Off to the side, Kakashi stared, stunned.
He knew Shiro Gen was strong.
He had not imagined this strong.
Shiro Gen could fight his father to a standstill.
He also knew his father was holding back.
Even so, the speed, the power, the blazing light were overwhelming.
The gap was too wide to see across.
Kakashi clenched his fists and felt he might never catch up, because he could not see hope.
Sakumo Hatake was shocked as well.
Six years old, yet the boy's combat power was terrifying.
His battle sense was still thin, and if Sakumo wanted to win, he could at any time.
Even so, Shiro Gen already matched an average jonin.
It was hard to imagine what a little more time would make of him.
"Senior White Fang, drifting off in a fight is a bad habit."
Shiro Gen seized the moment and cut down.
The blade was once more the Flame-Light Phantom Blade.
Brilliant firelight burst, and Sakumo's gaze wavered for a heartbeat.
Flames rolled up and leapt forward as a huge blade of fire, cleaving toward him.
Heat washed his face like a slap. Pain snapped him from the illusion. His pupils shrank.
He tightened his grip and slashed in the span of a spark.
Chakra compressed to the limit detonated along the edge. Pure white light, keen beyond measure, sheared the fireblade in an instant and drove straight for Shiro Gen.
CLANG!! CLANG!!!
...
"A frightening talent for battle. Clumsy at first."
"But now, already fluid."
"And..."
"I did not expect you to catch my lapse so cleanly."
"But you are still too young."
"I believe it will not be long before you surpass me, Shiro Gen-kun."
"Senior White Fang, the match is not over."
Sakumo redoubled his suppression.
But then:
[Swordsmanship Mastery (Green)] -> [Swordsmanship Control (Blue)]
[Swordsmanship Control (Blue): You gain a deeper, more complete understanding and command of swordsmanship and chakra, and can channel chakra to vastly amplify your sword techniques.]
In the clash, [Swordsmanship Mastery (Green)] leveled up.
It became [Swordsmanship Control (Blue)].
"Chakra... and sword..."
Insights flooded in. Shiro Gen tightened his grip and drove chakra with precision.
Fire chakra compressed grain by grain, and his sword sped up with every stroke.
Not only speed.
His strength climbed, heat rose, and the edge grew keener.
Growing stronger mid-fight.
Sakumo could only stare.
Such a ridiculous pace of improvement.
It was unreal.
"You... it seems I still underestimated you, Shiro Gen-kun."
"What a fearsome gift, to grow stronger in battle."
"It seems I must get serious."
Sakumo's movements sharpened, and the chakra on his white-toothed blade blazed brighter.
More than that, his aura changed.
He became a beast.
The short white blade was a fang.
Fierce and sharp, every strike radiated pressure.
CLANG!! CLANG!!!
...
Bit by bit, Shiro Gen's stamina and chakra ran thin.
But he had fully read the White Fang style.
Back home, he could refine the Shiro Gen-ryu and upgrade the Flame-Light Phantom Blade.
"Let us end the spar here."
Sakumo stepped back and slid the short blade away.
Shiro Gen nodded, wiping sweat from his brow.
"No wonder they call you Konoha's White Fang. Truly formidable."
"The White Fang style is as swift and keen as its name."
"I gained a lot today. Thank you."
"I should be the one to thank you."
"If not for you, I would already be dead by my own hand."
Sakumo bowed as he spoke.
Shiro Gen did not bow to anyone. He waved it off.
"Helping each other is enough. I will head out. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
Watching Shiro Gen's easy stride, Sakumo was full of feeling.
There are talents who overturn common sense.
Shiro Gen was one.
Too strong, too heaven-defying.
He had seen it. In the fight just now, Shiro Gen had already learned his White Fang style.
He had even begun to blend pieces of it into his own blade work.
He had not fully digested it yet.
Once he did, his swordsmanship would leap forward.
Kakashi, meanwhile, was already numb.
Shiro Gen was this strong, and he grew this fast. How could he ever catch up?
He could not.
He felt despair.
No. He wanted to give up.
Then Sakumo's hand dropped onto his head.
"Kakashi, you must work hard."
"From today, I will train you more strictly."
"I do not ask you to catch Shiro Gen-kun. You cannot catch him."
"But true strength never betrays you."
Huh?
I just thought of slacking off, and you say training gets harsher from today?
I...
"Alright."
After a pause, Kakashi chose to try.
Even if he could not catch up.
If he could only get a little closer...
That was enough.
Elsewhere,
Shiro Gen was doing exactly what Sakumo expected, turning over the essence of the White Fang style to fold into his own.
"The core of the White Fang style compresses vast chakra onto the edge and detonates it on the cut, turning it into a streak of white light."
"That white light is lightning quick and impossibly keen."
"My Flame-Light Phantom Blade kills by fire, not by the pure edge. Simply put, my sword is not sharp enough."
"It can engulf a tree and burn it to ash, but it cannot slice it clean."
"That is a problem."
"And this compress-and-detonate method... it should apply to Armor of Fire and the Fire-Stepping Body Flicker too."
Light flashed in his eyes as inspiration erupted through his mind.