Akira didn't panic in the slightest. Staring at the bloodshot pig eyes charging toward him, he coldly spat out two words.
"Beast."
Before the word had even faded, his figure flickered.
A streak of icy light flashed through the dim forest—swift as lightning.
The wild boar that had been charging wildly suddenly lost its balance. Carried by its own momentum, its massive body slid sideways into the trees.
Crrraaa-crack-!
Its enormous bulk smashed through several thick trees before finally collapsing with a thunderous thud.
Blood gushed out, instantly staining the fallen leaves crimson.
Akira stood quietly behind the boar's charge path, his short blade angled toward the ground. A drop of warm blood slowly slid down from the tip.
One strike.
Instant kill.
The two-meter-tall beast had already been decapitated. Only now did the massive boar's head roll to the side, still steaming.
Akira flicked the blood from his blade and smoothly sheathed it.
"Kill one as a warning… that should keep the others from trying their luck."
He swept a cold glance toward the dark forest on both sides. The hidden gazes lurking in the shadows instantly retreated.
Ignoring the carcass on the ground, Akira continued toward his destination.
Not long after he left, the boar's corpse was swarmed by carnivorous beasts. In less than a minute, the entire body was devoured, leaving behind nothing but a pile of white bones.
---
After another twenty minutes of walking through the forest, the thunderous roar of rushing water reached his ears.
Akira finally arrived beneath a massive waterfall.
In front of it lay a wide grassy clearing stretching several hundred meters.
And waiting there was Kakashi, already seated and reading his iconic little orange book with great interest.
Sensing Akira's presence, Kakashi closed the book and turned with a smile.
"You're pretty quick. Faster than I expected."
He sniffed faintly at the lingering smell of blood in the air, a slight grin tugging at his mouth.
"Looks like you had a little warm-up on the way here?"
Akira dusted off his clothes calmly.
"More or less. Just cleared out some wild game blocking the road."
Kakashi's joking tone faded as he walked up to him, his expression turning serious.
"Before I start teaching you ninjutsu, we need to figure out your chakra nature."
He held out a small sheet of paper.
"Channel some chakra into this. It's special paper used to test chakra affinity. Expensive stuff."
Akira nodded and took the paper without another word, circulating the chakra inside his body.
To be honest, he was curious too—what exactly this body was capable of.
The moment his chakra entered the paper, something astonishing happened.
First, the paper split cleanly into two halves as if sliced by an invisible blade.
Then the halves crumpled.
Next, one half suddenly crumbled into powder.
The remaining half split again—part of it became soaked with water, while the other portion burst into flames and turned to ash.
Akira blinked.
Wasn't that reaction a little… excessive?
Beside him, Kakashi sucked in a sharp breath.
"All… all five chakra natures?"
His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
To be born with five elemental affinities was extraordinarily rare in the ninja world.
Many powerful shinobi could eventually learn all five, but only after years of training.
But Akira was six years old.
This was pure, inborn talent.
Kakashi stared at him like he was looking at a priceless treasure.
"I thought your talent was already impressive, but now I realize I underestimated you. You're a monster-level genius."
"An absurd physique, huge chakra reserves… and now all five chakra natures?"
"It's like talent just falls into your lap."
Normally lazy and laid-back, Kakashi could barely contain his shock.
Akira's natural gifts were simply outrageous.
Akira himself, however, didn't find it that strange.
After all, he had already transmigrated to another world. Having a special body didn't seem that surprising.
If anything, he suspected he might even possess Yin–Yang Release as well.
So he remained unusually calm.
Seeing Akira's completely indifferent expression, Kakashi grew exasperated.
"Hey, do you even understand what five chakra natures mean?"
Akira looked at him blankly.
"I don't know what it means. But I do know that even if I have five attributes, without powerful ninjutsu to match them, they're just decorations."
Kakashi was momentarily speechless.
Then he sighed.
"You're way too mature for a six-year-old."
"In that case, we'll start with the basics—chakra control."
Without a solid foundation, everything else would collapse. Kakashi had no intention of rushing things.
Akira nodded in agreement.
---
"Come with me."
Kakashi led him to the edge of a deep pool beneath the waterfall.
Pointing to the shimmering water, he explained,
"To perfectly control chakra, the first lesson is water walking."
"Watch carefully. Gather chakra in the soles of your feet and adjust the output precisely to keep yourself afloat. Too much and you'll stiffen, too little and you'll sink."
As he spoke, Kakashi casually walked across the water to the center of the pool.
He had just turned around to continue explaining—
And then froze.
Because Akira was already standing behind him.
Perfectly balanced on the water.
"Y-You…"
Kakashi's voice cracked.
"How did you get over here?"
Akira looked up matter-of-factly.
"I walked over using the method you just described."
