"Welcome back."
The silence did not last long. Just as Chiba was wondering what to say to break the awkward deadlock, Kakashi spoke first. With his left eye covered and half his face hidden behind a mask, very little of his face was exposed, making his expression impossible to read. Yet there was a trace of warmth in his voice.
It was as if Chiba's return was the only thing in recent times that had made him happy.
"Mm... mm!"
Chiba reacted rather embarrassingly. Perhaps he was too surprised by Kakashi's words; his shoulders jerked, and he nearly turned to stare at Kakashi in shock. Fortunately, Chiba had considerable self-control and forcibly held himself back. Still, the surprise in his voice was impossible to conceal, and he even sounded somewhat dazed. The two "mm"s came one after the other.
"Also, congratulations on becoming acting Hokage assistant."
Clearly, Kakashi had also heard about Chiba taking up the position of acting Hokage assistant.
"Mm... thank you."
This time, however, Chiba's expression grew slightly solemn as he answered in a somewhat low voice. He could hear nothing else in Kakashi's tone—nothing but sincere congratulations, without any other emotion.
Is that so...
I imagined it too seriously! I thought Kakashi was too fragile.
Even if Kakashi had begun to grow depressed because of Obito and Rin, he had still joined the Anbu and even become an Anbu captain. He was depressed, but not completely so. There was simply a scar in his heart, one that left him lost and could not be erased.
He was only confused and somewhat depressed, not so depressed that he could not take care of himself, not so depressed that Chiba needed to worry about him to that extent!
No matter what, he was a ninja praised as a