"Yesterday?"
Jingyi wanted to understand.
He directed Might Guy to find Kakashi. It seemed Kakashi hadn't let it go. He had asked Guy about the "culprit." Today, he had set up an ambush specifically for revenge.
But
His strength was still a little lacking.
Kakashi's assassination skills and kenjutsu were top-notch, and his adaptability was incredibly fast. But unfortunately for him, Jingyi had mastered Earth Spear (Doton: Domu), which was effective even without hand seals.
Of course
The key was avoiding the first wave of attacks.
Kakashi wanted to turn his head, but the White Fang dagger was still in Jingyi's hand.
At first, he'd only intended to punish him a little, so he didn't even draw his sword. But in the end, he lost so badly that he hadn't even managed to unsheath it.
Damn it!
"Do you know where you lost?"
Kakashi glared at him.
Jingyi smiled and said, "First of all, you underestimated your enemy."
"…Yeah."
Kakashi nodded, not denying it.
He had truly underestimated his opponent.
He'd mistakenly thought Jingyi was just a Chūnin instructor, so he hadn't taken him seriously at all. But once the fight began, he realized how terrifyingly strong Jingyi was.
It wasn't just Earth Release and taijutsu
Even the teleportation technique he used just now had some hidden trick Kakashi couldn't figure out yet.
The key was
He was too fast!
Kakashi thought his speed was already top-tier faster than many Jōnin. But it still paled in comparison to Jingyi.
From the initial attack to the moment the "clone" vanished, he hadn't even realized when Jingyi had used the Body Flicker Technique.
"Secondly…"
Jingyi flicked his fingers, making the dagger dance in his hand.
It was flashy!
Useless in combat but it made one thing clear: he also understood kenjutsu.
Kakashi didn't understand.
His uncovered eye stayed locked on Jingyi,waiting for the next answer.
"I think it's better if you review that kind of issue yourself."
"…???"
Kakashi was stunned.
After all that… that was his answer?
You should've just said so earlier!
He snatched the dagger, turned, and left.
Jingyi couldn't help but laugh.
No matter how serious Kakashi tried to act, he was still just a child.
He glanced over at Might Duy and his son. Earlier, after Kai had made a sarcastic comment, he'd been given a proper lesson by his father. It was quite the spectacle but they had stopped now.
The three of them resumed their training.
Kakashi returned.
He had left at first, but after thinking things over, he couldn't stop analyzing his own flaws.
But…
Did he actually do anything wrong?
Kakashi was confident.
If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have thought there was a problem. He'd simply believe that with time, he'd eventually surpass them.
That was the confidence of a genius!
But
Jingyi was different.
He was only fifteen.
The six-year gap between them wasn't small, but not huge either. Yet Jingyi was so well-rounded, he barely had any weaknesses.
Kakashi's confidence began to waver.
"Flaw…"
The fragments of their fight replayed over and over in his mind, and a thought finally struck him.
The blade!
The problem was the blade!
Suddenly enlightened, he rushed back and asked, "Is it the sword?"
"Yo, Kakashi! You didn't leave? I knew it you want to challenge me again and have a BLOODY BATTLE!"
Might Guy lit up instantly.
Kakashi ignored him.
This guy…
He clearly lost yesterday, yet acted like he'd won.
So annoying.
He fixed his eyes on Jingyi.
Jingyi smiled. "You're skilled in swordsmanship, ninjutsu, and taijutsu. But you don't excel particularly in any one field. Your kenjutsu is excellent but you resist it internally and don't want to rely on it."
Kakashi clenched his fists. His forehead veins bulged. He stared at Jingyii and said, "Why would you say that?"
"Isn't it obvious? I heard the Hatake clan were samurai in the past before becoming shinobi. They've always been known for swordsmanship. If you truly trusted in the sword, why don't you integrate ninjutsu and taijutsu into your kenjutsu?"
Jingyi didn't know exactly how strong Sakumo's swordsmanship was
But.
Whether in the anime or in the recent fight, he could tell Kakashi didn't fully believe in his own blade.
He depended on it, yet resisted it.
That was Kakashi right now.
Kakashi fell silent.
Of course, his father's kenjutsu wasn't like this.
White Fang's sword technique
That short sword was actually a chakra blade, capable of channeling chakra to unleash greater power.
But
He resisted it deep inside.
Because Kakashi couldn't think of that blade without remembering his father the man who had "shamed" their name.
"Do you truly understand your father?"
"If you believe Lord White Fang was a disgrace, then you should give up the sword. You don't deserve to wield the White Fang's blade. You might as well give it to someone who does."
"If you're interested, I can exchange that Earth Release technique I used earlier for one of your family's kenjutsu secrets. It's worth the price."
Jingyi said with a smile.
It struck deep.
Might Duy looked over at Kakashi.
"Your father was a great man."
Duy had met Sakumo Hatake. He was a great man.
Yes
A great man, not just a great ninja.
From a shinobi's perspective, abandoning the mission was a failure. But as a human being, saving his comrades was a noble act.
That kind of man was worthy of the highest respect.
"You don't know anything!"
Kakashi gripped the White Fang dagger tightly and used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish.
Jingyi shrugged. "Looks like he doesn't get it. Let's continue training."
"Sigh…"
Might Duy sighed.
Guy didn't quite understand.
In many ways, he wasn't all that smart. That's why Kisame Hoshigaki once called him a rare beast.
"But he still clings to his beliefs. Even so, he won't give up on kenjutsu."
Jingyi's words carried extra meaning.
Kakashi hadn't gone far. With his shinobi hearing, he definitely picked up those words.
But Jingyi really did leave afterward.
There's a limit to how much you should teach.
Chasing someone to lecture them is too much.
He was a mentor in life not a teacher desperate for students. Whether Kakashi figured things out was his own business. Minato Namikaze could deal with it.
Kakashi sat on a tree by the river, staring at his sword.
"Do you really understand your father?"
The words echoed in his mind.
So blunt!
He'd heard similar things before but this time, the words hit differently.
Because even if they sounded illogical
He cared about them.
Resisting the blade?
He wasn't sure.
After a long silence, Kakashi's fist clenched again.
No!
It was because his father gave up his mission that he committed suicide, disgracing the Hatake name.
Furious, he took off.
Jingyi didn't get a system prompt but he wasn't surprised. If Kakashi could be swayed so easily, he wouldn't have been so closed-off for all these years or so disliked by the other ninja.
But
"I really didn't have much presence before. I was on the same team as Kakashi for a short time, and yet that brat doesn't even recognize me."
After running a while, he returned to the woods to train again.
This time, he deliberately trained for seven days straight!
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