Because Shali didn't know how to help, Naruto and Sasuke naturally skipped a level. Afterwards, Shali also taught them how to climb trees and swim.
Shali recalled that in the original story, Sasuke had used Lightning Release to enhance himself after awakening the Sharingan. She therefore confidently taught him the Lightning Release massage technique. While it wasn't very useful for her personally, it could have some effect on Sasuke.
Previously, Shali hadn't taught him out of concern that Sasuke might use it recklessly and, in a fit of revenge, burn himself to death. Now that he had the Sharingan and referenced the original, that risk was gone.
In fact, Sasuke was fully qualified to learn these two techniques, as his foundation was even stronger than in the original story.
Although Naruto's foundation was weaker, who said Naruto was only a Shadow Clone user? Many of his shortcomings could be addressed.
After helping Sasuke and Naruto, Shali considered the other members of Team 7 but ultimately felt powerless.
On Shali's side, Ino was also thinking about enhancing opponents' abilities, but he concluded that Ino should first focus on solidifying her basics and mastering the mountain's secrets.
The mountain's secret techniques demanded precise chakra control and could eventually lead to learning medical ninjutsu.
Regarding other matters, Shali had limited knowledge of spiritual enhancement. His own spiritual power was already formidable, though he had once considered Pokémon-style psychic abilities.
However, he eventually abandoned that idea. Pokémon psychic powers exist independently. While Ino's mountain techniques involved spiritual power, they also incorporated the spiritual energy of both the opponent and the user.
Thus, if Ino dared to use the mountain techniques offensively, it could have unintended consequences. But she could use this as a starting point to shift her mindset from supporting opponents to directly challenging them.
However, Ino's spiritual power was not strong yet. Shali worried that if she mentioned this now, Ino might be unable to resist temptation, and exploiting it could cause Shali herself to suffer emotionally. So, she chose to wait until Ino's spirit had matured. Future learning would mostly depend on Ino herself.
The same logic applied to Ino's teammates, Shikamaru and Choji. They simply needed to work harder to follow the paths laid out by their families.
Inar, Shika, and Chocho were similar, especially the reconnaissance teams. Shali observed that the insects obstructing Shino seemed to suffer from trypophobia, making it nearly impossible to provide advice.
As for Aya, Shali simply thought he was the type to play with a dog until the end. Despite having traits from another family, he would ultimately be constrained by the dog-ninja's abilities. Shali couldn't persuade him otherwise.
Finally, as Princess Hyuga, Shali herself was confused. It was hard to tell what talent she truly possessed. She ultimately only mastered the 64 Palms, and even that raised questions.
Had Hinata learned the 64 Palms on her own, or was it taught by her family from a young age but never truly mastered? If it was the latter, her talent would have been wasted. If the former, it was acceptable, but communication would still be difficult. Compared to Hyuga Neji, though, she was quite capable.
According to Shali, Hyuga may have realized this herself. After all, she had lost her eligibility to inherit the family's title upon entering the Red Team. Under such circumstances, it was unlikely anyone would teach her the clan's techniques, such as the Eight Trigrams Flow.
In reality, these issues weren't insurmountable. Most importantly, Shali felt Hinata's personality was unsuited to being a combat-type ninja. She wanted to be a ninja, but not all ninjas were fighters.
Shali's interactions with others were complex. She could only later remind him of events from Naruto.
Final Physical Training Session
Whenever Shali visited, he sensed Hyuga Neji's subtle hostility—not hatred, but a desire to surpass him.
Neji had heard of Shali's achievements since childhood. Although he was a year above Shali, he knew the name of the "Great Demon King" and Shali's early graduation.
Rock Lee, on the other hand, was already overworked and could only make slow progress. The best he could do was use Lightning Massage and medical ninjutsu to alleviate lingering issues.
As for Tenten, Shali wasn't familiar with her. She seemed a bit invisible in the original story, but with access to so many ninja tools, she was probably a little wealthy.
Finally, Shali sighed lightly. Besides Naruto and Sasuke, there was too little time for everyone else. Even if he devoted all his energy, he could only help sparingly.
This had been Shali's recent life. Though it seemed leisurely, a detailed look revealed he had accomplished quite a bit. Besides Konoha, he also visited the Miao Village, and Mu Shan had offered explanations.
Shali pondered why life felt so idle. He nodded, sighed, and realized it was the sudden halt in killing that made him feel this way. Indeed, the aftermath of war left its mark.
One day, as Shali was preparing to visit Asuma and see Ino…
"Lord Shali." A member of the Anbu stopped him respectfully.
"What's the matter?" Shali asked.
"Third Hokage requests your presence in the office," the Anbu replied.
"Ah… alright." Shali was curious; letting him go seemed harmless.
Soon, Shali arrived at the Hokage's office. He noticed the Flying Thunder God marks on the floor, indicating that Sasuke and Naruto were likely there.
"Lord Shali, what brings you here?" Shali looked around. Everyone from the seventh grade was present, including Iruka and a drunken old man. He realized this was probably a mission briefing.
"Naruto! You're finally here! The Third has had us running errands like catching cats and dogs. Now, if you agree to come with us, we can take on bigger missions!" Naruto's eyes lit up, and he shouted excitedly, ignoring the Third Hokage entirely.
