“Guy, since you keep calling me a genius, let me be completely honest with you.”
“I might look lazy most of the time, but I’m putting in work in my own way.
You can’t just dismiss all my effort with the word ‘genius.'”
“The same goes for Kakashi.
Go check out Training Ground 11.
Once you get there, you’ll understand!”
At this point, Guy hadn’t realized that Kakashi was training hard as well.
Aoba decided to let Guy discover this ahead of time, locking the two best bros in…
cough, establishing their bond a little early.
The moment school let out, Guy rushed off toward Training Ground 11.
In the original story, Guy had stumbled upon Kakashi doing one-handed rock climbing during a break in his own training.
This time, Guy went looking for him deliberately.
Even though Guy ran the entire way, Kakashi had still arrived a step ahead of him and had already finished warming up.
Kakashi noticed Guy’s arrival, but gave him only a cool, indifferent glance before beginning his training for the day.
Watching Kakashi train left Guy deeply shaken.
He finally understood what Aoba had meant.
*That’s right.
How could anyone write off their hard work just by calling them geniuses?*
*Yet if even geniuses are working this hard…
does someone like me, who isn’t a genius, even have a chance of surpassing them?!*
“Is that boy Kakashi?”
Might Duy had come to pick Guy up from school, and seeing his son sprint off in this direction, he had followed along and witnessed the scene unfold.
“His performance weighs on your mind, doesn’t it?”
Guy hung his head, feeling somewhat downcast.
But looking into his father’s earnest, expectant eyes, he steeled his resolve.
“If I can run five thousand laps around the training field, I’ll challenge Kakashi!”
“Well said, my son!”
Seeing Guy’s confidence rekindled, Might Duy pulled him into an ecstatic embrace.
The next day.
Seeing Guy running endlessly around the academy field while Might Duy trailed behind him shouting encouragements through a megaphone, Aoba knew the mission was accomplished.
The deviated timeline was finally back on track, and Aoba breathed a subtle sigh of relief.
Without Guy’s salvation, he genuinely feared Kakashi might fall into darkness and throw the entire future plot off the rails.
…
After school that afternoon, Aoba walked Kurenai home and snacked on two skewers of fish balls given to him by Auntie Nadeshiko on his way back.
“Hey.”
Aoba popped the last fish ball into his mouth, turning his head as he spoke.
“You’ve been tailing me since school.
What, planning to follow me home?”
From the shadows of the alley mouth, a silver-haired figure stepped slowly into view—Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi’s usual dead-fish eyes were nowhere to be seen, replaced by an intensely sharp gaze.
He stared straight at Aoba, looking primed to strike at a moment’s notice.
“You really did notice me a long time ago.”
“Hey, don’t get so arrogant.
You’re allowed to have your Hatake sword techniques, but my clan can’t have sensory jutsu passed down?” Aoba turned around and casually tossed away the empty bamboo skewers.
“Spill it.
Why are you following me?”
“Why did you send Guy after me?”
“Tch, you talk as if Guy coming to test me was someone else’s idea.”
Kakashi ignored the banter, cutting straight to the point.
“Why are you hiding your true strength?
What’s your objective?”
Aoba felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
*Why does every single one of them love projecting their own headcanons onto people?*
He countered, “Hiding my strength?
How’d you figure that out?
Just because I beat Asuma?
Or because I beat Guy?”
“Kakashi, don’t project your ninja way onto others.
For you, becoming a powerful shinobi might be your ultimate goal, but for me, becoming a ninja was just an unavoidable choice.
I’ve made my feelings clear from the start.
“My parents died in the Second Great Ninja War.
I have no desire to follow in their footsteps.
Graduate, find a cushy desk job, draw a steady paycheck, marry a decent wife, and experiment with good food—that is the entirety of my ambition.
“I don’t want trouble, and I don’t want people causing trouble for me!”
These words were a blend of truth and deceit, yet they genuinely expressed his inner feelings.
Kakashi fell silent.
With his mask on, his expression was impossible to read.
Perhaps he was moved by Aoba’s words, or perhaps he didn’t believe a single word.
Seeing him stay quiet, Aoba couldn’t be bothered to waste any more breath and turned to leave.
“Wait—”
Kakashi spoke instinctively, intending to stop him, only to discover with sudden horror that his body was completely paralyzed.
It felt as if he were bound by invisible chains, unable to lift even a single finger.
*A genjutsu?*
*When did I get caught in it?!*
Waves of shock crashed through his mind.
From beginning to end, he hadn’t seen Aoba weave a single hand seal, nor had he sensed even the faintest ripple of chakra!
While he was frozen in shock, Aoba’s figure vanished from in front of him.
A hand dropped gently onto his shoulder.
*So fast!*
Aoba stood beside Kakashi, resting a hand on his shoulder as his calm voice sounded right by Kakashi’s ear.
“Now then.
I’d rather not repeat myself a second time.
Got it?”
A bead of cold sweat trickled slowly down Kakashi’s temple.
The genjutsu dispelled, returning control of his body.
Yet the lingering warmth on his shoulder and the calm voice by his ear remained burned into his memory like a brand.
…
After that incident, life finally became much more peaceful.
Guy was as hot-blooded as ever, but most importantly, he stopped bothering Aoba.
When Aoba was in a good mood, he would occasionally offer suggestions to ratchet up the difficulty of Guy’s training.
Ideas like swimming with weighted gear, standing under a waterfall while holding a boulder, or running laps around the entire village.
The villagers began looking at Aoba with very strange expressions, and for a while, even Kurenai talked to him less.
Aoba was happy to enjoy the peace.
Aside from slacking off at the Academy, he ventured into the Forest of Death every once in a while to update his culinary repertoire.
As for Kota Akimichi, whenever Aoba lit a campfire, that guy would unfailingly track him down by scent.
If Aoba hadn’t known for certain that Kota was an Akimichi, he would have suspected the kid was from the Inuzuka clan with a nose like a dog.
Fortunately, Aoba wasn’t stingy, and having a meal buddy wasn’t bad.
Time flew by quickly.
In the blink of an eye, a new batch of students enrolled, and Aoba’s class advanced to their second year.
With Aoba’s meddling, Guy accomplished the feat of doing five thousand handstand laps around Konoha ahead of schedule.
The day Guy completed his goal, he and Might Duy embraced in tears of joy once again, utterly oblivious to the second-hand embarrassment of everyone around them.
Even watching from the classroom window in the distance, Aoba couldn’t help curling his toes from the sheer cringe.
Boiling with passionate youth, Guy charged into the Academy, ready to issue his long-awaited challenge to Kakashi.
Yet, right as Guy bolted before Kakashi to challenge him, Kakashi pulled a form out of his ninja tool pouch and calmly handed it to the teacher.
It was an application for early graduation.
Guy froze in bewilderment, and the surrounding classmates were left in disbelief.
Only then did Aoba remember—life had been so comfortable that he had completely forgotten about Kakashi’s early graduation.
Aoba’s smile faded.
Kakashi probably didn’t realize that his time at the Academy might well be one of the few genuinely happy periods of his childhood.
And then there was one more thing: with Kakashi graduating, the number-one spot in the grade would fall right onto Aoba.