Naruto: Chakra System

"Seems like they're doing well."

Kakashi chuckled to himself, his figure hidden on the top branch of a leafy tree outside the Academy. Through the window, he could see his students' actions on the second floor. His gaze swept over the grounds below, where he saw the all Genin teams and also of Asuma and Kurenai's team still standing outside. As he was observing the teams, a specific chakra frequency registered in his mind. He instantly knew who it was and focused on the message.

"Jōnin... Kakashi... can you hear me?" Fuu's voice sounded clearly in his mind, and he smiled at her childish way of calling him through the Wave Transmission Technique. He touched the end of the tree branch, matching her chakra's frequency.

Using the same technique, Kakashi replied without moving his mouth. "Yeah, Fuu, I hear you clearly. But what a surprise, you usually talk with Naruto. Why bother me tod—"

"KAKASHI! YOU BIG MEANIE!!"

Kakashi was cut off by Fuu's loud complaint, the sheer volume of her voice echoing in his head and making his casual, lying position on the branch unstable for a moment. But he quickly steadied himself.

"W-what's the matter?" he asked, confused.

"You... Shibuki said you told him not to let me in for this Chūnin Exam in Konoha! Waaahy?" Fuu didn't shout this time, but her voice was naturally so loud that it still echoed in Kakashi's head.

"Oh, that! Sorry about that. I know you want to come, but didn't I already tell you that I'll take you to Konoha after this?" Kakashi explained calmly.

"But why not now!" Although Kakashi couldn't see her, he could feel her pouting.

"There are going to be some... incidents during this exam. Moreover, Genin your age are already teamed up with others, and your teammates' guards are also actually Chūnin, so you can't even participate properly anyway. It would be better if you just spent time in your village and trained with Chōmei."

"Humph! Meanie!" Fuu huffed, instantly cutting the connection.

"Haa," Kakashi sighed, sensing that Fuu's chakra frequency was gone. 'Well, it's also good that she cut it short. With long distances, the Wave Transmission Technique consumes a lot of chakra. Even a third of my chakra is gone with this small talk!' He glanced at his system panel.

[Host: Kakashi Hatake (Shadow Clone)]

[Chakra Pool: 468,660/700,000]

[Chakra Control: 93/100]

[Chakra Level: Kage]

[Chakra Affinity: All]

[Chakra Growth: NONE]

As a Shadow Clone, he had a limited amount of chakra from the main body, which could not grow through the system itself. 'Naruto is already a perfect Jinchūriki now. With Fuu here, maybe... just maybe, Orochimaru getting that idea could change his plan. And I'd rather have the plot go on as it was in the anime for this Chūnin Exam, without any interruption from the butterfly effect.'

'Although this will still change, I hope the Konoha Crush still takes place as it was supposed to, despite Team Seven's higher strength this time around.' As he thought this, a small chuckle escaped his lips, remembering his talk with Naruto last week.

————

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto came running toward him after he leaves the Chūnin Exam selection meeting with the Hokage and the other ninja.

"What is it, Naruto?" he asked calmly.

"I met another sibling of Kur— of the Fox!" Naruto said loudly, lowering his voice at the end. His deep-blue eyes shone as he told this to Kakashi.

"Oh! Really! How did that go?" Kakashi raised a brow in surprise and asked curiously, not asking who it was, as he knew it was obviously Gaara.

"It went very well! He's from the Sand Village, and he's here for the Chūnin Exam too! He was smiling at me widely. It looks like he was happy to see someone similar to him!" Naruto then narrated his meeting with Temari, Kankuro, and finally, Gaara.

'Huh? Smiling widely at you?' Kakashi was taken aback. 'The current Gaara is half-crazy. Him smiling at Naruto means he either wants to fight or directly kill him, but he surely can't be happy about it.'

"Then... then what happened? Didn't you and he fi– talk to eachother?"

"No!" Naruto shook his head in genuine disappointment. "A gorilla-looking Sand ninja with half of his face hidden under a piece of cloth came and took all three of them back before I could talk to him."

Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's description and figured out who he was referring to. 'A gorilla-looking ninja! No idea! But hiding his half face? It's probably their Jōnin sensei, Baki! It's a good thing he took Gaara back, otherwise things wouldn't be so silent today!'

————

Back in the present, Kakashi, or rather, his Shadow Clone, once again scanned the Genin teams outside the academy. His gaze fell on a team from Kusagakure, at the corner of the entrance. He saw a small girl with short, striking red hair, wearing a mesh shirt and stockings, a purple skirt, and a light-brown, short-sleeved jacket with a Kusagakure forehead protector on her forehead. She stood with her head down, behind her two male teammates, who were chatting and laughing among themselves without glancing at her once.

'Hmm... Kusagakure? Red hair? That... must be Karin Uzumaki. Ha, I almost forgot about her! She—' Kakashi recalled her, searching his anime memories while looking at the small back of the red-haired girl. But his words were caught in his throat as Karin raised her head, turned back, and curiously gazed in his direction, which was still hidden by the leaves of the tree. Her crimson eyes, under a large pair of glasses, met his.

'She can pinpoint my location?' Kakashi jolted into a sitting position on the branch, then remembered, 'Oh, right. She probably has Kagura's Mind's Eye sensory ability from a young age.' He met her gaze, which Karin could not see. All she could see was leaves, and sense was a ninja with a huge chakra signature at that part of the tree near the entrance to the academy.

'She's an Uzumaki. She could also help a lot against the Akatsuki in the near future!' Kakashi mused, gazing at her for a few more moment longer before vanishing with a puff of smoke.