"Keep up!""Did you skip breakfast?""If you fall behind again, you'll be skipping the next one too!"
Qianyu strolled ahead, unhurried. Behind him, Kakashi gritted his teeth, body swaying as he fought to match the pace.
Willpower alone kept Kakashi moving. He had no breath left for words.
His mind was a storm of complaints.
This isn't human. Who starts training at this intensity right away?
The physical strain wasn't even the worst part. It was the breathing—or rather, the lack of it. How was he supposed to train when he couldn't even walk straight? His vision swam. His head felt light.
After a distance, Qianyu finally stopped. His next words were music to Kakashi's ears.
"Rest break."
Kakashi collapsed on the spot. He tried to gulp air, but the thick mask choked him—the harder he tried, the tighter his chest felt.
"Adjust your breathing," Qianyu reminded him, voice calm. "Slow. Rhythmic. Long breaths. That's how you steady it."
Kakashi forced control. In. Out. Slowly. The world steadied. His lungs stopped burning.
"How do you feel?" Qianyu asked.
"Like crap."
Qianyu chuckled. "It's only been a day, but you're already better than yesterday. You can feel it, can't you?"
Kakashi focused. He could. Yesterday, he'd been suffocating. Today, the pressure was still there, but he could breathe through it—slowly, painfully, but he could.
"You're adapting," Qianyu explained. "The changes are obvious now because it's new. Once you can wear this mask and breathe like it's not even there… that's when you've succeeded. That's when your body can pull in massive oxygen in seconds."
Kakashi blinked, dazed. "That's… it? Just breathing?"
Qianyu gave him a look—a flat, are-you-serious stare at Kakashi's pale, sweat-sheened face. "Just breathing?"
"Uh." Kakashi backtracked fast. "Right. Not just breathing. Not simple at all."
Stupid. Oxygen deprivation. Making me say stupid things.
Breathing normally with the mask on wouldn't be the end. Qianyu's standard was combat breathing—maintaining that ease even in a fight. That was a whole different level.
Still, Kakashi was starting to believe it. If his lungs could handle this strain, then flooding his blood with oxygen in an instant… yeah. That would work.
Qianyu stood up. "Rest time's over. Let's move."
"Already?" Kakashi groaned. "Can't we rest a bit longer?"
"No. We're pushing your limits today. If we run into some Stone ninja later, I'm throwing you at them."
"What?!"
Kakashi stared. Throw him at enemies? In this state? He'd be a fish on a chopping board!
Was the intensity really necessary?
He used to crave combat missions. Now, for the first time, he prayed they'd meet no one.
Of course, the universe loved irony.
Qianyu froze.
"Three ninjas. Three o'clock. This is a contact zone between our scouts and Stone's. Probably theirs. Go handle it, Kakashi."
Kakashi couldn't believe it. "Sensei… you're serious? This version of me?"
Qianyu shot him a sidelong glance. "Did I sound like I was joking? I teach in live combat. Unless you're about to die, I won't lift a finger."
"You want me to take on three? Alone?!"
"You're asking a lot of questions. Back in the Land of Hot Water, if my orders were met with this much chatter, I'd have broken bones. You get patience because you're my student. Don't waste it."
"Fine. Fine. I'm going."
Under that final warning, Kakashi moved out—slow, reluctant, miserable.
He crept toward the three chakra signatures Qianyu had sensed. Sure enough, Stone ninja, their forehead protectors gleaming in the dull light.
A thought nagged him. Sensei didn't use any hand signs for sensing. How does he do it?
He shook his head. Focus. You're fighting with your hands and feet tied. Figure it out.
He didn't expect a rescue. Kakashi was a genius. He had pride. Even half-dead, his job was to win—not to charge in and hope for backup.
He was still planning his approach when his own ragged, wheezing breaths betrayed him.
The three Stone ninja heard it. They didn't react overtly—just exchanged a flicker of a glance and kept walking, casual.
But their footsteps changed.
Kakashi's eyes sharpened. On the battlefield, he read movement first. Before, their steps had been loose. Now, they pressed heavier into the earth. Their weight shifted subtly toward his position.
His pupils contracted.
They know.
Ambush was his only advantage. Gone. Now he was weak, exposed, and outnumbered.
No hesitation. He leaped back.
The Stone ninja saw him move and knew the game was up. One formed seals, fast.
"Earth Style: Geocore!"
The ground beneath Kakashi's feet dropped. He felt the tremor and threw himself left.
A pit opened where he'd stood. A second slower, and he'd have fallen.
The dodge cost him. His lungs screamed. A high-pitched ring filled his ears. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out, dumping him back onto the dirt.
Three shadows fell over him.
The Stone ninja circled, wary but confused. This Konoha ninja… he looked sick. Pale. Shaking. Was this a trap?
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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