“Kakashi, I finally have a day off tomorrow. Do you think… maybe I don’t have to train?”
“Not train? How can that be? Letting you go to school is already enough of a waste of time. How can you take a day off from training?”
[Damn! Going to school is a waste of time? Kakashi, is there something wrong with your brain? That was supposed to be the best time of my life! Bastard!]
Naruto was furious inside, but since he was asking Kakashi for a favor, he endured it.
“You can’t say that, Kakashi. Doesn’t every child have to go to school? How can you call it a waste of time? I have something to do tomorrow.”
“Oh? Something to do? Then tell me, what could a kid like you possibly have to do?”
“I…”
[Hiss~ If I say I’m going out to play with Hinata, wouldn’t I be finished? But he’s right. What could a kid like me possibly have to do?]
Naruto was in a dilemma, and his expression became somewhat anxious.
Kakashi listened to Naruto’s inner thoughts and watched his expression, feeling extremely delighted.
This brat had finally hit a wall.
Hahahahaha!
Kakashi was already laughing with joy inside, but his face showed nothing.
He simply stood there quietly, looking at Naruto and waiting for his answer.
“I, I… Right! I’m planning to buy some ninja tools tomorrow! Although I haven’t graduated yet, I can still be considered a ninja now, right? But I don’t even have a weapon that suits me yet!”
“I see…”
Kakashi pinched his chin and began to think.
He had to admit that Naruto’s reason was practically flawless.
Even though he knew Naruto was lying, it was difficult for him to object.
“Fine! I can give you a day off tomorrow, but I have a condition. We’ll have a combat training session today. If you can last three minutes against me, I’ll give you the day off. If you can last ten minutes, I’ll also give you twenty thousand ryō to buy ninja tools.”
“Twenty thousand ryō!”
Naruto’s eyes immediately lit up.
That was twenty thousand ryō, equivalent to two years of his previous living expenses.
If he could get that money, wouldn’t he be able to have a great time tomorrow?
“Alright! It’s a deal! But what if I can beat you?”
“Oh? Beat me?”
Kakashi immediately found it amusing.
He truly hadn’t expected Naruto, whom he had beaten up yesterday, to say something like that.
“If you can beat me, I’ll give you one hundred thousand ryō.”
“One hundred thousand ryō! Alright! You can’t go back on your word!”
“Hehe, don’t worry. I definitely won’t. Come on, follow me.”
Kakashi beckoned to Naruto, suddenly changing direction while increasing his speed.
They were not heading to their usual training ground.
Naruto followed behind Kakashi, rushing all the way until they reached the forest at the edge of the village.
“How about it? Do you need to rest?”
As Kakashi spoke, he reached out to draw his sword.
He was already prepared to fight because he thought Naruto would definitely say no.
After all, since he had asked, most people would insist on it for the sake of their pride.
However, Naruto did not follow the usual pattern.
Without even thinking, he sat down right where he was.
“Yes! I need to rest for five minutes!”
Kakashi froze halfway through drawing his sword, and the corner of his mouth twitched continuously beneath his mask.
He truly hadn’t expected such an answer, but since he had already said it, he could only let Naruto rest.
Besides, five minutes made no difference to him.
As soon as Naruto sat down, he closed his eyes.
His consciousness sank, and he soon arrived before the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails was still inside the cage, remaining bound to the cross.
“Kurama, I need an emergency favor!”
Naruto didn’t waste any words and directly shouted at the Nine-Tails.
Kurama slowly opened his eyes and looked at Naruto curiously.
“Oh? An emergency favor? How am I supposed to help? I’m already like this. How can I help you?”
“Lend me your power.”
“Heh! You really aren’t polite, are you? Fine, but I currently have two seals placed on me, so the power I can lend you is limited.”
“That’s enough. As long as you can get me to Kage level!”
Naruto felt that there was nothing wrong with what he said, but Kurama looked at him with complete disdain.
“Kage level? Kid, do you even know what Kage level means? With just you, you still can’t control that kind of power. Your body and your mind are both far too immature!”
“I don’t have much time. We’ll see when the time comes.”
Naruto had only asked for five minutes of rest, so he couldn’t spend too much time arguing with Kurama.
After hurriedly throwing out those words, he opened his eyes.
Kakashi had already revealed his Sharingan.
He watched as the Nine-Tails’ chakra appeared around Naruto’s abdomen after he closed his eyes and knew that Naruto was definitely not simply resting.
“What? Finished resting?”
“Yeah, I’m done! Big Brother Kakashi, for the sake of one hundred thousand, I won’t hold back this time!”
“Hehe, come at me with everything you’ve got!”
Kakashi drew his long sword, and lightning immediately crackled across the blade.
Naruto leaped into the air and pulled out his specially made kunai from his waist.
Red chakra instantly covered his entire body.
The moment he landed, he charged toward Kakashi, the tremendous force causing the ground to explode and crack beneath him.
“So fast!”
Kakashi’s pupils contracted, but the sword in his hand was not slow in the slightest.
Clang!
The weapons collided with a piercing screech of metal scraping against metal.
A large amount of lightning burst from the point of impact, like a blooming flower of thunder.
“Your speed is pretty good, and your strength is sufficient too. Unfortunately, you’re still not strong enough.”
Kakashi suddenly exerted force and pushed Naruto away before swinging his sword again
Naruto retreated with the momentum, opening up some distance.
Just as he steadied himself, a slash over ten meters long and nearly half a meter wide, flashing with lightning, had already arrived before him.
The intense lightning had already overshadowed the glow of the Nine-Tails’ chakra surrounding Naruto.
Naruto was nearly scared to death, but it was already too late to dodge.
He could only grit his teeth and raise his kunai to block it.
Boom!
The moment they collided, the slash exploded violently.
The specially made kunai was blasted away and embedded into the trunk of a distant tree.
Only then did Naruto emerge from the smoke and dust of the explosion.
After just one collision, he felt as though his right hand was about to be crippled.
His entire right arm felt as if it were being pricked by countless needles, accompanied by waves of numbness.
[Damn! Is Kakashi trying to kill me? Good thing I reacted quickly. Otherwise, wouldn’t I have been split in half?]
Hearing Naruto’s inner thoughts, Kakashi once again revealed a smile and rested his long sword on his shoulder.
“Looks like you managed to block it. Then I’ll continue!”
Kakashi swung his sword toward Naruto from a distance, sending another slash through the air.
Another slash over ten meters long flew toward Naruto.
Having lost his weapon and personally experienced its power, Naruto naturally didn’t dare to block it head-on again and hurriedly dodged.
However, another slash immediately followed, then another.
Even with all his strength, Naruto could only barely evade them.
“You’re more agile than I expected. But how many more times can you keep dodging? You can’t win by just dodging, you know.”
[Damn it! This is so infuriating! That bastard Kakashi! But he’s right. My goal is one hundred thousand!]