Konoha Light

Asuma's face twisted in discomfort. "Rookie, what do you want to do?"

However, Kakashi completely ignored him and instead turned to Shimizu. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Kakashi Hatake."

Shimizu gave a polite smile. "I'm Shimizu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The instructor, standing nearby, nodded approvingly. "Good. Let's begin."

The onlookers exchanged confused glances. Did they miss something? Why did that exchange feel so awkward and incomplete?

Shimizu also paused briefly before chuckling. Ah, so Kakashi wasn't good at small talk or social interactions? Some geniuses were just like that.

Asuma, now understanding the situation, frowned. "Wait, are you saying you want to challenge Shimizu?"

Kakashi looked puzzled. "Didn't he just say he wanted my advice?"

Asmah was stunned. For a moment, he couldn't tell if this guy was unbelievably arrogant or just plain clueless.

Shimizu smiled helplessly. "I appreciate the thought, but I already have plans with my friends today. Perhaps another time."

"Is that so? I understand..." Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. Then, with an air of confidence, he added, "I'll make sure to finish the fight in under a minute."

Asuma looked at him with sympathy. This kid… he was really, really clueless.

Meanwhile, the crowd's reactions were mixed:

"Wow, I didn't expect this white-haired brat to have self-awareness."

"Does this guy not realize how strong Shimizu is? If he thinks he can last a full minute, he's clearly too arrogant!"

"Yeah, what's with this year's rookies?"

Kakashi felt a twitch of irritation. He wasn't someone who liked showing off, but he had reasons for challenging Shimizu—partly because he was interested in fighting him, but mostly because people kept doubting his abilities because of his father.

And yet, somehow, these idiots had twisted his words into him being so arrogant that he thought he'd lose in under a minute?

Worse, now they were calling him arrogant even for how quickly he'd lose?!

"Maybe this is what those 'underdog protagonist' stories talk about," Kakashi thought bitterly, recalling the cliché narratives where everyone looked down on the hero until he proved them wrong. He couldn't believe he was actually relating to those stories now.

Shimizu, however, chuckled and showed no sign of being offended. "Since you insist, I suppose I have no choice but to accept."

Excited murmurs rippled through the spectators.

"It's starting!"

Meanwhile, Obito turned to Rin excitedly. "Rin, what do you think? Want to bet on how long Kakashi lasts?"

Before Rin could respond, Zhihui shook his head from the side. "Do you remember what I told you before? Without awakening the Sharingan, even I wouldn't stand a chance against Shimizu."

Obito blinked in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Zhihui sighed, looking at Kakashi with sympathy. "I mean that Taijutsu is actually Shimizu's weakest area."

Obito was stunned. He pointed to the battlefield, where leaves swirled in the wind from the sheer force of movement. "You're telling me this is weak?!"

In the clearing, Shimizu gently brushed a fallen leaf off his shoulder. "Are you ready, Kakashi?"

Kakashi took a fighting stance. "Come at me."

The moment he spoke, the scattered leaves in the air began to swirl, falling thickly around them, momentarily distracting Kakashi.

By the time Kakashi realized what had happened, Shimizu had already walked past him.

"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry," Shimizu said lightly as he passed. "As an apology, let me leave you with a small parting gift—."

Then, without another word, Shimizu casually exited the training ground.

Kakashi, meanwhile, stood frozen in place, unmoving.

Seeing this, Obito finally snapped out of his daze. "Wait… did Kakashi just fall asleep standing up?"

"It's Genjutsu," Zhihui said, sighing with admiration. "This is Shimizu's true strength."

"Incredible!" Obito's initial shock turned into excitement. "Rin, this is amazing! You must have pulled me into the psychology club on purpose so I'd get noticed by the club leader! Then I can learn Genjutsu from him too!"

As Obito lost himself in his happy fantasy, the crowd suddenly burst into cheers.

"Shimizu is so graceful!"

"He's too gentle!"

"Ugh, I wish that fight lasted longer!"

"I feel sick… I can't handle the disappointment of not seeing more of Shimizu's fights."

"Me too. I might need to visit the psychology club tomorrow to get checked out by the club leader."

"Hmph! My husband is the one who's actually sick, not me!"

Obito's face twitched. "Getting the club leader's attention might be harder than I thought..."

Later, at the Konoha Market

"This is premium Thunder Fang Iron, forged atop the Mist Country's Thunder Plateau. It's been refined for years under natural lightning, giving it excellent chakra conductivity. Normally, it sells for 102,000 ryo, but today, we're offering a special deal for honored guests..."

"The Land of Lightning really produces top-tier goods!"

"This is our Cloud Village's specialty sake, 'Four Battle Brews'—a favorite of Lord Raikage himself!"

"Wait, the Raikage actually drinks this?" Asuma, standing in front of a stall, perked up with curiosity and craned his neck to listen in.

"Move along, kid. This isn't for you," the vendor said dismissively, waving him away. Clearly, he didn't think children had the money to buy anything.

"Tch! Whatever, I didn't want it anyway." Asuma huffed, turning away in exaggerated annoyance.

Shimizu followed behind him, his sharp gaze scanning the surrounding crowd carefully.

"This is kind of boring," Asuma muttered after a while. He quickly lost interest and turned to Shimizu. "Hey, I noticed you were looking around earlier. Want to check out some stalls? My treat!"

Shimizu shook his head with a small smile. "I'm not interested in their goods. I'm interested in their eyes."

Asuma flinched slightly. Lowering his voice, he asked cautiously, "Shimizu… are you planning to dig out their eyes?"

Shimizu let out a soft chuckle. "No, nothing like that."

"...You hesitated just now."

"I meant that I'm paying attention to the information their eyes reveal."

Asuma turned around suddenly, staring intently at the eyes of a nearby vendor. After a long moment, he grinned excitedly. "I got it! That guy has eye crust! He probably didn't wash his face this morning!"

Shimizu sighed, not sure whether to laugh or cry. "Well… that is a form of eye-transmitted information, technically. But what I'm really looking at is the emotions reflected in their eyes."

Before Asuma could respond, Shimizu continued, "I first noticed it at the hospital. Many people there wear masks—not just physical ones, but emotional masks as well."

Asuma raised an eyebrow. "Masks, huh?"

"A mask is a way to conceal one's true thoughts and feelings."

"I get it now! It's like how that old man who loves peeking at women bathing won't go to the bathhouse himself but instead hides at home to spy—"

"..."