It was the fourth day after the graduation ceremony.
Morning sunlight illuminated one of Konoha's training grounds, reflecting from pools of water left by the previous night's rain.
At the center of the clearing, Ren and Kakashi stood facing each other.
Both possessed silver-white hair. Both carried wooden short swords across their backs, and both were rapidly weaving hand seals. From a distance, they almost resembled distorted reflections of one another.
Their final seals locked into place simultaneously.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Flame and water erupted.
Ren's Great Fireball expanded to nearly five meters in diameter, its orange-red surface roaring like a miniature sun. Kakashi's torrent struck it head-on, producing a violent explosion of steam.
Whoosh!
The elemental advantage of Water Release should have extinguished the flames almost immediately.
It did not.
The Great Fireball shrank beneath the pressure, its diameter falling from nearly five meters to roughly three, but the concentrated mass of flame continued forcing its way through the surging water.
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.
He severed the flow of water, changed hand seals, and slammed both palms against the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Rumble!
A thick earthen barrier rose before him.
The weakened Great Fireball crashed into the wall and exploded, blasting scorched soil into the air. Red sparks scattered through the white steam, falling around the clearing like burning rain.
Kakashi emerged through the haze, staring at the charred remains of his defense.
"Your Fire Release…" he began.
It had become far stronger than it had been only a few days earlier.
The Great Fireball Ren released during their coordination exercise had already possessed exceptional power for a newly graduated Genin. This one was on an entirely different level.
"I had a small breakthrough," Ren replied with a smile.
That answer was technically true.
After obtaining the Great Fire Wall skin, Spirit of Fire had evolved. The trait now granted Ren's Fire Release a one-hundred-and-twenty-percent power bonus.
The improvement was enormous.
Ren still could not imitate Uchiha Madara and force an entire division of shinobi to counter one Fire Release with a combined Water Wall. However, his Great Fireball had already become powerful enough to pressure a Chūnin-level Kakashi despite suffering from an elemental disadvantage.
That gave Ren confidence in his Fire Release.
Swordsmanship was another matter.
"There's no need to stop," Ren said, reaching over his shoulder. "I still need your guidance with the blade."
Kakashi drew his wooden short sword.
"Then don't become distracted."
Before he finished speaking, he disappeared into the steam.
Ren's eyes sharpened.
A shadow rushed across the dozen meters separating them.
Kakashi emerged directly in front of him and slashed.
Ren drew his own wooden sword and raised it horizontally.
Bang!
The two practice blades collided with a deep, violent crack.
The force behind Kakashi's strike traveled through the blade and into Ren's wrists. His fingers went numb, and his arms nearly dropped beneath the pressure.
Kakashi did not pause.
He twisted his hips, withdrew the blade, and attacked again from a lower angle. The wooden weapon traced a smooth arc before striking the exact point Ren had been forced to defend.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of their clashing blades echoed through the clearing.
This was completely different from their first battle.
During the coordination exercise, Ren had caught Kakashi in an awkward position and forced him into a rapid close-range exchange. Kakashi had never been allowed to demonstrate the full power of his swordsmanship.
Today, he was attacking from a prepared stance.
Every movement belonged to a complete system.
Kakashi's footwork controlled the distance between them. His shoulders concealed the direction of his next strike, while his blade alternated effortlessly between offense and defense.
A deflection became a slash.
A missed thrust became a sweeping cut.
Even when Ren successfully blocked an attack, the force and angle pushed his sword toward precisely the position Kakashi wanted.
This was Hatake Swordsmanship.
It was sharp, efficient, and brutally practical. There were no unnecessary flourishes and no wasted movements—only continuous attacks designed to break an opponent's guard as quickly as possible.
Ren activated Partial Transformation: Might Guy's Physique.
Power surged through his limbs, strengthening his muscles and reinforcing his joints. He immediately opened the first of the Eight Gates.
"Gate of Opening—Open!"
The restraints within his mind loosened.
His body's natural limiters weakened, releasing more of his physical strength. Ren's speed increased, and the numbness in his wrists faded beneath the rush of power.
Kakashi's next strike descended.
Ren stepped forward instead of retreating.
Their wooden blades crashed together.
Bang!
This time, Ren held his ground.
