Under the earthy-brown waterfall, Kakashi stood bare-chested, deeply focused as he attempted to harmonize the chakra within him with the nature energy of Senjutsu.
"Little Kakashi, son of that kid's father, come have lunch."
The voice of Lady Shima broke his concentration, and his mind went blank — his head practically felt as swollen as a toad's.
Fukasaku immediately reacted, forcefully dispelling the unstable nature energy Kakashi had gathered.
"Little Kakashi, come on now. Time to eat first."
"…Yes."
Kakashi dressed himself in the clothes folded nearby and once again returned to his usual poised, graceful self.
Inside the room, he stared helplessly at the large bowl of insects set before him.
Toads enjoyed such things, but Kakashi was human. He had absolutely no appetite for it.
"Little Kakashi, why aren't you eating? That kid has some pretty good cooking skills, y'know. These bugs are delicious."
As Fukasaku spoke, he eagerly munched on a fat insect.
Far from increasing his appetite, Kakashi only felt more nauseated.
"What's the matter, little Kakashi? My cooking doesn't suit your taste?"
Lady Shima asked with a puzzled look.
"Lady Shima, I don't eat bugs. I brought my own rations."
Kakashi had known about the insect meals ahead of time and came prepared with dry food.
"Really now, little Kakashi. You'll regret not trying such a delicacy."
Fukasaku added.
Kakashi chuckled softly. If there was any regret, it was just in witnessing that meal being eaten.
After lunch, Kakashi and Fukasaku resumed their Senjutsu training.
That night, beside the waterfall, Fukasaku had already fallen asleep. Kakashi didn't continue practicing but instead sat quietly on a large plant nearby.
With Fukasaku asleep, no one was there to help inject nature energy into his body. Even if Kakashi wanted to train, it was impossible to continue at the moment.
Thankfully, time was not something Kakashi lacked.
As he gazed up at the moon, a wave of emotions stirred within him.
In just a few days, it would be September 15th—his 18th birthday. Somehow, nearly four years had passed since he arrived in this world.
Having inherited Kakashi's emotions, intelligence, and innate talent, his growth over these past four years was nothing short of extraordinary.
At the very least, his current self was far beyond the original.
Swordsmanship, Lightning Release, the Sharingan, and now Senjutsu…
Kakashi was walking a completely different path than before.
Yet, all of this didn't bring comfort—it only heightened the sense of urgency in his heart.
Four years already gone. There wasn't much time left.
Late at night, Kakashi often found himself wondering: why had he come to this world? Was there a reason, a purpose?
But no matter how deeply he thought, the answer never came.
His drive to train relentlessly came from that inner fear of the unknown future.
Even if the original Kakashi had lived to the end, there was no guarantee he would.
Though he had inherited everything, he was not truly the same person.
Thus, only through strength could he find solace in these cold nights.
This world was too dangerous.
Relying on the original storyline was foolish. Kakashi had long since decided to strengthen himself instead.
Senjutsu was a critical part of that goal. He could not afford to fail.
After a full day of training, Kakashi realized something: he might not be as gifted as Naruto in raw potential, but he was still far stronger than Jiraiya or Minato had been at this stage.
So even if it took longer, he would master Sage Mode to perfection.
Feeling the rhythm of natural energy in his body, Kakashi grew even more curious what would happen if all three great Senjutsu styles were combined?
Now, he was learning Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu, and thanks to the cursed seal and previously sealed Sage Chakra, he had some insight into Ryūchi Cave's technique too.
But the most mysterious the Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu was still a complete mystery to him.
Currently, the only known summoner of Shikkotsu Forest was Tsunade, and no one knew where she was.
So for now, studying the Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu had to be shelved.
One month later, under the same brown waterfall, Kakashi opened his right eye. A faint red pigment had formed around it, and the pupil had transformed into golden toad-like eyes!
Unlike Naruto's perfect Sage Mode, Kakashi's was still lacking but he was close.
The first stage of Sage Mode training was complete!
"Little Kakashi, amazing job! You've completed the first step of training using toad oil. Looking at your Sage Face, yours really is more refined than that of little Jiraiya and little Minato."
Fukasaku exclaimed with surprise.
He hadn't expected Kakashi to come this far in just a month.
"It's not enough yet. I can feel it my control over the natural energy still isn't complete. It's not fluid enough."
Kakashi could sense that while he could now barely balance one-third of the natural energy, it still wasn't the perfected state.
The biggest limiting factor—was his chakra reserves.
Unlike Naruto, who possessed an enormous chakra pool, Kakashi was nearing his limit.
To break through, he needed more chakra. Without it, his Sage Mode would never reach perfection.
"It's already impressive. Now that you've mastered the first stage, the next step is learning to enter Sage Mode without relying on toad oil. After all, that oil won't help you outside Mount Myōboku."
Fukasaku said.
"I understand. But first, I have to return to Konoha."
Kakashi replied, pulling on his clothing.
Fukasaku looked puzzled. "Back to Konoha? I thought you'd taken care of things there."
"There's something I have to do. Don't worry I'll be back in a day."
"…Well, if you insist, go ahead."
Seeing Kakashi's resolve, Fukasaku didn't argue.
Sage training took time. There was no harm in pausing briefly.
"Thank you, Fukasaku-sama."
Kakashi said, then activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and disappeared teleporting back to his room in Konoha.
"Ah… everything feels so familiar."
He walked to the calendar on the wall and tore off the previous page.
Kakashi turned to leave. The date now visible on the calendar read:
October 10th…
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