Chapter 29: Sorry Sakura, I'm Not Like You Anymore
The next day.
With the bridge construction complete, Team 7 officially set off on their journey back to the Village.
At the same time, the virtual screen in front of Kakashi showed that the mission was complete.
[Main Quest 1: Land of Waves Mission, Completed]
[Reward: 20,000 shinobi orb + One Extra A-rank Treasure Chest.]
It was finally over. Kakashi felt a surge of excitement. With 20,000 shinobi orb, she could increase her Chakra by 0.2 Kakashi-units!
For her at this stage, a steady increase in Chakra capacity was the most important thing; after all, the uncertainty of gacha draws was too high.
Even if she pulled a powerful Ninjutsu, it would be useless without enough Chakra to cast it.
Besides, she already had Kamui, an incredibly strong offensive Ninjutsu, and the Electromaster Rail Spiral Cannon for large-scale attacks.
So for now, she wasn't lacking Ninjutsu; she was only lacking Chakra.
Having made her decision, Kakashi immediately spent all 20,000 shinobi orb on her Chakra stat.
In just an instant, Kakashi felt an unprecedented sense of comfort! Her whole body felt much lighter.
She had spent all the shinobi orb earned from the occasional daily missions on Chakra, bringing her capacity to 1.29 Kakashi-units.
Now, with the addition of the 20,000 shinobi orb, her Chakra capacity had reached a staggering 1.49 Kakashi-units!!!
Oh right, there was also an A-rank Treasure Chest!
After boosting her Chakra, Kakashi turned her attention to the A-rank Treasure Chest.
She figured it would probably contain an A-rank Ninjutsu, and since she didn't need any more, she didn't have high expectations as she opened it.
[Congratulations, Host has obtained one A-rank Wishing Scroll]
A purple scroll appeared on the screen along with a line of introductory text.
Seeing this, Kakashi's heart skipped a beat, and in the next second, it began to race.
"Is my luck really this good today?"
Kakashi was overjoyed, but what should she wish for?
Wish to become a Six Paths level powerhouse?
That was obviously impossible; Kakashi immediately dismissed the idea. After all, the scroll had an "A-rank" prefix.
This meant that Wishing Scrolls were tiered, and wishes that were too extravagant could not be fulfilled.
"Then make it so my Sharingan can be opened and closed at will, just like a member of the Uchiha Clan."
Kakashi quickly decided on her wish. After all, being able to deactivate the Sharingan would save a lot of Chakra!
As soon as the wish was made, a strange sensation washed over her left eye.
"It worked!"
Even without looking in a mirror, Kakashi knew the Sharingan was closed because her left eye was no longer draining Chakra!
Sorry, Sakura!
Kakashi looked up at Sakura, who was training while walking, and silently apologized. "From today on, I'm no longer someone with a low Chakra capacity like you!"
She reached up to lift the headband covering her left eye but changed her mind after a moment.
Forget it, I'll stick with the status quo for now. If everyone knows I can turn off the Sharingan and stop the Chakra drain, they'll be much more wary of me in battle!
"Hey, I think I've succeeded."
At that moment, Uchiha Sasuke suddenly turned around to look at Kakashi.
In his outstretched right hand, a balloon sat quietly in his palm, completely still.
"What?"
Naruto snapped out of it, his first reaction being that it was impossible. He stared intently at the balloon in Uchiha Sasuke's hand.
However, the balloon truly didn't move at all! There was no sign of it bursting.
Damn it! Not only had he failed to catch up to Sasuke, but he had been left in the dust again!
Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch, he's only a tiny bit faster than me!"
"That's great! I knew you'd be first again, Sasuke!" Sakura also realized what happened and quickly jogged over to Sasuke's side to congratulate him.
But Uchiha Sasuke ignored Naruto and Sakura, his gaze fixed solely on Kakashi.
Kakashi, however, just stared back at Sasuke without answering.
"...Excuse me, Kakashi-sensei, I've succeeded, right?"
In the end, Uchiha Sasuke gave in and spoke again, sounding a bit awkward.
"Yes! It was quite a bit slower than I expected, but congratulations on successfully learning a high-difficulty A-rank Ninjutsu." Kakashi nodded.
"I want to learn Lightning Blade!"
Recalling Kakashi's promise from the night before—that she would teach another Ninjutsu to whoever finished the final stage first—the first thing Sasuke thought of was Lightning Blade.
"This technique can only be called Lightning Blade after it has cut through lightning; until then, it's just Chidori," Kakashi corrected.
Uchiha Sasuke: "..." Cutting through lightning? Is she serious?
If cutting through lightning makes it Lightning Blade, then after he killed that man, could this move be called "Itachi Blade"?
But Uchiha Sasuke quickly shook his head; that was still too far off. "Then I'll learn Chidori!"
"Watch closely. This technique is a combination of Chakra shape transformation and nature transformation. The hand seal sequence is Ox—Hare—Monkey..."
Kakashi began a detailed explanation and demonstration.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and focused entirely on learning.
Naruto and Sakura also watched and learned intently from the side. Although they didn't have lightning-natured Chakra, this was still a lesson in shape and nature transformation.
...
Chidori and Rasengan are both A-rank in difficulty, so they weren't easy to master.
But since Sasuke had already learned Rasengan and was proficient in shape transformation, he was learning Chidori much faster.
By the time they returned to Konoha Village, Sasuke's Chidori was starting to take shape; he would likely master it before long.
"Well then, you all go home and practice. I have to report on the mission first. We'll meet tomorrow morning as usual for missions."
As soon as they returned to the Village, Kakashi dismissed them.
Then, she headed to the Hokage Building alone to report.
Upon arriving at the Hokage Building, Kakashi handed over the mission report she had written as usual.
"To be able to repel Zabuza Momochi, the S-rank rogue ninja of the Hidden Mist known as the Demon... it seems Kakashi's strength hasn't diminished despite becoming a girl!" After reading the report and asking for details, the Third Hokage made his assessment of Kakashi's power.
"Alright, good work, Kakashi. Go back and get some rest."
Then, the Third Hokage dismissed her.
Kakashi nodded and prepared to leave.
But just as she turned around, she heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," the Third Hokage said instinctively, his head lowered as he re-examined the details of Kakashi's report.
As soon as the words left the Third's mouth, Kakashi saw a familiar green figure walk in.
"Huh?"
The person who entered froze in place at the doorway.
"Guy?"
Kakashi felt a sense of foreboding when she saw who it was.