After returning home, Taiichi cleaned himself up a bit and headed out to the training ground. To his surprise, he found Might Gai and Kakashi Hatake already there, sparring with each other.
Kakashi's father was Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of the Leaf. Gai's father might have been a "Genin," but he was a top-tier Genin capable of opening the Eight Inner Gates and taking on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. So, both of them had received guidance from their fathers.
You could tell just by watching them fight; their moves were disciplined and methodical. Unlike Taiichi, who was a complete rookie with zero combat experience.
Watching the two spar—countering each other's moves, switching between offense and defense—Taiichi mentally simulated how he would respond if he were in the fight.
At that moment, the two combatants noticed Taiichi on the sidelines. They exchanged one last blow and used the recoil to leap back and disengage.
"Taiichi! You're a bit late today! Kakashi and I have been here since early morning! Youth cannot tolerate such sloth!" Gai flashed his pearly whites, striking an exaggerated pose as he looked at Taiichi.
"I had some business at the orphanage this morning," Taiichi replied vaguely. "By the way, when did you two get so close? Sparring together already?"
"Haha! Kakashi is my eternal rival! We knew each other before school started!" Then he turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, this is Taiichi Matsushita, and he is also my best friend!"
"Idiot, we're in the same class. I don't need an introduction," Kakashi said, ignoring Gai's embarrassed chuckle. He turned to Taiichi and issued an invitation. "Taiichi, how about a match?"
Oh? Kakashi was pretty competitive at this age, huh? But Taiichi wasn't going to refuse; this was exactly the experience he lacked.
"Sure thing. But I've never had a real fight before, so don't be disappointed."
With that, the two walked to the center of the field, made the Seal of Confrontation, and began the battle.
Kakashi lowered his center of gravity, moving fluidly like a leopard. He lunged forward with a burst of speed, sweeping his left leg toward Taiichi's lower body. Taiichi hurriedly jumped back to dodge, but Kakashi changed moves instantly. Pushing off the ground with both hands, he launched himself into a high kick aimed right at Taiichi's chest. Mid-air and unable to find leverage, Taiichi could only cross his arms to block. Kakashi's kick landed solidly, sending Taiichi tumbling to the ground.
Taiichi didn't hesitate; the moment he hit the dirt, he rolled backward to disperse the impact and used the momentum to spring back up. Once stable, he immediately charged forward, unleashing a flurry of jabs. His punching speed was actually slightly faster than Kakashi's.
This aggressive assault threw Kakashi off for a moment, but he quickly stabilized the situation. Seizing an opening, he whipped a roundhouse kick at Taiichi's side. Taiichi blocked with his arm, but Kakashi used the momentum to spin into an elbow strike, driving Taiichi back several steps.
They went back and forth, but overall, Kakashi had the upper hand. Taiichi ultimately lacked experience; many of his reactions were subpar. He only managed to claw back some ground occasionally with unexpected moves.
They fought for another dozen rounds until finally, Kakashi landed a flying kick that knocked Taiichi down for good. He didn't get back up.
Lying on the ground, Taiichi gasped for air, sweat rolling down his cheeks. Kakashi ceased his attack, walked over, and extended a hand to pull Taiichi, who was now sitting up, to his feet.
"You're strong, Taiichi. I can tell you rarely spar, but to perform like that... it's rare," Kakashi said. He recalled his father's evaluation of Taiichi and Gai and found himself agreeing with it even more.
Gai, who had been watching from the sidelines, ran over, giving a thumbs-up from afar. "Taiichi! I didn't know you were so strong! Watching you has set my youthful blood ablaze!"
"Come on, Taiichi! Let's have a passionate duel of our own!" Gai shouted excitedly, already assuming his fighting stance.
"Alright!" Taiichi wasn't one to back down. After lying there for a bit, he had recovered some stamina. He stood up and took his stance as well.
Kakashi, seeing their fighting spirit, stepped back to the sidelines to watch.
