Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha

Jiraiya responded with a serious expression, then turned to see Tsunade already clenching her fist. He immediately jumped away, then turned and left, muttering to himself:

"I'll help look after Kakashi, don't worry, the Toad Sage's new book can cure everything!"

"..."

Only two people remained in front of the memorial tablet. Tsunade let out a long breath, still furious at her teacher and the higher-ups for making such a unilateral decision.

"It's alright, teacher. After all, he is the disciple of one of the Legendary Sannin. Many people are curious about him."

"At most, they're just opponents a few years older. Ninjas aren't judged by age... um..."

Seeing Furukawa Osamu clutching his forehead, Tsunade withdrew her right hand, then crossed her arms and earnestly instructed him:

"My original plan was for you to become a Chunin after you turned 10, so you wouldn't have to take this kind of exam. My recommendation would have been enough."

"If war breaks out in the future, I would prefer you to help the village as a medical ninja."

"You should know the three principles of medical ninjas. Jiraiya and Orochimaru have also promised me that they will take good care of you."

While Furukawa Osamu was grateful for the plan, he needed to complete the "gathering" during the war to unlock some of the secrets of his bloodline limit:

"After death, nothing remains. That's not what I'm after. With Tsunade's new technique, the Grim Reaper won't come after me."

"Hey kid, stop showing off in front of me! There's a chestnut yokan place on Mingcha Street that's pretty good. Jingyin really likes it. Come with me to buy a few servings."

-

In mid-January, Might Guy, who had been given the mission again, was struggling to cope, as he couldn't understand Kakashi's change.

The village kept the news of Sakumo Hatake's suicide a secret, and all the ninjas who knew the inside story kept quiet. In March, Konoha's White Fang would end his ninja career as a hero.

After four hours of intense sprinting training, Kakashi, covered in sweat, continued to silently wield his short sword in front of the wooden stake.

He stopped complaining and stopped shrugging. In half a month, Kakashi didn't say more than 10 sentences, and he was like a puppet.

"Xiu, what exactly happened?"

Might Guy, perched on a tree branch, asked in a low voice with a worried expression. After a moment of silence, Furukawa Osamu turned his head and said:

"Give Kakashi some more time, he will recover."

"..."

Chapter 17 Different Paths

At the end of February, Jiraiya officially took over the work of the intelligence team, and the Jonin team began to be reorganized in an orderly manner.

Some low-level missions were taken over by the Chunin captains, and Kakashi, Might Guy, and Osamu Furukawa seized the opportunity to become "mission maniacs"...

Despite their young age, the trio earned the trust of their clients through their abilities.

Once again, Kakashi arrived alone at the memorial site. Carrying a short sword, he stared silently at Sakumo Hatake's grave for a long time before finally bowing his head and murmuring:

"Father, those three people also chose to commit suicide."

"Those companions are not worth saving. If you had chosen the mission, perhaps everything would have been different."

“I won’t make the same mistake again. Xiu is also preparing to participate in the Chunin Exams. In a few years, we will be able to lead missions on our own.”

"Keep watching me, I'm prepared."

"..."

It was already noon when they arrived at the training ground. Despite the rare good weather, Kakashi still had a dead fish look in his eyes and looked lifeless.

Wearing a black training uniform, Furukawa Osamu didn't seem to notice Kakashi's expression. Compared to the memories in his mind, he was in much better shape now.

As Furukawa Osamu drew a short sword from behind, he infused it with wind-style chakra. The white fang-shaped short sword, radiating a white light, made Kakashi's eyes widen.

"The short sword in Professor Sakumo's hand can cut almost anything."

"Kakashi, if you want to inherit..."

"No, I will not be as weak as my father. I will continue to use it, but I will find a sword technique that suits me better."

Kakashi retorted, and after saying this, he took several deep breaths.

The thought of my father wielding his white-toothed dagger to save his so-called comrades always brings a dull ache to my chest.

Noticing Kakashi's change in mood, Furukawa Osamu didn't lecture him. Instead, he tossed the prepared scroll to Kakashi and then solemnly said:

"Since you don't want to use the nature transformation of wind-style chakra, then let's try another approach."

"This is an A-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu that is not yet perfected. You can choose the direction of its development yourself."

"Don't use it blindly. Once the body is activated, the speed will make you lose sight of the world."

Kakashi was about to ask a question when Furukawa Osamu tossed him the short sword and then quickly formed hand seals:

"Chou, Mao, Shen."

"Sizzle...!"

Visible blue arcs of electricity appeared on Furukawa Osamu's right hand, and the hissing sound that came to his ears was like the chirping of a thousand birds. Kakashi stood there dumbfounded, his eyes wide open.

"The key to this technique is to activate the physical body and then generate a large amount of chakra."

"Be careful with the amount of chakra released through your hands. Excessive chakra can seriously harm yourself and even damage your meridians."

"If this defect is transferred to a short knife, it can be avoided. You need to develop this yourself."

Following the "excellent inheritance" from his memory, Furukawa released Chidori while giving instructions. Seeing Kakashi nod, he increased the release of lightning chakra again.

"Whoosh—Boom!!"

In the blink of an eye, Furukawa Osamu disappeared from his sight, and then a huge circular crater appeared in the opposite rock wall. Kakashi's eyes widened; the power far exceeded his expectations.

"Don't blindly pursue the power of techniques. If you continuously activate your body to extract chakra, you know what the consequences will be."

Furukawa Osamu gave another warning. Seeing the serious expression on his friend's face, Kakashi lowered his head, remained silent for a moment, and then replied:

"I'll die! I won't abuse this technique."

