"I heard you burned down your house?"At the training field just outside Konoha, Nara Kazuki was stacking his Fireballs again, while Kakashi sat lazily nearby.
Kazuki twitched.He glanced over at Kakashi.
For some reason — maybe because of their last mission —Kakashi, though still cold-eyed toward most people, had begun showing... slight emotional shifts around him.
And even though Kakashi's tone sounded casual, Kazuki could smell the faint aroma of schadenfreude.
"You want me to drop by your house next time and return the favor?"Kazuki said darkly.
Kakashi just shrugged, a little smirk playing at the corner of his mouth, as if saying, "How's that my problem?"
Kazuki exhaled deeply.Another roaring Fireball shot from his lips, exploding into a vivid bloom of flames against the sky.
Feeling his chakra reserves dipping, he immediately sat down and began refining chakra.
After a morning of testing, Kazuki confirmed it:his new passive ability made a huge difference.
He could now chain multiple Fireballs before even needing a break.
In simple terms—he could last longer.
Kazuki turned and looked at Kakashi, his gaze filled with... pity.
Still burdened by the infamous title: Konoha's Least Enduring Man.
Kakashi's forehead twitched.The hell was that look supposed to mean?
"...I heard you used to be pretty good with a sword,"Kazuki said offhandedly.
Kakashi stiffened slightly but nodded.
Hatake Kakashi —the son of the legendary White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo.
Sakumo was once revered as a warrior whose strength surpassed even the Sannin.Had he not taken his own life, Konoha's future would've been drastically different.
Even Obito would have hesitated to start trouble.
The White Fang wasn't called that for nothing.
His fame was tied closely to his kenjutsu —a deadly sword style that terrorized battlefields.
Naturally, Kakashi had inherited that blade mastery.It was part of why he became a jōnin so young.
Yet at some point, Kakashi had abandoned the sword —shifting focus entirely to lightning-style jutsu.
He'd forged his own path, sure...but Kazuki always felt it was a bit of a shame.
What if Kakashi had kept up with kenjutsu?
Maybe he would have been even stronger.Maybe he would have changed the shape of history.
It was like those endless fan debates —"Healthy Itachi""Hidan with sanitary pads"crazy "what-ifs" among the hardcore Naruto fans.
(Healthy Itachi referred to an Itachi free from illness — a monster of potential.)(Hidan with sanitary pads... well, it was a morbid joke about Hidan using female shinobi's personal items to curse and kill without contact. Even Tsunade wouldn't stand a chance.)
Though honestly, Kazuki wasn't sure Tsunade even had periods anymore at this timeline.
"Think you could teach me?"Kazuki asked, half-serious.
Kakashi was silent for a moment —then nodded.
Though he no longer pursued kenjutsu, the knowledge hadn't left him.
"It depends on your talent,"Kakashi added bluntly.
No use teaching a brick.
He wasn't planning to become a pure swordsman anyway —this was more about nudging Kakashi himself.
Maybe if Kakashi brushed up on swordsmanship again,he might reclaim some of his father's legacy.
A tiny push from the sidelines —sometimes, that was all it took to change a genius' future.
So Kazuki shelved chakra refinement for now and joined Kakashi for basic sword drills —swinging, footwork, balance.
(Anyway, chakra was refining automatically in the background.)
"...Your talent's pretty bad,"Kakashi said, wiping his forehead, looking at Kazuki like he was hopeless.
Despite mimicking the moves decently,Kazuki's strikes completely lacked spirit.
Kakashi had tried, really tried —but in the end, he could only sigh and give up.
"Yeah, fair enough,"Kazuki admitted readily.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: 10/2000]
A progress bar popped up in his mind.
He had swung until his arms were shaking —and barely gained 10 points.
Still, progress was progress.
And if there was a bar to grind, Kazuki could grind it.
Sure, in his heart, Kazuki knew pure taijutsu power lay in the Eight Gates.The Eight Inner Gates Formation —the technique that allowed Might Guy to nearly kill Madara Uchiha himself.
But the Eight Gates were brutal.Physically demanding beyond belief.
Years of constant, punishing training —and even then, opening the final gates was something only monsters like Guy could achieve.
The world wasn't fair.Raw effort wasn't enough.Talent still mattered.
And now, Might Duy (Might Guy's father) was already dead.The Eight Gates technique had likely entered Konoha's classified archives as a forbidden art.
Without direct authorization from the Hokage...dreaming of learning it was pure delusion.
Thus, second-best was still good enough.Hatake Swordsmanship —it would have to do.
"Alright, let's eat,"Kazuki wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"You're buying?"Kakashi asked instinctively —then saw Kazuki's empty, pitiful pockets.
"You know I just burned down my house, right?"Kazuki said solemnly.
Kakashi twitched slightly, sighed, and silently pulled out his wallet.
He wasn't short on cash.And, well —buying this weirdo a meal wasn't the worst thing.
Something about this feels wrong.