The next day.
Kazan was late.
He had no idea how long it had taken him and Kakashi to finish repairing the road last night, but it definitely hadn’t been early.
By the time they reached the final stretch, the two of them were the only people left on the street.
There hadn’t even been a ghost in sight.
As a healthy individual who insisted on getting eight hours of sleep every day, Kazan had simply overslept.
And when he finally opened his eyes, the system that had remained silent for so long suddenly stirred.
[Hidden Achievement Completed: Renown in Konoha I!]
[Reward: Monkey D. Garp Template Integration increased by 10%!]
“Hm?”
Kazan froze for a moment before quickly understanding.
He hadn’t expected the system to work like this.
Then what had been the point of keeping such a low profile all this time?
He should’ve gone and beaten up Kakashi the moment the guy graduated!
“Still, it’s not too late. At least I know how this system works now.”
The ten-percent increase in Template Integration was immediately noticeable.
The moment Kazan got out of bed, he felt as though endless strength was surging through his entire body.
If there had been other factors involved in his victory over Kakashi last night, beating Kakashi now would be ridiculously easy.
And more importantly…
Somewhere deep inside, Kazan had a feeling that his body had finally met the requirements to begin training in the Six Powers.
“Now that’s what I call a double blessing.”
In a good mood, Kazan immediately created six Shadow Clones and sent them off to train in the Six Powers for him.
Only after taking care of that did he leave home and head toward the Ninja Academy.
Along the way, Konoha’s villagers were gossiping like crazy.
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Last night, that genius Kakashi Hatake was knocked unconscious by that little demon Kazan!”
“What? Kazan? That good-for-nothing brat? He knocked Kakashi unconscious?”
“That’s right! I heard he invented some move called the Big Bang and smashed Kakashi into the street like he was wringing the neck of a chicken!”
“Hiss… He’s that strong?”
The other man was shocked.
Then the two parted ways and diligently divided the labor, spreading the rumor in different directions.
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Last night, Kakashi got one-shotted by Kazan’s Big Bang!”
“The Big Bang?!”
“Yeah! Apparently, Kakashi nearly got sent straight off to meet his dad!”
“Terrifying!”
“…”
“What? Kazan punched Kakashi into the hospital and he still hasn’t woken up?”
“Pass it on! Genius Kakashi Hatake got beaten so badly by Kazan that he literally shit himself!”
“Breaking news! Genius Kakashi got blown apart by one punch from Kazan! Yellow and white stuff was splattered all over the ground!”
“Good heavens! The little demon king Kazan has finally stopped hiding his true strength…”
This was getting completely ridiculous.
So the reason he’d completed the Renown in Konoha achievement was all thanks to these people?
Kazan quickened his pace.
The rumors were becoming more outrageous by the minute.
At this point, people were already claiming he’d beaten Kakashi so badly that both shit and piss went flying everywhere.
He couldn’t even imagine what the story would turn into next.
These people were insane!
By the time Kazan reached the Ninja Academy, class had already started.
Pressed for time, he jumped straight up from the ground, ignored the main entrance entirely, and landed at the classroom window.
The chūnin instructor abruptly stopped speaking.
Every student in the class turned to stare at Kazan in unison.
“He’s here! It’s Kazan!”
“I heard he beat Kakashi into the hospital last night!”
“The hospital? That’s not what I heard. I heard Kakashi got beaten so badly he shit himself on the spot!”
“Huh? Wasn’t it both shit and piss?”
“Hiss…”
The classroom filled with sharp intakes of breath.
Who could have imagined it?
Kakashi had entered the Academy at five, graduated early that same year, and was already a chūnin.
Yet that very genius had supposedly been defeated by Kazan, a guy who did nothing but punch things.
“Impossible! It has to be a rumor! Kakashi is the guy I’m supposed to defeat!”
Obito refused to believe it.
Asuma didn’t believe it either.
If Kazan was really that strong, then what was he supposed to do?
“KAZAN!”
The chūnin instructor had been just as shocked as everyone else.
But when he saw Kazan casually walking toward his seat as if nothing had happened, his astonishment instantly disappeared.
His sacred dignity as an educator had been trampled upon.
He roared,
“Why didn’t you use the door?!”
“Because I was late and needed to save time!”
“Then why were you late?!”
“I overslept!”
Well.
At least the brat was honest.
“Go stand outside the classroom as punishment! You’re not allowed back inside for the rest of this lesson!”
“And from now on, you’re forbidden from entering through the window! Use the door like a normal person!”
“Oh~”
Kazan gave an indifferent response, walked out into the corridor, and leaned against the wall for his punishment.
After another brief burst of chatter, the teacher quickly shouted the classroom back into silence and resumed the lesson.
Kazan, meanwhile, began thinking about how he could cause an even bigger stir.
He had keenly noticed the Roman numeral at the end of the achievement:
[Renown in Konoha I]
If his reputation increased further, he could probably unlock additional Garp Template Integration and raise his strength again.
“But I’ve already beaten Kakashi. How am I supposed to make an even bigger name for myself now?”
Kazan thought for a long while.
Unless he left the village and accomplished something earth-shattering, his only real options at the moment were to challenge the Uchiha or the Hyūga—the two greatest shinobi clans in Konoha.
The shinobi world had always spoken of the Three Great Dōjutsu.
The first was the legendary Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths, revered as the Eye of the Sage.
It existed only in legend, and throughout the entire shinobi world, only a tiny handful of people knew that it had ever truly existed.
The remaining two were the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan and the Byakugan of the Hyūga Clan.
Because of this, both clans generally avoided marrying outsiders in order to preserve the purity of their bloodlines.
Combined with the power of their kekkei genkai, this had given both clans extraordinary status within Konoha.
“May as well give it a try. Maybe it’ll actually work.”
The Third Shinobi World War was already looming.
Kazan needed to increase his strength as much as possible.
His original plan had been to keep his head down and survive the Third Shinobi World War.
That “slaughterhouse” had even claimed the life of a monster like the Third Raikage.
That alone showed how brutal the war would become.
But now, Kazan planned to make as much noise as possible.
Since an achievement like Renown in Konoha existed, then there was almost certainly something like Renown in the Shinobi World as well.
The more outrageous his achievements, the faster his strength would increase.
The stronger he became, the greater his chances of surviving the Third Shinobi World War.
Strength was the foundation of everything!
….
Meanwhile.
Inside the Hokage’s office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was listening to a jōnin complain.
The target of his complaints was Kakashi.
Kakashi had once again clashed with the other members of his team.
Much of the time, he wouldn’t even listen to his jōnin team leader.
He acted entirely on his own and had already begun seriously affecting the team’s ability to carry out missions.
“I understand. You may leave. I’ll make arrangements for Kakashi.”
Hiruzen sighed silently.
Kakashi’s talent was exceptional.
If he could grow up properly, he would undoubtedly become a second “White Fang of Konoha,” another shinobi whose name shook the entire world.
But right now…
This was already the fourth jōnin team leader to complain about Kakashi.
Something had to be done about his problems.
Konoha couldn’t afford to lose a genius like him.
Only one person came to Hiruzen’s mind.
Minato Namikaze.
That genius who was like sunlight itself, always wearing a warm smile that seemed capable of embracing everything.
Perhaps he could guide Kakashi back onto the right path and dispel the shadows in his heart.
“Have Minato come see me.”
“Yes!”
An ANBU hidden in the shadows answered before swiftly disappearing from the office.