Chapter 451: Kakashi's Promotion Gift
"Since everyone has fully recovered, it's time for us to return to the East Bank Battlefield," Kakashi said.
There was no urgent transfer order from the front line. This was Kakashi's own decision.
Even though they were all alive and well now, Kakashi had not forgotten the future they had seen, the future that made his chest feel heavy whenever he thought about it.
In that future, Teacher Mugetsu was gone. Minato died during the Nine Tails' rampage. Rin and Obito did not live long enough to see Naruto grow up.
Kakashi refused to let that become reality.
If they wanted to change fate, they had to become as strong as possible, and war was the best training ground.
War was dangerous, but it tempered people. Kakashi had to admit that.
Even now, it was hard for him to imagine Teacher Mugetsu dying an unnatural death. Teacher Mugetsu had mastered many Breathing Techniques, the Armament Haki secret technique, and Flying Thunder God. What kind of shinobi or unit could possibly kill someone like that?
Kakashi still lacked information, making it difficult to draw anything useful. The only conclusion he could trust was simple.
The weak would only hold Teacher Mugetsu back.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Obito's expression turned serious as well. He did not want to die before Kakashi. He did not want Rin to be killed. And he definitely did not want to see someone as good as Teacher Mugetsu robbed of a long life.
"I have no problem on my end. We can leave anytime," Guy replied without hesitation.
Guy had always been good at turning complicated problems into simple ones. If Five Gates plus Rock Breathing Chakra Mode was not enough, then he would train until he could reach Eight Gates plus Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, and then stack Armament Haki on top of it.
After a long stretch of brutal training, along with Teacher Mugetsu's guidance and teaching, Guy had finally mastered the prerequisite for the Armament Haki secret technique, Yin Release chakra nature transformation, and had begun cultivating Armament Haki for real.
Still, compared to how quickly Kakashi and the others had succeeded, Guy's road would not be easy.
"Alright. Then we'll call Rin and leave together," Kakashi said with a nod.
Since they had recovered earlier than Guy, they had already talked it over ahead of time.
The four of them packed up and set off for the East Bank Battlefield.
"This time, we'll beat the Hidden Mist with Teacher Mugetsu and get promoted to Jonin!" Obito declared the moment they stepped through Konoha's gates.
The last time he left, he was just a Chunin with a bit of fame from the Chunin Exams. When he returned, he had become a well known genius in Konoha.
This time, he wanted to go a step further.
He wanted to come back as a Jonin that people actually respected.
"Obito, watch the road and stop talking nonsense," Kakashi said bluntly.
"You've only walked a few meters outside the village and you're already throwing around your vice captain authority?" Obito shot back, refusing to lose face, especially with Rin watching.
"Alright, Obito Chunin," Kakashi replied immediately. "Then stop wasting time."
Obito's expression stiffened.
Not only was his status in the squad lower than Kakashi's, Kakashi's rank also crushed him.
"Kakashi just became a shinobi earlier. Otherwise, there's no way he would've made Jonin this fast," Obito comforted himself, clinging to the idea of Kakashi's earlier start.
Then he thought about how Guy and Shisui were still Chunin.
That helped.
Most of Teacher Mugetsu's disciples were still Chunin right now.
"Ahem. Let's hurry up," Obito said, coughing twice to bury the awkwardness as he rushed ahead.
By the time they reached the camp, it was already evening. Familiar shinobi were gathered in groups, eating and chatting.
"Our Konoha is really thriving," one shinobi exclaimed. "We've got young powerhouses like Minato and Mugetsu, and super geniuses like Guy, the Green Beast of Konoha, and Shisui the Body Flicker."
The Ninja World was in chaos, and Konoha was fighting three major hidden villages at once. That kind of war should have made people uneasy.
But the constant emergence of powerhouses and geniuses kept Konoha's morale high.
"Seriously," another shinobi said nearby, clicking his tongue. "I heard Shisui is only eight this year. It's terrifying. At eight, he killed three Hidden Mist Jonin in one battle. Even Uchiha Madara couldn't have done better at that age, right?"
When that shinobi was eight, he was still in the Academy, amazed when a Chunin instructor showed off a single jutsu. The gap was beyond comparison.
"Kakashi is also ridiculous," someone added. "He killed Suikazan Fuguki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Now he's Konoha's youngest Jonin, and maybe he'll surpass Sakumo one day."
Obito slowed down, waiting for a sentence he wanted to hear.
"They all seem to be Lord Mugetsu's disciples. Feels like they could become the next Sannin."
Obito's forehead creased.
Teacher Mugetsu had so many disciples. How could they only be the Sannin? At minimum, they should be the Five Kage.
