The Celestial Copy - Chapter 23

[Yugao Uzuki]

Two hours on the dot. 

That marked the end of the first part of their training session, now the rest was up to them. Yugao had been keeping track of the time since the second they had started their training for the day. 

She watched as Captain Kakashi gave a nod to Tenzo, his formal duties for the morning fulfilled.

Just a few weeks ago, this would not have been the end. The Captain would have stayed, spending hours offering one-on-one instruction, pushing each of them past their perceived limits with his focused attention. He still stayed for the standard time expected of any ANBU Captain, but that extra investment, the time that felt like it was just for them, was now dedicated to someone else.

She understood, of course. On the first day, he explained that the Hokage had assigned him a mission to act as a Jōnin-sensei for a Genin, and then he went even further and was fully transparent with them, letting them know the true purpose was to evaluate the Genin for a potential spot on Team Ro.

Itachi Uchiha. An Uchiha in ANBU was a strange thought. As far as she knew, there wasn’t a single member of that clan in the entire Black Ops. For the Hokage to make an exception, and to dispatch the Captain to personally evaluate him, meant the boy had to be a monster of talent. He was even younger than their captain had been when he first joined.

A bitter seed of envy began to sprout. 

Since the boy has a Sharingan, and the Captain does too, does that mean his training is more personalized? Is he being pushed in the way I crave? Is Kakashi telling him exactly what he needs to do, what areas he should work on to meet his expectations, how to refine every movement until it’s perfect?

Yugao knew she was skilled. She’d worked hard to earn her place on Team Ro. But she felt surrounded by legends in the making. There was Captain Kakashi, the man who’d set records as the youngest person to graduate from the Academy, and the same for becoming Chūnin and Jōnin, as well as joining ANBU—though that last one could be lost if the kid he was observing met his expectations and got invited to the team. Then there was Tenzo, who wielded the legendary Wood Style of the First Hokage, the power that built their village. And now a ten-year-old Uchiha prodigy was being groomed to join them.

She knew she was being irrational. If Kakashi learned about her worries, he would point out that she was much better than Tsura, Akito, and Daisuke were when they were her age. 

But then she glanced at Anko, who was leaning against a nearby tree with her arms folded against her chest. Even though they were the same rank, the only Chūnin on the team, Yugao couldn’t help but feel like she was a step behind. Anko had been the personal apprentice of a Sannin. Orochimaru may have been a traitor, but he still built a solid foundation for her, a depth of knowledge and experience Yugao couldn’t match.

Though lately, Anko had been behaving differently.

She was usually the first to demand a one-on-one spar with the Captain, doing her best to monopolize his attention. But a few weeks ago, she had started being more withdrawn, not demanding his time as much.

Yugao recognized it as an opportunity, a space opening up that she could claim for herself.

While the others moved to continue sparring amongst themselves, and as Kakashi prepared to leave, Yugao took a deep breath and approached him.

“Captain,” she called out, speaking a little too fast. “I know you’re on a tight schedule, but… if you have a moment, I’d like to request additional kenjutsu training. It um—it doesn’t have to be right now, of course! Maybe tomorrow?”

He turned to her, taking a moment to study her before speaking. “No, it’s fine. I always have time for you,” he said, making her heart beat a little faster. “Only ten minutes, though. Show me what you’ve been working on.”

It’s only a little time, so I won’t waste even a second of it!

They took their positions. Kakashi drew a standard-issue tanto, while she unsheathed her katana with a soft shing. 

The spar began. Seeing that he wasn’t wearing his fox mask and had his forehead protector covering his Sharingan, Yugao saw an opportunity. She began to wave her katana back and forth in a hypnotic rhythm, designed to make him see a dozen phantom blades slashing at him from all angles.

She was hesitant to move in as she couldn’t know for certain if the genjutsu took hold, but she had no choice but to dash in and attempt a lateral strike.

