Two shadows were vanishing in the training ground.
The clash of their colliding fists resonated in the field.
For anyone else besides Kakashi, they looked like vanishing blurs, and the clash between them like the explosion of a beast's roar.
Still, Kakashi was unimpressed. He had seen this countless times before, and even had more intense matches with Guy when they fought in numerous duels.
Boom
Another clash of their punches caused a shockwave that blasted the fallen leaves upward. Under the explosive force, Shintoki lost his footing and staggered back.
He was trying to catch his breath.
This was insane. Guy's taijutsu was simply too strong, and he knew the latter was holding back.
In the past, when they sparred, Shintoki always used his weapon, which made him not directly exposed to the powerful punches.
Sword vs nunchaku—that was how they always sparred, but today was different. Since Shintoki had chosen to train his taijutsu, he was not using his kenjutsu, nor elemental jutsu, or even kawarimi this time.
He decided not to shield himself and face Guy directly.
But now his hands were aching and even felt numb.
"I'm tired, let's stop."
Shintoki breathed heavily. Meanwhile, in contrast to him, Guy was still full of energy.
You would suspect the taijutsu hadn't done much to him.
The spar, or rather using Shintoki as a punching bag, had really been a good way to improve his mood.
He felt even greater joy than when he started it.
Seeing Kakashi from afar, Guy called for him.
"Kakashi? Hey, come here." While he and Shintoki moved toward the end of the training ground.
"Guy," responded Kakashi once they were only a few meters apart.
"Yosh, what brings you here?" Guy responded with his unwavering smile at his rival, his iconic shining teeth fully out for everyone to see.
Seeing the enthusiasm of his friend, Kakashi wasn't the least bit surprised.
"I saw you sparring with someone and came out to check.
But in the end, it seems like I was wasting my time. There wasn't much to see. He wasn't your match."
Hearing Kakashi's words, Guy laughed heartily.
"Hahahaha, don't underestimate Shintoki. He was just trying to improve his taijutsu. If he was using his weapon, I would be in a lot of trouble.
You shouldn't judge so easily."
Hearing Kakashi's little remark, Shintoki didn't show any anger.
"So, you are the legendary Kakashi?
Your feats are truly impressive. Becoming genin at six, chunin at an even younger age than Izumo, Kotetsu, or me.
Your reputation is deserved."
He pulled his hand forward, trying to shake hands with Kakashi, but the latter didn't even react to him, only focusing his attention on Guy.
Seeing this, Shintoki's eyes narrowed and he simply withdrew his hand.
Then, with a sneer, he remarked, "Still, your attitude is embarrassing. You would expect a ninja of your caliber to have some manners."
Guy, seeing Kakashi being the usual jerk he was, tried to mediate and apologized to Shintoki.
Finally, as if reacting to Shintoki's declaration, Kakashi gazed at Shintoki, his eyes narrowing, before looking back at Guy.
"You should be mindful of who you are lurking around with. It's not good for your reputation."
"Damn it, Kakashi, what the hell is your problem?" Guy was pissed. Everything was alright before Kakashi had to come in and ruin the mood for everyone.
He knew Kakashi had a good side and was mostly like this because of his rise as a shinobi along with what happened to his father, but it didn't mean he would just watch as he talked like that to his friend.
Not caring for Guy's reaction, Kakashi continued.
"For someone who couldn't make it to chunin and had to curry favor from the village for his failure, he is a disgrace. Even worse, the village sees him and his team as heroes for surviving. That is a joke."
Hearing Kakashi keep badmouthing him, Shintoki didn't say anything, but between them, the air ticked with tension.
Shintoki's eyes narrowed. The irony—being bewildered was not enough to qualify what he was feeling now. The Kakashi before him was simply arrogant. While Shintoki had expected this, he was still surprised in the end by how arrogant Kakashi was.
And the worst part was that while Kakashi was strong and could possibly defeat Hatarume, the Mist ninja that almost wiped out his team in the previous chunin exam, it was only his current version. Any other version of Kakashi would lose to Hatarume badly. So to compare himself—who had never faced the same level of danger like them at the same stage in his rise as a shinobi—was very stupid.
Kakashi's unstoppable rise was mostly because he didn't face strong setbacks until later.
Knowing what would happen in the future, Shintoki only sighed. Then finally snapped out of it.
"I'm done here, Guy-san. I have to head elsewhere."
After the criticism, Kakashi had expected Shintoki to lose it, but against his expectations, he didn't and was calm—far too calm for someone who had just been badmouthed.
Seeing this, his eyes narrowed. A part of Kakashi could feel something off about him.
Guy, seeing this, although exasperated, smiled very glad Shintoki didn't lash out.
While leaving, Shintoki finally responded to Kakashi. "Well, what can I say? Unlike you, I still have a long way to go, so don't mind this young shinobi. But my advice to you is not to mistake your arrogance for strength. Otherwise, you will lose far more than you can hold one day. After all, a ninja's true strength is deception and the ability to look underneath the underneath."
With these parting words, Shintoki finally left.
While Kakashi didn't know it yet, what Shintoki told him would resonate very deeply within a certain future.
Meanwhile, the retreating Shintoki didn't look back.
Why even keep talking to Kakashi? At this stage, the future Copy Ninja was still too stubborn. Try to be Kakashi's match?
When his goal was the world—Madara, Kara, Kaguya?
Kakashi wasn't even worth being a stepping stone.
Even now, Shintoki didn't feel inferior to him. His own strength was already above the chunin level, and with the Ketsuryugan, he could manage on his own even against a jōnin, possibly pushing higher by tapping further into its innate power.
There was simply no need for this competition.
For now, he had to go find Tetsu.