Unfortunately, Might Guy had already switched into what could only be described as "hot-blooded mode." At this point, he simply wasn't listening to reason.
Seeing Guy so fired up, Kakashi's mouth twitched slightly. He was already starting to regret mentioning Akira in the first place.
Guy confidently declared that in terms of taijutsu, the entire village of Konohagakure only had two people who could match him—the Hokage and Kakashi himself.
And to be fair, that wasn't exactly bragging.
Guy in his normal state really was ridiculously strong.
The former dead-last student had grown into a taijutsu master capable of giving even Kakashi trouble.
That was precisely why Guy regarded Kakashi as his lifelong rival—not just out of friendship, but out of respect for his strength.
Seeing Guy's stubborn determination, Kakashi gave up trying to persuade him.
After all, he knew Akira far too well. That overly rational kid wasn't going to be swayed by Guy's fiery enthusiasm.
In the end, Kakashi could only spread his hands helplessly and give his friend a warning in advance: if it didn't work out, don't start crying about it later. After all, it was Akira's own choice.
Guy clenched his fists, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight as he vowed he would never let such a raw gem slip away.
Kakashi merely snorted, having zero confidence in Guy's chances.
Meanwhile, fast asleep at home, Akira had absolutely no idea that two of Konoha's top shinobi had spent half the night arguing about his future training path.
---
The next morning, sunlight filled the streets.
Akira headed to the Ninja Academy as usual, his backpack slung over his shoulder.
Everything seemed normal—except that Hinata kept glancing at him far more frequently than before, her gaze noticeably more intense.
Still, to avoid attracting attention, Akira deliberately kept his distance and maintained a cool, aloof demeanor around her.
The moment the dismissal bell rang, he packed up immediately and headed toward the mountain behind the village like usual.
His senses were sharp. He had already noticed that Hinata was secretly following him again like a little tail.
But he didn't call her out on it.
Just as he was about to use the Body Flicker Jutsu to shake off his follower, a sudden commotion erupted behind him.
Akira frowned slightly and halted the hand seals he had begun forming.
Who would be causing trouble at a time like this?
After focusing his senses, he realized something was wrong.
There were quite a few people—and their intentions weren't friendly.
It turned out Hinata had run into trouble.
She had been cornered in a dead-end alley.
Akira hadn't planned on getting involved, but when he scanned the area he realized something strange—the usual Hyūga clan guards weren't nearby.
If he ignored the situation, that timid little rabbit would probably suffer badly.
After weighing the situation, he sighed and turned back.
---
In the dim and narrow alley, four boys around ten years old had surrounded Hinata.
In truth, Hinata's strength was more than enough to defeat them easily.
But her timid personality acted like chains, locking away her instinct to fight back.
The four troublemakers were loudly threatening her and demanding money when a cold voice suddenly rang out from the alley entrance.
"If you don't want to get expelled, you'd better leave right now."
The four boys froze and turned around at the same time.
When they saw that the speaker was just a younger student, they burst into mocking laughter.
They warned Akira not to meddle in other people's business—or they'd beat him up too.
Although they acted arrogantly, they were still wary of the Ninja Academy's rules.
Akira couldn't even be bothered to respond.
His gaze passed over them and landed on Hinata in the corner.
When Hinata saw him, a flash of relief appeared in her eyes.
But the moment she noticed his calm, distant expression, she lowered her head in embarrassment, convinced that he must dislike seeing her in such a pitiful state.
Being ignored infuriated the four older boys.
They cursed loudly and declared they would show Akira the meaning of "grade hierarchy."
Akira looked at the fools before him with a blank expression, contempt rising in his heart.
Even if people like this somehow became ninja in the future, they'd only end up as expendable cannon fodder.
Still, he had to admit something—
Leaving them alone could eventually become a problem.
His dismissive attitude completely enraged the ringleader.
With a shout, he ordered three of the boys to rush forward and beat Akira down.
"As long as he doesn't die, hit him as hard as you want!"
The leader himself crossed his arms and watched confidently, certain that three against one would be an easy victory.
From the corner, Hinata panicked.
She tried to rush forward to help, calling Akira's name anxiously.
Seeing her move, the ringleader immediately turned and kicked viciously toward her.
That kick pushed Hinata past her limit.
Even the gentlest person has their breaking point.
"Byakugan!"
The veins around her eyes bulged as she activated her dōjutsu.
Acting on instinct, she struck out with a palm strike that sent the boy—who was a head taller than her—staggering backward several steps.
The boy barely managed to steady himself, his face full of disbelief.
The girl he had always bullied actually fought back—and she was strong.
Humiliated and furious, he grabbed a broken brick from the corner of the wall and swung it toward Hinata's head like a madman.
---
At the same time, Akira looked at the three boys charging toward him.
A cold light flashed in his eyes.
"Idiots."
In the next instant, his body vanished from where he stood, leaving behind a blur too fast for the naked eye.
Three dull thuds echoed in the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The attackers didn't even understand what had happened before heavy blows slammed into their stomachs.
Their bodies folded like shrimp as they collapsed onto the ground, clutching their bellies in agony, their faces twisted with pain.
