood all along. This made Naruto cry out even louder.
Kakashi looked at the three of them with a gratified expression. Although his test had failed, he could see that their sense of cooperation was quite good. But... for the three of them to have grown so much, it must have something to do with that guy who was fishing over there.
"Alright! To celebrate your success, my treat! Grilled fish!"
Sakura and the others cheered, but then their smiles faded.
Akiyama Makoto was giving Kakashi the side-eye. "You're celebrating with your students. Why are you eating my grilled fish?"
"I just saw you had grilled so many, so I thought I'd come and mooch a meal!"
"You and Sakura are a couple. You wouldn't be that stingy, would you?"
Sakura, who had just been looking displeased, was now all smiles, bustling about to prepare for the feast.
Seeing her so happy, he didn't say anything more. Besides, he was curious what Kakashi was up to.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Kakashi gave him a look.
He understood and followed. As the two of them were walking, the kunai in Kakashi's hand was suddenly at his neck.
"Lord Kakashi, what is the meaning of this?"
"You didn't dodge or flinch. Are you that confident in your own strength?"
"No. I believe that Lord Kakashi would not harm a fellow citizen of Konoha."
Of course, what he was most confident in was his Flying Thunder God and his self-healing ability.
Kakashi sighed softly and withdrew the kunai. "Sorry. I had no intention of harming you. I just wanted to test your strength."
"It seems I've disappointed you, Lord Kakashi?"
Kakashi shook his head. "Don't call me 'Lord'. Just 'Kakashi' is fine. Although you are young, your influence in Konoha is by no means small. In the future, you may even hold a high position."
Seeing that he didn't object, Kakashi took it as a tacit agreement that he understood everything. This meant that he could now speak to him as an adult.
"Alright then, Kakashi. What did you want to see me about?"
"Well, to put it simply, from now on, they are my subordinates."
Kakashi's expression was serious. "I don't mind you training them in private, but they must obey my orders. Their physical condition must not affect me taking them on missions. Do you understand?"
Makoto looked at him with a strange expression. This made Kakashi look back, confused. "What's with that look?"
"No—I was just thinking, have you been reading too much Icha Icha Paradise? Sakura and I are pure. We're just a couple. I would never do anything that would prevent her from performing her duties."
Kakashi coughed awkwardly. "That's not what I meant!"
"I mean, their training should be based on my schedule. Otherwise, if they train on both sides, they might get injured."
"About that, you can rest assured."
He raised a hand, and the symbol of the pinnacle of medical ninjutsu, the Mystical Palm Technique, appeared. This scene truly shocked Kakashi.
"You—who did you learn that from?"
"I'm self-taught."
"No, that's impossible! This is the highest difficulty of medical ninjutsu—"
Before his words had even fallen, Makoto was simultaneously forming different hand seals with both hands.
The next second, his voice rang out.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A scorching fireball rushed towards Kakashi, but he did not dodge. Not because he couldn't, but because the half-body of Obito had appeared before his eyes. It turned out that while casting the fireball, Makoto had also cast the Hell Viewing Technique.
To Kakashi's helpless gaze, the flames engulfed him.
But the next second, the Kakashi in the flames turned into a log, and the real Kakashi had already returned to his side.
"I see... so Sakura learned from you. I never thought you were a genius of this level."
"A genius? Maybe. I don't really care."
Kakashi looked regretful. "With such talent, are you really not planning on becoming a ninja?"
"Plus your 'unconscious healing' ability, you would be a strong contender for Hokage."
Now, Kakashi felt that if he were given twenty years to grow, he would be at least an enhanced version of the Third Hokage.
He shook his head again. "I can still contribute to Konoha without being a ninja. The people I love are in Konoha. Besides, the world outside is vast. In the future, I want to go out and see it, just like Lady Tsunade."
Since he had mentioned Tsunade, Kakashi felt he understood everything. It was clear that he did not want to serve the current Konoha. Only when Tsunade became Hokage in the future would things perhaps change. It was no wonder he had such thoughts. As one of the top powerhouses in Konoha who had also been an Anbu captain, Kakashi naturally knew many of the village's confidential secrets, including the recent storm surrounding Danzō's scandals, which were nine times out of ten true.
Even Tsunade, the most influential member of the Senju clan, wouldn't return to Konoha. How could he, a new-generation genius who was suspected of being related to the Senju, possibly be loyal to the current Third Hokage and his leadership team?
Not to mention, Kakashi's own father had died under the leadership of those two. He himself was still slacking off in protest.
"I understand."
"Since you have this level of strength, then I won't interfere in your private time with Sakura."
"Also, that one-handed seal technique of yours... can you teach it to outsiders? I can trade you some ninjutsu for it."
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