Kakashi's Mistake

Chapter 10

Dilemmas

It came to him in the hotel room at the end of the first day of their trek as he looked at the scroll sitting before him in the room that Naruto had rented for him and him alone.

Not once on the trip had he even considered challenging Naruto.

It was a different feeling, compounded by the fact that Naruto had even allowed him along for the trip. Normally he would have expected Naruto to simple blow him off and tell him to mind his own business. So to have Naruto not only willingly accept, but seemingly pull the leg of Jiraiya of the Sannin to do so was something he wasn't ready for.

This Naruto was a complete enigma to him. Just when he thought he had the blond figured out, he would do something completely different. Like during the entire walk on the first day had been Naruto creating kage bunshin at odd intervals to send them disappearing into a hiraishin, his face a mask of seriousness as he wrote in scrolls and small books. There had been one instance in which he had tried to talk with Naruto only to receive a shake of the head and a "later".

It had made his blood boil the fact that the former goofball had brushed him aside so brusquely, but right after that a clone appeared beside Naruto to hand him a scroll. The moment after Naruto had opened the scroll he looked downright furious before snapping it shut, letting out a curse, and having the clone dispel. After that, he had viewed that it might be wise to give Naruto a wide berth. Which did nothing for the part of him that was screaming that he put the dobe in his place for daring to challenge his primacy. But, what could he do? It was like the sandal was on the other foot, where the blond had previously challenged him at every chance he could get, now he wanted to do it to him. It was unnerving, but now, if he really buckled down upon it, in that very thin sliver of his mind, the dobe had become both a threat and a pear, a maddening dichotomy that caused that inner voice to scream bloody murder and demand that he retake his rightful place at the top.

It was a little while later while they were enjoying a quick break that Naruto walked up to him to apologize. He had shrugged it off, not really caring for the apology, but the blond had reinforced the apology by handing him a scroll.

"In here are several fire jutsus that my family has on record, I think you will find them handy. In addition, there is advanced training for your lightning nature transformation in that scroll to enhance your Chidori a lot faster."

And that had been the only conversation that had transpired between Naruto and himself, a conversation that only continued to add to the growing puzzle that made up Naruto Uzumaki...no, Uzumaki-Namikaze. After that Naruto hadn't made any attempt to chat with him, instead placing his time in a few quiet conversations with Jiraiya and one major conversation with Hinata, pulling the Hyūga heiress aside for a short time while they were on break and returning later with the Hyūga heiress returning in a blush and Naruto with a content smirk on his face that almost made him think he was looking in the mirror at his own image.

What had happened between those two he did not want to brook any consideration of. As far as he was concerned what Naruto did with the weak Hyūga heiress was his own concern as long as it didn't interfere with him. Honestly, he felt that Naruto could do a bit better than such a weak-willed and pathetic creature like Hinata who had disgusted him since he had first met her. Heiress to the Hyūga Clan? Pft, they were doomed if they selected her and he wouldn't mind seeing the clan get burned off its pedestal.

He shook his head. He was getting distracted by trivial issues that were of no concern to him. Better to spend more time on focusing to get stronger so he could kill him.