Getting Better
Kakashi was surrounded by three Iwa-nin.
The Iwa-nin looked at the weakened Kakashi with puzzled expressions.
What's going on?
Could this Konoha brat already be injured and just happened to stumble upon us?
One of the Iwa-nin pulled out a kunai. "Then I'll finish him off."
In the ninja world, mercy had no place—especially on the battlefield.
As long as you wore a forehead protector, you were a legitimate target.
Kakashi's scalp prickled.
When had he ever been in such a humiliating situation?
Since his debut, he'd never been this helpless.
And the fight hadn't even truly started.
The Iwa-nin began walking toward him with kunai in hand.
Despite the dizziness and shortness of breath, the looming threat of death forced Kakashi's body to respond.
He drew three kunai from his pouch and hurled them at the Iwa-nin.
They easily dodged.
Kakashi drew his short blade and attempted the Body Flicker Technique, aiming to get behind one of them.
But the Body Flicker Technique required stable chakra control and swift footwork—neither of which he could manage in his current state.
The moment he activated it, a wave of suffocation surged through him, and his movement was slow—sluggish, even.
An Iwa-nin kicked him mid-flash.
Kakashi was sent flying into a tree and crashed to the ground.
The trio broke into laughter.
"Hahaha! Is this kid serious?"
"That's the Body Flicker? My grandma's faster than that!"
"Looks like Konoha's really scraping the bottom of the barrel, sending kids like this to the frontlines!"
…
Kakashi's hearing was fading.
His chest heaved painfully from the blow, but his mask only made it harder to breathe.
Instinctively, his hand reached for the mask, trying to peel it away.
But he froze.
Chi Yu was definitely nearby—watching.
He'd warned Kakashi: unless eating or drinking, the mask stayed on, even in battle.
If he took it off now, he'd disappoint him—his newly accepted mentor.
Kakashi gritted his teeth and let go of the mask.
He couldn't fail so quickly. Not after just being accepted as Chi Yu's student.
If he couldn't move vigorously, then maybe he didn't need to move much at all.
He raised his short blade and pointed it at the nearest Iwa-nin.
"Lightning Release: Piercing Arc!" he cried.
A streak of lightning erupted from his blade in a crude imitation of Chi Yu's technique.
But compared to Chi Yu's, it lacked both temperature and speed.
Chi Yu's strikes were blinding flashes of heat and light—Kakashi's barely sizzled.
The Iwa-nin quickly responded.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
He channeled chakra into the ground, raising a solid wall of earth that easily blocked Kakashi's Lightning Release.
But Kakashi had already thrown another kunai—this one with two explosive tags attached.
The kunai struck the wall.
Boom!
The explosion shattered the stone barrier, debris flying everywhere.
Kakashi tried to use the smokescreen to slip into the surrounding brush, but his body wouldn't cooperate.
He barely made two steps before the Iwa-nin closed in again.
One slashed at him with a kunai—Kakashi blocked with his short blade.
The other two flanked him from both sides.
He rolled back, dodging both attacks.
But they didn't let up. Again, they lunged at him together.
High above, Chi Yu sat calmly on a tree branch, watching.
He understood Kakashi's thinking immediately.
But the choice of pacing wasn't Kakashi's to make.
The enemy held the initiative. They wouldn't fight on his terms.
Chi Yu stood up, ready to intervene at any moment.
These Iwa-nin wouldn't normally be a threat to Kakashi.
It was up to the boy now—to see how far he could push himself.
The three Iwa-nin moved in simultaneously.
Kakashi's thoughts blanked—he responded purely on instinct.
He blocked one, dodged another, and then faced the third head-on.
Kakashi didn't retreat.
Instead, he advanced, slamming his blade into the third ninja's abdomen—ready to trade injury for injury.
But the Iwa-nin flinched and dodged instead.
Kakashi wasn't thinking anymore. Not even breathing properly.
He fought on reflex.
His short blade howled through the air as he moved, each swing sharper than the last.
His movements—at first sluggish and erratic—were gradually sharpening, his breathing more controlled.
His combat sense, slowly recovering.
The Iwa-nin, who had assumed he was easy prey, began to lose confidence.
Why was this kid getting stronger the longer they fought?
The battle came to a stalemate—but Kakashi couldn't keep it up for long.
Suddenly, after dodging a few shuriken, his body collapsed.
The suffocation struck hard.
He fell to the ground, vision spinning, on the verge of passing out.
The Iwa-nin rushed forward to finish him.
But Chi Yu moved.
In a flash, he was beside Kakashi, using the Body Flicker Technique to appear like a phantom.
The Iwa-nin froze, wary of the new arrival.
Chi Yu crouched and tore off Kakashi's mask.
Kakashi gasped, but Chi Yu pinched his chin.
"Don't breathe deeply. You'll pass out.
Slow breaths. Feel the oxygen enter your lungs and spread through your chest."
He let go.
Kakashi clamped his mouth shut and breathed through his nose, trying to obey.
Chi Yu turned toward the Iwa-nin.
He drew his blade—and disappeared again.
By the time they reacted, it was too late.
In three swift flashes, their throats were slit clean.
Chi Yu reappeared and sheathed his blade calmly.
If they had been any stronger, he wouldn't have left Kakashi alone.
But this level of pressure was necessary.
Kakashi had to learn what it meant to survive when he couldn't rely on strength alone.
Chi Yu knelt beside him.
Kakashi's breathing was stabilizing.
He had never appreciated oxygen so much.
"Well? Did you feel it—that sensation?"
Kakashi opened his mouth to respond—but gagged instead.
He lurched forward, propping himself up with trembling arms, and vomited violently.
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