Unfortunately, there was only a clash of steel as her blade was stopped dead in its tracks by his tanto.

“Oh? The Leaf Ninja Art: Yanagi?” he casually asked. “I never knew you learned that.”

She pushed off him and created some distance between them, feeling conflicted. She hoped she could catch him off guard with the combination of kenjutsu and genjutsu, something she had never tried in front of him before. At the same time, it would be weirder if he was beaten so easily.

The rest of the spar followed a similar pattern. She moved with intense precision, her strikes a series of formal kenjutsu techniques meant to demonstrate her control and improvement. She poured everything into it, wanting to make him proud. Kakashi, in contrast, used no notable style. His movements were entirely the basics, yet his parries felt effortless, and his pushes were perfectly timed to break her momentum. And his reaction times were instantaneous, but she could tell he was actually trying, meeting her own skill with his own immense capability. 

That raw strength and speed of his was enough to make him a difficult opponent, forcing her to hone her skills mid-battle. Even the most basic training with him always led to improvement.

Driven by a desperate need to land just one solid blow so she could prove herself, Yugao poured chakra into her blade for her signature technique. The next slash cut the air itself, releasing a nearly invisible arc of wind from the edge of her sword.

For a brief instant, she saw his eye widen in surprise. Suddenly, a crackling cloak of lightning enveloped him, and he simply disappeared. She felt the flat side of his tanto press against her neck a second later.

“You’re getting much better, Yugao,” he praised, though the only thing she could focus on was his voice right next to her ear. “If I had tried to block that last one head-on, my tanto would have shattered.”

Yugao panted, a mix of frustration and elation swirling within her. He just used his Lightning Chakra Mode. In their spars, he could almost always defeat them with taijutsu alone, only using C or B-rank elemental jutsu to switch things up. To force him to use one of his better techniques was a victory in itself.

“Do you feel better now?” he asked quietly.

She froze, unsure what he meant.

“Comparing yourself to others never works out well,” he continued. “Trust me, you’re also a prodigy. How many shinobi your age are even half as good as you are?”

He noticed? 

Heat crept up the back of her neck. He had seen through her so easily, and had known she was jealous of the others. That was such an unsightly emotion for an ANBU. What if he thought worse of her now? What if—

“Be proud of who you are. You’ll easily be the best kenjutsu master in the Hidden Leaf.”

It was now or never.

“Please help me become even stronger, Captain!” she blurted out. “When your mission is over… could we train more? Or perhaps run missions together, outside of our ANBU duties?”

He reached out and rested a hand on her head, smiling with his eye as he always did. “Hmmm. That sounds good. Until then, you should take more field missions with the others. Build your command experience. When the next Jōnin Trials come around, I’d like to see everyone on the team make it.”

Yugao was suddenly very glad she was wearing a mask. He couldn’t see how red her face had gotten.

“Y-Yes, sir!”

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My kick sent Shisui flying back, but he landed on his feet and was already moving through hand signs. A massive sea of flames erupted from his lips. His Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flames wasn’t on the same scale as Madara Uchiha’s, but the wave of incinerating heat was certainly nothing to scoff at.

Weaving through the seals for the Water Bomb Jutsu, I spat out an equally massive torrent of water. The two jutsu collided with a hiss, causing a cloud of steam to fill the training ground.

A sharp prickle ran down the back of my neck. A Shred of Self Preservation. I leaped to the side just as a volley of shuriken surrounded by fire sliced through the air where I had just been. Itachi’s Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Another three were already heading for my new position, forcing me to draw my father’s saber. The white blade was a blur as I deflected them with a single slash.

I channeled a Chidori Stream through the ground and heard two gasps of surprise from within the steam, their silhouettes leaping into the air to avoid the current. I created a shadow clone and used my powers as a Legacy of Chronos to slow down time. In that stretched-out moment, my clone and I used a Shunshin, reappearing directly where Shisui and Itachi would land. I went for Shisui, grabbing his arm and pinning him to the ground, then turned my head to see my clone performing the same maneuver on Itachi.

