Hatake Kyūjō couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly as he found himself being stared at with sparkling eyes by a giant toad. Gamahiro’s enthusiasm was… hard to ignore. Eventually, he gave in and continued his instructions.

He didn’t just explain the ranks of a Great Swordsman and how to achieve that title—he also shared the core principles behind using internal Chakra to perform Flying Slashes.

Once the lesson was over, Kyūjō didn’t linger in Mount Myōboku for long.

With a controlled flow of Senjutsu Chakra, he directed energy into the summoning scroll in his hand. A soft popping sound echoed as white smoke burst around him—and in the blink of an eye, Hatake Kyūjō had returned to the shinobi world, right in the heart of Konohagakure.

— — —

Back in the village, he still maintained his Sage Mode. The natural energy in the air was faint, but it was enough for him to make a rough calculation.

With his current absorption efficiency, as long as he didn’t engage in battle or expend Chakra recklessly, his fully active Sage Mode could last for an entire seven days.

Seven days was an impressive feat—by shinobi standards.

But for Kyūjō, it wasn’t enough.

His ideal goal was to reach the point where his natural energy absorption rate could fully offset the Sage Mode’s Chakra consumption. Only then could he declare that his training toward achieving the Sage Body had truly begun.

And the higher the efficiency, the better the result. In his mind, the perfect Sage Body would be one where his Colorless Haki fused seamlessly with Senjutsu energy—achieving balance between body, mind, and spirit.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite there yet. While the quality of his Senjutsu energy rivaled high-tier powers like Haki, the quantity was still lacking.

If his Colorless Haki was a vast river, his Senjutsu energy was no more than a trickling stream.

The road to fusing the two would be a long one.

Still, Kyūjō wasn’t in a rush. He had Infinity’s simulation capabilities. It was only a matter of time.

Besides… it wasn’t like he was going to run into the Ōtsutsuki Clan anytime soon, right?

— — —

A year and a half passed.

Now seventeen and a half years old, Hatake Kyūjō had finally reclaimed his peak power from his previous life in the world of One Piece.

Even his fourth-generation Nature Breathing technique had reached new heights, and he felt confident that in another year or two, he would reach the apex.

Meanwhile, back in the shinobi world, his official status within Konoha had also risen.

Over the past two and a half years, Kyūjō had completed several high-level S-rank missions, albeit sporadically. Recently, he had finally been promoted to Elite Jōnin by the aging Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Not only that—Kyūjō was now also entrusted with leading several ANBU squads.

Elsewhere, his young nephew Hatake Kakashi, now nearly eight years old, had just shaken the village by smashing the record for earliest Academy graduation. He’d been promoted to Chūnin before even turning eight!

Compared to the original Naruto timeline, Kakashi’s growth was off the charts.

That was all thanks to his mentor… Kyūjō.

And above both of them stood the clan’s patriarch—

Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha.

A living legend, Sakumo’s fearsome reputation had left deep scars in the minds of shinobi from the Four Great Nations. But as the saying goes—”A hero to his people, a nightmare to his enemies.”

To the people of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo was second only to the Third Hokage himself.

With Hiruzen’s advancing age, more and more shinobi had begun to whisper: perhaps the White Fang should be the Fourth Hokage.

But Sakumo never showed the slightest interest in the title, much to the disappointment of his supporters.

Still, even though the Hatake Clan had only three members, each of them was a powerhouse in their own right.

Sakumo was a legend. Kyūjō was an elite in the younger generation and ANBU captain. And Kakashi had talent that surpassed even the adults.

If things continued at this pace, the clan might one day produce three White Fangs.

No wonder the entire village had begun to take notice. The Hatake sword style, passed down through generations, had already reached a level equal to an S-rank ninjutsu in Sakumo’s hands.

If the clan had more members, they might’ve even rivaled the Uchiha or Hyūga for dominance.

— — —

As for Kyūjō himself, whether it was fate or some twisted joke of destiny, one day he received an unexpected mission…

As an Elite Jōnin and ANBU leader, he had been assigned to—of all things—teach Genin.

That’s right. He was to become a mentor.

And his students?

Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin, and… Hatake Kakashi.

Kyūjō stared at the mission scroll in his hands in stunned silence. His eyebrow twitched.

Seriously?

He’d already “stolen” Minato’s first student—Kakashi—and now the other two were being handed to him too?

Suppressing a sigh, he looked up at the Third Hokage and asked,

“Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin… Lord Hokage, why those two?”

Hiruzen just smiled. “What? You think they don’t deserve you just because their Academy scores are average?”

“That’s not what I meant… but fine. I’ll take it.”

Kyūjō didn’t care whether it was coincidence or conspiracy. With his current power, he could do as he pleased.

If Obito was under his care, he’d like to see whether Uchiha Madara would still dare to meddle.

And that black blob of trouble—Zetsu.

Kyūjō had known about Zetsu’s presence in the village for some time. But it was just a spore clone, not the real body. All it did was spy on the Uchiha and people like Danzo, Hiruzen, and Orochimaru.

So Kyūjō left it alone.

After all, the Hatake Clan wasn’t descended from Indra or Asura. To Zetsu, they weren’t part of the “main plot.”

But now that the clan’s strength was rising…

Kyūjō suspected Zetsu’s eyes were starting to shift.

He didn’t act rashly. Let the mole crawl where it wanted—for now.

— — —

At the same time, trouble had started brewing behind the scenes.

The mastermind?

Shimura Danzo—the “Shadow of Konoha.”

Why was Danzo targeting the Hatake Clan again? Simple: he wanted to be Hokage.

And Sakumo stood in his way.

In truth, the one who most directly blocked Danzo’s path was the Third Hokage himself.

But Danzo’s paranoia had made up its mind. He would bring down the White Fang—and everyone connected to him.

Did Hiruzen secretly approve of this plan?

No one knew.

But one thing was certain—no matter how elaborate a conspiracy might be, it would always crumble before overwhelming power.

If your enemies can bring you down with tricks and schemes… it just means you weren’t strong enough.

— — —

The next morning, Kyūjō—newly assigned as a Genin mentor—tied on an apron and called out from the kitchen.

“Kakashi. Head to the Academy and bring home the two new Genin—Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin. I’m your instructor now… and theirs.”

“Oh, according to the records, you three were in the same class for the first few years, huh? How convenient. Looks like you’ll be classmates again.”

With that, Kyūjō waved casually and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving young Kakashi frozen, staring blankly at the ceiling.

…Obito again?

Don’t tell me I’m getting dragged back into this mess…

Kakashi continued to stare upward in silence, as if hoping a flower might bloom on his ceiling.

He knew that going to the Academy now meant facing two of his childhood nightmares.

The first—an overly enthusiastic bowl-cut kid in a green jumpsuit who screamed “The flames of youth!” every five minutes.

Might Guy.

A walking headache. Always pushing for another challenge. Always sparring. Always shouting.

And the second…

Obito Uchiha.

To Kakashi, Obito was the pinnacle of failure. Awful at taijutsu. Useless at ninjutsu. Completely hopeless with genjutsu. He couldn’t even awaken his Sharingan.

To make things worse, Obito had a crush on a girl—Rin.

But Rin… kind of liked Kakashi instead.

Which made Obito an annoying love rival.

Obito saw Kakashi as a rival. Kakashi just wanted to run away from the chaos.

In fact, he had graduated two years early just to escape them.

And now?

His dear uncle had pulled him right back into the same hell.

— — —

But then, from the kitchen, a voice called out again—

“Kakashi! If you don’t go now… don’t expect to eat my lunch later!”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep