Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Shoulder to Shoulder

In the 27th class of the ninja academy, Kyomu and Kakashi became bona fide geniuses, jokingly referred to as the 'Genius Twin Stars'.

However, it was not without controversy.

Some believed that Kakashi's potential was higher than Kyomu's, even though he slightly lagged behind Kyomu in this exam, he would eventually catch up and surpass him.

This viewpoint had both supporters and opponents.

Supporters of Kyomu believed that being ahead once meant staying ahead, and although the gap was small at the moment, it would widen in the future.

As for these two different viewpoints, the students were in an uproar, and both Kyomu and Kakashi were surrounded by supporters.

The situation remained the same as before.

Most of the girls supported Kakashi; they couldn't resist the allure of a boy who was both aloof and a genius, and thus, fan clubs emerged in support of him.

On the other hand, most of the supporters of Kyomu were boys who, first and foremost, disliked Kakashi because the girls liked him, and secondly, genuinely supported Kyomu from the bottom of their hearts.

It could only be said that Kyomu's fanbase was extremely complicated and not yet ready for cultivation.

"You girls chattering away are so annoying!" Kakashi, surrounded by girls, finally exploded, "I like eating saury and flavored eggplants. I don't have any crushes. I don't want to train with you, let alone go out to play with you alone! Are you satisfied? Can you leave now?"

With one sweeping reply to all the questions and forcefully driving away all the girls, Kakashi's surroundings finally quieted down.

As a result, the number of people around Kyomu also decreased by more than half.

After all, since the girls they cared about had left, continuing to stay with Kyomu was meaningless. They had to rush to comfort Kakashi or even speak ill of him.

This might give them a chance.

"Girls aren't all annoying," Kyomu said inexplicably, "Wait until you're eighteen, and you'll know the good things about girls."

"No way, absolutely not!" Kakashi denied firmly, "Whiny crybabies who always talk about meaningless topics, who cares about their good qualities?"

"Perhaps," Kyomu shrugged, "But I'm sure you'll change your mind in the future."

"Never! Not gonna happen!"

Seeing Kakashi still insisting on his views, Kyomu didn't say much more, just hoping that when Kakashi brought out 'Icha-Icha Paradise' in the future, he would remember his childhood promise.

"All right, Kakashi, there's no one around now. It's time to fulfill your promise."

Kyomu brought up the old matter again, and Kakashi suddenly fell silent, blushing and stammering without a response.

"What's wrong? Are you going to break the promise?"

"Who's breaking the promise!" Kakashi suddenly raised his head, "It's just not possible now. It has to be after school."

"Are you afraid that with your swollen nose and bruised face, along with your ugly face under the mask, it will cause me emotional trauma?" Kyomu teased, "I really should thank you, Kakashi."

Kakashi turned away without responding. No matter what Kyomu said, he had to wait until after school, when there were no other people around, to show Kyomu.

Seeing Kakashi determined not to budge, Kyomu didn't push too hard, and stopped talking after a couple more words.

At this moment, Shuzo walked over, holding two ice packs in his hands.

He tossed one to each of them, "Put it on your bruises. It'll prevent them from swelling too much later."

"Thank you, Sensei," Kyomu and Kakashi thanked him in unison, then grimaced as they felt the icy sensation on their bruises.

Seeing them both in this state, Shuzo couldn't help but laugh, "You guys insist on fighting until you're exhausted every time. Is victory really that important?"

"Of course it is!" Kakashi's gaze was firm and serious, "Although I lost, I cannot lose in spirit!"

"I don't have any other thoughts. I just think it's comfortable to beat Kakashi. Naturally, I give it my all." Kyomu chimed in.

"You two," Shuzo shook his head with a smile, "Actually, it's quite good. When I was your age, as a teacher, I also yearned for opponents with the kind of relationship you two have. It's just a pity..."

He placed his hands on Kyomu and Kakashi's shoulders, patting them, "Work hard and support each other. Your future is promising."

"Hmph, I don't want that. I'm not familiar with Kyomu." Kakashi Hatake became haughty.

"Same here. There's nothing for me to support Kakashi with."

Seeing the two stubbornly denying it, Shuzo couldn't help but smile again, shaking his head before turning away.

As Shuzo left, there was a moment of awkwardness between Kyomu and Kakashi, but it quickly dissipated.

Kakashi Hatake was the first to extend an invitation, "School will be over soon. Do you want to train with me?"

"You want to fight again?" Kyomu pressed the ice pack against his face, "I didn't realize you had a masochistic streak."

"If we fight again, I'll definitely win." Kakashi smirked, "But what I mean is, we can train together and complement each other's weaknesses."

"You want to learn my throwing technique." Kyomu understood immediately, "That's fine, but... how about tomorrow?"

"Why tomorrow?" Kakashi frowned, "It's better to strike while the iron is hot today. We'll make faster progress."

"Because I'm going to sleep and rest at the public training ground today."

"You..." Kakashi suddenly faltered in his speech, "Hey, don't think that just because you beat me once, you can always win."

Obviously, Kakashi still didn't understand Kyomu's 'lazy' behavior.

He might admit that Kyomu had some special talent, but he would never think that slacking off could make one stronger.

"It's the last day, and I wasted almost a whole day. After school, I have to make up for it." Kyomu shook his head, "I told you when school started, I like to slack off, and once I start, it's for a month. I have to stick to it."

"Hmph, suit yourself. Do you really think I want to learn?" Kakashi became arrogant, "Let's see how it goes. In a few days, my throwing technique will surpass yours."

"I believe you have the talent for it, but on the other hand, although we can't train together today, we must fulfill our bet today."

"Got it!" Kakashi's tone was not pleasant, "When I say after school, it's after school. I won't go back on my word."

Only then did Kyomu nod in satisfaction, saying nothing more, and focusing on removing the swelling from his face with the ice pack in his hand.

It had to be said that the human physique in the world of Naruto was much stronger than in the previous world. In less than two hours, the swelling on Kyomu's face had mostly disappeared, except for some bruising.

Kakashi's recovery was similar, neither too fast nor too slow compared to Kyomu.

As the school bell rang, Kyomu threw away the disposable ice pack in his hand into the trash can and ran outside the classroom, arm in arm with Kakashi.

Arm in arm, a symbol of good buddies.

But Kakashi was somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Aragami Kyomu didn't think much about it, just afraid that Kakashi would take the opportunity to escape and not fulfill their promise.

With Kakashi's slightly villainous and somewhat rogue-like attributes, breaking a promise was entirely within his capabilities.

Watching the two figures go further away, Rin became curious, "Obito, should we follow them and take a look?"

"Of course, they're both running so fast, they seem to have forgotten about our agreement."

Subconsciously taking Rin's hand, Obito followed them.

(End of Chapter)