"No yelling in the Hokage's office!" Iruka scolded, then quickly apologized for his outburst.
"Haha, it's fine, Shali. Since Naruto said so, what do you think?" the Third Hokage asked, noticing Shali's recent actions.
He was clearly satisfied. Shali had fully demonstrated the identity tailored for him. Though it seemed trivial now, when these kids matured, the benefits would become evident.
Naruto looked at Shali even more eagerly. Sasuke also glanced at them, uninterested in mundane tasks like catching cats or weeding.
Kakashi's spirits lifted upon seeing Shali. Though young, her reputation in the ninja world preceded her. Initially, many jonin were skeptical, but soon some realized Shali could very well be Anbu Mo Ying, and all doubts vanished.
If that were true, there was no question about Shali's strength or eligibility for promotion. They gathered intel and confirmed Shali's identity.
These newly promoted jonin now had to consider how to face her.
Kakashi sighed, realizing that though he hadn't inherited his father's reputation, Shali held the legacy of Konoha's White Fang—a feat even White Fang struggled to contain. It was time for her to make a name for herself.
Her presence didn't disappoint Naruto. She nodded. "Alright, I should be fairly free lately."
Chapter 118: Mission to the Land of Waves
Hearing this, Naruto's eyes lit up. He slapped the table in front of the Third Hokage and shouted, "Now you can assign us missions!"
The Third Hokage flinched, handing Naruto the mission sheet. Naruto jumped for joy.
Iruka sighed repeatedly. Though Naruto was his student, he seemed beyond patience. With Kakashi and Shali present, no matter the difficulty, the mission could be accomplished.
"Oh, this looks far more reliable than those kids," said the drunken old man, impressed by Shali's aura.
"And when do we leave? I need to get back," he added.
"Hmm…" Kakashi glanced at the Third Hokage, then checked the time. "Alright, let's depart immediately."
"Good, mission start!" Naruto yelled.
The journey was silent. Shali maintained high alert—not out of concern for a C-rank mission, but because sending two jonin was perhaps overkill. The Third Hokage mainly wanted Shali to oversee Naruto, whose seal and the Nine-Tails' chakra might have already leaked.
If Naruto lost control, Shali would be there to manage him.
Shali's awareness was inspired by the Nine-Tails. She could sense the malice in its chakra—it was terrifying, as if ready to devour everything.
Shali realized that if she could perceive the Nine-Tails' will through its chakra, perhaps she could sense it in humans too.
Though tailed beasts were pure chakra entities with clearer intent, human chakra also carried spiritual energy. Shali concluded that chakra extracted from a ninja had unique properties—something she was eager to discover.
Unfortunately, she remained uncertain, though she could occasionally sense the Nine-Tails' chakra within Naruto. It seemed Naruto and the Nine-Tails had reached some agreement, though she didn't know the specifics.
Shali knew that if she could pinpoint that uniqueness, her perception wouldn't be limited by chakra levels—she could identify anyone, much like she sensed Naruto's presence before.
Soon, Shali noticed two figures hidden in the darkness. She stopped, glanced at Kakashi, and their eyes met—no words were needed.
Shali quickly excused herself from the team, promising to catch up later, and Kakashi, as the leader, agreed.
Once Shali left, the two hidden figures waited, then decided to act. Their plan: eliminate the silver-haired, short-haired giant. The remaining three children would be easy to manipulate.
When the chance came, they successfully separated Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei!!" Naruto shouted.
"Hey!!!" Sakura gasped at the sight, blood flowing, and screamed.
"Sakura, protect Uncle!" Sasuke yelled, quickly recovering.
"Yes!" Sakura responded, drawing her kunai to defend against the attackers.
"Damn it, you're attacking Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto glared at the two chained figures, anger blazing.
"Naruto, Kakashi won't die easily. The opponents are stronger than Shali," Sasuke reminded him.
Naruto nodded. "Seems so, but I'll go anyway!"
"Hmph," Sasuke smirked. No Sharingan was needed here. Both he and Naruto charged.
"Hey, this is overacting," Shali remarked to Kakashi. Even as an elite jonin, Kakashi was dismembered, and Sasuke seemed unbothered.
Shali was slightly surprised by Naruto's performance. In the original story, he hadn't done well initially.
"Hmm, as long as the goal's met," Kakashi said casually, satisfied. Both Naruto and Sasuke outperformed expectations, and Sakura protected Dazna well.
It was their first collaboration, yet teamwork and results were excellent.
Kakashi was impressed seeing the two rogue brothers swiftly handled. Normally, D-rank ninjas couldn't display such skill, but these children had improved remarkably since Kakashi's tests.
How did they do it? Kakashi wondered.
Now was not the time to hesitate. Checking the time, Kakashi said, "Shali, follow the Third Hokage's orders—act only if necessary."
"I understand. This will be a good training opportunity for Naruto and the others," Shali nodded.
"I'll head out first," Kakashi said, returning to the field.
Shali smiled as he watched the battlefield and his memories merge. If this continued, he would soon face Zabuza. Despite distractions in Team 7, the early-stage ninja could hold their own against Kakashi, not to mention someone proficient in Ice Release.
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