“Beautifully done, beat Kakashi to the ground!”
Obito kept a tense face, outwardly worrying for Kakashi alongside Rin and the others, but inwardly he was overjoyed.
‘That guy Kaito is using dirty tricks again, even Kakashi got fooled!
Haha…’
‘Wait?
Why did I use “again” and “even”?’
In the arena, the spar continued.
Kakashi swung his blade steadily, clashing against the pitch-black, sharp kunai.
One, two, three, four…
four of them?
Does he have a fifth?
Again?
Kakashi raised his guard, only to see Kaito suddenly stand still and form hand signs.
‘This is…
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu?
He can actually use ninjutsu?’
Kakashi immediately retreated, preparing the Substitution Jutsu.
He stared warily at Kaito’s mouth.
Even the spectating students backed away repeatedly, and Daiki nervously stepped sideways, ready to rescue at a moment’s notice.
‘Where did Kaito learn Fire Style?
Obito?’
The Third Hokage didn’t move.
He just shook his head helplessly.
‘This child…
how interesting.’
“Fire Style— *cough cough cough*!”
Kaito finished the hand signs but suddenly broke into a fit of coughing.
Trembling, he stepped forward to pick up his kunai and sighed, “I accidentally failed the jutsu.
It turned into Smoke Style, I nearly choked to death.”
Daiki: “…”
Classmates: “…”
Blood rushed to Kakashi’s head.
‘Do you think I’m an idiot?
Where would you even learn the Fireball Jutsu?
No matter how stupid Obito is, he wouldn’t teach you his clan’s secret ninjutsu!’
‘Why didn’t I realize that earlier…’
Of course, Kaito didn’t know the Fireball Jutsu.
He could secretly learn the hand sign sequence from Obito, but no one had taught him the chakra flow.
He was just messing with Kakashi.
Boring?
It wasn’t boring at all.
‘[Kakashi Correction Progress 81%]’
‘[Kakashi Correction Progress 82%]’
It was never this easy to increase the correction progress normally.
This spar was definitely worth it, except…
he might have played a bit too hard.
Kakashi looked like he was about to explode.
Kaito flicked his right hand, sending two kunai spinning out like arrows released from a bowstring.
Two crisp clangs followed as Kakashi deflected them with his blade.
Kaito slid his right hand over, splitting the two kunai from his left hand so he held one in each.
He raised them together to block Kakashi’s incoming White Fang short blade.
*Clang!*
Weapons clashed, locking them in a struggle for three seconds.
Watching the blade inch closer to him, Kaito sighed helplessly inwardly.
‘Even though I’m half a year older than Kakashi, my physical strength is still slightly inferior to his.
And that’s after adding attribute points.
The gap in talent really is massive.’
Losing out in strength, he had no choice but to turn sideways.
The two kunai slid up along Kakashi’s blade, slicing straight toward Kakashi’s hands to force him to let go.
Kakashi actually let go.
Using the momentum, he spun around and launched a sweeping roundhouse kick at Kaito’s chest.
Kaito dropped his elbows to block.
Foot met elbow, and Kaito slid backward several paces.
Kakashi smoothly caught the falling White Fang short blade, stepped forward in pursuit, and unleashed a flurry of slashes.
*Clang!
Clang!
Clang!*
With every collision between kunai and blade, Kaito was forced back.
His disadvantage was obvious.
The members of the “Cheer Up Kakashi” squad were overjoyed.
Kakashi had truly pulled himself together.
As expected of him!
Asuma’s thick, knitted eyebrows relaxed.
Feeling a bit embarrassed for showing surprise in front of Kurenai earlier, he tried to act cool.
“That guy only knows how to play cheap tricks.
His actual strength is just average.”
Kurenai turned her head to glance at him but ignored his comment.
Asuma panicked slightly.
‘Did I say something wrong?’
‘Idiot, idiot, fight back…’ Obito was incredibly anxious.
He felt that if he were the one fighting, he would definitely be pummeling Kakashi into the ground.
Kaito was so stupid.
Those with a bit more self-awareness marveled at Kaito’s strength.
Facing Kakashi’s stormy barrage of slashes, they probably wouldn’t have lasted three strikes.
Not just in academics, but Kaito’s combat strength had actually grown this much too?
