Kakashi first glanced at the two charred corpses lying in the massive crater.
Then he raised a hand, touching his singed eyebrows and the burnt edge of his mask.
Kakashi: !!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
My eyebrows!
Kakashi, the "Copy Ninja" who had copied over a thousand jutsu with his Sharingan, instantly recognized the move Shinju had just used — it was merely an ordinary C-rank ninjutsu: Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu.
Not many shinobi could master elemental ninjutsu right after graduating from the academy, but it wasn't unheard of.
So, Shinju knowing a Fire Style technique wasn't surprising.
What truly shocked Kakashi was the sheer power of the jutsu!
A single fire dragon had not only blasted a crater into the ground...its range was so wide that Kakashi himself, standing dozens of meters away, was singed!
The power was comparable to an A-rank jutsu!
"Gulp~"
Tazuna swallowed hard.
When he'd first seen these kids take the mission, he had been reluctant.
A bunch of snot-nosed brats — how could they possibly handle a difficult escort mission?
Now he knew he'd been wrong.
Completely, utterly wrong!
Indeed, you can't compare a shinobi to an ordinary person!
This ninjutsu was nothing short of godlike — destructive enough to burn down a small village with ease!
Kakashi slowly took a fresh mask from his pack, put it on, and walked over to Shinju.
Shinju had just taken out two assassin-nin with a Fire Style jutsu.
Thinking Kakashi-sensei was coming over to praise his quick thinking, he tilted his head up with a proud little smile...only for Kakashi to smack him hard on the head!
"Bam!"
"Baka! Don't use such high-powered Fire Style jutsu in the forest! Do you want to start a wildfire?!"
Kakashi barked angrily.
He was doing this deliberately. Since Shinju was such a rare talent, Kakashi recalled the Third Hokage's warning not to let himself be overly impressed — a genius mustn't be allowed to grow arrogant. A little well-timed reprimand was necessary.
"…Got it."
Shinju, rubbing the growing lump on his head, looked pitiful.
Seems he still had a long way to go as a shinobi.
Next time, he'd have to control his jutsu's range down to the millimeter!
He had to keep training!
"But, uh… the forest next to us is already on fire."
Naruto pointed out helpfully.
Everyone followed Naruto's finger — sure enough, flames were spreading through the trees!
"You're in trouble now, kid. Putting out a wildfire takes massive manpower and resources. No way you lot can handle it alone," Tazuna said, watching with a smirk, clearly eager to see how these unreliable shinobi would deal with this mess.
Kakashi's uncovered eye reflected the flames. This was no time to lecture Shinju — the fire had to be contained immediately, or Konoha would definitely be held responsible.
Cold sweat beaded on Kakashi's forehead.
If he poured all his chakra into a Water Style jutsu, he could probably stop the spread…
He began forming hand signs.
Right beside him, Shinju also realized how badly he'd messed up. Wanting to fix it, he started forming seals as well.
Two seconds later—
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"
Shinju roared, spewing an endless torrent of water from his mouth straight at the burning forest!
Kakashi: ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
This brat was faster at seals than him?!
The Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu was an A-rank offensive technique that released a massive sphere of water to overwhelm enemies.
A-rank meant complex — seventeen separate seals in total!
Kakashi, at his best, could do it in about three seconds — already faster than most shinobi.
But Shinju had just completed it in two!
And the power… was no less than Kakashi's own!
The endless flood smothered the flames in moments.
And Shinju, still feeling uneasy, spat out two more surges of water for good measure.
Kakashi: ∑(✘Д✘๑)
Was this kid really fresh out of the academy?!
Why did he know so many high-level jutsu?!
Since when did the academy teach these?!
"All right. It's out."
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Shinju announced his success.
"Gulp~"
Tazuna swallowed again.
(´°Δ°`)
Wha—?!
Sure, shinobi were stronger than normal people… but this was ridiculous!
Start a fire, then put it out yourself?!
Not far away, Naruto hung his head in shame.
When the assassins attacked earlier, he'd been too scared to move, just dragging the team down.
Then Shinju, completely unfazed, burned them to ash with a flawless jutsu — and now he'd put out the fire too.
They were both academy graduates, good friends who ate and slept together...and yet the gap between them was wide.
Beside him, Sasuke's shock was no less than Naruto's.
What kind of monster was this guy?!
He'd thought that since he knew Fire Style and Shinju knew Fire Style, they were roughly equal.
Never imagined Shinju could unleash this level of Water Style!
Had they even attended the same classes?!
Why did Shinju know things he didn't?!
Shinju paid no attention to their expressions.
Right now, he was more worried about the punishment he might face, glancing anxiously at Kakashi.
Then he noticed — sensei's face looked scared.
Shinju assumed it was because of the wildfire.
A forest fire would surely cause Konoha huge losses.
His guilt deepened.
But in truth, Kakashi wasn't scared of the fire — he was scared of Shinju!
Bowing his head in a repentant posture, Shinju said,
"Kakashi-sensei, please punish me. Even though I put the fire out with Water Style, the damage caused is irreversible."
"Ah? …Right! Yes, of course you should be punished!"
Kakashi froze for a moment, then quickly regained composure.
"You'll copy the Shinobi Code one thousand times! And next time you use ninjutsu, you'd better be careful! A shinobi's power is far greater than a normal person's — one careless move can harm everyone around you. Always keep control of your strength!"
Shinju nodded.
He thought the punishment was fair — maybe even too light.
After all…
This wasn't the first time his lack of control had hurt others.
From now on, he would definitely work on his chakra control!
He made a silent vow.
Just then, Naruto suddenly yelped in pain, clutching his hand.
Shinju rushed over.
"What happened?!"
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