Chapter 5: Kakashi's Challenge

Just as Ryo was about to continue his training, he suddenly sensed something. He looked up toward the top of the outer wall of the small courtyard and said:

"It seems you've developed the habit of avoiding the front door."

A familiar figure appeared on the outer wall—silver-white hair, a mask, and unmistakably, it was Hatake Kakashi.

"No, I just happened to be coming from that direction."

Kakashi leapt off the wall and landed inside the courtyard.

Standing close together, the differences between Kakashi and Ryo were still obvious. Kakashi's hair was a little longer, he wore a mask, and his height and build were noticeably smaller than Ryo's.

Kakashi said to Ryo, "Just like you predicted, friction between the villages is intensifying. The recent missions are all about mutual ambushes and investigations..."

"I see."

Ryo wasn't surprised.

After all, ever since he arrived in this world, aside from making a few minor changes while in the ninja academy, he hadn't influenced the overall direction of events. The Third Great Ninja War was bound to happen next year due to the larger trends in the world.

"You still haven't graduated, huh? There's not much more to learn at the academy, is there?"

Kakashi looked at Ryo.

Others might not know, but Kakashi was well aware of how powerful his older brother Ryo was. At least so far, he had never won a single duel against Ryo! 

Kakashi had already been promoted to Chunin last year, and even after that, he had challenged Ryo, but still couldn't defeat him. Ryo's speed was almost abnormal!

Moreover, Ryo was not only strong but also mentally resilient. Despite being only a year older, his judgment on many situations was almost on par with that of adults.

Ryo smiled at Kakashi and said, "It's true that I've learned all there is from the teachers, but staying in the academy gives me more time to train on my own... By the way, have you tried out the jutsu I mentioned?"

Since Kakashi had already been promoted to Chunin, he had access to more jutsu than Ryo, who still hadn't graduated. Many of Ryo's techniques came from Kakashi, and he had specifically asked Kakashi to pay attention to two jutsu: Flying Thunder God and the Eight Gates.

The Eight Gates needed no explanation—it was a technique Ryo had to learn. As for the Flying Thunder God, Ryo had considered trying to train in it. If successful, it would be a life-saving technique, but if not, that was fine. For someone like Ryo, who could manipulate time, space-time ninjutsu wasn't as crucial.

"Those techniques are in the Book of Seals. How easy do you think it is to access them?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

Although he was a Chunin and had access to techniques like Shadow Clone Jutsu, techniques like Flying Thunder God and the Eight Gates, which fell under the category of forbidden techniques, were not so easily accessible.

"You'll get your chance."

Ryo wasn't bothered. Once Kakashi became a Jonin, it wouldn't be difficult for him to access them. But now that he thought about it, Kakashi had become a Jonin at twelve—who knew, maybe he would surpass Kakashi even sooner.

After all, next year he would be forced to graduate, and after that, the Great Ninja War would begin. In war, there would be no hiding your true skills, and everyone would have to give their all in the face of countless dangers.

Kakashi shook his head, saying, "...I can't believe you're so patient."

After his father, the legendary Konoha White Fang, committed suicide because he couldn't bear the villagers' criticism, Kakashi was greatly affected. Not wanting to be scrutinized with those strange looks, he had shown off his exceptional abilities. Graduating at five, becoming a Chunin at six, and achieving all that had made others stop looking at him differently.

But Ryo, on the other hand, had methodically gone through the academy, following the curriculum, forming a stark contrast to Kakashi, who had graduated so early. During that time, the village was filled with discussions about him.

Kakashi was very aware that Ryo's strength was above his own.

Yet Ryo remained unfazed by those opinions. He calmly continued going to class, never mentioning anything about wanting to graduate early.

Ryo sighed and said, "You still don't understand."

The famous Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, who had made great achievements in the Second Great Ninja War, didn't just commit suicide because of a mission. That's nonsense!

Perhaps the Ryo from his past life wouldn't have been sure, but the Ryo who had come to this world and experienced the event firsthand knew how it had truly played out—there was definitely something shady going on with Konoha's higher-ups.

At least Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, never intervened. If he had, a failed mission could have been covered up with just a few words, especially since the failure had been in an attempt to save a comrade.

Although Ryo couldn't be sure of the exact details, he could infer that Danzo was involved. After all, Sakumo had threatened Danzo's position.

With his immense strength and achievements, it was likely that Sakumo would have succeeded in becoming the Fourth Hokage. That could have been the reason Danzo took action.

Since Sakumo's death had something to do with Danzo, Kakashi, like Ryo, was under the watchful eyes of the higher-ups. Kakashi revealing his extraordinary talents wasn't necessarily bad, but if Ryo did the same, things would be different.

Knowing Danzo's personality, Ryo was sure that he could come up with a thousand reasons to convince Sarutobi to let one of them join ROOT.

Ryo naturally wouldn't join ROOT, and Kakashi, being his younger brother, wouldn't end up joining and being brainwashed by Danzo either.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, confused.

Ryo shook his head. He didn't plan to explain these things to Kakashi. Kakashi was still too young, and his aggressive nature meant it was better if he didn't learn about Konoha's darkness just yet.

"Well, it's about time..." Ryo said thoughtfully.

Now that they were approaching the tense situation before the Third Great Ninja War, there wasn't much risk in revealing his strength. Danzo wouldn't have the time or resources to expand ROOT; his attention would be on other villages.

The war would be a crisis but also an opportunity.

Kakashi would become a Jonin in the war, and so would he. Once both of them were Jonin, they would be able to escape Danzo's influence. Even after the war, Danzo wouldn't have the authority to move official Jonin around without Sarutobi's permission.

As for thinking further, there was also the possibility of improving during the war, surpassing Jonin, and reaching a level comparable to the Kage. After all, Ryo had the Illusionary Clock and the ability to manipulate time!

"By the way, how's your training been going lately?" Kakashi asked, glancing at the wooden training posts in the courtyard before suddenly turning to Ryo with a gleam in his eyes.

Though Kakashi had never won against Ryo, he never gave up on the idea of defeating him, especially recently. After a series of battles, he felt his strength had increased. If Ryo hadn't been training diligently, maybe this time he could win!

Ryo raised an eyebrow.

He already knew what Kakashi meant halfway through his words.

"Well, I was just thinking I'd like to see how much you've improved recently."

(End of Chapter)

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An: You can read 30+ advanced chapters on patre-on

pat reon.com/Godly_translator (remove the space

An2: I'll keep releasing chapters till I hit 15k words, after that I'll release 1 or 2 chapters everyday

Plus extra chapters if we hit power stone marks.