13 Chapter 13 - It’s All About Drive

C - "Sure. But can you help me find a jonin named Guy?"

___________

Chapter 13 - It's All About Drive

…

Shinji thought about what to say, he contemplated not saying anything at first and just agreeing and going along with Kakashi. But if he needed to also find Guy, especially now that it seemed like a very strong Ninja was after him.

Since Guy was a jonin, and Shinji didn't know when he might go on a mission and not be seen for weeks or more. But Kakashi, as a fellow jonin, had more access to information like that. So at worst, he wouldn't waste time looking for him.

"Sure. But can you help me find a jonin named Guy?" Shinji requested, feeling a little nervous asking a jonin such a favor. "Since I was planning to find him after some sightseeing."

"Hmmm… okay, but after the meal." Kakashi agreed without much of a problem. "Though you'll have to answer a couple of my questions for that favor."

He was glad the silver-haired jonin accepted. It had taken him almost a week to meet Guy, even though they were neighbors, maybe they had different schedules? Shinji shook his head, dismissing such thoughts, and walked next to Kakashi, as they walked down the Hokage Mountain. Of course the ninja way, but sticking to the side of the wall.

Shinji felt a little awkward, not knowing what Kakashi was like at all, and the man himself seemed to be very nonchalant about things. "By the way, Yamato speaks a lot of good things about you."

"He does?" Shinji wondered, feeling strange, but a smile came to his face. 'Yamato -sensei is the best. Now at least most jonin should not have a bad first impression.'

"Yeah, kinda a lot. To the point that it's annoying." Kakashi clarified, his one exposed eye glancing at Shinji and then at the feet he was controlling Chakra. "I can see why though. It hasn't been long since you have graduated and your Chakra is very stable. Also, your Chakra network is very expanded. I only know one other Genin your age that has more Chakra."

Shinji tried to think of who had more Chakra than him in his age group, and the only two people who came to mind, Naruto and Sasuke. He wasn't a sensor, but Naruto probably had more Chakra since the prankster wasn't able to even experience Chakra Exhaustion even when the teachers tried to have the students experience and how it feels to have little chakra and get used to it.

Though Naruto later missed the second and third lessons in later years, in the first year Shinji remembered how monstrous the yellow-haired Uzumaki's chakra was. '

'It really is a shame that he never really tried that hard and in later years became a prankster instead of learning jutsu and paying attention in class. Behind Sasuke, Naruto was the one with the most potential in the class, though he never seemed to show that potential.'

"Naruto? Right?" Shinji guessed. "There is another one too, Sasuke has more Chakra than me."

"Not any longer," Kakashi said, his calm eye staring at Shinji. "You must have gone through some hellish training. But your full Chakra should be a little more than Sasuke's by now. Even Chunin will have a hard time matching your chakra unless they are specialized in Ninjutsu."

Shinji was a little shocked by this news, he had never thought he would surpass someone like Sasuke. Well, if it came to a fight, it might be different as Chakra amount doesn't decide a battle between ninja.

But still, seeing that his training and hard work hadn't been for nothing made a sense of joy burst in his heart.

Kakashi only observed Shinji by the corner of his eye, and once he saw the huge smile that unconsciously appeared in the genin's face, the jonin couldn't help but mutter. "Seems like Naruto and Sasuke will have quite a problem in the Chunin Exams."

"Huh? Did you say something?" Asked Shinji, not having heard what Kakashi whispered about. His excitement had gotten the better of him for that split second, but he was back to being calm.

Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, those two weeks of training had been a little taxing on his mind. But right now, he felt like he could just go back and train all over again. Now, he can't wait to start that kind of training again. Shinji took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and thought about things with a calm mind.

'No, I can't do that right now as the situation with the spy is a little complicated. Also, this isn't just about working hard but working smarter too. Having Guy's help would get rid of some bottlenecks that would waste time in Taijutsu.'

He wanted to go and train so bad, becoming strong like this was the thing that brought him joy. But his will somehow prevailed through all this. Still, his mouth slipped. "Do you mind if I train while eating?"

Kakashi looked at him weirdly, as if he was seeing someone unpleasant when looking at Shinji. "You remind me of someone. I can see now why you would want to look for Guy."

They arrived at the end up the mountain, and Shinji immediately used Chakra to stick to the ground as he walked to count as training as it would take more effort to walk this way. Kakashi glanced even more weirdly when he saw that, it seemed like he didn't want to be here. "Can't you just have a normal reaction? Just be arrogant that you have more Chakra than an Uchiha."