And Suikazan Fuguki was clearly killed by him and Kakashi together, yet the way it was being said made it sound like Kakashi took all the credit.
"Naturally evil Kakashi," Obito cursed in his head. "So you're a credit thief too."
Rin noticed Obito suddenly slowing and gave him a puzzled look, which forced Obito to move again, even though he still wanted to keep listening.
Mugetsu was not out on a mission, so they found him quickly.
"Teacher Mugetsu," the disciples greeted together.
"It looks like you've all recovered well," Lord Mugetsu said with a smile. "And congratulations, Kakashi, on your promotion to Jonin. Is it too late to say that now?"
Kakashi's mouth lifted slightly. "It's not late at all, Teacher Mugetsu. Didn't you congratulate me right away?"
Teacher Mugetsu was the deputy commander on this battlefield and carried heavy responsibilities. He could not leave at will. In Kakashi's eyes, Teacher Mugetsu's congratulations were never late, and he had kept them in his heart the whole time.
"Early or late, that's not important," Mugetsu said. "Look forward to the gift I prepared for your promotion. You definitely won't guess what it is."
That made Kakashi curious. Teacher Mugetsu did not speak idly. If he said it was hard to guess, it meant the gift was something Kakashi could not imagine.
"Could it be a ninja novel?" Kakashi tried to guess privately, even though he knew it was nonsense.
Then he dismissed it immediately.
Teacher Mugetsu was not Obito. He would not give a gift that ridiculous.
And if Teacher Mugetsu did give a ninja novel, it would only mean one thing.
That novel would not be ordinary.
It would have a deeper purpose.
Obito stared at Kakashi with envy, jealousy, and hatred all mixed together.
He also wanted a gift from Teacher Mugetsu.
At that moment, Obito realized failing the Jonin exam was a disaster that belonged in the top ten worst failures in life.
Not only did it put him below Kakashi, it made him too embarrassed to act proud in front of Rin, and now he had to stand here and watch Teacher Mugetsu give Kakashi a promotion gift.
Mugetsu stepped into his tent, made a show of retrieving something, then walked out holding a large Pokémon Egg taken from his system space.
"This is your Jonin gift," Mugetsu said, holding it with both hands as he handed it to Kakashi.
"What a huge egg!" Obito blurted, curiosity winning. "What kind of egg is that? Are we having an all egg feast to celebrate?"
Crack!
Mugetsu's finger tapped Obito's forehead.
"This isn't food," Mugetsu said, pulling his hand back. "It's an egg that can hatch a Nin Beast."
"So Nin Beasts hatch from eggs?" Obito rubbed his forehead, looking like he had gained a valuable new piece of knowledge.
Kakashi was speechless.
Obito deserved to fail the Jonin assessment.
"It depends on whether the creature is oviparous or viviparous," Kakashi said, explaining it properly, "not whether it's a Nin Beast or a normal animal."
In Kakashi's view, Nin Beasts and ordinary animals were like shinobi and ordinary people. There were differences, but most fundamentals still applied.
"Teacher Mugetsu, what kind of Nin Beast is inside?" Kakashi asked after examining the egg for a few moments.
No biology class had ever taught him how to identify a creature from an egg alone.
"You'll know when it hatches," Teacher Mugetsu said, still keeping his tone mysterious. "But I can tell you this. It's very strong, with extremely high growth potential. If you raise it properly, it'll become a huge help in battle."
Of course, Teacher Mugetsu also had no idea what would hatch.
Still, based on the system's usual behavior, he felt the Pokémon inside should be highly compatible with Kakashi.
Maybe it would be Ground type or Electric type, matching Kakashi's chakra affinity. Maybe Water type, allowing combination techniques with Kakashi. It might even have something to do with swordsmanship.
"Very strong…" Kakashi hugged the egg a little tighter without thinking.
For a shinobi, a Nin Beast with excellent combat ability could be even more valuable than a powerful secret technique.
"What could it be?" Kakashi could not help but speculate. "A bird?"
Birds were oviparous, but he had never heard of any truly terrifying bird Nin Beasts.
[System: You gifted a Pokémon Egg to your disciple. Due to the disciple's immense gratitude, you received a huge reward burst, acquiring Ninjutsu Kirin (Mastery Level).]
Maybe it was because they had not seen each other in a long time, and maybe it was because the gift hit Kakashi right in the heart.
Kakashi produced a small burst, and Mugetsu received a mastery level S rank Lightning Release.
Mugetsu did not bring out Enma.
He believed Kakashi still could not wield that cursed blade safely. Forcing it now would only be dangerous.