The fight was over in a single exchange.
---
Meanwhile, the boy holding the brick was just about to smash it into Hinata's head.
Akira frowned slightly.
His figure flickered again.
Like a ghost, he appeared instantly in front of Hinata.
Thud!
The flying brick was caught midair by a pale hand.
Then Akira's fingers tightened.
A harsh cracking sound followed as the solid red brick was crushed into powder in his palm, the fragments trickling down like red sand.
The attacker stood there completely stunned.
His brain went blank as he stared at the falling dust.
Is that even humanly possible?
Behind Akira, Hinata gazed at the boy standing protectively before her.
His back wasn't particularly tall.
But somehow it felt incredibly reassuring.
Her cheeks flushed bright red.
"A-Akira-kun…"
Ever since she discovered that he had deliberately lost their match before, her thoughts had been filled with him.
She had tried to distract herself by thinking about Naruto instead.
But the more she tried to suppress it, the clearer Akira's image became.
---
Later, Kakashi strolled over to Akira, the corners of his mouth lifting beneath his mask in a lazy smile.
"You're right. Lightning Style: Earth Flash does have the potential to combine with Water Style."
"But the details are extremely complicated."
"The perfect fusion of two chakra nature transformations requires control at an absurd level."
"Even with my current ability, doing it casually would be incredibly difficult. It's definitely not as simple as one plus one equals two."
"Still," Kakashi added with a shrug, "your brain works pretty well. If you keep experimenting, who knows? Maybe one day you'll actually pull it off."
Combination ninjutsu sounded simple in theory—just mixing different chakra natures together.
But in practice, it was a completely different story.
Normally it required multiple shinobi coordinating perfectly.
Attempting to perform it alone demanded an almost insane level of chakra precision.
Even Kakashi found it troublesome.
In other words, this wasn't something you could master on a whim.
Scratching the back of his silver hair, Kakashi seemed to consider the teaching schedule.
"I've already taught you the basics of Lightning, Water, Fire, and Earth Style."
"Today we'll complete the final piece."
"I'm going to teach you Wind Style."
Akira's clear eyes shone as he nodded obediently.
"Alright."
Beside them, Guy stared at Akira as if he were looking at a priceless treasure.
Even though he had already witnessed the boy's monstrous talent over the past two days, the shock in his heart still hadn't subsided.
"This kid can pick things up after hearing them once… he's a monster."
"Kakashi really struck gold this time."
"Who knows—this kid might actually reach the level of the Fourth Hokage someday."
"He's only six… yet he can casually perform lightning techniques at this level."
"His talent might even surpass Kakashi's when he was young."
Guy couldn't help recalling those years when Kakashi had been surrounded by the aura of genius.
When Kakashi was Akira's age, he had already broken records by becoming a chūnin.
Meanwhile, Guy himself had still been the dead-last student in the academy—so weak he wasn't even qualified to be Kakashi's rival.
Looking at Akira now gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.
It was as if he were seeing a young Kakashi standing before him.
And in terms of taijutsu foundations, Akira might even surpass the Kakashi of that time.
Kakashi glanced at his slightly tired-looking student, a hint of concern slipping into his voice.
"I saw you unleash quite a lot of chakra with that Earth Flash just now. Are you still holding up? Can you really keep going and learn Wind Style?"
Akira took a deep breath, feeling the surging energy within his body, and nodded.
"No problem. My blue bar's still pretty full. I could probably throw out a B-rank Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall without breaking a sweat."
In reality, the chakra inside Akira's body was like a bottomless spring.
It had already refilled itself automatically.
The consumption from a mere C-rank Lightning Style was nothing—his abnormal recovery ability restored it in the time it took to catch his breath.
A trace of approval flashed in Kakashi's eye.
"That kind of stamina is a deadly advantage."
"But remember—this is your trump card. It's more important than anything else. Don't go showing it off everywhere in the streets. You understand what I mean, right?"
Kakashi knew very well that compared to Akira's ninjutsu talent, the truly shocking thing was the massive chakra reserves he possessed at such a young age.
Akira's expression turned serious.
"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei. My lips are sealed."
Seeing his student in good condition, Kakashi didn't waste time and began explaining the fundamentals of Wind Style in a clear and methodical way.
Time slipped away like sand through fingers.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Just as Kakashi finished speaking, Akira suddenly felt as though a thunderclap had exploded in his mind.
An indescribable clarity surged through his entire body.
His spiritual energy expanded wildly—like an inflating balloon—growing more than five times stronger in an instant.
The qualitative leap in his mental energy triggered a chain reaction.
Relying on his already powerful physique, the chakra inside his body erupted like a broken dam, skyrocketing violently.
The overflowing energy was so immense that a visible spiral of wind formed around him.
Akira frowned tightly as he felt the power within him, as if his meridians were about to burst.
What's going on?
My chakra just jumped way too much…
This feels like… at least jōnin-level reserves.
He clenched his fist in disbelief.
In a single moment, the energy inside his body had leaped forward several stages.
Even his physical abilities seemed to have improved across the board.
