In fact, after escorting Tazuna back to his home, the mission was essentially completed.
Technically, Natsuro and his team could head back now, but Kakashi, feeling drained, suggested that they stay for two more days to rest.
"You're this worn out already?" Natsuro glanced at Kakashi with some exasperation. How long had they been fighting? He remembered in the original story, Kakashi passed out, but at least this time, he hadn't fainted.
"No choice. The burden of the Sharingan is too great for those who aren't Uchiha," Sasuke commented. He had already learned from Kakashi the origin of his Sharingan.
To be honest, Sasuke had been curious about Kakashi's identity, but he also knew it was unlikely that Kakashi was an Uchiha. So, after learning that the Sharingan was a dying gift from one of Kakashi's teammates, he wasn't too disappointed.
"Well, it's just how it is," Kakashi rolled his eyes. Anyone would be upset being called out like that, but he couldn't really argue.
Natsuro considered using the Flying Thunder God technique to take everyone back in one go, but decided against it. It was a long distance, and bringing others along would be exhausting. Besides, he still wanted to deal with Gato.
As Natsuro looked at Kakashi, he sighed a little at Kakashi's wasted potential. With his natural talent, how had he ended up like this?
But he could understand. After all, Kakashi had lost his mother at birth—though at that age he wouldn't have realized it—and then lost his father in childhood. His father had committed suicide under the harsh criticism of the village, and Kakashi had to grow up constantly hearing people blame his father.
This led him into a deep emotional shadow. Just when he had finally found a warm team, his teammate "tragically died," leaving behind only the relic of the Sharingan.
When Kakashi seemed to be on the verge of recovery thanks to his sensei and his team, he "personally" killed another teammate.
In the end, both his teacher and his teacher's wife died on the same day.
Natsuro couldn't help but think that Kakashi's life was incredibly tragic.
If Kakashi were an actual member of the Uchiha clan, he probably would have awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan after all those traumatic experiences.
It was precisely because the Sharingan was a keepsake from his teammate that Kakashi didn't want to lose it, or even seal it away.
His teacher was a sealing expert, and his teacher's wife was one of the top experts in this field. Natsuro didn't believe for a second that they couldn't seal a Sharingan while keeping it alive.
The only possibility was that Kakashi himself didn't want to do it.
Saying Kakashi without the Sharingan was stronger than with it wasn't necessarily true. After all, the Sharingan gave him a higher ceiling.
However, the biggest issue was that Kakashi's best option was to seal the Sharingan until his body was in its prime condition, then unseal it. With Kakashi's talent, mastering the Sharingan wouldn't have been difficult.
That version of Kakashi would have been the strongest. Unfortunately, Kakashi hadn't gone that route. The fact that he earned the nickname "Copy Ninja" was proof enough—he hadn't sealed the Sharingan and had been using it constantly.
With the limitations of the Sharingan—especially the three-tomoe version—Kakashi's chakra would always be restricted. His stamina would also be weakened, slowing down his training and limiting his progress.
Otherwise, Natsuro believed that while reaching the super-kage level might be difficult for Kakashi, becoming a solid kage-level ninja shouldn't have been a problem. Instead, he was stuck in a state of mediocrity...
"But even though we need some time to rest, we can also use this time for some training," Kakashi said, unaware that Natsuro had already mentally criticized him thoroughly.
"Training?" Naruto and the others immediately perked up, especially Sakura, who had already noticed the gap between herself and her teammates. To avoid falling behind, this training was crucial for her.
Sakura was starting to feel excited. After the training, could she catch up to the others, even just a little?
Soon, Kakashi led the group to a forest, where he was about to begin his training session.
However…
"Tree climbing? Natsuro already taught us that," Naruto said.
Kakashi began to sweat.
"Walking on water? Natsuro taught us that too!"
Kakashi's sweat started pouring down even more. He shot a glance at Natsuro. Just how much had this guy taught them?
No wonder he'd sensed that Naruto and Sasuke's abilities were far beyond what genin were usually capable of.
"So, Kakashi-sensei, can't you teach us something else?" Naruto asked bluntly.
Kakashi wanted to roll his eyes. He just wanted to teach a simple lesson—why was it so hard?
"Um, Kakashi-sensei, I haven't learned those yet..." Sakura timidly raised her hand. She couldn't help but look at Natsuro, but she knew he hadn't taught her anything.
Then again, when she thought about it, she realized that she and Natsuro didn't have much of a relationship. She was closer to Ino, after all, and Natsuro had no reason to teach her.
Hearing Sakura's words, Kakashi felt like crying. Finally, a normal student!
But just then, Natsuro spoke up.
"I'll teach Sakura the basics. As for Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi-senpai is a legendary Copy Ninja, said to have copied hundreds or even thousands of jutsu. He's very powerful," Natsuro hinted.
