Chapter 15: Kakashi's Embarrassment

"By the way, is your surname Yagyu?"

"Yes."

Kai nodded. "But I'm just a commoner."

"Some commoners were also nobles in the samurai era. I remember seeing the Yagyu name in the family records, so it was probably a samurai family back then."

"Perhaps."

Anyway, the family didn't have any sword manuals. If not for that, Kai wouldn't have needed to spend so much time searching for and studying sword techniques.

"Actually, these are somewhat outdated. Even the Land of Iron now practices chakra. Whether it's a samurai family or not isn't very meaningful," Kakashi said, his right hand fidgeting.

He was feeling quite bored. He was tempted to pull out his book, but given its inappropriate content for children, he managed to suppress the urge.

However…

He could control his mind but not his hand.

Though Kai wasn't a ninja yet, his observational skills were sharp. He noticed Kakashi's subtle agitation and thought—Kakashi seemed to care about his appearance at this moment.

In the storyline, he seemed unfazed when facing Naruto and others, not caring about their opinions, as if nothing mattered to him.

Maybe he was wary of Kai's perceptiveness and feared revealing the book's content.

Kai shook his head inwardly and said, "If you want to read, you don't need to worry about my opinion."

"Uh…"

Kakashi's hand froze, slightly embarrassed.

"It's nothing. I haven't read Jiraiya-sama's books, but I've heard of them."

Kakashi's awkwardness stemmed from a comparison between his reading material and Kai's—medical books and ninja records versus adult-themed literature. The contrast was glaring.

Kakashi cleared his throat and said, "It's fine. Books are just a means of refining one's character, not a necessity. Let's continue chatting. The Third Hokage mentioned you to me, and I'm quite interested."

"The Third Hokage mentioned me to you?"

Kai was surprised.

It seemed like the Third Hokage had considered having Kakashi take him on, but Kakashi must have declined, or else he wouldn't have extended the Anbu invitation earlier.

"Hmm, the Third Hokage is quite attentive to the talents in the village."

Pull the other one.

Kai thought to himself.

The Third Hokage's talent cultivation…

It couldn't be said to be non-existent, but it was more like a facade, merely living off the legacy of the Shinobi Academy established by the First Hokage.

However, Kai acknowledged the Third Hokage's mastery of ninjutsu and his qualities. For a ninja without any special bloodline or physique to reach such a level was impressive. However, his abilities as a mentor were another matter.

Kai and Kakashi weren't close.

Even with the Third Hokage's introduction, it wasn't likely that Kai would immediately ask Kakashi for guidance on ninjutsu or swordsmanship. Likewise, Kakashi didn't know Kai well, so this conversation was mostly casual.

As they walked and chatted, Kai brought up a question he had wondered about since his previous life.

"Kakashi-senpai, the Sharingan you possess—can't it be turned off?"

"Hm? Why do you ask?"

Kakashi, masked and reading his book, kept his expression hidden.

However, Kai decided to continue.

"If your eyes can't be turned off, it means they place a burden on your chakra. I've heard your chakra reserves are relatively low, so using a sword would consume less chakra, right?"

This was a question Kai had from reading the Naruto series.

White Fang's swordsmanship was notable.

Kakashi had practiced swordsmanship from a young age and developed his techniques before he even mastered Chidori. Even if White Fang was gone, Kai didn't believe that the Hatake clan and Konoha couldn't produce a single chakra blade.

Though Chidori was a form of technique, wasn't the chakra consumption known to Kakashi?

Faced with this question, Kakashi was momentarily at a loss.

The "Makeout Paradise" had been left untouched for a while.

After a half-minute of silence, he finally spoke. "A sword might not suit someone like me, and this eye was left to me by a comrade. I must carry it with me."

"Of course, mainly because there are few things that can deplete my chakra."

Kakashi, slightly depressed, resumed reading his book.

Kai was speechless.

Even among elite jōnin, there were differences.

"Anyway, today's conversation was quite pleasant."

Kakashi stretched lazily, returning to his usual relaxed demeanor. "The Anbu invitation was sincere, but your choice is also wise. Sometimes, rapid advancement isn't beneficial. However, if you ever think about joining the Anbu, you can always talk to the Hokage."

"Understood!"

"See you."

Kakashi waved and then walked towards Ichiraku Ramen, reading his book.

Kai bought a few rice balls and headed to the ninja academy.

Shikamaru was sitting on the swing at the entrance.

Choji was looking around.

"What a hassle. We could have left a while ago, but we waited for you for half an hour."

"Sorry, I lost track of time talking with a senior."

Kai handed the remaining rice balls to Choji. His eyes lit up as he took them, thanking Kai before starting to eat heartily.

Shikamaru sighed and took out two books from his pocket.

One was a book, and the other was a notebook, likely copied from the Akimichi clan.

"Here's the book for you."

"Thank you, Shikaku-sama."

"Can't understand why you're focusing on this when you could be spending more time on ninjutsu and training. What's the point?"

Shikamaru leaned back on the swing, looking puzzled.

"For me, researching these medicines isn't difficult, but it greatly speeds up training efficiency. So why not study them? And it benefits more than just me."

Kai shrugged and said, "You haven't experienced it, so it's normal you don't understand. When you face desperation and helplessness one day, you'll know why."

"…"

Shikamaru was taken aback but said nothing, silently getting off the swing and leaving.

On his way home, he saw Naruto training.

Haven't experienced it?

He looked at Naruto, then back at the direction Kai had gone, deep in thought.

"Shikamaru, you've been spacing out lately."

"I don't understand."

"Hm?"

"Never mind. Maybe Kai was right. Let's go, Choji, we're heading home for dinner."

Shikamaru seemed dejected.

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