“I will let my father see my choice.”

After a brief explanation and demonstration, Osamu Furukawa instructed Kakashi on the nature transformation of lightning-style chakra.

With Tsunade's optimization of body activation, secondary stimulation extraction is not difficult; the key is precise control of chakra.

Subconsciously using Kakashi to assess chakra levels, even if one successfully trains, one can only barely release it once, while Furukawa Osamu can fully release Chidori four times with its power.

"Is it already at '4 cards'? The secret medicine and [Gathering] are still continuously strengthening my body."

The Hundred Healings Technique accumulates Sage Chakra entirely through secret medicines, and when Furukawa Osamu was refining them, he even had the illusion of "cultivating immortality".

"Damn it, this is even harder than I imagined; my hands are completely numb..."

Kakashi, having failed to unleash his power, collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his right hand trembling uncontrollably. Furukawa Osamu, regaining his senses, used a palm strike technique, and casually reminded him again:

"Basic body activation is enough to handle most battles."

"With your talent, try to avoid straight-line attacks. I don't want to see you dash into the enemy's arms and die together with them."

-

In mid-March, it's cherry blossom season again.

Rin Nohara, who is about to enter the fourth grade, has finally become an outstanding student in Class A through her continuous efforts!

His grades have consistently been in the top 5, and his learning of medical ninjutsu has also been quite smooth.

However, the girl has been feeling down lately because she hasn't seen Kakashi in a long time.

Recent rumors have caused Rin Nohara considerable worry, and her several attempts to visit Kakashi have all been while he's away on missions...

During lunch break, the girls automatically gathered around Shizune again. Recently, Osamu Furukawa has been seen near Tsunade, which means there will be another bento box.

"Furukawa-kun is really amazing!"

"Looks like Silent Mode has definitely succeeded, the love-filled bento box!"

"How is the beef marinated? It tastes ridiculously good..."

"Do you want to give up being a ninja?"

"There's nothing wrong with being a housewife; being a ninja is still very dangerous."

"..."

A constant chattering sound appeared in Silent's ears, a situation that had been occurring frequently ever since she shared her extra-large bento box.

Some girls tried to hide it at first, but later when everyone got together, they stopped pretending.

Shizune, who was always focused on her food, never participated in these topics. She just wanted to keep up with the pace. Every time she saw Osamu Furukawa and Tsunade discussing new techniques and drug development, she would feel frustrated.

She couldn't even get the basics of the Hundred Healings Technique; she even fainted while accumulating chakra...

"Shizune, has Xiu mentioned Kakashi recently? Did that really happen?"

Having just finished a sumptuous lunch, Shizune nodded slightly after hearing the whisper in her ear. Seeing the worried look on Rin Nohara's face, she softly comforted her:

"Give Kakashi some time, he'll get better."

Obito Uchiha, who was listening intently to hear whispers, looked conflicted. During afternoon class, he kept glancing at Rin Nohara beside him.

After school, Rin Nohara waved goodbye to everyone but didn't go home immediately as usual. Obito, who was worried, noticed this and secretly followed her.

When Obito discovered that the girl had gone to find Kakashi, his heart ached again, and he tried to comfort himself along the way:

"It must be a coincidence!"

Kakashi, who had just pushed open the door, was slightly taken aback when he saw Nohara Rin. Before the girl could speak, he twitched his nose and looked into the distance, saying:

"Come out."

Obito scratched his head awkwardly, walked over to Rin Nohara and was about to speak when Kakashi, expressionless, looked at the two of them and quickly replied:

"Thank you for coming to see me, but I don't need partners who lack talent."

The gate closed, and noticing tears in Rin's eyes, Obito shouted angrily:

"You come out here right now and apologize to Lin!"

"..."

Chapter 18 Unequal Exams (Part 1)

In late April of Konoha Year 45, the weather gradually warmed up.

In a dessert shop on Mingcha Street, a young ninja was eating a chestnut pancake while shouting loudly:

"The Chunin Exams? Isn't that too early? And he's alone?!"

Raito Namiashi, who had a scar on his left cheek, had worked with Osamu Furukawa and his group in a previous mission, and was still shocked when he heard the news.

"The high-level nomination must be based on an understanding of Xiu's abilities, but the joint exam is still somewhat risky."

"I thought Shu would be promoted directly like Kakashi."

Yamashiro Aoba, who graduated last year, was recently selected by the intelligence unit and is now eating dessert while seriously analyzing the situation.

Wearing a dark green sleeveless training uniform, Might Guy kept popping chestnut pancakes into his mouth to relieve his hunger before saying somewhat dejectedly:

"If I can keep up with the genius, Xiu won't have to take the exam alone."

"There are two Chunin in the team, they'll probably be leading separate teams from now on!"

"..."

After the frequent changes in team captains, Might Guy also realized the village's plans.

Each team captain spoke highly of "Son of White Fang," Kakashi, who had already been promoted to Chunin at a young age, was capable of leading his team on missions on his own!

"You want me to lead genin on D-rank missions? I have no interest in teaching those incompetent guys."

Kakashi, who was leaning against the door, has recently returned to normal. Although he still talks about his "talent," he is no longer depressed.

"As the team leader, you don't have to do anything yourself on D-level missions, so you'll have more time to cultivate."

"You guys are also taking the Chunin Exams, right? Looks like we're going to be rivals."

After finishing his chestnut yokan, Furukawa Osamu finally smiled and joined the group's discussion.

Without directly answering the question, Raito suddenly leaned back against the table, staring intently at the ceiling, and opened his coat to loudly complain again: