Splash!
Beneath the small steam-filled cabin, in the rolling hot water, Kakashi leaned back gently against the bath barrel.
Chiba really was getting more and more cunning. He had fallen right into the guy's trap without even noticing.
Asuma, Raidō, and Genma were probably furious by now.
In the hot water, Kakashi, having shed all his exhaustion, could not help but smile faintly.
He had never expected Chiba to slack off and play tricks too.
It really was...
It felt like discovering a whole new continent. Who would have thought that a training fanatic like him would also have days when he wanted to take it easy?
It was also hard to imagine that the "Traitor's Son" from back then had become so well-liked and welcomed.
As his smile spread, Kakashi could not help recalling the first time he had met Chiba: Chiba, covered in injuries after saving Yukina, who had still been the Young Miss of the Hyuga Clan at the time.
No! He deserved all of this. It was because of everything he had given for everyone that he had earned so much affection and welcome.
That was the kind of person he was, someone worth giving everything for.
Then, as he thought of the lake where he had first met Chiba, a thought rose in Kakashi's heart.
I think I admire this guy a little. After that thought, however, the smile on Kakashi's lips gradually took on a trace of bitterness.
At that moment, the question that had slowly faded after he had distanced himself from Chiba—or rather, the question whose answer he no longer wanted to seek—surfaced in his heart once more.
Why was it that, despite losing so much, despite experiencing the cruelty of war, despite facing the darkness of this world, Chiba could still