Seeing Taiichi was ready, Gai charged without hesitation. Compared to Kakashi's focus on technique, Gai's attacks were heavy and powerful. Every punch, every kick was a struggle for Taiichi to block.
Gradually, Taiichi found the trick. He stopped trying to meet Gai's attacks head-on. Instead, he tried to use grappling and deflection techniques to neutralize Gai's force. Occasionally, he seized opportunities to counterattack aggressively, throwing Gai into disarray.
Watching from the side, Kakashi could see it even more clearly. Taiichi's technique was improving by leaps and bounds. In just two short matches, while he hadn't become a completely different person, he was operating on a different level.
During the duel with Gai, Kakashi even saw shadows of his own moves in Taiichi's technique. Truly inhuman learning speed.
Actually, Taiichi's rapid improvement wasn't that strange. His Basic Taijutsu was at Level 6, which was comparable to an average Genin. What he lacked was combat experience—the catalyst needed to unlock the potential of that Level 6 foundation.
As the two continued to exchange blows, Taiichi's stamina began to fail him. His movements started to get sloppy, and blocking became increasingly difficult. Finally, a sluggish reaction caused him to be a step too slow in defending, and Gai landed a punch squarely on his chest, knocking him to the ground.
The battle ended with both of them panting heavily. Taiichi's stubborn resilience had forced Gai to expend a lot of energy to win.
"Taiichi... huff huff..." "As expected of my best friend... huff huff..." "You improved so much... huff..." Even while gasping for breath, Gai didn't forget to flash his bright white teeth.
Meanwhile, Taiichi was staring at the panel in his mind.
> [You engaged in Taijutsu sparring. Your comprehension has improved.]
> [Your skill Basic Taijutsu has leveled up. Experience +2]
> [You focused on ninja combat training. Apprentice Ninja Class Experience +2]
...
Seeing the higher-than-usual experience points, Taiichi realized that "grinding mobs" was indeed the path for him. Those two short duels had yielded more experience than two hours of regular training.
Kakashi came over and helped Taiichi up from the ground. The three of them sat in the shade under a tree to rest, discussing their insights from the spar. Once their stamina recovered, they resumed their individual training, occasionally sparring with each other to consolidate what they had learned.
The wind gently blew the cherry blossoms at the edge of the training field, petals drifting between the three boys. The sun slowly set in the west, its afterglow bathing them in golden light, stretching their shadows long and witnessing the forging of their friendship.
That evening, dragging his exhausted body back home, Taiichi made a simple meal and went to his study.
Recalling the day's gains: First, the money issue was finally being addressed; all that was left was to wait for Tsunade's reply. If things went fast, there might be a result tomorrow.
And the afternoon sparring with Gai and Kakashi had revealed a new way to gain experience. Everything was moving in the right direction.
> Name: Taiichi Matsushita
> Class: Apprentice Ninja Lv2 (127/200)
> Talents: Diligence, Academic Genius
> Age: 6
> Constitution: 10
> Strength: 11
> Agility: 10
> Spirit: 18
> Chakra: 657 (4200)
> Attribute Points: 5
> Skill Points: 5
> Skills: Basic Taijutsu Lv6 (324/1000), Basic Meditation Lv6 (815/1000), Chakra Refining Technique Lv2 (15/200), Ninja Tool Throwing Lv1 (94/100)
> Evaluation: A fighter jet among small fries. Looking forward to your further progress.
Looking at his panel compared to before school started, he not only had two more skills, but his experience levels had also increased significantly. The only shortcoming was... he still didn't have a single Ninjutsu.
He looked down at the scroll on his desk. Now that he had Chakra, Ninjutsu training had to be put on the agenda.
...
At the same time, on the other side of the Leaf Village, inside an Izakaya.
Tsunade was slumped over a table, dead drunk and sound asleep, having completely forgotten about the events of the day.
Across the table, Jiraiya and Orochimaru exchanged helpless glances and bitter smiles. They had been dragged here by Tsunade to drink, but looking at the situation now, not only did they not get to drink, but they were also stuck cleaning up the mess of the drunkard.