"Kakashi-sensei, why is it another D-rank mission? When are we gonna get a C-rank?!"
"Naruto! (Well said!)"
"…"
Watching his three students react so differently, Kakashi let out a silent sigh.
These three…
Were way harder to handle than Team 10.
He was honestly jealous of Asuma.
Then again, Asuma had Yagyū Souma helping him. Without Souma, with Shikamaru's reputation back in the Academy, there was no way that kid would be as reliable as he was now.
Kakashi sighed.
"We're not doing missions today."
"Huh? Then…?"
"Today is special training."
Kakashi walked ahead.
He'd already made arrangements with Asuma. Today, aside from finishing a D-rank mission, Team 10 would also help train his Team 7.
He just wasn't sure if Chōji and the others would be enough.
Kakashi was a little worried. Sakura might be weak, but Sasuke and Naruto weren't. Especially after Naruto learned Shadow Clones and Multi Shadow Clones…
If Shikamaru's team couldn't beat Sasuke and Naruto, the "training" wouldn't train anyone.
They arrived at the site.
Naruto spotted Shikamaru and the others from afar and was about to yell a greeting when—
"Wait."
Kakashi lifted a hand.
All three kids stopped immediately. Naruto looked around warily.
"Who's there?!"
"…"
"Naruto, don't make a fuss. This is Konoha. Why would there be enemies here?"
Kakashi rubbed his temples, then pointed into the distance.
"Look at them. Then think about how you three act on missions. Compare. What's different?"
"Different?"
Sakura looked up.
Team 10 was transplanting rice seedlings. It was a busy farming season—this was a frequent mission type. Their team had taken it once too.
But…
It looked like Shikamaru and the others were…
Standing on the water?
Sakura's eyes widened. She turned to Kakashi, suddenly understanding.
"They're training… water-walking?"
"Water-walking?"
Sasuke and Naruto both looked over.
"It's a chakra control exercise," Kakashi explained. "D-rank missions all have deeper meaning. Transplanting seedlings lets you water-walk while working. Catching cats trains teamwork and information-gathering…"
He listed them off one by one.
"If you can't even handle the basics, how are you going to complete C-rank or even B-rank missions?"
"But I heard that when you led Souma-senpai, you took a C-rank right away," Naruto muttered, unconvinced.
"Heh. You three are the worst squad I've ever led. You think you can compare to Souma?" Kakashi's tone was flat. "Souma invented two or three jutsu before he even graduated. How many have you made?"
"…"
Damn it, my fists are clenching on their own!
The three of them fell silent.
They'd all heard of Souma's creations.
Improved Soldier Pills, Chakra Needles—his pre-graduation achievements were already legendary.
They couldn't compare at all.
"But missions are about the team, right?" Sakura protested quietly.
Kakashi nodded approvingly.
"Exactly. As I've always stressed—teamwork. Back then, aside from Souma, there were also Tenten and Tsukikage Sasa. Tenten specialized in throwing weapons and long-range support. Sasa excelled at stealth and timing assassination strikes."
"Their coordination was… flawless."
He stopped just short of saying it outright:
Don't drag Souma's team into your comparisons. You're not in the same league.
The three had no response to that.
After a few seconds, Kakashi continued,
"Focus on their actions."
The trio turned their attention back to the field.
Comparing themselves to Souma's squad was pointless. Better to look at Shikamaru's team.
They were the same age, after all.
Sasuke watched them carefully—then frowned slightly.
They were fast.
Not individually, but as a group completing the job, they were much faster than Team 7.
In barely one or two minutes, they had finished a large patch of the field.
This…
"See it now?" Kakashi asked.
"Their teamwork's good," Sasuke said coldly.
Kakashi nodded. "Good. At least you can honestly acknowledge your opponents' strengths."
"…"
For some reason, Sakura felt like Kakashi's words had another layer of meaning.
She felt stifled.
And Ino, over there, had completely discarded her ladylike image and was working faster than Chōji.
"Damn it, I wanna plant rice too. I'm not losing to them!"
So very Naruto.
But that wasn't the point. Who became a ninja just to transplant rice?
Kakashi's whole emphasis was on cooperation—on the power of a team.
He walked forward.
Asuma had already noticed them.
Not just him—Ino had sensed Sakura's presence a while ago. One reason she'd been working so frantically just now… was because Sakura was watching.
Of course, she'd never admit that. Shikamaru and Chōji also didn't expose her.
"Kakashi."
"Asuma. Like we discussed before—we're running a joint combat drill today."
Kakashi skipped the pleasantries.
They'd been seeing each other so often lately that formalities were unnecessary.
Before long, the two teams moved to a clearing to face off. The stakes:
The losing side would complete a D-rank mission for the winners—
Because Shikamaru's team didn't like D-rank missions either.