"This technique's pretty practical. Saves you the trouble of finding a bridge."
He even bounced twice on the water and jogged around casually.
He looked like someone running on solid ground, not a beginner.
Stopping in front of Kakashi again, Akira asked,
"That's it? What's next?"
Kakashi fell silent.
Looking at the boy, he began seriously questioning his own life.
Back in the day, it took him half a day to master water walking.
This kid learned it after hearing it once?
He used to think he was a genius.
Compared to Akira… he suddenly felt like an ordinary person.
After a long sigh, Kakashi composed himself.
"Let's go back to shore. Next training exercise. If you master that instantly too, we'll skip straight to ninjutsu training."
Akira nodded and walked calmly toward the shore.
Even with the turbulent water caused by the waterfall, his body remained steady as a mountain.
Watching him step onto land, Kakashi couldn't help thinking:
This learning speed is basically cheating…
Akira, on the other hand, had already grown used to it. His body's instincts were simply too powerful.
"So what's next?"
Kakashi smiled mysteriously.
"Come to the forest edge."
Akira already had a guess.
Pointing to a towering tree, Kakashi said,
"The next exercise is tree climbing. No hands allowed. Only your feet."
"Like this."
Kakashi placed both feet against the trunk and walked straight upward, completely defying gravity.
"The principle is similar to water walking, but harder. You have to attach your chakra tightly to the trunk—"
"It might take some time to—"
Before he could finish speaking, he noticed movement from the corner of his eye.
Kakashi slowly turned his head.
And saw Akira already standing at the same height as him, halfway up the tree.
The two of them faced each other while standing vertically on the trunk.
Akira looked perfectly calm.
"This ability's pretty useful too. Makes it easier to grab bird nests."
"Kakashi-sensei, can you start teaching ninjutsu now?"
Kakashi's eye twitched violently.
Kakashi stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you even human? You're learning this way too fast! At least leave me a little dignity!"
Akira simply shrugged and continued walking upward.
Before long, he reached the very top of the towering tree and stood on the highest branch, overlooking the entire forest.
"Yeah, it really isn't difficult. The key is still precise chakra control."
With that, he calmly walked back down from the treetop. The whole way down he moved as if on level ground, not even disturbing a single leaf.
Kakashi finally admitted defeat, staring at him blankly.
"Your talent is downright terrifying. In my entire life, I've never seen a monster like you."
Akira smiled faintly.
"I just learn things quickly. It's nothing special."
That was pure humblebragging.
Kakashi grumbled internally. When it came to learning ability, Akira was the absolute peak he had ever seen—no exceptions.
Even his younger self, once hailed as a prodigy, couldn't compare at that age.
Back then, he had graduated at five, become a chūnin at six, and reached jōnin at twelve—records that still hadn't been broken.
But even so, he had to admit that in terms of pure talent, Akira had already surpassed him.
The most frightening part was that the boy seemed completely unaware of it, as if it were all perfectly ordinary.
"Alright, enough modesty," Kakashi said seriously. "Since your fundamentals are solid, let's get to the main topic."
"First, tell me every ninjutsu you know. I refuse to believe the Fireball is the only thing you can do."
A kid this mature had to be hiding more tricks.
Akira didn't bother concealing anything and counted on his fingers.
"Besides Fireball Jutsu, there's Great Waterball Jutsu, and Rupturing Earth Palm. That's all for now."
Kakashi nodded.
"Hmm. Basic techniques. Mostly D-rank. Only the Fireball barely qualifies as C-rank."
Akira responded calmly.
"I think they're good enough. For civilian ninja like us, ninjutsu are trump cards. Being able to learn these three already satisfies me."
He had picked them up by secretly observing people at the training grounds.
Getting three techniques for free like that wasn't easy.
Used properly, those three techniques were more than enough to deal with a few ordinary genin.
Kakashi smiled.
"Good mindset. Since your Fire chakra is so strong, I'll start by teaching you a C-rank Fire Style jutsu."
Akira smiled and waited.
"You're not curious why I'm not teaching you flashy high-level ninjutsu?"
Akira shook his head.
"Not really. Bite off more than you can chew and you'll choke. You have to take things one step at a time."
"Besides, C-rank techniques have the best cost-performance ratio. Moderate chakra consumption, respectable power. They're not as weak as you think."
In fact, even many chūnin and jōnin relied primarily on C-rank techniques during battle.
A hint of admiration flashed in Kakashi's eye.
"You're even more pragmatic than I expected."
"The jutsu I'm teaching you may also be C-rank, but it has quite a reputation."
"It's called Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu. I'm sure you've heard of it."
It was the signature jutsu of the Uchiha clan, famous throughout the ninja world.
Though officially C-rank, in the hands of a master it could rival B-rank techniques.
Akira nodded.