Kakashi, as perceptive as ever, immediately noticed the abnormal fluctuation.
"Hm? What's going on?"
Akira quickly suppressed his aura and met Kakashi's probing gaze with forced calm.
"Nothing. I just had a bit of an epiphany after hearing your explanation."
"I even have a feeling that once I fully master all five chakra natures, I might actually be able to create a combination ninjutsu."
To hide the earlier chakra surge, Akira quickly changed the topic.
Kakashi still felt that something about the boy was strange, but he couldn't pinpoint the reason.
So he followed the conversation with a chuckle.
"You're still thinking about combination ninjutsu, huh?"
"If it were easy, the ninja world would be full of them by now."
"Usually those techniques require two shinobi working together perfectly. As for someone doing it alone… the only person I've seen capable of that is the one known as the Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Professor of Ninjutsu."
Of course, people like Jiraiya or Orochimaru might also be capable of it—but Kakashi hadn't personally witnessed it.
Akira blinked in mock surprise.
"That difficult?"
Kakashi smiled lightly.
"Rare things are valuable. Precisely because they're hard to master, their power is terrifying."
"Anyone who can use them is a heavyweight in the ninja world."
"If you really manage it someday, your combat strength will skyrocket."
In a sense, combination ninjutsu was also one of the few ways ordinary ninja could contend with geniuses who possessed kekkei genkai.
After all, the qualitative changes produced by some combination techniques were powerful enough to rival the abilities of Kekkei Genkai.
Akira nodded thoughtfully, a confident smile forming.
"Let's hope you're right. Maybe I really can do it."
Seeing the fearless confidence of youth in the boy, Kakashi's hidden smile deepened.
As long as the kid worked hard, Kakashi was willing to believe—even if the chance was only one percent.
"Alright, enough chatting. Watch carefully."
"This jutsu is called Wind Style: Wind Cutter. A standard C-rank ninjutsu focused on sharpness."
Akira immediately focused, watching Kakashi's every movement with burning concentration.
Kakashi turned toward a waist-high boulder.
His hands blurred into afterimages as he formed hand seals at dazzling speed.
"Tiger—Hare—Dog…"
The moment the final seal formed, Kakashi's eyes sharpened.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"
A transparent ripple seemed to flash through the air.
Whoosh!
A faint slicing sound cut through the silence.
Ten meters away, the solid boulder split apart like butter sliced by a hot knife.
Clack.
It separated cleanly into two pieces, the cut surface smooth as a mirror.
The cutting power was terrifying.
Akira's eyes lit up.
This kind of clean, invisible killing jutsu was exactly his style.
Kakashi brushed the dust from his hands and turned back.
"You understand the principle, right? Give it a try. You looked pretty absorbed just now."
Akira grinned.
"Shouldn't be a problem."
He stepped in front of the already-split rock and took a deep breath.
His hands instantly began moving.
The speed of his seals was no slower than Kakashi's—perhaps even faster, leaving streaks of afterimages.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"
BZZZZ—!
This time, instead of a faint slicing sound, a sharp shriek filled the air.
BOOM!
A massive wind blade several meters long formed instantly, tearing through the air with overwhelming pressure.
The unfortunate rock instantly disintegrated into powder.
Even worse, the wind blade didn't stop there.
It slammed into the cliff behind it.
After a thunderous explosion, a horrifying trench dozens of meters long and several meters deep was carved into the mountainside.
The cut surface was so smooth it could practically reflect light.
The sharpness of that attack was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Compared to Kakashi's earlier demonstration, the difference in power was like comparing a grenade to a missile.
The most shocking part was that both of them had theoretically used the same amount of chakra.
Yet the resulting destructive power was worlds apart.
Kakashi was genuinely stunned this time.
A trace of shock flickered in his single eye.
After staring at Akira for a long moment, his tone turned serious.
"It seems your chakra control wasn't the problem."
"The issue is that the quality of your chakra is far higher than normal."
Aside from a qualitative transformation in chakra itself, Kakashi couldn't think of any explanation for such exaggerated power.
"Akira… your constitution is truly heaven-sent."
"But this must stay a secret. Even from your closest friends—not a single word."
Kakashi was genuinely worried.
If a physique like this—something akin to irresistible bait—became known, Akira would be torn apart by forces across the ninja world.
Even though the boy was unusually mature, Kakashi couldn't help but act like a nagging guardian.
Akira put on an innocent expression and nodded obediently.
"I understand, sensei. I'll listen to you."
Kakashi rolled his eye helplessly.
"Cut the act. You were shocked by it yourself just now, weren't you? You must've noticed something strange already."
Akira chuckled awkwardly and didn't argue.
That was basically an admission.
Kakashi didn't press further. Instead, he seemed slightly relieved.
"It's good that you're cautious. In the ninja world, before you grow strong enough, staying low-key is the smartest way to survive."
He didn't blame Akira for keeping secrets.
After all, when it came to matters of life and death, the fewer people who knew, the safer it was.
If the truth ever leaked out, even with Kakashi protecting him, it might still not be enough to keep this rare prodigy safe.