He turned his wrist, redirected Kakashi's weapon, and thrust toward the silver-haired boy's shoulder.
Kakashi shifted sideways. Ren's wooden blade passed his flak jacket by less than an inch.
The exchange accelerated.
Two silver-haired figures moved through the steam, their practice swords appearing and disappearing in a storm of gray blurs.
Rin and Obito watched from the edge of the training ground.
Neither spoke.
They had seen Ren pressure Kakashi during the earlier coordination exercise, but this battle felt different. Kakashi was not fighting three Genin or measuring their ability to cooperate.
His entire attention was focused on Ren.
Ren's enhanced physique allowed him to match Kakashi's speed and power temporarily, but the difference in technique remained overwhelming.
Kakashi always seemed to be half a step ahead.
Whenever Ren tried to counterattack, the opening vanished. Whenever Ren defended, Kakashi's next strike was already approaching from another direction.
Ren's breathing grew heavier.
Sweat slid down his temples.
He could not allow himself to lose yet.
If Kakashi disarmed him or forced him to surrender, the spar would end. The personified Hatake Swordsmanship would disappear before Ren triggered the necessary Fated Encounter.
He had already waited four days for this opportunity.
He needed to endure a little longer.
Kakashi's wooden blade swept toward his ribs.
Ren blocked.
A second strike descended toward his shoulder.
Ren twisted away.
The third cut toward his wrist.
Ren barely withdrew his hand in time.
The pressure continued without interruption. Kakashi's swordsmanship surrounded him like a violent current, gradually dragging him deeper.
Then the familiar chime sounded.
[Ding! High-quality potential conquest target detected: Hatake Swordsmanship.]
[A limited-time Fated Encounter mission has been triggered!]
Finally!
Ren's exhaustion vanished beneath a burst of excitement.
He continued resisting Kakashi's assault while dividing a small portion of his attention toward the System.
The training ground faded from his consciousness.
A different world appeared.
Beneath an ancient pine tree, a young woman dressed entirely in white knelt upon the grass. Her long silver hair fell down her back, and an unsheathed short sword rested across her knees.
She was perfectly still.
Yet her presence felt more dangerous than any movement.
A cold, condensed sharpness surrounded her body. The fallen pine needles nearby had been cut cleanly in half without the blade ever appearing to move.
The woman herself seemed less like a person and more like an unsheathed sword.
Beautiful.
Cold.
Lethal.
The System displayed three options.
[A: Woman, you have attracted my interest. I will give you the honor of becoming my sword style!]
[B: What a beautiful blade. May I touch it?]
[C: I am Ren of Konoha. I have come to challenge Hatake Swordsmanship. Please instruct me!]
Ren nearly chose the second option simply to see how she would respond.
Then Kakashi's wooden blade struck his guard hard enough to bring him back to his senses.
This was not the time to provoke a woman who looked capable of cutting his consciousness in half.
He selected C.
The kneeling swordswoman did not raise her eyes.
However, the cold aura surrounding her suddenly sharpened.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Instruct you? Another ignorant child comes before me with confidence far exceeding his ability.]
Her fingers rested lightly against the blade on her lap.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Still, you traveled this far to find me. I will permit you one exchange. Show me whether your resolve is as fragile as your technique.]
The moment the words appeared, Kakashi's attacks changed.
His stance lowered.
The rhythm of his sword became faster, sharper, and far more oppressive.
Ren's eyes widened.
The pressure bearing down on him multiplied.
It was almost as though Hatake Swordsmanship herself had seized control of Kakashi's blade and decided to test Ren personally.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ren gritted his teeth.
Every collision sent pain through his palms and wrists. The Gate of Opening and Guy's physique allowed him to endure, but only barely.
Inside the System space, the white-haired swordswoman finally lifted her gaze.
Her eyes were as cold as polished steel.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: The shinobi world is filled with mediocrity. Most stand beneath me, while few have ever risen above.]
The air around her trembled.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: When the White Fang still walked this world, only he could reveal my true edge. As for you, little silver-haired boy… you are barely capable of helping me loosen my stiff limbs.]
A faint, arrogant smile touched her lips.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Come. Again!]
Wave after wave of pressure crashed into Ren.
