Chapter 20: An Unexpected Gain!
"He… He caught it!!!"
Guy's mouth dropped open in shock as he watched the scene in front of him. To his eyes, Kakashi's speed just now was absolutely incredible. The power behind that Chidori seemed like it could cut through anything. He had been sure Mirai was in real danger, but against all odds, he'd stopped it.
No… stopping it wasn't even the most surprising part.
Mirai was standing there, completely unfazed, his hand gripping Kakashi's wrist, halting the Chidori mid-strike with his bare hand! The confidence radiating from him, combined with the eerie, mesmerizing Sharingan, made him look effortlessly cool.
Kakashi stared in disbelief at his right hand, now trapped in Mirai's grasp, his mouth dry. He'd considered the possibility that Mirai might evade the attack, but he never imagined his opponent would block it in such a bold, direct way. To do this, Mirai needed not only strength far beyond his own but also an absolute, unwavering confidence.
"This guy…"
Looking into Mirai's calm, self-assured eyes, Kakashi felt a disheartening sense of defeat, a feeling he'd never experienced from a peer before.
Mirai… just how strong are you?
"The fight ends here."
Mirai released Kakashi's wrist and looked over at Guy.
"Hey, Guy, I happen to have some free time recently. Why don't we train together during the day?"
Mirai's focus shifted entirely to Guy, offering no comment on his fight with Kakashi. His attitude made Kakashi feel as though Mirai didn't even see him as a serious opponent. To him, it seemed their fight had been nothing more than a quick spar to humor Kakashi.
Unlike the silent Kakashi, Guy's face was alight with excitement.
"Mirai, you really mean it? You'll train with me?"
Mirai gave a slight nod. "Yeah."
With the bandit-clearing missions mostly done, he figured a break to refine his strength would be useful. Besides… training with Guy could be his chance to learn the Eight Gates, giving him a powerful ace up his sleeve.
"Mirai, you're amazing… so kind!" Guy sniffled, wiping his nose and tearing up. "Youth doesn't tolerate idleness! I'll meet you bright and early for training tomorrow."
"Got it."
With that, Mirai turned to leave. "If you're done here, you guys can go. I'm heading back to rest."
As he walked off, Kakashi called out, "One day, I'm going to beat you."
Without looking back, Mirai waved his right hand dismissively.
"I'll give you time to catch up. Until you can't even see my back."
"Kakashi…"
"Yeah?"
"Mirai… is really cool."
"Tch~"
Instead of heading home, Mirai made his way to a secluded forested area in the Uchiha clan grounds. Confirming he was alone, he began forming hand seals.
Ox–Monkey!
Chidori!
The sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air as Mirai activated his Sharingan and dashed forward. A massive tree, so thick it would take several people to wrap their arms around it, was cut clean through at the waist.
Boom!
The tree crashed to the ground with a thunderous noise. Mirai smiled with satisfaction. As he'd suspected, Chidori and the Sharingan truly complemented each other perfectly.
Right after the fight with Kakashi, he'd heard a notification in his mind that he'd successfully copied Chidori. That was why he'd left so abruptly—to try it out as soon as possible.
"Looks like I also mastered both chakra shape transformation and chakra nature transformation…"
Mirai focused inwardly, a look of pleasant surprise crossing his face. Normally, mastering both of these aspects would take a great deal of time and effort. But now, he'd acquired them effortlessly. This unexpected gain was far beyond what he'd anticipated.
An idea for a powerful jutsu crossed his mind.
Rasengan!
An instant-cast jutsu without the need for seals, capable of various powerful forms. In combat, it could catch opponents off guard with its sheer unpredictability. In the original story, Rasengan was one of the most impactful techniques.
A small grin appeared on Mirai's face. As a transmigrator, he already knew the basics of Rasengan training, and now that he'd mastered both chakra shape and nature transformation, training an A-rank jutsu like Rasengan wouldn't be as challenging as it might have been.
After letting his mind wander a bit, Mirai sat cross-legged on the ground and began to practice his hand-seal speed. In ninja combat, speed in forming seals was crucial. The faster the seals, the more control one had in a fight. Uchiha Itachi, for example, could make seven seals in a single second.
Mirai was determined not to slack on these fundamental skills.
At dawn, Mirai opened his eyes and stepped outside, where he was immediately greeted by the energetic Guy.
"Mirai, let's train together today!"
"Alright."
"Great! Let's start by running ten laps around the village, then we'll meet up with my father!"
Before Mirai could respond, Guy took off in a flash of green, sprinting forward.
After stretching a bit, Mirai followed closely behind. Running ten laps around the village wasn't an easy task, even for Mirai at his current level. It took him the entire morning to finish.
Guy, however, was slower, only managing five laps by the time Mirai was done.
"Whew~"
Guy leaned on his knees, panting. "I'm not surprised you're so amazing, Mirai, a real genius who can even beat Kakashi… you're like… someone without a single weakness! I've got to train even harder!"
With his current stamina, five laps was close to Guy's limit. Running ten was a goal he set for himself to push his boundaries, knowing full well it was nearly impossible.
After a short break, Duy arrived to join them, his eyes brightening with curiosity when he saw Mirai.
"Father, Mirai wants to train with us for a while. Is that alright?" Guy asked, his gaze filled with admiration.
Duy nodded. "Of course. Guy, this is your chance to train alongside someone you look up to. You must work even harder!"
"Yes! I will!"
"Perfect, this is—"
"Youth!"
As father and son embraced each other, crying passionately, Mirai's mouth twitched slightly.
He was beginning to have second thoughts.
Was training with these two really the best decision?
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