"What's there to be arrogant about?" Shinji asked, his eyes focused on his hands, training to go through hand seals faster. "I simply trained harder. There's nothing to be arrogant about. As soon as I stop training he will easily surpass me. Only a fool would act like that."

…

Once at the ramen shop, it was a nice place that had a nice smell to it that made someone hungry just by entering. Kakashi sat down like a normal customer. Shinji on the other hand was doing squats while training to go through hand seals.

Ayame, the ramen shop owner's daughter, is a slender girl with long, dark brown hair, large black eyes, and fair skin. She wore a white robe with the sleeves folded, a sort of dark blue apron with ribbon ties at the top, and a bright white bandanna. "Is he okay?" she pointed at Shinji.

Kakashi waved his hand. "Don't mind him, kinda my fault he became this way. I wish I had said no, I don't wanna be here when Guy comes."

Ayame, already used to seeing weird ninja, just shrugged. "Okay, the usual Kakashi?"

"Yeah."

"What about you?" she asked Shinji, and the young genin looked at her with passion in his gaze. Any other girl might have misunderstood this. "Also don't look at me like that. It sends the wrong message to a girl."

"Oh, sorry," Shinji came out of his stupor. "Also get me a bowl of miso ramen, thank you."

He went back to training. Sometimes working hard wasn't just about doing so for a week or two, but about consistency. Shinji was also worried about Orochimaru and what the man wanted, and all of that combined with his ambition had made him want to train harder and smarter. While these times of training might seem something that wouldn't help, if he works hard every day, then it will add up into something that others won't be able to surpass.

"By the way, your chakra network is okay, right? And you don't have a desire to suddenly start wearing green spandex?" Inquired Kakashi suspiciously.

"What? Of course not," Shinji looked at him weirdly. He could understand that green would help one as good camouflage in a forest or grass field. But why would it have to be spandex? "If I need a certain color for camouflage I can just use the transformation jutsu and change just the color of my clothes."

"...That's a good idea actually," Kakashi admitted. "So you're like a smarter and genuinely talented version of him."

"Of who?" Shinji wondered.

"You'll know soon enough."

Ayame smiled. "Your name is Shinji, right? How old are you?"

"I am twelve years old," Shinji answered politely, but clearly wasn't paying too much attention or even looking at the girl.

"Oh, that's a shame," she sighed dejectedly. "So, what type of girls do you like?"

"Never really thought about it," Shinji answered without missing a beat. Ayame was about to continue talking, but she noticed Kakashi giggling weirdly while writing something in a notebook. This caused the young girl to blush in embarrassment and walk away, acting as if she was going to help her father in the kitchen.

Kakashi only kept chuckling in amusement. While Shinji was only concentrated on his hand seals. For showing him such an amusing scene, the Copy Ninja decided to help the young genin a little. "When you go through hand seals it needs to be instinctual. Some ninja just need to think of a jutsu and their hands go through the signs without having to consciously try."

Shinji nodded, thankful, and tried to do the hand seals with his eyes closed.

…

After eating some ramen, and an embarrassed Ayame not showing herself anymore. Kakashi and Shinji walked outside of the shop. Though there was one thing Shinji was curious about, how will Kakashi find Guy?

That question of his was answered as soon as Kakashi took a deep breath and yelled out. "Guy!! Let's have a challenge!!"

Shinji looked at him weirdly while at the same time practicing hand seals. The yell wasn't even that loud and Konoha was a big village. But he was proved wrong as suddenly a green flash landed on the ground in front of them as if sent by heaven.

Booom!!

"It is I, Konoha's Green Beast, ready to accept the challenge of my eternal rival."

'Shouldn't Guy also have a genin team? Why are these jonin who are supposed to be busy have so much free time?'

"I can feel someone overflowing with YOUTH!!" Guy peered at Shinji like a hawk and made him a little uncomfortable. But Shinji didn't interrupt his training, hand seals, and doing squats, even as Guy smiled at him with his sparkling white teeth.

*Poof*

Kakashi burst into a puff of smoke, making Shinji wonder how long he had been a clone. But that thought went to the side as he bowed towards Guy at a perfect 90-degree angle. "Guy -sensei, I know you have a genin team, but can you help me-"

"But of course! How could I refuse someone with such OVERFLOWING YOUTH!!" Guy agreed without a second thought. Shinji felt weird, he had been a little worried if Guy would accept to teach him, but his worries were for nothing.

"So when do we start training?"

"Right now! Let's run with our hands and try to go and find Kakashi! Let our youth burn brightly!!"

"Do we know where he is going? Do we have a way to track him?"

"Use your YOUTH to sense him!"

