"A bandit suppression mission... and they stuck Kakashi with me..."Nara Kazuki stood at Konoha's front gate, glancing at his emotionless teammate with complicated feelings.
This mission had been assigned directly by Minato Namikaze — a C-rank mission, barely worth 30,000 ryō in reward.
And, for safety reasons, Minato had assigned Kazuki a teammate to "watch his back."In reality, it was obvious: the real reason was to get Kakashi out of his depressive spiral under the pretext of helping Kazuki.
After all, for a jonin like Kakashi, missions normally started at B-rank minimum.But the Third Great Ninja War had only just ended, and the last thing the village wanted was more bloodshed.If Kakashi fought another ninja, there was always the risk of escalation.Thus, a harmless C-rank mission.
"Kakashi, let's move. Our target's near a hot spring town in the Land of Fire," Kazuki said, glancing at the dead-fish-eyed boy beside him.
Kakashi didn't reply — just followed, silent and detached.
Kazuki didn't mind.He traveled, occasionally firing off Fireball Jutsu into the sky to burn off chakra.Once low, he'd stop, meditate, and refine his chakra reserves.
By the second chakra refinement break, Kakashi couldn't hold it in anymore.
"What are you doing?"Kakashi's voice was edged with confusion.
From his perspective, Kazuki seemed borderline insane: nonstop alternating between burning chakra and refilling it.
If Kazuki hadn't aimed his Fireballs straight upward, Kakashi would've suspected he was an arsonist.
"Training," Kazuki answered matter-of-factly.
Kakashi's gaze turned strange.
"Spamming jutsu won't make you stronger," Kakashi said flatly.He recognized the jutsu — Fireball Jutsu — and couldn't fathom why Kazuki kept mindlessly repeating it.
No matter how many thousands of times you used it, it wouldn't fundamentally improve.
Kazuki's expression shifted subtly.
Sure, for normal people, repetition didn't work.But Kazuki was not normal.
He remembered, in another life, playing Nasus in League — stacking Q endlessly even as teammates flamed him.Give me ten minutes, he'd say.
They surrendered at nine.
"Training is my nindō," Kazuki replied breezily.
Kakashi said nothing more.Even if he thought Kazuki's efforts were wasted, he didn't have the energy to argue.
He just wanted somewhere quiet to drown in regret.
Still, when Kazuki, after carefully restoring his chakra, immediately began forming seals again for another Fireball, Kakashi couldn't help but intervene.
"Your hand seal speed... it's too slow," Kakashi commented, wincing at the clumsy flow.
No wonder Minato had assigned him to tag along.If the bandits were numerous, Kazuki might genuinely screw up and get killed.
"Wanna race?"Kazuki's eyes lit up instantly.
If Kakashi wanted to compare chakra reserves or raw power, Kazuki would lose.But speed...
I, Nara Kazuki, am second to none!
"...," Kakashi stared at him, baffled.
But he waved a hand indifferently, intending to demonstrate the gap between them.
He didn't become a jonin just by being Minato's student.
"So?"Kazuki smiled, already finishing his hand seals.
Meanwhile, Kakashi was still halfway through his final sign.
"...Again," Kakashi said, more serious now.
No more holding back.No more laziness.No more thinking Kazuki was just an extra.
This time, he would go all out.
"Done," Kazuki said lightly.
Kakashi's head jerked up.
Again... he was slower.
He looked skyward in disbelief.
He had been serious.He had used his battlefield speed — seals flowing faster than most chunin could even see — and still lost.
"Again!"This time, Kakashi activated his Sharingan — triple tomoe spinning into focus.
Kazuki couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.Damn, he thought. The Uchiha really were born with built-in hacks.
Of course, the downside was the Uchiha tendency toward terminal madness.
Kakashi stared at Kazuki with grim focus.When the signal came, they both began again.
Kakashi pushed his hand speed to the absolute limit.But in the corner of his Sharingan vision, Kazuki's own hands blurred at an impossible pace.
When Kazuki finished, Kakashi instinctively looked down —His final hand seal hadn't even completed yet.
Kazuki stood smiling, casual, relaxed.
True conceptual power.His hand seal speed would always be a little faster than any opponent's.
Even if Madara Uchiha stood before him right now, Kazuki could proudly declare:
"I, Nara Kazuki, will never be inferior to anyone!"
If it required hand seals, Kazuki would always be faster.
Even against someone like Nagato, he could at least die with style — fingers flashing faster than anyone alive.
Of course, the gap between him and a monster like Nagato was still vast.
"Kakashi," Kazuki said solemnly, slapping a hand onto the stunned boy's shoulder, "Diligence — that is my nindō!"
Kakashi stared at him, utterly lost.
How many "nindō" do you even have?