Immediately, Sasuke and Naruto's eyes lit up, both staring at Kakashi, who was now sweating even more. This guy was trying to squeeze him dry, wasn't he?
Kakashi wanted to refuse, but couldn't. Teaching his students was his duty, and he did know a lot of jutsu. However, most of them wouldn't be suitable for Naruto and Sasuke.
"Oh, by the way, Kakashi-senpai, Naruto's chakra nature is wind, and Sasuke's are fire and lightning. Don't teach the wrong techniques," Natsuro added with a devilish smile that made Kakashi feel like he was being tortured.
But wind nature... Kakashi knew some wind jutsu, though he wasn't very familiar with them. It was the same with fire. But lightning… Kakashi looked at Sasuke. He had the lightning nature, plus the Sharingan. His physical condition wasn't perfect, but for his age, he had great potential.
Still, was it really a good idea to teach his signature technique so soon?
Suddenly, Kakashi paused and looked at Natsuro. He remembered reading his file and recalled that the Third Hokage had hinted at something. Could it be that Natsuro also wanted to learn his Chidori?
"I do know a lightning technique, but it requires very high dynamic vision," Kakashi said, trying to give a warning.
"It's fine. Sasuke has the Sharingan, so his dynamic vision should be good enough," Natsuro responded, smiling at Kakashi.
Kakashi and Natsuro stared at each other for a while before Kakashi finally sighed and said, "Alright, I'll do it. But once you finish teaching Sakura, come back quickly."
Since Natsuro was so insistent, Kakashi decided to teach them. After all, building a good relationship with the future Hokage wasn't a bad idea. Kakashi could see things clearly, and to his surprise, he realized that Natsuro was so young, yet the Third Hokage was already paving the way for him…
"Okay." Natsuro smiled. With this, he had officially obtained the license to use Raikiri or rather, Chidori, and could now use it openly.
Afterward, Kakashi led the eager Sasuke and a grumbling Naruto, who kept asking about wind-style jutsu, away.
Sakura watched as Kakashi took Naruto and Sasuke with him, then turned toward Natsuro. She wasn't quite sure how to approach this classmate.
"Um, Natsuro, can we go join them? It should be the same if we learn over there, right?" Sakura, still unwilling to be separated from Sasuke, asked directly.
Hearing this, Natsuro glanced at Sakura. As expected, at this stage, all she could think about was Sasuke. He shook his head and replied, "No. The jutsu they're learning are quite powerful. You'd be affected over there."
"Alright," Sakura nodded, accepting reality. She silently resolved to quickly learn tree climbing and water walking so she could be by Sasuke's side again.
"Shall we start learning now?" Sakura asked, not wanting to waste any time.
"There's no rush."
Sakura paused, and her inner voice screamed, "You may not be in a rush, but I am! I need to get to Sasuke!"
Natsuro thought for a moment and said, "Tree climbing and water walking won't be too hard for you."
"Huh?" Sakura was surprised. Not difficult?
"The principles behind them are about testing the user's chakra control. And you're quite skilled in that area," Natsuro explained.
Sakura nodded. She was indeed confident in her chakra control abilities.
"However, part of that is because your chakra reserves are relatively small," Natsuro pointed out bluntly. It was true—Sakura's chakra reserves had never been high, and it was only later, after obtaining the Yin Seal, that she managed to solve her chakra issues.
Sakura fell silent. She knew this as well—her chakra reserves were below average.
"The difference between me and Kakashi-senpai is that he would likely guide you slowly. I won't do that," Natsuro said.
"Sakura, you should start thinking about your own path. You've already noticed the gap between yourself, Naruto, and Sasuke, right? If you don't find the path that suits you, that gap will only widen."
Sakura was a little stunned. Wasn't this supposed to be a normal lesson? Why was he suddenly making her think about something so important for her future? Was this something a freshly graduated student should be worrying about?
Seeing Sakura's silence, Natsuro knew how important this was for her, but time waits for no one, and he didn't have the luxury to babysit her. So, he decided to lay it all out now. Where she could go from here would depend on her.
"My suggestion is that you consider focusing on genjutsu or medical ninjutsu. These two don't have high chakra requirements, but they do require precise chakra control," Natsuro said.
Sakura remained silent, giving no response.
"Think it over later. As for genjutsu, don't worry—Kakashi can help you find suitable teachers. For medical ninjutsu, I know a few people at the medical center who could help," Natsuro added.
He could teach her himself—whether it was genjutsu or medical ninjutsu—but even with Naruto and Sasuke, he only taught them the basics. The rest was up to them. There was no way he was going to volunteer for extra work.
"For now, let's set those thoughts aside. Let's start with learning tree climbing and water walking," Natsuro said, not forgetting his actual task.
"Okay." Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, though still a bit distracted, and nodded. Her eyes showed a mix of confusion and determination.
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Currently on Chapter 169 - The Hokage! Fifth and Sixth!