Unfortunately, he was about to lose.
Kakashi was still Kakashi.
As long as he pulled himself together, the combat assessments would return to the era of Kakashi’s absolute dominance!
Kaito, however, didn’t feel like he was going to lose.
He just didn’t know how to secure a victory at the moment.
His Throwing Jutsu hadn’t reached Level 2, instead getting stuck at some current template limit, which left him feeling helpless.
Otherwise, he could have easily upgraded his Throwing Jutsu to Level 3 or even Level 4, and won in a flash.
Upgrading Throwing Jutsu was mostly useless right now, he didn’t dare upgrade his Taijutsu, and Chakra Refining Jutsu wouldn’t help much either.
Did that leave only the Basic Three Jutsu?
No, there were also auxiliary skills!
Ninjutsu Basics Level 0 (81%)
The Ninjutsu Basics course was divided into two parts: assessing hand sign speed and chakra control!
Kaito made a prompt decision.
Add four points!
For auxiliary skills, each free attribute point increased progress by 30%.
With four points invested, the level of Ninjutsu Basics instantly jumped to Level 1 (100% + 1%) (Reached current template limit).
At the same time, Kaito felt the chakra within his body instantly become as easy to command as his own limbs, just as nimble and obedient as the kunai in his hands.
But first, he had to deal with an immediate crisis.
The moment he added the points, Kaito inevitably suffered a brief lapse in concentration.
Kakashi’s relentless slashes forced his defenses wide open, and Kakashi’s spinning kick was already inches from his chest!
Too late to dodge.
Too late to counterattack.
Daiki narrowed his eyes, his toes shifting slightly.
But with a sudden *poof*, the Kaito that Kakashi kicked turned into a broken wooden log.
“Ah…
a substitution…” A somewhat synchronized sigh of relief echoed from the third-year spectators.
Daiki swayed slightly before steadying himself.
The Third Hokage glanced at him with a smile.
“Kaito’s fundamentals are better than I imagined.
His hand signs are very concealed and fast.
Not bad, truly not bad.
Daiki, you’ve taught him well.
A ninja must focus on the basics!”
Daiki’s old face flushed red.
Why was Lord Third praising him?
He had just been preparing to declare the match over, completely failing to notice when Kaito had formed the hand signs for the Substitution Jutsu.
“The match is about to be decided.
Kaito’s chakra is running low, and Kakashi’s aggressive assault has consumed a lot of his stamina,” the Third Hokage added.
“Yes.” Daiki stood ready, but soon cast a rather strange look at the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage accidentally plucked out two of his beard hairs.
“Hehe, Kaito’s chakra reserves are a little more than I anticipated.
Not bad, *cough*, not bad.”
Kaito’s chakra had nearly doubled compared to a month ago.
At this moment, he still had well over half of his chakra remaining.
Chakra Capacity: 14.24 (27.29)
With his chakra control significantly improved, Kaito easily channeled chakra to the soles of his feet to enhance his grip on the ground, stopping his steady retreat.
He channeled chakra into his arms, boosting his physical strength!
*Clang!
Clang!
Clang!* The one retreating repeatedly was now Kakashi.
The attacker and defender had swapped positions!
Kaito’s momentum gradually suppressed Kakashi.
Kakashi’s momentum stemmed from anger, while Kaito’s stemmed from heartache.
He had spent eight attribute points!
If he didn’t fleece Kakashi for all he was worth, it would be a disservice to his own devastatingly handsome hairstyle!
Short blade and kunai clashed countless times, and Substitution Jutsus were exchanged repeatedly.
Kaito was panting slightly, while Kakashi’s legs suddenly stumbled imperceptibly.
Kaito’s eyes lit up.
‘You haven’t trained much for over half a year, so your stamina can’t keep up, right?’
‘Then you’ll have to taste my original taijutsu once again!’
He tossed his head, his shiny black bangs fluttering.
He spun his body, overflowing with coolness.
Bangs-Fluttering Roundhouse Kick!
Unfortunately, there was no one with a good eye to appreciate it.
The classmates were all watching Kakashi get kicked flying for the second time.
The fast-paced, back-and-forth battle had left them so stunned they forgot to gasp, let alone applaud.