Negotiation with the White Fang

"Is that so..."

Hatake Sakumo sighed. For a moment, he even found it somewhat ironic. He had been a Tool Man his entire life, yet even after death, he could not rest in peace.

Seeing Hatake Sakumo's low and dispirited mood, Uchiha Feiyu pondered for a moment before continuing.

"Senior Sakumo, I know it may be hard for you to accept having your soul controlled, but look at it another way—doesn't this amount to getting a second life?"

"You've already fulfilled all your obligations to Konoha. From now on, you won't need to worry about so many things. You can live entirely for yourself!"

"Most importantly, don't you want to see how your son Kakashi is doing now?"

Sure enough, at the mention of Kakashi, Hatake Sakumo, who had just been utterly listless, immediately regained some vitality. He looked at Uchiha Feiyu with faint concern and asked softly, "Kakashi... how is he doing now?"

"What do you think? The father he admired most suddenly died right in front of him, and by suicide, no less. He couldn't even be commemorated on the Memorial Stone after his death. You can imagine how devastating that was for him."

"Anyway, he's completely lifeless now. I think he might follow you at any moment!"

Uchiha Feiyu wore a face full of concern, as though he were genuinely worried about Kakashi. "Even if he pulls through, with you as such a vivid example, he'll probably become the sort of Tool Man who lives entirely for missions!"

"Maybe he'll join some dark organization like Root in the future, erase all his emotions, and become a cold-blooded ninja who carries out missions without feeling. In the end, Konoha's higher-ups will abandon him, and he'll die in some dark, unknown corner..."

Hatake Sakumo's expression twitched. Even though he could hear the exaggeration in Uchiha Feiyu's words, he could not help worrying about poor Kakashi.

After killing himself once, Hatake Sakumo had finally pulled himself out of the mental dead end he had been trapped in. Thinking of his son now filled him with deep regret.

It did not matter if he was dead, but no matter how mature Kakashi was, he was still only eight or nine years old. Without his father, what would Kakashi become in the future?

"How pitiful... His father died because he saved his comrades and disregarded the mission. I suppose Kakashi will become a cold-blooded ninja with no companions in his life except for missions!"

Uchiha Feiyu deliberately added a few more words, making Hatake Sakumo look even more worried. Though he knew Uchiha Feiyu was trying to use Kakashi to manipulate him, how could he not worry about his own son?

"Fine, stop talking... I'll cooperate with your secret technique! But you have to promise me that you'll take good care of Kakashi."

Consumed by guilt, Hatake Sakumo agreed to Uchiha Feiyu's conditions without much hesitation. Joy immediately appeared on Uchiha Feiyu's face.

"Don't worry, no problem, Senior Sakumo!"

"When the time comes, I can let your soul control my body so you can see Kakashi's current condition for yourself!"

After making an agreement with Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha grew somewhat impatient to see how his son was doing.

Uchiha Feiyu said nothing more and directly allowed the White Fang of Konoha to possess him. Then, he infiltrated the Hatake Residence.

Even using Uchiha Feiyu's body, the White Fang of Konoha could still display the strength of an Elite Jonin. Naturally, Kakashi did not notice his infiltration.

Seeing his son's numb, indifferent, and withdrawn appearance, Hatake Sakumo regretted his suicide all over again.

"Feiyu, do you have any way to help Kakashi? I'm very worried about his current state!"

After leaving the Hatake Residence, Hatake Sakumo immediately looked at Uchiha Feiyu anxiously and asked.

Now you're worried? What were you doing before?

Uchiha Feiyu grumbled inwardly, but he also knew that solving Kakashi's problem was the only way to truly win over Hatake Sakumo.

Still, Kakashi's psychological issues were not easy to resolve. The only method was to interact with him persistently, like Obito and Guy had done. Setting aside whether Uchiha Feiyu could act like such a hot-blooded fool, the time it would take alone was enough to give him a headache.

"Senior Sakumo, you're Kakashi's father. Logically speaking, shouldn't you be better than me at talking him through this?"

Unable to think of a solution, Uchiha Feiyu simply threw the problem back at Hatake Sakumo, who immediately pulled a miserable face.

As a famous genius of Konoha, Kakashi had been the kind of child other parents bragged about ever since he was young. He had never needed Hatake Sakumo's guidance. Besides, Hatake Sakumo had never played the role of a thoughtful father at home, so how would he know how to comfort Kakashi?

Seeing Hatake Sakumo remain silent, Uchiha Feiyu sighed and asked again, "Senior, how did you and Kakashi usually get along before? What did you two like doing most?"

"Uh... taking him to train?"

"All right... looks like there's no hope for you, Senior."

"If it were me... perhaps I should become Kakashi's rival?"

In the Naruto World, rivals like lifelong enemies were often the strongest bonds. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō, Orochimaru and Jiraiya...

Kakashi's two best friends, Guy and Obito, also regarded him as a rival. The fact that Kakashi was ultimately able to emerge from his low point was not unrelated to those two friends.

But honestly, Uchiha Feiyu had rarely challenged Kakashi in the past. On the contrary, Kakashi had intentionally or unintentionally caused him trouble several times.

"It might be a little troublesome. I'm not the hot-blooded idiot type, either... But if I use concern for Kakashi as an excuse and find a way to pull him out of his slump, no one should be too suspicious."

"But... if I don't use Spirit Summons and Subjugation, it seems I can't beat Kakashi right now!"

As Uchiha Feiyu spoke, he looked toward Hatake Sakumo. Hatake Sakumo clearly understood what he meant and said directly, "I'll teach you my White Fang Sword Style, as well as Lightning Release and Wind Release. With your foundation, a little guidance should make beating Kakashi easy!"

"Then it's settled, Senior Hatake!!"

Uchiha Feiyu immediately agreed. He had been longing for a high-level inheritance for a long time.

Though he bore the Uchiha name, he had joined them midway. As a result, the truly high-level ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Sharingan techniques of the Uchiha had never truly been opened to Uchiha Feiyu.

And precisely because he carried the Uchiha name, it was difficult for Uchiha Feiyu to obtain a high-level inheritance elsewhere. Now that he had acquired Hatake Sakumo's soul, he naturally had his eyes on the White Fang of Konoha's inheritance.

He could certainly forcefully borrow the power of Spirit Summoning and slowly explore through possession, but if Hatake Sakumo personally guided him while possessing him, his progress would naturally be much faster.