Kakashi sat in Haruto’s small courtyard as casually as if it were his own home, waiting for the owner to return.
A few minutes later, the courtyard gate creaked open.
Standing at the entrance, Haruto looked at the great figure occupying his yard.
His face was filled with helplessness.
“Kakashi-sama, what exactly are you up to this time? What do you want from me?”
In truth, he had already sensed that familiar chakra signature inside the house before he even entered.
After hesitating briefly at the gate, however, he had ultimately chosen to come in.
Kakashi poured himself a cup of hot tea and teased casually,
“Oh? You’re back already? A little earlier than I expected.”
Taking a sip, he looked at Haruto with a faint smile.
“Though you noticed my presence the moment you reached the gate, didn’t you? That level of sensory ability would be considered exceptional even among professional sensor-type ninja.”
Setting down his teacup, Kakashi smacked his lips, surprise flashing through his eye.
“This tea is quite good. Nice aftertaste.”
He glanced around the courtyard and sincerely praised,
“I never would’ve thought that a child living alone could keep his home this clean and organized. Impressive. Truly impressive.”
At this moment, Kakashi’s opinion of Haruto was rising rapidly.
Before, he had merely been curious.
Now, he genuinely wanted to get to know this boy better.
Carrying his backpack, Haruto sighed and sat down at the table.
He poured himself a cup of tea to wet his throat.
“Kakashi-sama, stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what you want.”
Kakashi looked directly into Haruto’s eyes and asked calmly,
“What do I want? I’m not planning to do anything to you. I just want to confirm one thing.”
“Can you really use the Great Fireball Technique?”
After all, that was a C-rank ninjutsu.
It required a considerable amount of chakra.
Even ordinary Genin often struggled to use it.
Although the Great Fireball Technique was slightly weaker than the Uchiha Clan’s Great Fireball Jutsu, the chakra consumption was still far beyond what a six-year-old should possess.
In fact, many adult Genin didn’t even have enough chakra to cast it once.
Kakashi was genuinely curious whether this little monster had truly mastered such a technique.
Holding his warm teacup, Haruto met Kakashi’s gaze.
“Can I ask why you’re so concerned about whether I can spit out a fireball?”
Kakashi considered the question for a moment before smiling honestly.
“Because my instincts tell me that you might be a rare genius.”
There was no hidden meaning.
No manipulation.
Just blunt honesty.
Yet those words immediately made Haruto more vigilant.
“If I’m a genius, what are you planning to do with me?”
“Slice me up for research?”
“Or tie me to an operating table for some horrifying human experiments?”
In Haruto’s imagination, Kakashi had already transformed into Orochimaru.
Kakashi’s mouth twitched.
Black lines practically appeared across his forehead.
“What exactly goes on inside that little head of yours all day?”
He rubbed his forehead helplessly.
“If you’re really a genius, I’d be thrilled.”
“I want to teach you some ninjutsu. Interested?”
Haruto showed no excitement whatsoever.
Instead, he stared at Kakashi and calmly asked two words.
“What conditions?”
Kakashi was speechless.
He sighed.
“Am I really that sinister in your eyes?”
Haruto remained unmoved.
“Conditions.”
Seeing no way around it, Kakashi answered seriously.
“Only one.”
“Never betray Konoha.”
Haruto blinked.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected the condition to be this simple.
“That’s it?”
Kakashi nodded solemnly.
His eye remained fixed on Haruto.
“Can you do that?”
Without hesitation, Haruto grinned.
“Of course.”
He agreed readily.
As long as Konoha didn’t do something unforgivable to him, why would he bother betraying it?
Besides, anyone could say nice things.
How things turned out in the future would depend on the future.
Kakashi studied him for a long time, as though trying to see into his heart.
Finally, he said,
“I hope you’ll remember that promise.”
“However, before any of this matters, you’ll need to prove that you can actually use Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.”
Hearing that, Haruto immediately stood up.
He walked to the center of the courtyard and fixed his gaze on a decorative rock beside the fish pond.
“Kakashi-sama, watch carefully.”
Before the words had fully left his mouth, his hands were already moving.
His fingers flew through seals so quickly that only afterimages remained.
Kakashi’s pupil contracted.
What incredible hand speed!
He’s already on par with me?
The boy’s hands had become a blur.
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”
Whoosh!
A massive orange-red fireball three to four meters in diameter erupted from Haruto’s mouth.
A scorching heat wave instantly swept through the entire courtyard.
The decorative rock over a meter tall was struck head-on.
Boom!
The stone exploded instantly.
Fragments shot in every direction like shrapnel as smoke and dust filled the air.
Even the nearby fish pond suffered.
Large amounts of water evaporated under the intense heat, producing dense clouds of steam.
After releasing the technique, Haruto turned around and smiled at the stunned Kakashi.
“Well? Not bad, right?”
Kakashi stood frozen.
His eye was filled with disbelief.
“Unbelievable…”
“You really mastered it.”
“And the power is even stronger than an ordinary Great Fireball Technique.”
