"So your surname is Yagyu?"
"Yes."
Souma nodded. "But I'm just a civilian."
"Some civilians were nobles during the samurai era. They just declined after the rise of shinobi society.
I remember seeing the Yagyu surname in an old clan record—likely a former samurai family."
"Maybe."
Souma shrugged.
His home didn't have a single sword scroll left; if they did, he wouldn't have needed to ask Tenten's family for lessons.
"Well, it's all outdated stuff anyway," Kakashi continued. "Even the Land of Iron trains with chakra now. Whether you were once samurai doesn't matter anymore."
He said that, yet his right hand kept twitching.
The conversation was getting boring, and Kakashi clearly wanted to pull out that book.
But considering its adult content… he held back.
Held back his mind, anyway.
His hand?
Not so much.
Souma wasn't a shinobi yet, but his senses had been sharpened through training.
He immediately saw through Kakashi's dilemma, and thought only—
So this era's Kakashi… still cares about appearances.
Later in the original plot, he'd openly read those books in front of Naruto's team without blinking—like he had nothing left to lose.
Maybe Kakashi was afraid Souma was too sharp and would know the book wasn't child-friendly.
Souma sighed inwardly.
"If you want to read Kakashi-senpai, you don't have to worry about my opinion."
"Eh—…"
Kakashi's hand froze mid-movement.
I'm a little embarrassed.
"It's nothing," Souma added casually. "I've never read one of Jiraiya-sama's books, but I've heard enough."
He had read the one North Mountain-sensei secretly kept.
Honestly, it wasn't even that explicit—half of it was Jiraiya's nonsense and self-indulgence.
Souma's mind had far worse material automatically filed away anyway.
Kakashi went silent.
He'd been in this situation before, where people caught him reading.
Normally he didn't care.
But in front of Souma…
He couldn't stay completely unfazed.
After all—
They both walk while reading.
Souma holds medical texts and ninjutsu logs.
He himself holds… adult literature.
The difference in dignity was enormous.
Kakashi cleared his throat.
"Ahem. It's fine. Books are just… artistic expressions. Not essential.
Anyway, let's keep talking. The Third Hokage mentioned you to me—I've been curious."
"Really? Hokage-sama mentioned me?"
Souma was a little surprised.
So Hiruzen had considered assigning Kakashi to guide him.
But Kakashi must have refused—
otherwise he wouldn't have invited Souma to ANBU today.
"He cares a lot about promising talent in the village."
Yeah right…
Souma couldn't help criticizing internally.
The Sarutobi-era talent system…
Well, it existed. Barely.
Mostly running on the foundation Tobirama had built decades ago.
But—
Souma did respect Hiruzen's mastery of ninjutsu.
As a shinobi with no special bloodline or talent traits, reaching such a level was impressive.
Just… maybe not the best at teaching disciples.
He and Kakashi weren't close.
Even with Hiruzen's introduction, Souma wasn't going to ask for ninjutsu or swordsmanship guidance on day one.
And Kakashi didn't know Souma well either.
So their first real conversation naturally leaned more toward easy chatting.
They walked as they talked.
As they neared the village proper, Souma finally voiced a question that had bothered him since his previous life.
"Kakashi-senpai… your Sharingan. You can't shut it off, can you?"
"…Why are you asking that?"
Masked, reading, expression invisible—
Souma couldn't gauge Kakashi's face at all.
But he continued anyway.
"If your eye can't close, it must constantly drain chakra.
I've heard your chakra reserves aren't very large.
So wouldn't using a sword consume less chakra compared to jutsu?"
This was something Souma questioned long ago as a reader.
The White Fang's swordsmanship was powerful.
Kakashi had trained with a blade since childhood.
Before developing Chidori, swordsmanship had been one of his main styles.
Even though the White Fang's sword was broken now—
There was no way the Hatake clan or the Leaf couldn't provide him with another chakra blade.
Sure, the Lightning Cutter was basically a sword…
But—
Does Kakashi even know how little chakra he actually has?!
Kakashi didn't answer immediately.
"Make-Out Paradise" didn't turn a page for a solid thirty seconds.
Half a minute later, he finally spoke:
"A sword… probably isn't suitable for someone like me.
And this eye was left to me by a dear friend.
I have to carry it with me."
He paused.
"And besides—there aren't many enemies who can force me to the point of chakra exhaustion."
He went back to reading.
Souma was speechless.
Yes, they were all "jōnin" by rank—
but elite jōnin still varied wildly in power.
"Well, in any case, I enjoyed our talk today," Kakashi said, stretching lazily.
"The ANBU offer was serious. But your judgment is correct—growing too quickly isn't always a good thing.
But if you do want to join ANBU someday, you can speak to the Hokage anytime."
"Yes, sir."
"Alright, I'm off."
Kakashi waved, reading as he walked toward Ichiraku Ramen.
Souma bought a few rice balls and headed for the academy.
Shikamaru was sitting on a swing at the entrance.
Choji was nearby, scanning the area while eating.
"So troublesome," Shikamaru sighed. "I could've gone home ages ago, but I ended up waiting half an hour for you."
"Sorry. I got caught up talking with a senior," Souma replied.
He handed over the remaining rice balls.
Choji's eyes lit up, and he accepted without hesitation.
Shikamaru exhaled and pulled two books out of his pocket.
"Nara Clan's Medical Herb Compendium"
And the other—a notebook clearly transcribed from the Akimichi clan's medicinal records.
"These are for you."
"Please thank Nara Shikaku-sama for me."
"I really don't get it," Shikamaru grumbled.
"You're already ahead in ninjutsu development and training.
Why waste time researching medicine?"
Souma shrugged.
"For me, these potions aren't hard to make.
But they massively boost training efficiency.
Why wouldn't I study them?
And the benefits don't stop with me."
Then he added calmly:
"You've never experienced that feeling.
When someday you find yourself helpless and desperate…
you'll understand."
Shikamaru froze.
He didn't argue.
He simply hopped off the swing and walked away.
On his way home, he saw Naruto training alone.
Never experienced it…?
He glanced at Naruto, then at the direction Souma had gone.
A thoughtful, troubled look spread across his face.
"Shikamaru, you've been spacing out lately."
"…I don't understand."
"Understand what?"
"…Forget it. Maybe he and Dad are both right.
Let's go home, Choji."
Shikamaru slouched away, still pondering.
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