I released my shadow clone and stepped off Shisui, offering him a hand.

He took it. “You’re as strong as ever, Kakashi-senpai.”

“I guarantee you two will reach this level too,” I said, pulling him up.

Shisui laughed, brushing off the dust from his pants. “I’m glad you have so much faith in us!”

“It’s only natural,” I replied. “Besides, the rule about not using the Sharingan was more of a handicap to you two than it was for me. You weren’t able to properly use the very jutsu that made you famous.”

“Yeah…” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “Using the Shunshin effectively in close-quarters combat is a lot harder without the Sharingan’s predictive sight to guide it. But that just means it’s something new I can start working on.”

That was a good attitude to have. I found myself liking them more every day.

They were, without a doubt, two of the most talented shinobi I had ever seen. Combining that innate genius with the accelerated learning environment of my Call Me Master perk made their rate of improvement nothing short of phenomenal.

I’d been training them for three weeks so far. One of the first things I’d decided to work on was elevating their fire style mastery. They had blown through every exercise I’d given them, finishing it twice as fast as the members of Team Ro did.

What made their progress even more impressive was that I was pushing them in an area they hadn’t heavily focused on. Over the past few months, with all the new powers I was gaining, my combat philosophy shifted toward overwhelming power. Meanwhile, Itachi and Shisui favored subtlety, their primary weapons being misdirection and genjutsu.

The difference was even reflected in how we used our shared dojutsu. Mine was used as a combat tool, allowing me to copy techniques and enhance my reaction time. They took it a step further, using the Sharingan to enhance the potency of their illusions. While I could also cast genjutsu with my eye, it was a secondary tool in my arsenal, not a key component of my fighting style as it was for them. By encouraging them to train in my style, I was giving them another tool to use in their already formidable skills.

The routine, however, was becoming monotonous. The day started at dawn with training with Team Ro, then the early afternoon was dedicated to training with Itachi and Shisui, followed by even more training with Guy in the evenings. The only break in the cycle was my daily visit to Naruto, who I was also training for the start of the academy in just under a month and a half, albeit in a less intense manner. 

With Itachi’s place in the Chūnin Exams confirmed, we didn’t need to take any actual missions. And since I was confident in him winning, my focus turned to bridging the gap between his current strength and the level of everyone in Team Ro so there wouldn’t be any disconnect when he joined.

I guess we can take a mission just to do something different. A C-rank perhaps? No. C-rank missions are always cursed to spiral into some life-threatening disaster. A B-rank, then. Itachi’s already far beyond Genin-level, and Shisui’s a Jōnin. A B-rank would be nothing for the three of us.

“I’m taking us on a mission,” I announced, drawing their attention. “Itachi, you’ll be acting as the leader for this one. A shinobi’s leadership ability is one of the crucial criteria for becoming a Chūnin.”

“Understood,” Itachi replied without hesitation.

I turned to Shisui. He wasn’t officially part of this temporary team, which meant he still had his own duties to deal with. He’d missed a few of our training sessions here and there, but that had been easy enough to accommodate when all we were doing was meeting for a few hours to spar each day. A mission that would take us out of the village for a few days wasn’t as simple.

“What about you, Shisui?” I asked. “Feel like joining us?”

Shisui’s grin widened. “Like I’d miss it! I want to see how Itachi handles being in command of a C-rank mission.”

I smiled with my eye but didn’t say anything.

------------------------------

[Shisui Uchiha]

They definitely weren’t on a C-rank mission.

Kakashi hadn’t revealed the true rank until they were at the Mission Assignment Desk and asked for a B-rank mission. The mission itself was fairly simple: A bandit extermination that had been bumped up to B-rank due to the group being led by some rogue ninjas from smaller villages.