After picking a spot in the nearby woods, under the direction of the two jōnin, the teams split up. The battle began amid Asuma's smoke.
Even Naruto didn't recklessly charge out this time.
He stayed hidden with Sasuke and Sakura.
"How're we gonna coordinate?" Naruto whispered.
"…"
Sasuke froze.
"Naruto's good at Shadow Clones, so we should just—"
He was about to layout a plan when—
Boom!
A giant palm swept over them, smashing their tree to pieces.
They jumped away in a hurry—
And in the next instant—
"Hey, Sakura-chan, why'd you hit me?!"
"You idiot, I got caught!"
Sakura fumed, nodding toward her feet.
A black shadow stretched out under her—
Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Technique.
"We're attacking," Sasuke said flatly.
He leaped out, charging straight at Shikamaru and the others.
"W-wait…"
Naruto thought it sounded reasonable.
Because he honestly had no idea how to break Shadow Imitation.
Shadow Clone Technique!
He quickly formed hand seals, creating a clone, then used transformation on that clone to turn it into "Sasuke."
Naruto wasn't good at Clone Technique plus Transformation together, but using just one of them was no problem.
The next moment, he and "Sasuke" were ready to burst out.
"Idiot. You turn into me? It makes more sense if I turn into you," Sasuke said.
He transformed into Naruto.
Meanwhile, over on the other side, Ino stood with her eyes closed, sensing the surroundings.
The moment Naruto used Shadow Clone—
"Left and center are Naruto and his clone. I can't tell which is which. The one on the right is moving faster—that should be Sasuke."
"Perfect. Thanks, Ino."
Shikamaru smirked.
"Chōji, Ino—first we fake an attack on the ones in the middle. Our real target is Sasuke. Then we finish Naruto together."
"Got it."
The plan was set.
Sasuke and Naruto launched a three-way pincer attack. Chōji made the first move, charging "Naruto" in the middle.
"Got him!"
Naruto and Sasuke both thought they'd succeeded.
But what happened next—
Left them speechless.
Chōji suddenly twisted mid-charge and slammed his palm into Sasuke instead. A black shadow ran up along his huge arm, locking Sasuke in place.
Shadow Imitation Technique: success!
In the next second, Ino's body collapsed to the side.
Naruto rushed in to help—
Wham!
"Sasuke" smashed a fist into Naruto's face, knocking him silly.
Before he could react, Shikamaru's shadow had him pinned too. Sakura, who had just managed to break free and rush over, froze on the spot.
Where were her teammates?
This was nothing like the plan in her head.
"Well, Forehead, know how amazing I am now?" Ino's voice came from "Sasuke's" body.
"Ino-pig! Let go of Sasuke!"
Sakura exploded.
And at that moment, Kakashi appeared in the clearing.
"Sakura, you lost."
"Yes…"
Sakura bit her lip.
But with things like this, there was nothing she could do.
Ino released her jutsu, returning to her own body and standing up with a smirk.
"Forehead, in the shinobi world, strength is everything. If you're too weak, you'll only drag your team down."
"…"
Sakura opened her mouth, but couldn't refute it.
"Let's go again!"
Sasuke stared them down, eyes full of unwillingness. They had lost completely because they knew nothing about Team 10's abilities.
If he'd known even a little, it wouldn't have been such a one-sided defeat.
Or if—
He had awakened his Sharingan!
What bothered Sasuke most was that he'd never taken Shikamaru, Chōji, or Ino seriously back in the Academy. Yet now, the three of them together had soundly defeated Team 7.
"Sasuke, a loss is a loss. Whatever you say afterward is just an excuse. Enemies don't give you a do-over," Kakashi said sternly.
But then he nodded.
"Still, since you want another round—Shikamaru, are you okay with that?"
"Sure," Shikamaru replied.
He also wanted to see how far Team 10's current strength really was compared to Team 7.
They fought again. This time Sasuke and Naruto were prepared, but soon realized—
Shikamaru's team wasn't what they remembered.
Especially Chōji.
But Kakashi's attention was on Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru's improved a lot. You really should thank Souma," he muttered.
"Ahem. I had a tiny bit to do with it too, you know," Asuma grumbled under his breath.
Still, he knew the truth.
Shikamaru's change really did come down to Souma.
Souma had him completely pegged.
What was the situation now?
The three clans were practically lining up to pour their battle knowledge into Shikamaru's head.
Shikamaru's raw power hadn't grown much, but his sense for battlefield command had skyrocketed. Just like right now—
Sasuke and Naruto clearly had more individual strength, yet they couldn't find any room to unleash it against shadows and Partial Expansion.
Ino didn't even use her Mind Transfer Technique. She just chucked tools and jutsu from the sidelines. Yet just by holding that secret technique in reserve, she exerted enormous pressure.
Who dared ignore her?
