kid truly admired Kakashi.
The man's choice of dueling challenges was always unexpected—full of variety and thrill.
First it had been rock-paper-scissors.
This time…
It was taking a punch.
kid straightened up, looked at Kakashi, then at Chiba. His muscles flexed as he said solemnly,
"Come on, young man! Let me see how much you've improved!"
"kid, please be careful," Kakashi warned. "Remember to defend yourself with chakra—better cover your whole body with it."
"Don't worry! The Beautiful Blue Beast of the Leaf isn't so easily defeated!"
kid gave a thumbs-up, flashing his trademark dazzling smile.
Nearby, Kitayama Xu and the med-nin of the field hospital squad stared, eyes half-lidded, faces full of silent resignation.
The Blue Beast of the Leaf…
Whether others accepted the title or not, they certainly had heard it—especially these days, with kid showing up at the Medical Department almost daily since that special medicinal bath had been developed.
So they knew his character—somewhat.
But still…
Wasn't Jonin Kakashi just finding a scapegoat for his experiment?
The medical-nin exchanged wordless glances.
Chiba thought for a moment and decided to restrain his strength as much as possible.
He walked up to kid, gathered chakra in his palm, and gently struck at a non-lethal spot.
He didn't use much force, but the chakra within the blow was as sharp as needles and blades—it pierced clean through, opening a small wound.
The next instant—
kid's face twisted; his thick brows furrowed as he stared wide-eyed at Chiba, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
A heartbeat later, he collapsed sideways.
"Quick! Help him!"
Kitayama Xu's face turned pale.
She didn't know exactly what happened, but Chiba's technique clearly worked.
She rushed over, rolled up kid's pant leg—
Good heavens!
A red, spiral-shaped mark was seared into his skin, eerie and ominous.
That injury…
"Kitayama-sensei, please check him carefully," Chiba said earnestly.
"Alright—get a stretcher! Move him!"
"W-wait!"
To everyone's surprise, kid hadn't even fainted yet—testament to his iron will.
He sat up, sweat pouring down his face.
"Kakashi—your turn!"
"..."
Kakashi's eyes shifted from kid to Chiba. For a moment, he was silent, unsure how to respond.
After a second, he said sincerely, "kid, I admit defeat. You win this time."
"???"
kid tilted his head, veins bulging, glaring at Kakashi in indignation.
"Damn it! I have to teach Neji and the others taijutsu today! You tricked me!"
"An injury like that can be healed easily enough," Kakashi said, half-lidded eyes showing no remorse.
Then he looked at Chiba.
Even if he had tricked kid into taking his place, if it weren't for him, he'd be the one on that stretcher now.
After a moment's thought, Kakashi offered some consolation:
"kid, get some good rest. Konoha needs a genius like you. Your responsibility is greater than mine."
"Mm…"
kid, despite the pain, suddenly felt strangely clear-headed.
He realized something—Kakashi had totally set him up!
Still, this kid Chiba… that gentle-looking strike had hit straight into his bones. He'd probably need some real recovery time.
Gritting his teeth, kid's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Chiba! That technique of yours—it feels a lot like Gentle Fist! Since your strike's put me in the hospital, you're responsible for me!"
"???"
Chiba froze, then stammered, "kid, I'm really busy."
"Boy, busyness is youth! I believe in you!"
With that, kid flopped back onto the stretcher—and passed out completely.
Chiba stood there dumbfounded, watching Kitayama and the others carry kid away. Then he turned to his own teacher.
"Kakashi-sensei, just look what you've done to kid!"
Chiba's tone was full of righteous grief.
Such a pure-hearted man—and now he'd learned to trick people!
"He's still a kid at heart…" Chiba thought bitterly.
If I hadn't tricked him, Kakashi mused silently, I'd be the one lying there.
He'd sensed something was off earlier—perhaps this was what they called a ninja's instinct for danger.
But of course, he couldn't admit that in front of Chiba.
"Since kid's temporarily entrusted his students to you," Kakashi said briskly, "go help them train for now. If you're busy, just drop by once in a while to give some pointers."
"And with that, I've got something else to handle. Later!"
Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke—
leaving Chiba standing there, with no one to pass the blame to.
Well, it was his fault kid got hurt anyway.
And he knew kid's intentions—he was thinking of his disciple, Neji.
Kankurō should've been training in Gentle Fist, but being stubborn and without a proper teacher, kid had done his best. Now, seeing hope in Chiba's technique, of course he'd be desperate for Neji's sake.
Chiba sighed softly.
But before all that, he needed to file a report.
Halfway through writing, he paused.
Maybe he should find Neji first.
After all, Neji was a true-born Hyuga.
Even if Chiba couldn't teach Gentle Fist or pressure point strikes outright, he could at least verify his own theories more easily.
He got up and left the room.
It wouldn't take long to find them.
He still remembered Lee's chakra signature—just a quick scrying through a mirror, and he'd know where they were.
Hmm.
They were all training.
Alright then—he could work on his barrier techniques a bit more.
No rush.
Until noon came.
Forest of Death
"So slow… Why is kid late today?"
Mami lay sprawled on the ground.
"Maybe he got held up by something?" Lee scratched his head.
"Sensei should stay farther away from Kakashi," Neji said coldly.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Hidden nearby, Chiba debated whether to come back later.
But no—he had to face them eventually.
He sighed, then flickered forward.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept past, and a figure appeared before the three genin.
"Ahem—sorry. I ran into a patient on the way, so I was delayed a bit."
"..."
Neji stiffened, eyes widening slightly in disbelief.
Yagyū Chiba?
Why was he here—and judging by his tone, had he come for them?
And… where was kid?
"Chiba? What brings you here? Come, come! Sit! We're waiting for kid, but for some reason he hasn't shown up yet."
Lee grinned and gestured enthusiastically.
"Wait, Lee," Mami interjected, noticing something off. "I think Chiba-kun's here for us."
"Huh?"
Lee blinked at Chiba, confused.
Chiba coughed lightly. "kid was injured testing one of my techniques, so… he's in the hospital. I'll be substituting for him for a while."
"Injured?"
Neji frowned.
With kid's skill level, how could he possibly get hurt—especially off-mission?
It didn't make sense.
"He helped me test a jutsu and got caught in it. Anyway, that's how things are. You can visit him after training—he should recover soon."
"I see! Then let's train together!" Lee cheered. "Ahh, it's been so long since we trained with you, Chiba! My youthful blood is boiling!"
"Alright then, let's get started," Chiba said. "Neji, I need to speak with you."
"…With me? About what?" Neji asked warily.
"You two go on ahead," Chiba told the others. "I'll talk with Neji privately."
He turned and walked into the forest. Neji followed, silent and tense.
Mami watched them go, a thoughtful look on her face.
It felt like… somehow, they'd all just forgotten to be angry about Chiba's lateness.
As expected of Kakashi's disciple.
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