Subconsciously, he asked,
“You really lea—”
He caught himself.
“Ahem. You really taught yourself this?”
He had nearly said “stole and learned.”
Though that was technically the truth.
Haruto didn’t care.
In fact, he looked rather proud.
“Well, now that you’ve confirmed it, can you fulfill your promise and teach me some ninjutsu?”
Kakashi finally recovered and nodded.
“No problem.”
“However, most of the techniques I’ll teach are high-level and confidential.”
“You absolutely cannot teach them to anyone else.”
Several of Kakashi’s signature techniques immediately appeared in Haruto’s mind.
His anticipation surged.
“Deal.”
Then he added,
“But I also want you to keep my strength secret.”
“Don’t go telling people about it everywhere.”
“I hate trouble. I prefer a peaceful life.”
Originally, Kakashi had planned to recommend this hidden gem to the Third Hokage.
After hearing that request, however, he thought it over and nodded.
“Fine.”
“Starting today, whenever I’m not on a mission, I’ll teach you one ninjutsu each day.”
“Master one first, then I’ll teach the next.”
Haruto paused.
Looking suspiciously at him, he asked,
“Didn’t you say you’d only teach me a few?”
“How did it become one every day?”
“Wait, exactly how many techniques do you know?”
Kakashi narrowed his eye with a smile.
“A lot.”
“So many that even if you studied for years, you might not finish learning them all.”
Haruto chuckled.
“I think you’re underestimating my learning ability.”
Kakashi wasn’t offended in the slightest.
“You’ll understand later how terrifying my inventory is.”
“If you really manage to learn everything I know, you’ll become a once-in-a-generation genius.”
After all, he was the famous Copy Ninja Kakashi.
A man who had copied over a thousand techniques.
Why would he fear a child learning from him?
After discussing the details for over ten minutes, Kakashi finally stood to leave.
“Come find me at Konoha’s back mountain after school tomorrow.”
Haruto frowned.
“The back mountain? I’ve heard there are wild beasts there. Sounds dangerous.”
Kakashi looked amused.
“What? Scared already?”
“Ninjutsu aren’t flowers grown in a greenhouse.”
“If you want to learn from me, you’ll need to pass through that dangerous area first.”
“If you don’t even have that much courage, there’s no point in teaching you.”
Haruto’s expression remained calm.
He simply asked,
“So if I accidentally kill a few wild animals, that’s fine too?”
Kakashi blinked.
“Of course it’s fine.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
He genuinely didn’t understand why permission was necessary.
Hearing the answer, Haruto immediately relaxed.
“Good.”
“I thought they might be village property.”
“If I had to compensate for killing them, I’d be bankrupt.”
So that was what he was worried about?
Kakashi’s mouth twitched.
“You don’t need to pay compensation.”
“Why is money the only thing on your mind?”
He truly couldn’t understand the mindset of a money fanatic.
Haruto rolled his eyes.
“If I don’t have money, what am I supposed to eat?”
“I’m only six.”
“I’m surviving entirely on my parents’ compensation payments.”
“If I had to pay damages, I’d be drinking the northwest wind.”
“People like you really embody ‘Let them eat meat porridge.'”
Kakashi blinked.
“Meat porridge?”
“What does that mean?”
Naturally, he didn’t understand the saying.
Haruto waved dismissively.
“Forget it.”
“It means you don’t understand how ordinary people live.”
That, Kakashi understood.
Awkwardly rubbing his nose, he said,
“Fine, fine.”
“But if you learn well, I can give you a scholarship as encouragement.”
Like a wolf tempting Little Red Riding Hood, Kakashi began laying out bait.
Haruto’s eyes immediately lit up.
“What kind of reward?”
After thinking briefly, Kakashi said,
“How about this?”
“Every time you learn a D-rank ninjutsu, I’ll pay you the same reward as a D-rank mission.”
Haruto widened his eyes in disbelief.
“You’d actually be that generous?”
He knew Kakashi had accumulated substantial wealth over the years.
The man was secretly rich.
But according to rumors, Kakashi was also notoriously stingy.
Feeling his dignity questioned, Kakashi puffed out his chest.
“Of course.”
“I always keep my word.”
Meanwhile, his internal calculations were running at full speed.
Ninjutsu aren’t easy to learn.
Even a genius needs three or four days for a D-rank technique.
C-rank techniques take even longer.
You don’t have a Sharingan to copy them instantly.
This deal was guaranteed profit.
Haruto seemed to see right through him.
“I hope you don’t end up crying over your wallet later.”
Kakashi laughed confidently.
“Don’t worry.”
“I definitely won’t regret it.”
“If you really manage to learn everything I know, I’d be delighted.”
For a ninja, ninjutsu were their livelihood.
If Haruto mastered all of Kakashi’s techniques, he’d start at elite Jōnin level at minimum.
Possibly higher.
If some money could help cultivate a future pillar of Konoha, it would be worth every coin.
Why only every coin?
Because Kakashi was absurdly wealthy.
