Become a Jōnin Within Half a Year?
20: Me?
Become a Jōnin Within Half a Year?
Kakashi smiled faintly and nodded.
“Good.
You also have a clear understanding of yourself.” As he spoke, Kakashi’s expression gradually turned serious.
“You know your teacher and I used to be comrades, right?” Kai remained silent.
Of course he could guess that much.
Kakashi didn’t press him further and instead explained the agreement he and Dōichi Kimoto had made regarding him.
“So,” Kakashi asked, “what do you think?” Even though the two of them technically had the authority to decide Kai ‘s future, Kakashi still wanted to hear his opinion.
Kai thought for a moment.
“I don’t think I really have the option to refuse.” “No,” Kakashi replied seriously.
“I want to know what you think.
Your opinion matters.” Kai answered calmly, “I don’t really have any special thoughts about it.
Having another teacher isn’t a bad thing.” Kakashi looked puzzled.
“Aren’t you happy about it?
You know your teacher’s background.
You should also understand how rare it is to have an ANBU Jōnin personally train you.” “I know,” Kai said honestly.
“But for me, gaining another teacher isn’t something worth getting overly excited about.” That answer only confused Kakashi more.
For a moment, he even wondered whether Kai simply disliked him.
“I think my abilities should be enough to teach you quite a lot.” Kai nodded.
“I believe that.
You’re Kakashi-sensei, after all.
Just from the rumors alone, anyone can tell how influential and powerful you are.” This wasn’t even based on Kai ‘s memories from his previous life.
Kakashi truly was famous throughout Konoha.
Aside from someone as oblivious as Naruto, almost every ninja in the village had heard of Kakashi Hatake’s reputation.
Which made Kakashi even more confused.
If Kai understood who he was, then why was he reacting so calmly?
“Kakashi-sensei,” Kai said quietly, “for me, the most important thing is simply living a stable life as a ninja.
I’ve never had some overwhelming ambition to become the strongest.” That statement was both truthful— And not entirely truthful.
It was true because Kai genuinely didn’t possess much competitive drive.
Everything he had done so far was simply so he could survive peacefully in this dangerous world.
But it was also false.
Because he possessed the Passive Growth System.
Even without a teacher, Kai knew he would eventually become strong.
It would simply take more time and effort.
Kakashi suddenly felt speechless.
Kai ‘s mentality lacked far too much ambition.
But then again… What right did Kakashi have to criticize him?
“Don’t you have a dream?” Kakashi asked despite himself.
Kai smiled slightly.
“My dream is to live through my ninja career safely.” “You should know better than anyone how short a ninja’s lifespan can be.” That answer left Kakashi even more speechless.
Because it was true.
But in Kakashi’s eyes, Kai was different from ordinary ninja.
He was a genius Kakashi personally valued.
Someone who could one day become one of Konoha’s most important protectors.
How could someone like that have so little ambition?
“Then… isn’t there anything you want to protect?” Kakashi still refused to give up.
He wanted Kai to have at least some kind of goal worth striving toward.
A ninja without ideals would never achieve greatness.
At least, based on Kakashi’s own experiences, that was what he believed.
Kai thought briefly before answering.
“Of course there is.” “If I become strong enough, naturally I’d want to protect the things precious to me.” Finally, Kakashi smiled.
“Then why did you say something so pessimistic earlier?” Kai shook his head.
“Kakashi-sensei, I don’t think what I said was pessimistic at all.” “I said I wanted to live a stable life as a ninja.
That doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to work hard.” “If I want peace and stability, then naturally I need strength.” “But as long as I’m strong enough to protect what matters most to me, that’s enough.” “There’s no need to pursue endless strength without purpose.” “And whether I ultimately succeed or not doesn’t matter that much to me.” “As long as I genuinely try, that’s enough.” Kakashi laughed helplessly.
“You’re still so young.
How are you already talking like some old philosopher?” He sighed before continuing.
“Fine.
I won’t bother introducing myself properly.
