Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

Chapter 5: Sakumo Hatake!

Outside the Ninja Academy.

It was a rare occasion that Sakumo Hatake came to pick up his son, Kakashi. His gaze, however, was unconsciously drawn to two other people.

He asked, "Kakashi, are those two also your classmates?"

Kakashi followed his father's line of sight and saw Shūichi Hoshita and Might Guy.

After nearly three months as classmates, they had all become quite familiar with each other, especially with Shūichi and Guy.

Guy considered Kakashi his strongest rival and often dragged him into friendly competitions. Since Shūichi and Guy were close friends, it was only natural that they also became friends.

Of course, part of it was because Kakashi had already formed a strong impression of Guy even before joining the Academy.

This was because Sakumo Hatake had once told him that Guy had extraordinary talent and would become a formidable opponent.

"Yes, Father," Kakashi replied. "His name is Shūichi Hoshita, and he's also my friend."

"His learning ability is incredibly strong—he's ranked first in the written exams for two consecutive tests."

Sakumo smiled and said, "It seems he's another outstanding talent."

"Kakashi, if you don't put in the effort, your friend might surpass you!"

Kakashi instinctively wanted to argue, because over the past three months, every time he faced Shūichi in a match, the latter had always been defeated.

But remembering Shūichi's rapid progress over the past month, he hesitated.

Especially in their practical class yesterday, when he was paired with Shūichi. During their match, it felt as though Shūichi could predict every one of his moves and techniques.

Although he still won, it wasn't due to superior taijutsu techniques, but rather because of his stronger physical abilities and more extensive combat experience.

So Kakashi thought for a moment and then asked, "Father, can I go train with them?"

Sakumo smiled and nodded, "Of course, go ahead."

Kakashi quickly said goodbye to his father and caught up with Shūichi and Guy.

Naturally, Shūichi and Guy welcomed Kakashi's participation, especially Guy, who had already invited Kakashi to join them many times.

On the way, Kakashi couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind, "Shūichi, during our match yesterday, and in your matches with others, it seemed like you could see through all our movements. How did you do that?"

So he noticed after all.

Shūichi wasn't too surprised; exceptional people always draw attention.

After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Kakashi, when you're facing someone who is slower than you and you're familiar with their moves, you can also predict their actions."

Kakashi frowned, "Your speed is..."

He quickly realized Shūichi wasn't talking about the speed of his hands or feet. "Are you referring to nerve response speed?"

Shūichi nodded, "That's part of it."

He pointed to his brain and then to his eyes. "When your eyes receive information from the outside world and pass it to your brain, which then sends feedback to your eyes and other parts of your body, it all takes time."

"These can all be categorized as neural response speed. As it happens, my brain processes information faster, allowing me to quickly handle the data received by my eyes, hearing, smell, and touch, and then relay that information back to my eyes, hands, and feet."

"At the same time, I have a decent memory. I've created mental profiles for you, Kakashi, and for the other classmates, which makes me familiar with your fighting styles and techniques."

When Shūichi mentioned these "profiles," he was actually referring to the way he had categorized and stored memories of battles with Kakashi and others in his memory palace.

Although everyone was improving, when it came to taijutsu duels, especially with someone like Kakashi who had been trained in family techniques from an early age, certain patterns had already been established.

By combining his memory with his exceptional information processing speed, Shūichi was able to read and anticipate Kakashi's and others' moves.

Shūichi also speculated that the dynamic vision of the Sharingan might not only be about seeing the opponent's chakra flow but could also involve speeding up the transmission of visual information to the brain.

After hearing this explanation, Kakashi had a moment of realization.

He recalled that the concept of neural response wasn't just covered in the Biology and Poisons textbook issued by the Ninja Academy; his father had also taught him about it.

Through long-term training, increasing the speed of hand seals and forming muscle memory were actually ways of enhancing neural response speed.

"My father was right. A brain that processes information quickly is a unique talent Shūichi possesses."

Kakashi, with his keen insight, also noticed that Shūichi seemed to have a unique technique related to memory.

However, he didn't press further because prying into someone's secrets, especially a friend's, was highly impolite.

When they reached the small forest, Might Guy immediately challenged Kakashi to a spirited battle.

Watching the two of them go at it, dust flying everywhere, Shūichi squinted and thought, "They're going at it much harder than when they fight me!"

"It seems I'm still far behind; I can't push Guy to his full potential."

When it came to taijutsu talent, Shūichi knew he was far behind Kakashi and Guy. This was something he could clearly feel after training with Guy so often.

If it weren't for the buffs provided by his tags, Guy would have left him far behind a long time ago.

"I wonder if the 'Strong and Sturdy' tag, with its one-fold enhancement to taijutsu talent, will allow me to catch up to Kakashi or even Guy."

Shūichi was full of anticipation.

Because today was June 25th.

Once today's training was over, the 'Strong and Sturdy' tag would finally be activated.

However, neither Shūichi, nor the battling Guy and Kakashi, noticed that a pair of eyes was watching them from afar.

...

Night, at the Root Base.

The Root leader, Danzo, still in his prime, looked at the report in his hand. "So, he's from an orphanage, with both parents having died in battle. His exceptional qualities are merely a superior neural response and memory?"

The Root ninja, responsible for scouting potential talents at the Ninja Academy, lowered his head and replied, "Yes, Lord Danzo."

"This Shūichi Hoshita has an exceptional learning ability, consistently ranking first in written exams, surpassing geniuses like Kakashi and many students from established ninja clans."

"His taijutsu talent is average, but his superior neural response and memory give him a Sharingan-like ability to see through an opponent's moves and anticipate their actions."

"In addition, he has an extremely valuable trait: self-discipline."

"His self-discipline surpasses that of most adults. I believe that if someone like him were to be trained by Root, he could be of great use."

At the mention of the Sharingan, Danzo's eyes narrowed, and he began to take the matter more seriously.

A Sharingan-like ability, combined with exceptional learning capabilities and terrifying self-discipline... these traits were indeed well-suited for Root.

Danzo immediately issued an order, "Keep a close eye on this Shūichi Hoshita!"

There were more talented individuals at the Ninja Academy than Shūichi, such as Kakashi.

But Kakashi was a child he couldn't recruit into Root.

(End of Chapter)