The rewards from hundreds of S-rank and A-rank missions, combined with his ANBU salary, were enough to pay Haruto’s tuition for several lifetimes.
Besides, he only knew a handful of truly expensive A-rank techniques.
He wasn’t worried at all.
Once business was settled, Kakashi suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, right.”
“You don’t have a suitable weapon yet, do you?”
“Take this.”
“It’s a standard ANBU short sword. Excellent quality.”
“I’m giving it to you.”
“Meet me at the back mountain tomorrow evening.”
“And try not to die crossing the forest in the middle.”
“I’m off.”
He stuffed an ancient-looking short sword into Haruto’s hands.
Then he vanished again with the Body Flicker Technique.
Holding the sword, Haruto stood there in a daze.
“That generous?”
“Did the sun rise in the west today?”
A moment later, Kakashi’s distant voice drifted over the wall.
“The cost of that sword will be deducted from your future mission rewards!”
Haruto’s mouth twitched violently.
“I knew it!”
“I praised you for nothing!”
Complaints aside, he still drew the blade curiously.
Shing—
A clear metallic ring echoed through the courtyard.
The blade was like a pool of autumn water.
Smooth and mirror-like.
Its polished surface clearly reflected Haruto’s handsome face.
Cold light gleamed from the edge.
It looked incredibly sharp.
“What a blade.”
“There’s chakra-conductive metal mixed into this.”
“This definitely wasn’t cheap.”
Haruto refused to believe it was some ordinary mass-produced weapon.
“Great.”
“Now I owe him another favor.”
“But there’s one problem.”
“I don’t know how to use a sword.”
As he spoke, he casually swung it a couple of times.
Then something strange happened.
A torrent of information flooded his mind like a broken dam.
At the same time, his body’s muscle memory seemed to be rewritten.
“No way.”
“I just waved it twice and already mastered basic swordsmanship?”
Haruto stared at his hands in disbelief.
The talent of this body was utterly absurd.
“No…”
“More accurately, this isn’t any particular sword style.”
“It’s like my body instinctively calculated the optimal trajectory based on my physique and perception.”
“It’s crude.”
“But it still needs practice.”
“This really is a treasure.”
“I’ll keep it for self-defense for now.”
“It’ll definitely come in handy later.”
After sheathing the sword, Haruto washed up and went to bed early.
Meanwhile, Kakashi lay atop his own roof, gazing at the star-filled sky.
“I hope you won’t repeat my mistakes…”
“Haruto, you have the potential to surpass me.”
The moment he saw that Great Fireball Technique, Kakashi had become certain.
This boy possessed limitless potential.
His physique was stronger than Kakashi’s had been at the same age.
His comprehension was perhaps even greater.
Most importantly, while Haruto was practical, he wasn’t gloomy.
Instead, he possessed an optimistic outlook that seemed to see through the world’s hardships.
“I won’t allow a talent like this to walk the same road our generation did.”
“I hope you grow quickly.”
“And become someone like Minato-sensei.”
“Someone capable of carrying all of Konoha on his shoulders.”
In truth, Kakashi had noticed that Haruto’s promise not to betray Konoha was somewhat perfunctory.
But he didn’t mind.
He believed he could guide the boy properly.
Help him genuinely become part of Konoha.
Help him become one of the village’s protectors.
Konoha desperately needed another irreplaceable leader like Minato Namikaze.
And in Kakashi’s eyes, Haruto was that seed of hope.
The next day, the moment the academy’s dismissal bell rang, Haruto headed straight for Konoha’s back mountain with the short sword strapped to his back.
Standing at the entrance, he listened to the distant roars of wild beasts echoing through the forest.
They sounded primal.
Savage.
Haruto frowned slightly.
“With my current strength, as long as I don’t do anything stupid, I should make it through safely.”
After a brief hesitation, he stepped forward and entered the forest without looking back.
Only a few minutes later, the surroundings grew noticeably darker.
The towering canopy blocked out the sky.
From the bushes on either side of the path came increasingly fierce beastly roars.
A faint smell of blood lingered in the air.
Clearly, brutal battles were taking place within the forest.
Haruto’s expression remained calm.
He continued walking steadily along the trail.
More than ten minutes later, the once-broad path had become narrow and overgrown with thorns.
After advancing roughly two kilometers into the forest, the beasts’ roars seemed to explode right beside his ears.
“ROAR!”
“Awoooo!”
The cries of countless predators echoed through the woods, shaking leaves from the trees.
Haruto could even hear their heavy breathing.
The sound predators made after spotting prey.
“This is getting ridiculous.”
“When did Konoha’s back mountain become a wildlife park?”
He gripped the hilt of the short sword behind his back and slowly drew it.
“ROAR!”
The instant the blade left its sheath, a massive creature burst through the undergrowth and charged straight toward him.
It was a gigantic wild boar over two meters tall.
Its tusks were thicker than ivory, gleaming with a chilling light.
Black bristles stood upright across its body like steel needles.
Its eyes were blood-red.
Like an out-of-control armored tank, it barreled toward the tiny boy, determined to crush him into a bloody pulp.