"..."

…

Evening came about, Shinji lay atop one of the roofs, breathing heavily, but he had a smile on his face. "What a weird day."

After Guy gave him some instructions he went to find Kakashi, as Shinji had been too tired to follow. He also gave him a schedule where they would train together, and since they were neighbors, it would be easy to find each other. Guy was mostly going to point out any mistakes he made, as he couldn't train him all day, due to having his own Genin Team.

Also, the spy he had caught had quite a lot of information in his mind. He wasn't informed exactly what happened. But both Guy and Kakashi had to get involved and shinobi were running around like flies as if looking for something… or someone. So it had to be something big. During that time, Shinji made sure to stand atop the roof, in clear sight of the ninja running around. Just in case anyone got the idea to kidnap him. He didn't know the situation in deep detail, but decided to be cautious, and play it safe.

While contemplating, Shinji couldn't help but think about another thing he had realized when training Taijutsu. Unlike some basic Taijutsu Styles, the Strong Fist was harder to master than most out there, but it was also one of the best styles of Taijutsu Shinji had ever seen. He was glad to have asked Guy for help, otherwise, it would have taken ages to learn.

Remembering just how much of a monster Guy was physical, Shinji couldn't help but wince. Stamina, strength, speed, even amongst Jonin he seemed too fast.

That was when he remembered that he had one last thing to do today. "Right, try and see if there is any suitable option for a weapon out there."

Looking around, he saw some ninja weapons shops and went to the closest one. As soon as he entered, he saw that there were many weapons on display. With bright lights all around, making the weapons on display easy to look at.

The smell of metal resided in the air, and Shinji theorized that these same weapons must be made close by. Maybe to the back of the shop? But since it was nighttime, they wouldn't be using the anvils as it would make too much noise.

"Hello there," the shopkeeper greeted. He is a bald burly man with a friendly look on his face. "What can I get ya?"

"I don't know yet, just came to get a look at what weapons you have. I don't have the money to buy a weapon made of Chakra Metal yet, but maybe buying a weapon with normal steel first would help me get used to it." Shinji remarked, as his eyes wandered towards the many weapons.

_____________________

[Pick one and put your choice in a comment down below. What Shinji thinks about the weapons will also be put in the choices too.]

A - No weapon, only kunai, and shuriken when needed. Buy some more of those and some explosive tags. Maybe might decide again later on if he wants to learn how to handle a weapon. But for now, Shinji feels like he is too busy with everything else.

B - Kusarigama, blade on a chain. Has become somewhat of a famous weapon type after being used by Hanzo the Salamander. It's good for close and mid-range. A very versatile weapon, but Shinji thinks it's a little exotic for a weapon so finding someone to teach him might be hard. Still, it was worth a thought.

C - Brass Knuckles shaped like a trench knife. Short-range and good in a close fight, works well with Taijutsu. Maybe they can be thrown for long range? You still had kunai for throning, so these would normally be used in just close range.

D - Tanto. A short sword that is used usually by Anbu. Easy to hide, and finding someone to teach him was just as easy.

E - Chokuto Sword, a straight katana. A good weapon in close range and well balanced. Shinji wondered what kinds of sword styles Konoha had? He hadn't studied them a lot.

F - Spear. Do Ninjas use spears a lot? Shinji doesn't know exactly but hasn't seen anyone use it. Maybe a good weapon for a civilian, as even someone unskilled can use it with relative efficiency. What about a Ninja?

G - Staff. A good blunt weapon, versatile in its usages, but not as lethal as a sword and needs good strength to do critical damage to a ninja.

H - Nunchaku. A weapon with two metal rods attached by a chain. Hard to use masterfully, and doesn't seem to have the versatility of a metal staff.

I - Learn how to use many weapons. Shinji thinks this would be a little inefficient when training.

J - Long Sword. Samurai?

K - One-handed short-range axes. Bandit? Why are those weapons here? Do bandits come and buy them from Konoha? Or maybe just a display case.

___________________

Author Note: Shinji was supposed to annoy some people, luckily he didn't. If you want a more detailed explanation of things, and want to see the dice rolls which are used to calculate luck, join Discord:

https://discord.gg/wbwRTqd7jr

P.S: Amongst the choices, E, Chokuto Sword is the same type of weapon Sasuke had during Shippuden. Just in case the explanation wasn't clear enough. Also the new trait is due to Shinji doing something that would normally annoy people, but luckily it doesn't. So with that is how he got the trait.

P.P.S: If you like the story. Give it some love by sending some power stones. I love writing it and I hop you love reading it.