Chapter 6

Chapter 6

OHASHI HATAKE

His new house did not have a dojo for sparring, so he was in the ancestral Hatake's home dojo as he sparred with Kakashi. Shziune-san had been unable to meet him yesterday, so they had postponed their meeting to today. And he still had to go and visit Mikoto-sensei.

Yet all that would come later, as he focused once more on the silver-haired monster that was attacking him relentlessly. Even at six years old Kakashi's skills were highly polished as Ohashi parried a barrage of attacks. He was sure that he had not been that skilled at six or seven for that matter despite his advantages.

Suddenly he grabbed Kakashi's wrist, and it caught him off guard, and he tried to twist his arm using his body weight and aimed a kick at his head, yet he decided to simply let it go as he finally retaliated and began his own attack. Kakashi tried to block them, yet Ohashi was both stronger and more skilled, and with a kick, Kakashi was sent tumbling back.

"Ok, that will be enough for today," Ohashi spoke, stopping Kakashi as he looked at the clock. They had been at it for over an hour, and the whole floor was covered with sweat from their excursion. Ohashi walked to the side, sat down, and gulped down water.

"Here!" he said as he passed Kakashi a bottle Kakashi sat down next to him, still huffing from the sparring. Ohashi looked at the six-year-old, who seemed to be in a better place than the day before yesterday. Ohashi looked around the dojo once more and found it impressive, the wooden flooring was robust, and the latest equipment was stored in closets along with weapons for training.

"So, I must say I wasn't expecting you to be so skilled. I bet you could take on most genin and even take them down despite your age," Ohashi complimented the kid, and Kakashi's only response was a small nod.

"How about ninjutsu? How far along are you with it?" he questioned Kakashi, and the kid replied after placing down the water bottle.

"I have mastered academy three, and father had me working on the basics of nature transformation," Kakashi replied, his voice getting a bit low as he mentioned his father. Ohashi nodded at that, highly impressed.

"Well, I haven't worked on lightning nature myself so I won't be able to help you with that. Perhaps I could teach you Shunshin. With your fast reflexes, it would be a perfect technique for you or some genjutsu would be helpful," Ohashi thought out aloud as he considered his options.

"I can learn both. There is still time for my graduation, and you could train me in both," Kakashi interjected in a strong voice, and Ohashi was taken aback a bit.

"We could try, though. You will find out that genjutsu isn't as simple as it is made out to be. But sure, we can begin training in them," he relented. It wasn't like he was busy with much himself. Though he noticed Kakashi nod and glance towards his home from the window.

"Are you sure you want to stay here? There is plenty of room in my house?" Ohashi asked once more, and Kakashi just shook his head as he clenched his fists.

"I will be fine. Kimiko-san is already here. She will take care of the chores. I would like to stay here," he concluded, and Ohashi nodded. Well, he would be checking in on him every day for their sparring session, and he knew Kimiko-san, so it would probably be fine.

"Ok, as you wish. But if you need anything, you can call on me anytime," Ohashi began as he got up from the dojo and began to stretch his muscles. It was almost time for him to go and meet Shizune-san.

"All right, I will see you tomorrow. Don't forget to stretch and be safe," he finished before he began walking out of the dojo.

0000

KATO SHIZUNE

After the whole emergency situation yesterday, she hadn't been able to make time for the lunch with Ohashi, so they had pushed it to the next day, and hence here she sat in Akiniku Q with the silver-haired jounin, something she had only just heard.

"Why didn't you tell me you had been promoted to jounin! Jounin at thirteen! That must be some kind of record!" she congratulated him, knowing that few in his life would be there to celebrate such news for him. Though Ohashi simply shook his head.

"Not yet, actually. I still have to be cleared for active duty to get that promotion officially. Moreover, this isn't a record. Lord Third actually holds it for being promoted to a jounin at age eleven or twelve, I think," he replied downplaying his achievements, and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Gods! You cannot be serious. Do you have any idea what it takes to become a jounin even in wartime. You didn't even mention it to me at all. I haven't even gotten you anything," she said a bit ashamed since Ohashi had always mailed her a gift for her birthday over the years.

"There is no need, though tell me about Itachi," and her smile stiffened as she thought about the case of the Uchiha youngling. And that brought another question that had been bugging her since yesterday into her mind as she looked ahead once more and asked with a frown.

"Tell me did you study medical ninjutsu?" Ohashi stopped eating and placed down his chopsticks, and wiped his mouth as he shook his head.

"Not except the basics. My focus is in other fields," and this was what had been bugging her.

"So, how did you know? Itachi Uchiha's condition was so subtle that even a normal medical ninja would have missed it yet you were able to catch it. How?" she asked, and she saw him stiffen at her question before he began slowly.

"You remember when we started corresponding how I made you ask Tsunade-sama about the sensing technique of Nidaime-sama?" her eyes widened as she nodded. Tsunade-sama had been intrigued by the interest in her grand uncle's sensing techniques and had given her a bit of information to share with him.

Though she hadn't known he had been able to make progress on it.

"So, over the years I have been working on it, and while not as proficient as him. I am quite good at sensing and I had sensed something wrong with the chakra tenketsu point in Itachi's chest. I asked a medic to check yet they found nothing wrong so I asked you for confirmation and I was proven right," he finished, and she nodded, still reeling from the shock that he had been able to replicate one of Nidaime's techniques at his age. A technique that even Tsunade-sama had not been able to replicate despite being a direct descendant.

