Morning, Konoha Year 59.
"I see… so this is the secret behind Kakashi's version of Earth-Style Wall? Kakashi is way too lazy. There are such detailed training steps, yet he hides them and glosses over everything."
Ishikawa put away the scroll, stretched, and muttered under his breath, completely unaware that chaos was already brewing in another world because of this.
"Alright! Hopefully, there are no missions today, so I can finish training the Earth-Style Wall as soon as possible." After a quick wash and packing up, Ishikawa yawned and headed toward the gathering point.
Because of that Earth-Style Wall experience scroll, he hadn't slept at all last night. However, reality always seems to run contrary to one's hopes.
By the time Ishikawa arrived and waited for Kakashi, their team received the second D-rank mission of their ninja careers.
"Help the Fire Nation Daimyo's wife capture her pet cat, Tora? Kakashi-sensei, are you serious? This mission is just to catch a cat?" After hearing the assignment, Ishikawa couldn't help but ask again for confirmation.
Damn, this mission really is like some kind of Konoha D-rank assembly line NPC quest.
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Konohamaru… how much GDP has this one cat contributed to Konoha?
"Yeah, honestly, it's just a cat-catching mission. But this cat's not simple—it has developed strong anti-tracking instincts after being chased so often. What I expect from you is to catch it without using traps, relying only on your own strength."
"Also, there's no need for teamwork this time. Each of you will act individually, and I expect each of you to capture the cat once so I can observe. After the third catch, I'll accept it and complete the mission."
"Huh? Why, Sensei?" Taro asked quickly, clearly unsettled. If it was like this, the difficulty would be way higher.
"Catch and release, again and again? It's not even about teamwork anymore! What's the point?" Jiro added, clearly puzzled. This seemed completely opposite to Kakashi's usual emphasis on teamwork.
Kakashi didn't respond to their questions—he simply turned to look at Ishikawa, who had remained silent.
"Uh… Kakashi-sensei, are you using this opportunity to test our individual strengths?"
Facing Kakashi's stare, Ishikawa shrugged helplessly.
Compared to Naruto's team, though the three of them were weaker in overall strength, they had better team cohesion. There was no need for extra teamwork training, which meant the only thing worth testing was personal strength.
"Exactly, Ishikawa. But more importantly, I want to see how much you've all improved after these few days of training." Kakashi nodded in agreement, and Taro and Jiro finally understood.
"Alright, then let's begin! I'll be handing out rewards for this mission based on your performance in capturing the cat.
First place: 1,000 ryo.
Second place: 300 ryo.
Third place: 100 ryo."
"What!? Kakashi-sensei, that's too much! The gap between first and last place is 900 ryo!"
Ishikawa immediately protested, rallying his two younger brothers into unified outrage.
"Yeah! This is totally divisive!"
"Our big bro said we share good and bad together! We strongly oppose this kind of reward scheme!"
Without hesitation, Taro and Jiro chimed in. Compared to the winner-takes-all structure, they clearly preferred to split the 1,400 ryo reward evenly among themselves.
After all, against Brother Ishikawa, their chances of winning were slim.
"Hey, you two… isn't it a little late to realize that?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow with a smirk, then gestured behind them toward where Ishikawa had just been.
The two of them followed his gaze, only to find that Ishikawa had already vanished. In that instant, it felt like a row of crows flew over their heads.
"That sneaky bastard! I didn't think Brother Ishikawa would play us like this!"
"So cunning! I'm going to catch the cat first and take revenge!"
Taro and Jiro exploded in synchronized rage. After exchanging a determined glance, they flared their chakra and dashed off in pursuit.
"Haha… seems like Ishikawa caught on to my intent. Those two are still too tender." Standing alone on the now-empty bridge, Kakashi chuckled and shook his head in amusement.
If Ishikawa hadn't done this, given how much the two respected him, they would never have shown such a strong fighting spirit.
Naturally, the special training would've amounted to nothing!
---
At the same time—
"I'm sorry, Taro, Jiro. This is my chance to repay your debt. It's not that I'm being unkind—it's just that the teacher gave too much!" In the streets of Konoha, Ishikawa darted through alleys and corners, muttering to himself.
Although in the original plot, Team 7 found the cat, Tora, in the woods, the reality was different—Konoha was vast, and Ishikawa had no idea which forest it might be.
What's more, there was no guarantee the cat would be in the woods this time. It was all up to luck! And when 1,000 Ryo were on the line, Ishikawa wasn't about to waste time searching blindly.
Instead of looking for a needle in the haystack that was Konoha, it was better to take initiative!
"Finally, I found you!" Ishikawa suddenly stopped and looked up.
Ahead was a deserted fish stall, the smell of raw fish thick in the air. The stall owner stared at the pile of dead fish with a grief-stricken face, as if he'd just lost a loved one.
"Boss, are you going to throw away all these fish?" Ishikawa quickly stepped forward and pointed at the discarded pile.
Stray cats and dogs were already feasting on the unexpected bounty, tearing into the fish with wild abandon.
"Obviously! Who would buy dead, rotting fish? Of course, I'm throwing them away!" The stall owner responded irritably, not even bothering to look at Ishikawa, whose nose was already crooked from the stench.
"Then I won't be polite!" Grinning, Ishikawa moved in, drove away the animals, and gathered nearly a full basket of dead fish before hurrying off.
"Hey! What the hell's wrong with you?! You're even fighting wild animals for garbage fish! Got no shame?" The stall owner's curses followed him down the street, drawing curious glances from passersby.
"Shut up! You're the one fighting wild animals for scraps! I'm just luring the snake from its hole, alright? Ever heard of the term Art of War?" Ishikawa muttered with a dark face, holding his breath against the stench as he carried the basket deep into the woods.
A few minutes later—
"I refuse to believe there's a cat out there that won't steal fish." Watching the oily smoke rise from the roasted fish, Ishikawa crouched in a tree, waiting patiently.
A cat's sense of smell was just as sharp as a dog's. If there were any nearby—within even a few kilometers—they'd be lured in without a doubt.
And if not? He could just try again somewhere else. He hadn't used up all the fish yet.
Kakashi had said no traps—but he hadn't forbidden bait. At most, Ishikawa would grab the cat with his own hands, without any traps or even weapons.
Perfect.
'This kid really knows how to exploit loopholes. He immediately broke the mold and came up with a clever counter-tracking strategy. Mitarai Ishikawa… I'm looking forward to seeing more from you.' Dozens of meters away, Kakashi stood hidden in the shadows, watching silently.
He didn't care about 'rule-breaking.' As long as his students didn't hurt their comrades or compromise the mission's core purpose, he had no objections.
Because, the kind of students he truly valued were exactly this kind of people.