When they left the village gates, Shisui had looked over at Kakashi, seeing him move in that relaxed gait with his hands in his pockets, but his eye was curving just a little bit more than usual. He could hear the unspoken message in his senpai’s silence: I never said we were going on a C-rank mission. That’s on you, buddy.

He nearly laughed out loud from the memory.

Currently, he was crouched on a high branch overlooking the bandit hideout. Though he couldn’t really call it a hideout. They’d put no effort into concealing themselves, using an abandoned manor two miles south of Jakuniku Town.

Kakashi-senpai had left ten minutes ago to do some scouting.

Shisui glanced over at Itachi, who was perched on the branch beside him, looking as calm and composed as ever. This would be his first time leading a mission, yet he showed no hint of being nervous. Though, considering the team’s combined strength, the mission wouldn’t be difficult.

“By the way,” Shisui said, breaking the silence with a playful smirk, “have you been hanging around that girl, Izumi Uchiha, lately? I bet she’ll be excited to hear you’ll get a promotion to Chūnin soon.”

Itachi turned to face him, his stoic mask slipping for just an instant.

“It’s usually impossible to figure out what’s going on in that head of yours,” Shisui mused, “but I guess it’s pretty easy when it’s about this topic.”

“What do you mean?” Itachi asked, his voice somehow flatter than usual.

“Take a look in the mirror sometime and you’ll understand.”

Itachi averted his eyes, looking back down to the bandit manor. “I don’t have an opinion on her either way.”

“And yet,” Shisui said, his smirk widening, “the minute I said the name ‘Izumi,’ you looked like you had a pretty strong opinion.”

He stopped his teasing once he heard leaves rustle.

Kakashi landed on the same branch and handed over a drawn map to Itachi. “You have ten minutes to decide on a plan. For this mission, assume Shisui and I are at the level of an average Chūnin. Your strategy shouldn’t rely on us to do the heavy lifting.”

Itachi nodded once and began studying the map. Kakashi gestured for Shisui to follow him, and they flickered to a nearby branch to give Itachi space to think.

“The two leaders are the only real threats,” Kakashi murmured. “No matter what plan he chooses, we’ll make sure Itachi is the one who engages them.”

“He’s a smart kid,” Shisui replied. “He’s likely already recognized the purpose of this mission. Even if you hadn’t set those conditions, he wouldn’t draft a plan where you flatten the building with a Water Dragon or I take them all out with my Shunshin before he has to lift a finger.”

“Fair enough,” Kakashi conceded. “I just prefer to be open with my comrades.”

Less than two minutes later, Itachi appeared on their branch, the map rolled neatly in his hand. “I’ve decided on the plan.”

Shisui grinned. “Don’t keep us waiting!”

Itachi unrolled the map, pointing to key locations. “There are forty-nine enemies in total. Most are regular crooks, with a smaller group of twelve being shinobi. Ten of those are Genin-level. The leader and second-in-command are Chūnin-level They’ve grown arrogant from robbing civilians and haven’t set up proper patrols. We will take advantage of that.” He paused, turning to Shisui. “Your task will be to deal with the non-shinobi. Most are on the ground floor. Use your genjutsu to put them to sleep. We can deliver them to the local authorities for detainment afterward.”

He really is a kind boy. Neither of us enjoy killing, and the non-shinobi won’t be much trouble for the authorities once I capture them. What kind of approach would Kakashi take if he was leading the mission?

“Kakashi-sensei and I will enter through a second-story window on the west wing and split up. The Genin-level shinobi are scattered,” Itachi continued. “Sensei, you will silently eliminate them. My target will be the two leaders.”

Both Shisui and Kakashi nodded their assent. The assignments were acceptable under the assumptions of their assumed skill levels. Thirty-seven was a lot to deal with, but if none were shinobi, they wouldn’t be a problem for even an average Chūnin. And enough Genin could give one a hard time, but Kakashi would be taking them down one by one or in smaller groups.

“Alright, guess I’m heading off first,” Shisui said. 

