At 4 a.m. the next morning, Kakashi suddenly woke up from his sleep.
He quickly grabbed his phone from the bedside table and checked the time.
But when he saw that there were still nearly two hours left until 6 a.m., he couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened.
To make sure he woke up at 6 a.m., Kakashi had deliberately avoided staying up late and gone to bed early.
But he hadn't expected to wake up so early.
Thinking about having to wait for nearly two more hours, Kakashi felt incredibly bored.
At this hour, most people were still asleep, making it difficult to find opponents in ranked matches, especially at his level.
As for casual matches? Kakashi had long since stopped caring about casual matches. His skill level had far surpassed that of the average Ninja, and even when practicing new Ninjas, he did so in ranked matches.
So, he picked up his Icha-Icha Paradise, hoping to pass the time with this masterpiece.
But he had already read it countless times, and with his mind focused on the new characters being released, so the once thrilling and provocative scenes in the book no longer held much appeal.
As a result, in the final hour before 6 a.m., Kakashi... fell asleep while reading.
---
After what felt like an eternity, Kakashi felt a bright light in front of his eyes. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, which were sore and heavy.
Out of habit, he checked his phone, then found it was 10 a.m.
At first, he didn't think much of it, but after splashing some water on his face, he suddenly remembered something crucial...
'The update was supposed to happen at 6 a.m.!'
'Oh no!'
Kakashi didn't waste any time, and quickly opened the game to start the update.
After a hasty wash, he didn't even bother with breakfast and rushed straight to Yuto's shop.
To the Ninjas passing by, Kakashi's movements were a blur.
That's right, Kakashi even used Kamui to speed up his journey.
When he arrived at the main shop, he pushed the door open to find every seat already taken.
It was Sunday today, and thanks to the recent successful cleanup of the White Zetsu, most Ninjas not on patrol or duty had been given a day off.
Generally speaking, Kakashi preferred coming to the main shop, but with it completely packed, there were no available seats.
Just as Kakashi was about to head to the branch shop to find a seat, a short figure suddenly called out to him.
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei, I want to duel you!"
The distinctive voice rang out beside Kakashi.
Kakashi turned toward the sound and saw none other than Naruto.
Sitting across from Naruto was Sasuke, and next to Sasuke was Sakura...
A table with four seats, and one seat was still empty.
Although Kakashi usually preferred sitting alone, seeing that the other three seats were occupied by his students, he didn't say much and immediately took a seat.
Team 7 had reunited in the shop.
"Ah, it's you three. Good morning."
Kakashi greeted them casually. He logged into the freshly updated game, eager to check out the new Ninjas.
However, Naruto was persistent, pestering him for a duel.
"Come on, just one match! Kakashi-sensei ~"
Naruto whined and pleaded, but Kakashi wasn't planning to indulge him. He wanted to get his hands on the new Ninjas first.
However, Naruto's next words piqued Kakashi's interest.
"I've already won ten ranked matches in a row with the new character. Even Sasuke couldn't beat me! Kakashi-sensei, please, just one match."
'Huh?'
'Ten wins in a row?'
Kakashi knew Naruto's skill level all too well. He struggled to even reach the Jonin rank, and if it weren't for the growing player base, Naruto'd probably still be stuck in the Chunin rank.
Sure, Naruto wasn't the best, but he loved playing! He was the type to lose often but never stop challenging others to duels.
Once or twice was fine, but once you agreed to a duel with Naruto, whether you won or lost, he'd immediately demand another match.
He was incredibly persistent, and in Kakashi's eyes, Naruto's skill level wasn't much higher than a AIs. Dueling him was a waste of time.
That's why Kakashi initially didn't want to entertain Naruto's request.
'But... Sasuke can't beat Naruto?'
Kakashi also knew Sasuke's level.
While Sasuke wasn't among the absolute top-tier players, he was comfortably in the upper echelon of the second tier.
Sasuke had been holding his own in the Kage rank, and with his Sharingan activated, he could even go toe-to-toe with some of the top-tier players in the Super Kage rank.
'What is going on?'
Kakashi was curious, so he shot a questioning look at Sasuke.
However, Sasuke turned his head away with a pout, muttering, "It's only because of the new Ninjas. If those new Ninjas weren't so overpowered, there's no way I would've lost."
'New Ninjas?!'
Kakashi latched onto the keyword, 'So, Naruto had gotten his hands on the new Ninjas? And he was using them to defeat Sasuke? That meant Naruto had already mastered them…'
'This was the perfect opportunity to see just how strong these new Ninjas were!'
Without another word, Kakashi opened his friends list, found Naruto, and sent him a duel request.
Naruto accepted without hesitation.
The duel between the two was about to begin.
Kakashi's usual lineup consisted of two B-Rank Ninjas and his signature character, Kakashi, as the anchor.
The two B-Rank Ninjas were ones he used to practice in ranked matches.
Kakashi had just finished selecting his lineup when he remembered that even Sasuke had lost to Naruto.
And given how competitive both Sasuke and Naruto were, he knew they must have dueled more than once.
'That meant Sasuke had lost to Naruto multiple times...'
So, to be on the safe side, Kakashi took out his strongest lineup.
Senju Hashirama [Edo Tensei], Senju Tobirama [Edo Tensei], and Kakashi Hatake.
Among these three Ninjas, the first two are undoubtedly the strongest Ninjas in the current version.
Although Tsunade [Byakugou], Orochimaru [Indestructible], and Jiraiya [Sage Mode] could hold their own against them, there was still a noticeable gap in strength.
Currently, there weren't many Ninjas with grab moves, and most high-tier Ninjas didn't have a reliable grab like Tsunade [Byakugou] or Tobirama [Edo Tensei].
That's why Hashirama [Edo Tensei]'s block mechanic was so valuable.
Especially in the hands of a skilled player like Kakashi, the block was essentially his 'fourth skill.'
The same went for Tobirama [Edo Tensei]. His strength had always been high.
Moreover, among the current high-tier Ninjas, only Tsunade [Byakugou] had the ability to fly.
Since there was no need to deal with flying characters, Tobirama [Edo Tensei]'s ground dominance was just as valuable as Hashirama [Edo Tensei]'s...
As for the last Ninja, Kakashi kept his signature character, Kakashi Hatake, in the lineup out of nostalgia. No matter how the meta shifted, he always reserved a spot for 'himself.'
After equipping his summoning and secret scroll, Kakashi locked in his lineup and entered the loading screen.
He was eager to see just what these new Ninjas were capable of.
However... Kakashi only saw two golden figures and a ninja wearing a red cloak on the other side.
Uzumaki Naruto [Kurama Link Mode], Uzumaki Naruto [Nine-Tails Chakra Mode], Uzumaki Naruto [Sage Mode].