I’m sure you already know enough about me.” “After all, you’re not like Naruto and Sasuke.” Naruto and Sasuke genuinely didn’t know much about Kakashi.
Naruto was understandable.
But even Sasuke remained surprisingly unfamiliar with him despite the fact that Kakashi and Itachi Uchiha had once served together.
Even Kakashi found that strange sometimes.
Occasionally, he wondered whether Itachi had simply never mentioned him to Sasuke at all.
And honestly— Kakashi wasn’t wrong.
Itachi rarely talked to Sasuke about his ANBU experiences.
There was no way he would casually discuss Kakashi either.
Kakashi walked over and stopped in front of Kai .
Under the moonlight, the silver-haired Jōnin stood tall.
At nearly six feet, Kakashi was only about a head taller than Kai .
Despite being only twelve years old, Kai was already around 167 centimeters tall.
Among a crowd of academy graduates who barely reached 150 centimeters, he was considered fairly tall.
Unlike the cold and distant image he normally showed outsiders, Kakashi appeared much more relaxed standing before Kai .
He placed a hand on Kai ‘s shoulder and spoke seriously.
“From today onward, I’m also your teacher.” “And I hope that within a year—or even half a year—you’ll possess Jōnin-level strength.” “Once you reach that level, there are certain missions I’ll personally take you on.” Kai , who had remained expressionless until now, froze for a moment.
“Take me on missions?” “And become Jōnin-level within half a year?!” The corner of Kai ‘s mouth twitched.
“You’re seriously overestimating me.” “Who could possibly reach Jōnin level in half a year?” “And you should know better than anyone what kind of ninja you are.” “The missions you handle aren’t things ordinary ninja can even come into contact with.” Even though Kai believed his strength would improve rapidly thanks to the system, he still wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could reach Jōnin level in only half a year.
After all, although Chūnin and Jōnin were separated by only one rank— The gap between them was enormous.
As far as Kai was concerned, Tokubetsu Jōnin didn’t even truly count as full-fledged Jōnin.
So in reality, Chūnin and Jōnin were only one major stage apart.
Yet the combat difference between them was like heaven and earth.
Under normal circumstances, a single Jōnin could overwhelm an entire group of Chūnin.
And unless someone possessed absurd plot-armor-level talent, a Chūnin facing a Jōnin would simply be slaughtered.
More importantly— Possessing Jōnin-level ninjutsu didn’t automatically make someone a true Jōnin.
Battle experience mattered just as much.
And that was precisely the area Kai valued most.
Ninjutsu could be trained.
But combat experience had to be earned through actual battles.
Kai knew very clearly how Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had ultimately been sealed by Naruto and Sasuke.
Fundamentally, it was because Kaguya lacked real combat experience.
In terms of raw power, she was unquestionably stronger than both Naruto and Sasuke.
But after being sealed away for thousands of years, her combat instincts had become dull.
Getting sealed a second time was honestly embarrassing for someone considered the final boss.
In truth, most members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan shared this weakness.
They relied almost entirely on overwhelming power to crush opponents.
Against enemies several tiers weaker, that strategy worked perfectly.
Brute force was effective.
But against someone only slightly weaker—or someone on the same level with rich combat experience—they were highly likely to lose.
Kai understood clearly that his own practical combat experience was still effectively zero.
Reaching true Jōnin level would require a long time.
What Kai didn’t realize, however, was that his standards for himself were simply too high.
The way he had responded to Kakashi’s ambush earlier already demonstrated combat ability far beyond that of an ordinary Chūnin.
The reason he felt such an enormous gap between himself and Kakashi wasn’t mainly due to combat experience— It was because Kakashi’s raw strength and overall power vastly exceeded his own.
Kai had mistakenly interpreted that difference as purely a gap in combat experience.
After obtaining his “Exceptional Talent for Learning Ninjutsu,” Kai ‘s battle instincts had actually already surpassed ordinary people by a huge margin.
Otherwise, there was no way he could have achieved combat ability beyond that of a normal Chūnin using only a few basic academy techniques.
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