"How long?" she questioned, and when he frowned, she clarified.

"What's the longest distance you can sense accurately?" and she saw him hesitate a bit, before he leaned forward and spoke while covering his mouth. And the number shocked her.

"That much. And why are you whispering like this? Don't they have privacy seals for these booths?" she asked him, and he just narrowed his eyes as he suddenly looked at the tinted windows.

"These days, you need to be overly cautious," and she frowned as she glanced out of the window.

Had he sensed someone?

"Well, that is how I knew something was wrong. But you still haven't answered me what is wrong with him?" he questioned her once more. She thought about what she could tell him, for her duties as a physician prevented her from telling him everything without the patients' consent.

"Well, I obviously can not tell you everything. You can ask Mikoto-san if you want to know it all, but it was good that you caught it early on. At the stage his illness is right now, it can be managed easily, but if it had gotten beyond a certain time, then it could have been disastrous," she told him all she could, and he nodded.

"That's good," and with that, they began to discuss other mundane topics as the meal went on, and just before it was about to be concluded, he spoke up.

"For how long are you in the village?" he questioned her, and she put down her chopsticks as she replied.

"I don't know. Tsunade-sama hasn't told me though we might be here for a couple of months if the situation of the war doesn't improve," and he nodded.

"And Lady Tsunade will be in the hospital?" and she nodded.

"Probably. Do you need something from her?" and he shook his head.

"Nah. I just had a gift for her, for telling me about Nidaime-sama's technique. I thought I could give it to her," and she nodded though she was a little intrigued by what he had gotten her.

"You can come to the hospital. Though can I ask what it is?" he nodded and replied slowly.

"I had heard rumors that she liked exotic drinks. So, I got her a box of some special sake from Land of Iron," and alarm bells rang in her head as she heard those words.

"Rumors! You are telling me there are rumors about Lady Tsunade's drinking problem!" and he nodded, making her sigh. Though knowing Lady Tsunade, she would probably laugh it off and enjoy those rumors.

"Gods save her reputation! And what were you doing shopping for Sake at your age? Don't tell me you drink at your age Ohashi because you need to put a stop to this!" she immediately began to question her cousin though thankfully, as of right now, she was only associated with one person having a drinking problem.

0000

MINATO NAMIKAZE

Minato Namikaze stood in the Hokage office as the Hokage rifled through a file in front of him. He had been surprised when he was suddenly called into the office. Perhaps he would be re-enlisted though he had just returned a week ago from his deployment near the Earth border. Or he might even be sent to Amegakure to hold the line there.

"Minato, it is good to see you. Come have a seat," spoke the Third Hokage in a rather jovial tone as Minato took the seat, still unaware of what he was doing here.

"Is there any specific reason you called for me, Hokage-sama? Am I being deployed?" he decided to ask directly, and the leader of Konoha shook his head.

"No, not yet. The situation at the Iwa border is turning dire though Shikaku says he will be able to hold the line. I have called you here for a different matter," began Lord Hokage as he passed him a file.

Minato opened it and found himself staring at the file of an academy student, Kakashi Hatake. And the file would have been impressive for any graduate, let alone for a six-year-old. The younger Hatake was a prodigy, much like his elder brother, it seems.

"What do you think of him?" questioned Lord Third, and Minato looked at the man and found his piercing gaze focused on him.

Was this a test? So he decided to take his time as he thought of everything apart from the file he knew of and about the kid. And after thinking for a bit finally began.

"I would say that his skills are impressive for an academy student and enough to grant him the rank of a genin. However, I wouldn't be in favor of having him graduate so early. He has just lost his father in an extremely tragic way and probably suffers from mental trauma due to that," and he saw the Hokage's eyes tighten a bit at that though he continued.

"So I would have him remain in the academy for some time mayhaps a year or two, before he is allowed to graduate," he finished, and the thought of the death of Sakumo-san made his heart bleed. He had not been in the village when the whole debacle had taken place, and even now, he could hardly believe the man's fate.

"So, you would disagree with my opinion," and Minato seemed a bit surprised that it had been the Third's opinion on the file yet the facts remained the same. So, he decided to nod his head.

"I respectfully would, Lord Hokage. Putting him in the field right now would be detrimental to him and whichever team he is paired up with. Kakashi Hatake is too young and needs some nurturing before he is ready for the field," he spoke resolutely. The room became quiet after his rant as Lord Third leaned back into his chair. Minato's eyes lingered on the ceremonial hat lying on the table as he thought of wearing it one day. Lord Third would cut the silence after a while.

"I agree with you. Moreover, I believe you are the best man for nurturing young Kakashi," and as the implication behind those words registered, Minato was taken by surprise.

"Me?" he asked once more, and the Third Hokage nodded.

"Yes, I believe you are the right man for the job. And so, I want you to apprentice young Kakashi for six months after he graduates," and Minato was surprised by the news. This meant that he would soon be getting a team to train. He stared at the file again and saw the picture of the young Hatake before giving the Hokage a nod.

"It would be an honor to train the son of Sakumo-san. I will work hard to live up to your expectations, lord Hokage," he said, and the Hokage nodded.

And he thought how excited Kushina would be with the news. Perhaps he should invite her to supper and share this with her.

0000

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