Chapter 5 — First Contact with Team Seven
The next morning, when the light of dawn shone across his face, Tetsuya's dark eyes slowly opened. He sprang up from the chair, clearly feeling that the chakra within his body was more abundant than ever before.
After refining chakra nonstop through the entire night, aside from feeling hungry, Tetsuya's mental state remained excellent. There wasn't the slightest trace of drowsiness.
"As expected of the bloodline left behind by Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo…"
After closing his eyes to sense the astonishing changes within his body, Tetsuya sighed inwardly.
In the past, refining chakra continuously for two hours had already pushed him close to his limit. When had he ever fought such a well-supplied battle? In a single night, not only had his chakra reserves doubled, but the quality of his chakra had also undergone a remarkable transformation.
Not only that—Tetsuya could clearly sense that even without deliberate refinement, his chakra reserves were still growing slightly on their own.
"Transformation Jutsu!"
With a puff of white smoke, Tetsuya transformed into Kakashi's appearance. The stiffness that once plagued his use of the Three Basic Techniques had vanished entirely. The transformation flowed smoothly and flawlessly, almost unbelievably so.
Pop!
The smoke dispersed, and Tetsuya returned to his original form, nodding in satisfaction.
It seemed that after fusing with the Uchiha bloodline, his previously near-bottom-tier talent at the Ninja Academy had improved dramatically. His memory and comprehension of ninjutsu had undergone subtle but undeniable changes.
What a pity he didn't have any new ninjutsu scrolls on hand to test it further.
Feeling the hunger in his stomach, Tetsuya changed his clothes and headed out to eat his fill.
Inside Ichiraku Ramen, Tetsuya devoured three full bowls before finally satisfying his hunger.
After paying, he hesitated briefly before deciding to try his luck at the Hokage Tower.
Unfortunately, his luck was as poor as ever. Since his original squad had already disbanded, there weren't many missions suitable for a solo shinobi. In the end, the mission dispatcher assigned Tetsuya a D-rank task—clearing garbage from a section of the river.
At least it paid six thousand ryō, and he didn't have to split it with teammates…
Leaving the Hokage Tower, Tetsuya didn't show the slightest dissatisfaction. He headed straight for the designated river section.
Although his current chakra reserves could rival those of an elite genin, Tetsuya still only knew the Three Basic Techniques. He was essentially a blank-slate ninja. He had no intention of accepting missions that required leaving Konoha. Instead, he dutifully carried out the kind of tedious tasks typically assigned to freshly graduated genin.
In the blink of an eye, half a day passed. Two large bags by the riverbank were nearly full of trash. Tetsuya would soon complete the mission ahead of schedule.
"Help…"
Just then, a cry for help drifted down from upstream. Tetsuya frowned slightly, then dashed up a tree trunk and leapt onto the canopy, looking toward the source of the sound.
As a transmigrator, he had long since mastered tree climbing and water walking. Even with his chakra reserves having surged, there was no issue at all.
"It's him?"
From the treetop, Tetsuya quickly spotted a clump of yellow drifting downstream. Occasionally, it flailed wildly, revealing the iconic six whisker-like marks on its cheeks—it was Uzumaki Naruto.
On the other side of the river, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura ran anxiously along the bank. But Naruto was drifting too far from shore. Even though Sasuke ran faster, he could only watch helplessly as Naruto floated past.
Where's Kakashi?
What about the ANBU guarding him in secret?
A thoughtful look flickered in Tetsuya's eyes. He quickly ruled out the possibility that this was a test orchestrated by Konoha's higher-ups.
If the village suspected him, the ANBU—or even Root—would strike decisively. They wouldn't risk putting the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki in danger.
It was probably just a coincidence…
As Naruto drifted past, Tetsuya suddenly descended from the sky, landing steadily on the surface of the river. With a flick of his wrist, he grabbed Naruto's flailing arm and hurled the slightly thin body toward the bank.
Sasuke reacted quickly, catching Naruto securely—though not without getting splashed, leaving him looking annoyed.
"As expected of the dead last. A ninja slipping into a river and nearly drowning? How embarrassing."
Still fuming, Sasuke dropped Naruto onto the ground and began brushing water off himself, unable to resist mocking him.
"Thank you, big brother, for saving me!"
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly before turning and shouting his thanks to Tetsuya.
"We're all shinobi of Konoha. It's only natural to help each other."
Tetsuya casually scooped up some trash from the riverbed before walking step by step toward the shore.
"Amazing—you can walk on water…"
Sakura covered her mouth, unable to stop herself from exclaiming. Naruto and Sasuke both lowered their gazes to look at Tetsuya's feet, their faces showing the same astonishment.
"Your instructor hasn't taught you chakra control for tree climbing and water walking?"
As he tossed the trash into the bags, Tetsuya couldn't help complaining inwardly about Kakashi's irresponsibility.
If it hadn't been for the life-or-death battle against Momochi Zabuza and Haku in the Land of Waves, Kakashi would never have hurriedly guided Team Seven through proper training. What had he been doing before that—just chasing cats and walking dogs?
Of course, Kakashi wasn't an exception. Tetsuya's own jōnin instructor had been no better. During the half-year before he left Konoha, no matter how hard Tetsuya tried to curry favor, he had received no guidance in training—let alone being taught any ninjutsu.
"Tree climbing and water walking?"
Faced with Team Seven's blank expressions, Tetsuya decided to earn some goodwill. Since this was common knowledge among shinobi, he explained the methods for practicing tree climbing and water walking—and even demonstrated several times himself.
That genin is pretty enthusiastic. Saves me the trouble…
Hidden in the shadows where no one noticed, Kakashi held a copy of Icha Icha Paradise in one hand, though his attention remained fixed on Team Seven in the distance.
After Tetsuya finished teaching, Kakashi closed his book and stepped out.
"Yo, you all seem energetic. Not doing your mission?"
Naruto, who had just managed to wobble three steps along a tree trunk, was startled by Kakashi's voice. The chakra under his feet faltered instantly, and he crashed heavily to the ground.
"Kakashi-sensei! This kind of important training method—how could you not tell us?!"
Rubbing his aching backside, Naruto sprang up and pointed accusingly at Kakashi.
"Ahem. I've never been a homeroom teacher before. Must've slipped my mind."
Even thick-skinned Kakashi looked slightly embarrassed, his visible eye curving into a crescent.
Seeing Kakashi appear, Tetsuya had no intention of building a relationship. He picked up the full garbage bags, preparing to leave.
"Wait a moment…"
As they passed each other, Kakashi suddenly spoke and pulled a scroll from his vest, tossing it to Tetsuya.
This is…
Tetsuya caught the scroll in one hand and immediately read the label.
Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion – Hell Viewing Technique.
"They'll need some time to finish their mission. How much you can learn depends on your luck."
Hearing Kakashi's words, Tetsuya barely managed to control his expression, offering enthusiastic thanks.
Kakashi was actually giving him a ninjutsu as payment—even if it came with a time limit, it was exceedingly rare.
After all, aside from Sasuke, who was practically his direct disciple, neither Naruto nor Sakura had received ninjutsu instruction from Kakashi.
What Tetsuya didn't know was that learning he would one day become the Sixth Hokage had subtly altered Kakashi's mindset. Combined with the fact that Tetsuya had stepped in to save Naruto, and sensing the respectable chakra and mental energy emanating from Tetsuya—unusual for a genin—Kakashi had decided to reward him with a D-rank genjutsu.