After finishing her day of lessons, Mitsuki Mui returned home, only to notice that the house was noisier than usual—or at least noisier compared to the quiet she was accustomed to.
Heading into the backyard, she saw that what should normally be occupied only by Kakashi now had an additional figure…
The White Fang of Konoha.
At that moment, the man was sparring with Kakashi. No—more accurately, Sakumo Hatake was simply standing there serving as a target.
Bang—!
Sakumo casually raised an arm to block one of Kakashi's flying kicks, then leaned back slightly to dodge a kunai.
"Not bad, not bad at all. You've improved a great deal since before I left. Looks like you've been training hard these past days."
"Of course I have," Kakashi replied proudly.
Just then, another voice drifted over. Sakumo, who had already sensed Mui's return, wasn't surprised in the least, though Kakashi startled at her sudden interruption.
"These past few nights, even when I'm trying to sleep, I can hear constant banging and crashing. Anyone who didn't know better might think something else was going on."
"Haha… haha… really, now…" Kakashi laughed awkwardly.
Sakumo straightened, his expression turning slightly stern as he addressed his son. "Kakashi, it's good to train diligently, but you need to be careful not to overdo it. There's a balance to maintain."
"…I understand, Father. But I don't want to be left behind either."
Sakumo froze for a brief moment. That was when he noticed the chakra flowing inside the girl standing nearby. The amount she carried was already equivalent to that of a standard genin.
"Incredible… You've only been training for, what, ten days?"
"And even then, she only practices for a while before resting," Kakashi interjected. "Then she'll sigh and claim she's about to die from exhaustion."
So this girl… she was the true genius. More than himself, more than Kakashi—the talent she possessed…
"By the way," Mui asked curiously, "will you be leaving again this time?"
"Mm… yes. Tomorrow, in fact. Today I only came back to check in."
"…I see."
Sakumo reached out to ruffle Kakashi's hair when he noticed the boy's face tighten with disappointment at the news. "Don't worry. This will be the last time. After this, it will be an era of peace. Other than the occasional mission, I'll be spending most of my time with you."
"Mm! I understand, Father!" Kakashi's eyes lit up.
"Oh, right—Sakumo, could you teach me the Shadow Clone Technique?" Mui asked suddenly.
"Hm? Why?"
"Because I feel like the regular Clone Jutsu is useless. I'd rather learn something practical, like the Shadow Clone Technique. And you're the only one I know who might be able to teach me… so, you understand."
"…Well… alright. Kakashi, you can try it as well and see if you can learn it. Then later I'll go ahead and pass down the three basic techniques to you. Mui, you've already learned them, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have."
"Good. Then let's talk about how to train in the Shadow Clone Technique."
"Training for Shadow Clone… first, you need to— [I don't actually know how to perform it, so let's skip this part. By the way, if anyone does know, feel free to teach me later]," Sakumo said half-jokingly.
"…I see…" Mui listened carefully to his explanation, then brought her hands together and formed the Ram seal.
Following Sakumo's guidance on chakra flow, a sharp poof! sounded. In the next moment, two identical copies of Mitsuki Mui appeared beside her.
"…Huh. That was surprisingly easy."
"See? Simple, isn't it?" Sakumo replied with a smile, hiding the shock that surged in his heart.
To master a B-rank ninjutsu in an instant… this talent… yes, she truly was a genius.