Ignoring fighting style and swordsmanship for a moment, the most suitable user for Enma was actually someone with an enormous chakra reserve, someone like Nagato, who could be drained as much as needed and still have chakra left over.
But if you accounted for other restrictions, among Mugetsu's disciples, Kakashi was the most compatible.
Kakashi was an all rounder, but his strongest areas were Lightning Release and sword techniques. A truly good blade would raise Kakashi's combat power immediately.
White Fang was only an ordinary chakra blade. Its fearsome reputation existed because its owner, Sakumo, was strong. The blade itself was not special.
Mugetsu had also tested Enma once in real combat. Enma could cut and absorb chakra, growing stronger with every strike. It did not rely entirely on its user for power.
That meant Kakashi would only face two problems.
The first was the chakra needed for initial activation.
The second was that absorbing an enemy's chakra was harder in a clean one on one fight.
Solving both required a solid reserve. Kakashi still had to manage his chakra carefully when using his techniques, so after thinking it through, Mugetsu chose not to give Enma to Kakashi yet.
He planned to let Kakashi try it after reaching the next stage of growth.
"Teacher Mugetsu," Obito said, forcing himself to stop staring at the egg, "when we walked over, I heard people calling Shisui 'the Body Flicker.' What's that about?"
Shisui's performance in skirmishes should not have been better than Obito's, so why was Shisui's reputation exploding now, complete with such a cool title?
Shisui had just returned from a mission and came to see Mugetsu. Hearing Obito's question, he replied calmly, "It's nothing. I've just been doing a lot of missions lately, and I ended up with a nickname."
Obito's mouth twitched.
He wanted a nickname too.
"While you were recovering in Konoha," Mugetsu said, "Shisui was constantly out on missions. There was one time he got trapped deep by the enemy, but he relied on his own strength, killed three Hidden Mist Jonin, and turned the battle around."
A stubborn little green sprout appeared in Obito's mind, the kind that grew from regret.
He regretted going back.
He failed the Jonin exam. He was so busy training and so embarrassed about failing that he did not deepen his bond with Rin at all. Then he was even dragged into celebrating Kakashi's promotion.
Thinking about it like that, Obito's time in Konoha felt like hell.
And then, Shisui used that same period to build the name Shisui the Body Flicker.
Obito's feelings became even more complicated.
If he had to describe it, it felt like watching a friend study hard during vacation while he chased a girl, only for him to fail at romance and his friend to come back with top scores.
"Whatever. That's the past," Obito told himself, switching into his usual survival skill. "Once I'm back on missions, everything will get better."
After that, Mugetsu updated Kakashi and the others on the latest intelligence from the battlefield, and reassigned Shisui back to Kakashi's squad.
Shisui had no objections. He had gotten along well with Uesugi Tooru and the others, but Kakashi's squad mattered more to him.
Still, they had fought side by side for over a month, facing life and death together, so Shisui planned to explain things and say goodbye properly to Takagi's squad.
"Teacher Mugetsu," Kakashi suddenly said before leaving, "Obito said he's extremely unwilling to miss promotion to Jonin because of weak theory. He hopes you can give him some challenging test papers to improve his written exam skills. He also wants to become a Jonin who's both intelligent and brave."
If Obito refused to behave like a human, then Kakashi would not feel guilty about being heartless.
"Oh?" Mugetsu smiled and glanced at Obito.
Obito voluntarily asking for challenging test papers was about as likely as Black Zetsu surrendering.
Mugetsu knew immediately this was Kakashi's nonsense.
"Of course I'm ambitious," Obito said stubbornly, even as his hands started trembling slightly.
Inside, he was cursing Kakashi so hard he could have written an entire book of insults.
Kakashi had cornered him.
If he denied it, it would mean he had no ambition and only wanted to be a shinobi with muscles and no brains.
In front of Teacher Mugetsu and Rin, how could he admit that?
It would be humiliating.
"But now that I think about it," Obito said quickly, trying to save himself, "Teacher Mugetsu is the deputy commander and must already be exhausted. I shouldn't add to your burden with something so small."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
Whenever it came to surviving disasters like this, Obito's brain ran like a perfectly oiled machine.
And with Obito choosing the angle of being considerate, Kakashi could not really push further.
"It's fine," Mugetsu said with a smile. "For an experienced teacher, this is nothing. I'll do my best to provide test papers that can help you improve, Obito."
Kakashi could not help smiling.
He usually did not smile, unless he truly could not hold it in.
Obito stood frozen, his face full of despair.
"This world is fake," he muttered. "This is… hell."
.....
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