Young Kakashi dragged his Raikiri along his right hand, using the Water-Walking Technique to sprint across the pond. He sent a massive wave splashing up, then swiftly ran up a tree trunk, unleashing the Raikiri from the top and driving it downward!
In an instant, the towering tree—easily dozens of meters tall—was cleaved from top to bottom!
It looked as if a huge thunderbolt had come down from the sky and split it in half!
"Amazing!!" Naruto exclaimed in awe.
Sasuke stared at the boy across from him, who was his age, momentarily forgetting the envy he felt.
After making his 'low-key' grand display, young Kakashi said, "Not bad. This is about all I can manage for now."
Sakura: What more do you want?!!
Naruto snapped out of his stupor, excitedly hopping in front of his younger teacher Kakashi: "What technique was that?! Is it called Raikiri?! That was awesome!! You're way stronger than our Kakashi-sensei! He never taught us any decent jutsu!"
Sakura added her own comment: "Exactly! And he's always so late for class!!"
"Plus, he always comes up with lame excuses like 'I helped an old lady across the street,' or 'I got lost on the road of life!'" Naruto huffed.
Sasuke bluntly asked, "Are you two even the same person?" Could it be like there's a 'Kakashi No. 2' under the mask?
Young Kakashi furrowed his brow. "Late? Impossible!"
"Impossible?!" Naruto stomped his foot, fuming. "On the first day of class, he told us to skip breakfast and wait for him at 7:00 AM. But he didn't show up until 10:30!! His excuse? He got lost on the road of life! How many twists and turns does his life path have?!"
Sakura nodded vigorously in agreement, and Sasuke grunted in acknowledgment.
However, young Kakashi remained adamant that he could never be late. "A ninja must prioritize missions above all else. Any ninja who disregards the Shinobi Rules is trash!"
His words instantly stunned Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
Such a rigid attitude not only created a feeling of distance but also sparked an instinctive sense of resistance.
And…
This was completely the opposite of the Kakashi they knew!
They remembered the day Kakashi-sensei first acknowledged them. The first lesson he taught them was:
"Those who break the rules are trash, but those who don't value their comrades are worse than trash!"
Seeing their stunned faces, young Kakashi didn't bother explaining. He wasn't keen to bring up the irritating memories from the past.
"Alright, let's get back to the jutsu!"
He continued, "This technique gathers blue lightning in the palm and then pierces the target. Its key feature is its immense power—it can easily break through enemy defenses and penetrate them. It's a Lightning Release jutsu I developed recently. Minato-sensei said that if I improve the flaws, it could potentially be rated as S-rank."
"!!!!"
"S... S-rank?!"
Faced with young Kakashi's casual boasting, the three of them were once again left speechless.
Especially Sasuke. He was a true prodigy among this year's Ninja Academy students, yet he could only use one or two Fire Release techniques. But this Kakashi, at only twelve years old, had already developed an S-rank ninjutsu!
And it was his own creation!
"Hand seals: Hare… Horse… Dragon…" Seeing such a powerful technique for the first time, Naruto immediately began practicing the hand seals.
"Raikiri!!" Naruto shouted, startling both Sasuke and Sakura.
Had the super idiot Naruto really learned it that quickly?!
But when they turned to look—
Young Kakashi: "…"
The sharp-tongued young Kakashi was back. "Your shout was impressive, but you didn't seriously think you could just do the hand seals and unleash Raikiri, did you?"
Naruto: "......"
Sasuke: "...Super idiot."
Sakura: "Stupid Naruto…"
"Then how the heck do we learn it?! Teach us already, damn it!" Naruto yelled at young Kakashi.
Young Kakashi sighed and explained the chakra flow principles of Raikiri three times.
But not only did Naruto not understand—Sakura and Sasuke couldn't figure it out either.
Frustrated, Kakashi climbed up a nearby tree, leaving them to figure it out on their own.
Just before time was up, he called them back, perfectly on schedule. The three of them were still scrambling to form the hand seals on the ground, shouting, "Hare, Horse, Dragon! Raikiri!"
It had to be said, the three young genin hadn't gained anything.
When they returned to Tazuna's house, their expressions were worse than ever.
Seeing their faces, 26-year-old Kakashi grew concerned and asked young Kakashi what he had taught them.
"Raikiri."
That single phrase nearly made Kakashi spit out his drink.
"It's too early to teach them this, especially since none of the three have even tested their chakra attributes yet."
"I haven't tested mine either."
"You—no, we haven't," Kakashi corrected himself. "Our chakra is all-attribute. We can use any ninjutsu, though we're more proficient in Earth, Water, and Lightning Release."
Naruto: ...
Sasuke: ...
Sakura: ...
Damn it! This is infuriating!!!
Kakashi quickly reassured his three students, "I'll teach you tomorrow instead."
He glanced at his younger self. "This isn't wartime. They can't even control their chakra to climb trees or walk on water yet."
"Do we really need to learn that?!" Young Kakashi's tone was clearly a little arrogant.
It was pure luck that Tsunami had called them for dinner, preventing a fight.
Minato: "Kakashi, could you check if Obito and Rin are awake? If they are, bring them down for dinner."
Young Kakashi stood and headed upstairs.
The others sat down at the table to eat.
Tsunami looked a little apologetic. "Because of Gatō, the Land of Waves doesn't really have much to offer these days. We've got plenty of fish, though."
Minato smiled. "It's fine. Thank you for hosting us."
He glanced at young Kakashi. "I recall you used to enjoy fish..." After their conversation, he finally understood why that once-proud prodigy had been so battered by fate. Unconsciously, he felt a deep sympathy for his disciple.
Boom!
A thunderous crash echoed from the second floor!
Even the non-ninja Tazuna family could tell it was the unmistakable sound of flesh slamming into the ground!
And it wasn't just a fall—someone had clearly been attacked!
More crashes followed, each louder than the last!
Without a word, Minato and Kakashi used Body Flicker Technique to dash upstairs. Naruto, Sasuke, and the others dropped their chopsticks and rushed after them!
The wall panels on the second floor had been severely damaged by the impact, revealing the chaos inside!
At the forefront, Kakashi Hatake and Minato Namikaze stood frozen, staring in shock at the ruined room and the figure within—a young man, radiating intense malice, like a trapped beast!
"Obito... you... awakened your eyes?!"