He felt like a small boat trapped in a storm, lifted and thrown about by an ocean that could overturn him at any moment.
There was no longer time for careful thought.
Ren relied on instinct.
Block.
Redirect.
Retreat.
Counter.
Kakashi's sword descended from the right. Ren parried and attempted to step inside his reach, but Kakashi rotated around him and attacked from the opposite side.
Ren blocked again.
His arms shook.
The world narrowed until nothing remained except Kakashi's shoulders, feet, wrists, and blade.
Then Kakashi's eye sharpened.
His previous assault had been continuous, each strike flowing into the next like an unbroken stream. This attack was different.
All that momentum suddenly condensed.
Kakashi's wrist flicked.
The wooden short sword became a single gray line.
It pierced toward the weakest point in Ren's defense at the precise instant his previous parry had ended but his guard had not yet recovered.
Ren's pupils contracted.
Not good!
He could neither dodge nor counter.
Ren raised his wooden sword horizontally with both hands.
Crack!
The sound was sharp enough to cut through the entire training ground.
Kakashi's blade smashed through Ren's guard.
The cheap wooden short sword Ren had purchased from the ninja tool shop snapped in the middle. Half of it spun through the air before embedding itself in the ground.
At the same instant, the world inside Ren's consciousness froze.
The white-haired swordswoman was no longer kneeling beneath the pine tree.
She stood directly before him.
Her gleaming short sword rested against his throat, stopping less than an inch from his skin. A cold sensation spread from the edge, so sharp that Ren almost believed it could sever his soul.
Time seemed to stop.
The swordswoman studied him.
Then she slowly lowered her blade.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Whether the blade broke because the weapon was weak or because your heart lacked sincerity remains to be seen.]
Her cold eyes swept over him again.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Your talent is far inferior to the White Fang's. However, I can see the faintest shadow of an old acquaintance in your refusal to retreat.]
She returned the sword to its sheath.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: I have waited beneath this tree for years, yet even I have not reached the end of the blade's path. Perhaps the proper time has not arrived.]
The woman stepped away from the ancient pine.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: Very well. I will accompany you and see how far you can travel, little silver-haired boy.]
A notification rang through Ren's mind.
[Hatake Swordsmanship has been added to the conquest list.]
[Current favorability: 1/100—Stranger.]
Reality returned.
Kakashi's wooden blade had already broken through Ren's weapon and was continuing toward his chest.
Ren formed the seal with desperate speed.
"Substitution Technique!"
Kakashi's strike landed.
Poof!
Ren vanished in a cloud of white smoke, leaving a wooden log in his place. The practice blade split deeply into the log before stopping.
Ren reappeared several meters away.
His breathing was ragged, and sweat soaked the back of his shirt. He stared at the broken hilt still clutched in his hands before finally releasing a long breath.
"Does this count as succeeding?" he murmured.
The newly added name on the conquest list answered his question.
Yes.
Although he had lost the spar, he had displayed enough ability and determination to gain Hatake Swordsmanship's recognition.
From this point forward, he could use Dialogue and Practice to increase her favorability gradually.
Still, the Fated Encounter had been far more dangerous than expected.
Both Ren and Kakashi had used wooden practice blades. Yet Kakashi's final strike had snapped Ren's weapon cleanly in half.
If that blow had landed directly on his body, he would have suffered more than a bruise. Broken bones and torn muscles were genuine possibilities, and even with his enhanced Physique, he might have spent several days confined to bed.
From the edge of the training ground, Rin and Obito finally remembered to breathe.
"Whoa…" Obito whispered.
Rin immediately hurried toward Ren.
"Are you injured?"
"I'm fine," Ren replied. "Just exhausted."
She examined his arms anyway, checking for swelling or damage around his wrists.
Kakashi remained where he was, staring at the broken wooden blade embedded in the ground.
After several seconds, he returned his practice sword to its sheath.
"You lasted longer than I expected," he said.
Coming from Kakashi, that was practically a speech of praise.
Ren looked up.
"Does that mean you'll spar with me again?"
Kakashi turned away.
"Bring a stronger sword tomorrow."
Ren's tired expression slowly transformed into a smile.
One point of favorability was barely a beginning.
Fortunately, tomorrow had already been promised.