He silently approached an open window on the side of the manor, which led to the grand hall. Inside, a dozen men were gathered around a large table, drinking and playing cards. None of them noticed as he slipped inside. Activating his Sharingan, Shisui shattered the window with a hard punch to the frame. As every head in the room snapped toward the sound, he met their eyes, making them collectively slump over the table.

Sneaking around like a ghost through the ground floor, he repeated the process for every bandit he encountered. He counted thirty-two once he finished, then took a second search, but couldn’t find the remaining five, so he went upstairs.

He passed a few dead bodies before he found Kakashi leaning against a doorway, observing a fight taking place within the master suite.

“I’m missing a few of the grunts,” Shisui reported quietly.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Kakashi responded. “I found them up here. They were with some of the ones I had to deal with, so I put them to sleep.”

Shisui found that a little surprising. He figured a guy with the reputation Kakashi did wouldn’t hesitate to kill an enemy.

Maybe he’s more like us than I first thought.

Together, they turned their attention to Itachi’s fight. 

It seemed they missed most of it. One opponent was already dead on the floor. Itachi was effortlessly evading the powerful swings of a man who wielded a massive battle-axe. Itachi exhaled a compact Fireball that forced the man to stagger back, then swept his leg out from under him. 

As the bandit leader tried to rise, Itachi ended the fight with a kunai strike to the throat.

“I’m heading to Jakuniku Town to inform the local authorities,” Kakashi announced, his voice cutting through the sudden silence of the room. “You two are to stay here and make sure our sleeping guests don’t wake up. I’ll be back within an hour.”

Then, with a Shunshin, he was gone.

Shisui walked up to Itachi. “Let’s gather the bodies outside. We need to cremate them.”

Itachi nodded and they got to work in silence, taking a few minutes to lay the fallen rogue ninja side by side in the courtyard.

Moving back one step, Shisui took a deep breath and went through the snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, and tiger hand seals. A giant ball of flames left his mouth, engulfing the bodies.

Twelve more today. I want to stop all this senseless killing, but before I can even dream of it, I’ll have to stop what’s about to start back home. 

The members of the Uchiha clan hadn’t agreed on any specific action during their monthly meetings at the Naka Shrine. They all wanted to do something, but the path forward was fractured. Some argued they should keep a calm eye on things and proceed amicably, others insisted on a show of force, and a good majority were unsure which opinion to agree with, though more and more were being swayed by the aggressive options with each passing month.

“Hey, Itachi. What’s your opinion of Kakashi-senpai?”

“He is an effective teacher,” Itachi responded without looking away from the flames. “His methods may be unorthodox, but they are consistently effective.”

That wasn’t what he was looking for. 

“Do you think he’s trustworthy?” he asked, being more specific.

That made Itachi pause. “It depends on what. His actions suggest he values his comrades. I heard from my former teammate that he helped her find a way out of the shinobi life after my other teammate’s death.”

Shisui let out a long sigh as his mind raced.

Showing compassion to a Genin he barely knew was a good start. But that only confirmed he could do it when there was no cost to it. This was the case of an entire clan thinking of actions that would harm the village. Could Kakashi’s loyalty to his comrades lead him to drastic measures, making things worse in the process?

There’s no real choice though. Doing nothing while things continue to escalate makes it more dangerous. Besides, I’ve been thinking about telling the Hokage for a while now. This isn’t much different from that.

“The reason I’m asking,” Shisui said, “is because I want to tell him about what the clan’s trying to do. We can’t do anything about this on our own.”

Itachi finally turned his head, his eyes meeting Shisui’s. “He is close to the Hokage. Through him, we might be able to open a line of communication and find a solution that avoids bloodshed.”

Shisui looked back at the dying embers of the fire.

It’s decided, then.

He gave a small nod. “Let’s get back inside. Can’t let any of our guests wake up before Kakashi arrives with the local authorities.”