Chapter 183 Water Purification

"I've never seen chakra so active," Iruka said finally, "Is this a forbidden technique?"

His tone was serious when he asked the question, and Kakashi had never been more grateful that Iruka was his friend, his comrade.

Iruka's strong heart had proven time and again how valuable it was in helping Kakashi maintain his sanity, and his unwavering support was priceless.

"No," Kakashi assured, "It's mine. I'm just... not used to it."

If Kakashi's words bothered Iruka, he didn't show it.

He just stared at Kakashi's palm for a long time, lost in thought, which made Kakashi a little confused.

"Since it's yours, you need to calm it down," Iruka said simply, and Kakashi snorted with a wry smile.

"I tried, but as you can see, it didn't work very well."

Iruka frowned in dissatisfaction, with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"Your chakra is part of you, idiot," he said flatly, "and the reason it's so excited is because you're excited, too."

Kakashi opened his eyes, frowned in dissatisfaction, and looked up at him.

"I'm perfectly calm, thank you."

"Maybe on the surface," Iruka countered, shaking his head as he pushed the auburn hair that had fallen out of his ponytail behind his ear.

"But I know you. You're worried about your students, about the other Genin, about Orochimaru eventually showing up, about what will happen when Gaara finds out who Naruto really is."

Iruka stared directly into Kakashi's single eye, not flinching, and even though his bangs itchyly blocked his vision, he didn't care and still held Kakashi's hand tightly.

“Just because you don’t show it, doesn’t mean those emotions aren’t there.”

Kakashi sighed.

“This has never happened before.”

"You've never cared so much about anyone before," Iruka retorted, and Kakashi found himself unable to argue with that fact.

Iruka hummed at his silence, his breath causing his loose hair to flutter slightly.

"Look, I don't know what's changed, and I don't need to know, but you've been numb for too long, Kakashi. You're not used to your chakra reacting to your emotions, and what you've done has made it incredibly sensitive. You can't control it like you used to."

"So what do you think I should do?" Kakashi's tone was a little sharp, the pain and frustration making him even ruder than usual. "I'm just asking for your opinion now."

Iruka rolled his eyes at his attitude and gave his hand a punishing squeeze.

"Normally, I would let you sort this out on your own - force you to deal with your emotions like a normal person - but I doubt we have the time for that right now. Hokage-sama has probably noticed your absence."

"Very likely," Kakashi agreed.

Iruka nodded, then groaned thoughtfully.

"Then we don't have much time. The game will start soon - if you don't return by then, he will send someone to find you, and it will be..."

"Not good." Kakashi continued, his tone was light. This level of loss of control was not just a weakness - it was a stain. If anyone found out about his current... condition, he would most likely be banned from participating in the Chunin Exam and all subsequent actions.

Iruka nodded again, though this time it seemed more for himself than for Kakashi - as if he had made a decision on some unspoken subject - and his eyes shone with determination, like burning fire.

"You believe me, don't you, Kakashi?" he asked bluntly, and it was probably the most unnecessary question Iruka had ever asked.

"Of course," Kakashi replied without hesitation, frowning in confusion, because Iruka knew.

He knew Kakashi would answer in the affirmative before he even opened his mouth.

He'd assumed Iruka was just confirming out of politeness; in the ninja world, not having clear verbal or body language to indicate that you trusted the other person was considered extremely disrespectful - not to mention poor etiquette.

But even if Kakashi had never openly expressed his trust in Iruka, he had proven it countless times with his actions.

"Do you still need to ask?"

Iruka shook his head, a wry smile crossing his lips.

"No, I haven't," he admitted. "I just needed to make sure."

With that, Iruka closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Kakashi's hand, and suddenly the place where they touched began to burn, but the feeling was completely different from the tingling static electricity Kakashi had felt before.

Iruka's chakra was warm and gentle, a power Kakashi was already familiar with, but he had never felt it like this before—like a wave of radiation, flowing into him with ease and determination.

Kakashi froze in place, watching in amazement as Iruka's chakra soothed the restless energy within him - it reverberated through him, radiating steadily and softly to the deepest parts of his being.

A pleasurable sense of peace washed over him, flooding the most secret corners of his mind, and Kakashi suddenly felt a profound clarity - a firm belief in himself and his own power that usually took him hours of meditation to gain.

"Psychic Technique: Purify Water!"

Kakashi had never felt power like this before. This was no genjutsu; it had no illusion or hypnosis, nor did it alter his senses. It was more like it softened the emotions themselves, calmed his agitated chakra.

His newfound power was still strong enough to push the limits of his control, but the internal conflict was gone, and as a result, Kakashi's body was better able to handle it.

When Iruka finished the jutsu and his eyes fluttered open, Kakashi absentmindedly rubbed his fingers, savoring the strange feeling brought by Iruka's jutsu.

"I thought I knew all your moves," he whispered, and Iruka gave him an almost sly smile in response.

"That's not necessarily true." He said gently, but there was a hint of mystery in his tone, as if to suggest that Kakashi knew very little. "Feeling better?"

"Much better." Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, with a hint of confusion in his tone. "I didn't even know there was such a jutsu before."

Iruka shrugged, bent down to pick up the folder on the ground, and said lightly:

“That’s because I created it myself.”