Information or not, knowing your opponent didn't mean you automatically won.
Asuma watched the battle, grinning from ear to ear.
This fight wasn't just valuable for Team 7—it mattered just as much for Team 10. Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino had worked hard recently. They needed a real battle to prove their progress.
It didn't take long before Team 7 lost again.
This time the breakthrough point wasn't Sasuke, but Sakura and Naruto—
though Naruto at least still contributed a lot in the front line.
Sakura, though…
Kakashi didn't scold her harshly. He simply told them to go back and think it over.
That afternoon—
He went to Souma's house. When he didn't find him there, he went straight to the research institute in the Forest of Death.
"Souma, I need a favor—and you have to help me!"
"Kakashi-sensei, at least tell me what it is first," Souma said, rubbing his temples.
Don't tell me this is about Team 7 again…
"You've trained Shikamaru and the others really well. Team 10's teamwork is solid now. I want you to help do the same for Sasuke's team."
Kakashi laid his thoughts out.
"If you have any requests, just name them."
"Sensei, between us, there's no need to talk about payment," Souma said. "But I don't think simple special training will do much."
He thought a bit, then added,
"The two teams' situations are completely different."
Kakashi paused, then nodded.
That was true.
The Ino–Shika–Chō formation had been cultivated together since childhood. Even if Ino hadn't meshed well before, their families' natural compatibility was there. Once their mindsets shifted, syncing as a team was easy.
Naruto's team was different.
Sasuke was a loner.
Naruto refused to acknowledge him.
Sakura looked down on Naruto…
…??
Wait.
Now that he put it like that—
Why did I take this team again?
Kakashi quietly reflected.
He must have been out of his mind at the time.
"Maybe… we should do an exchange," Souma suggested.
"Hm?"
Kakashi blinked.
"Exchange" meaning what?
Souma picked up a pen and paper, writing the two teams' members down.
"Team 10's core is Shikamaru. His intellect and command skills let him maximize his team's abilities. So we send Naruto and Sakura to his team."
"That way, we train Shikamaru's leadership further and we train Naruto and Sakura's teamwork. Without Sasuke, the main friction in that squad disappears, at least for the moment."
Kakashi understood instantly.
After the swap, Naruto would have to shoulder more of the direct fighting. With no Sasuke, they'd be missing someone like him in the front line. Sakura would be forced to take on more responsibility.
Three birds with one stone.
On top of that, the new Sasuke–Chōji–Ino team would also get to train their coordination.
They couldn't just fall apart without Shikamaru, could they?
Eventually, Sasuke would have to be able to stand on his own too.
And if nothing else, this would train his ability to lead.
That part was simple.
Just poke his pride a little.
Kakashi grabbed Souma's hand.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing. I only came up with the idea," Souma said with a smile.
It was basically a ninja-world version of a kid-exchange program. And the end result really was win–win for everyone.
Especially Kakashi.
With some proper adjustment, he wouldn't have to wait all the way until Wave Country and a life-or-death battle against Zabuza before his team finally came together.
As for Sakura—
That depended on her own resolve.
Souma wasn't her sensei or her parents. He had no time to design a personal "reform program" just for her.
"Kakashi-sensei, how's your natural energy training going?" Souma asked.
"No progress yet," Kakashi admitted, shaking his head.
Souma was a bit disappointed, but there was nothing he could do.
Natural energy was the door. If Kakashi couldn't even get through that, Souma had no way to help.
After seeing Kakashi off—
"Buzz…"
A faint insect hum sounded.
Outside the window, a beetle crawled up to the sill.
Souma looked at it.
"Here to eat more chakra again? Fine. Good thing you're the only special one. Any more of you and I couldn't afford the upkeep."
Still—
At least there was Asuma.
He'd talk to Asuma later about helping out more with the giant ants and Parasitic Rot Bugs.
The benefits weren't a free lunch.
Same with Naruto.
Take advantage of Souma's help now, and later he'd have to pay with some Tailed Beast chakra.
…Hmm.
Now that he thought about it—
What would happen if he used Tailed Beast chakra to cultivate Parasitic Rot Bugs?
Would that trigger a new type of evolution?
Crack.
The beetle lifted its "head," watching Souma warily, clicking its mandibles in a show of intimidation.
It could feel…
Souma's current ideas were very dangerous.
"Relax. Even if I try it, it won't be on you," Souma said. "But you'd better step up and raise some good parasitic Rot Bugs. Don't just think about eating."
"Buzz!"
The king bug chirped in response.
Souma nodded, satisfied.
After teasing the Insect King a bit, he started planning his schedule for tomorrow.
First, go find Asuma. Then…
Head to the Hyūga clan.
Hiashi had promised to show him the Gentle Fist in detail. It was about time he went to learn it—
Otherwise, he might not have the chance later.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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