Chapter 9: One Month
Morning of October 17th.
Kakashi's new Jonin flak jacket had been made and delivered. The previous one was too loose and unwearable, so she had two new sets made.
Since today was the first day Team 7 would undertake missions after its official formation, she needed to dress more formally.
After Team 7 assembled at the Mission Assignment Desk, Kakashi Hatake casually glanced over the available tasks and selected one: gathering medicinal herbs in the forest behind the Village.
Facing such a simple mission, Uzumaki Naruto was obviously quite dissatisfied.
Uchiha Sasuke and Sakura Haruno, though they didn't voice it, also had some reservations in their hearts.
Amidst Naruto's complaints, the group soon arrived at the back mountain.
"With such a huge forest, how long will it take us to find anything?"
Uzumaki Naruto looked at the vast forest before him and grumbled again.
"Well! That's something you three need to figure out."
Kakashi spread her hands, indicating that for a D-rank mission like this, she was only responsible for leading the team; the actual task completion depended on them.
Before Naruto and the others could start complaining, Kakashi changed the subject and continued:
"It's nine in the morning now. If you can finish the mission before two in the afternoon, I can spend the remaining time teaching you how to train."
"Eh?!!"
Uzumaki Naruto, who was about to retort with a complaint, forcefully swallowed his words.
Uchiha Sasuke's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Ever since graduating from the Ninja Academy and becoming a Genin, hadn't he hoped to become stronger?
If becoming a Genin meant only doing these boring and simple missions every day, he didn't know how long he would have to wait to seek revenge.
"Then let's get started!"
Saying this, Kakashi quickly left the area. Not long after, she found a high vantage point where she could monitor Naruto and the others' positions at any time.
She then immediately began her own training.
This time, Kakashi intended to practice the derivative Ninjutsu of the Chidori Style.
The various derivative Ninjutsu of the Chidori Style were not difficult for her, the developer of the Chidori.
Of course, the technique Lightning Release: Kirin was still challenging, but Kakashi had no intention of practicing that Ninjutsu right now.
After all, that move created too much commotion and wasn't suitable for research and training at this moment.
...
On the other side, thanks to Kakashi's promise, Naruto and the other two were full of motivation, diligently traversing mountains and valleys to pick the target medicinal herbs.
Ultimately, they completed the quota for gathering herbs around 11:30 AM, before noon!
"Finally done!"
Uzumaki Naruto tossed his herb basket aside and immediately collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
Sasuke and Sakura weren't faring much better; they were completely worn out. A task meant for a full day, they had managed to compress into two and a half hours!
However, less than two seconds after lying down, Naruto sprang up with a fish-like leap! He cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shouted:
"Kakashi-sensei! We finished the mission!"
Not long after shouting, Kakashi arrived.
"Coming, coming!"
Naruto was extremely excited watching Kakashi jump down from a tree. "Are you going to teach us a really powerful Ninjutsu?"
Although Sasuke and Sakura didn't speak, their expectant looks could be clearly seen in their eyes.
"Well, as the saying goes, before you learn to run, you first need to learn to stand and walk."
Kakashi lightly shook her head, then continued: "What I'm going to teach you now is how to precisely control your Chakra."
"Huh?"
Uzumaki Naruto was stunned upon hearing this. He had expected to learn some truly formidable Ninjutsu!
"Now I will demonstrate it for you. When you can walk to the top of a tree, then I will teach you Ninjutsu—ah, no, I mean, proceed to the next stage of training."
As Kakashi spoke, she walked toward a large tree, and then an astonishing scene unfolded before Naruto and the others.
Kakashi was actually 'walking' vertically up the tree trunk?
After teaching them how to use Chakra for tree-climbing training, Kakashi couldn't help but feel contemplative. For the next few days, she could quietly focus on her own cultivation.
But it was clear she had miscalculated. Sakura finished the tree-climbing training on the very first day.
Having no choice, after completing a D-rank mission on the second day, Kakashi began teaching Sakura water-walking training.
When Naruto and Sasuke saw Sakura advance to the next step so quickly, they couldn't stay calm either and trained desperately!
Early on the third day.
Naruto and Sasuke both simultaneously announced that they had completed the tree-climbing training and wished to proceed to the next step: water-walking training.
So, that day, Kakashi accepted a mission to clean the riverbed, which involved picking up trash from the water.
After briefly explaining the principle of water walking to Naruto and Sasuke and demonstrating it once, Kakashi left.
During this period, Kakashi planned to focus on practicing her Sharingan. Her current body was still unfamiliar with the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
It should be noted that the Mangekyo Sharingan had awakened during Kakashi's youth, but she hadn't used it since then.
Of course, this was also because Kakashi didn't know about the existence of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
It was only after fighting Itachi later and suffering a great loss under the glare of Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan that she learned of its existence.
"Later on, I have to face Zabuza, Orochimaru, and Uchiha Itachi consecutively. The latter two are Kage-level powerhouses. Without the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, it will be very difficult to contend with them."
Kakashi felt a sense of urgency in her heart. Although the power of the Electromaster Rail Spiral Cannon was immense, that move consumed too much Chakra, and whether it could even hit was another issue, as the skill had a visible wind-up time.
The Mangekyo Sharingan was different:'Stare at anyone with Kamui and they die.'
At least, she wouldn't get injured facing Zabuza, hesitate to attack against Orochimaru, or suffer an instant defeat from Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.
In that scenario, the tables might even be turned. After all, Itachi didn't know she possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Kakashi thought, if she used the Mangekyo Sharingan before Itachi, catching him off guard with a Kamui, would he be able to withstand it?
"Hahahaha..."
Kakashi laughed to herself as she thought about it, unable to resist raising her right hand to cover her right eye, shouting with excessive dramatic flair:
"Amaterasu~"
"Die, Itachi!"
"Hahahaha~"
Kakashi laughed wildly, completely failing to notice that she had called out the wrong technique's name!
...
A month passed quickly.
During this month, Uzumaki Naruto and the other two not only completed the tree-climbing and water-walking training but also made progress in Taijutsu.
This was due to Kakashi's promise: as long as their Taijutsu reached her standard, she would teach them the Konoha Body Flicker Technique.
Kakashi also reaped rewards during this month; she became more proficient with the derivative Ninjutsu of the Chidori Style, and she could now normally activate and use the Mangekyo Sharingan.
However, the consumption of the Mangekyo Sharingan remained a major weakness.
So, she used all the Ninja Orbs she had earned from daily missions and other tasks over the month to upgrade her Chakra.
Finally, her Chakra reached 1.28 units!
Although it didn't look like much, Kakashi genuinely felt that the Chakra within her body had increased significantly!