"Of course I've heard of it. The Uchiha clan's signature Fire Style. Much stronger than the standard Fireball."
"But aside from them, very few outsiders know how to use it."
Kakashi nodded.
"That's right. It's basically the Uchiha clan's trademark."
"But I happen to be one of the rare exceptions."
"So… want to learn it?"
Akira rolled his eyes.
"Is that even a question? If I didn't learn something that useful, I'd be an idiot."
"This jutsu is incredibly practical—great for both suppression and direct offense."
In the original story, people joked that this jutsu never actually killed anyone.
But that depended on who was using it.
If Akira used it and someone dared to tank it head-on, he'd respect their bravery—then scatter their ashes afterward.
Kakashi chuckled.
"Exactly. That's why people outside the Uchiha clan covet it so much."
"Even though it's ranked C, if used properly it can unleash destructive power comparable to B-rank techniques."
Akira respectfully bowed.
"Then I'll leave myself in Kakashi-sama's capable hands."
Kakashi waved dismissively.
"Can you stop calling me 'sama'? It sounds too distant."
Akira tilted his head.
"Then… just call you Kakashi?"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"That works, though it's a bit disrespectful."
"How about trying Kakashi-sensei instead?"
Akira shrugged.
"Fine. Didn't expect you to enjoy teaching that much."
"Kakashi-sensei."
The corner of Kakashi's mouth lifted slightly.
"It's just a title. Don't read too much into it."
Akira waved him off.
"Alright, alright. Let's start already, Kakashi-sensei."
Even though he acted indifferent, hearing that word sensei still pleased Kakashi.
In the ninja world, being called "sensei" carried real meaning—it represented inheritance and trust.
---
Instead of demonstrating immediately, Kakashi first launched into a detailed explanation of Fire Style's nature transformation theory.
These were insights impossible to find in any library.
Akira listened with rapt attention.
He felt his mental strength growing rapidly as he absorbed the knowledge.
As expected… the experience of an elite jōnin is priceless.
Thirty minutes of this is worth more than a year of guessing on my own.
Kakashi was also surprised.
Normally children would fall asleep during such dry theory lessons.
But Akira's eyes were shining with excitement.
After finishing the explanation, Kakashi led him back to the water's edge.
"Watch closely. I'll demonstrate the standard process for performing the Great Fireball."
Akira immediately entered full study mode.
Kakashi focused and began forming hand seals.
To help a beginner, he deliberately slowed down, making each seal clear.
"Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger."
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
When the final seal formed, Kakashi's chest expanded as chakra transformed into blazing flames in his throat.
BOOM—!
A thick column of fire erupted outward, condensing into a massive fireball five to six meters wide that shot toward the waterfall.
The fireball slammed into the falling water with a deafening explosion.
Hiss—!
Huge amounts of water instantly vaporized, filling the air with dense white steam.
Akira felt the intense heat rushing toward him and sighed in admiration.
"Impressive. This really is leagues above the standard Fireball."
"They're both C-rank, but this is a genuine killing jutsu."
"No wonder the Uchiha treat it like a family heirloom."
"Any Fire Style ninja would probably dream of learning this."
Kakashi looked at the dissipating steam and smiled.
"That's true. In all of Konoha, aside from the Uchiha clan, fewer than five people know this technique."
"You have to admit—when it comes to playing with fire, the Uchiha are experts."
Then he looked at Akira.
"Did you understand it? Got any idea how it works?"
"The hardest part is compressing and releasing chakra in an instant."
"I had to use a special method to learn it myself."
Akira blinked.
"A special method?"
Then he realized—the Sharingan.
Kakashi didn't bother hiding it.
He lifted his forehead protector, revealing his crimson left eye.
Three tomoe slowly rotated within the pupil.
Akira widened his eyes in feigned surprise.
"That's… the Sharingan?"
Kakashi smiled.
"You're well-informed."
"That's right. It's the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai."
"I copied this technique using this eye. It's also why I'm known as the Copy Ninja."
Akira hadn't expected Kakashi to trust him so openly.
He played along with a look of envy.
"The Copy Ninja? So you can learn someone's jutsu just by watching it once? That's ridiculously unfair."
Kakashi laughed.
"More or less."
"As long as it's not a kekkei genkai or certain secret techniques, I can copy most ninjutsu."
"You know what a kekkei genkai is, right?"
Akira nodded.
"I read about it in the library."
"It's when two chakra nature transformations combine to create a special style, right?"
Kakashi looked impressed.
"You've done quite a bit of reading."
"Exactly."
"And my Sharingan is also a type of kekkei genkai—one that belongs to ocular techniques."
Akira nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright. Theory and demonstration are done."
"Now it's your turn. Let's see how much you understood."
Akira stood still.
A confident smile slowly appeared on his face.