The Person I Respect Most

Konoha's limited-time homecoming event did not last long. Aside from those scheduled to rotate out, everyone else had already returned to their respective front lines.

It was as though the joy and happiness from before had all been an illusionary dream. The illusion of short-lived happiness was always shattered by forces from the outside world, forcing the ninja to keep moving forward.

They had thought that with Blut Arterie and Blut Vene, all that remained was to build up their strength and rest easy. But the current situation no longer allowed for that. It was as if an invisible whip were lashing across the Ninja World, driving them onward.

Whether it was the Five Great Shinobi Villages or the smaller ones, although no truly large-scale Ninja World War had broken out, everyone believed this was the calm before the storm. Sand Ninja and Stone Ninja had originally been fighting already, while Cloud Ninja had been waiting to stab Stone Ninja in the back. They had stopped entirely because Konoha's technological advantage had gone beyond the ordinary.

The great nations were not at war now only because they were still absorbing the technology and equipping their forces with it. Everyone could sense the smoke of war spreading around their nasal cavities.

Yet this tense atmosphere had not seeped into Konoha's Ninja Academy.

At present, Konoha did not need to send Ninja Academy students to fill the battle lines, nor had it adopted a wartime system of universal conscription.

After all, even without its technological advantage, it was still the strongest of the Five Great Nations. Its sheer scale was there for all to see. Losing that advantage was regrettable, but it would not cripple them.

In fact, in the eyes of some individual ninja and ninja clans, trading Blut Arterie and Blut Vene for the complete removal of Konoha's spies was instead a good thing. From now on, Konoha's movements would be hidden behind a black curtain to its enemies. That intelligence advantage was the best possible outcome, and some troublemakers even claimed that this had been the Third Hokage's scheme all along.

However, the Third Hokage himself had begun taking a hands-off approach toward all sorts of rumors, so things simply continued as they were.

Though they had developed some sense of crisis and remained highly vigilant toward the Four Great Shinobi Villages' joint actions, they had not raised the alarm to its highest level. For Konoha, that was already common sense.

So when Aizen saw Kakashi run up to him with a sheet of white paper that stated a parent was required to accompany the student for review, he did not find it particularly strange.

Ever since White Fang's death, Sosuke Aizen had strongly encouraged Kakashi to return to school. On one hand, Kakashi could experience school life and commit it to memory; on the other, he could continue researching Blut Arterie. Now, looking at the note Kakashi had handed him, Aizen raised an eyebrow and accepted it.

"People you respect and people you want to become, hm?"

"Yeah. It's the final assignment. The same as the one we had when we enrolled."

"I see. They want to use this method to remind you not to forget your changes and your original intention. So? Is there anything you need my help with?"

"The teacher wants the parents to write down the person they admire most, then compare it with the children's answers. They probably want to tell us that we're different from our parents, that we don't need to walk the same old path, and that the Will of Fire is the truth or something like that."

Looking at the white sheet in his hands, Kakashi let out a world-weary sigh despite his young age.

Kakashi could not be blamed for being sensitive about such things. The school simply taught far too many comparisons and theories of that sort.

The children of ninja who had remained from the Warring States period, or who had received a Warring States period education, thought completely differently from their parents.

The ninja of the Warring States period valued old-fashioned principles: kill any enemy on sight, put the mission first, and remain cold and rigid as machines. That did not align with the Will of Fire currently emphasized by the shinobi villages.

Although the Third Hokage and the other leaders also carried on that old-fashioned style, they naturally could not educate children so directly. Thus, all kinds of comparative lessons and courses highlighting Konoha's virtues came one after another.

As though making up for something, all the painful, bewildering, and despairing things from the Warring States period were brought out in class and repeatedly drilled into the children. To the elders, this was a summary of social experience and a rejection of ugly reality. But for the children, hearing about it every day was getting tiresome.

Watching Aizen flip through the note outlining the parents' requirements, Kakashi sighed listlessly.

"Anyway, you'll just write something like the Third Hokage, so just scribble something down. I'll write the Third Hokage too and make do with it."

"Hm? When did I ever say the person I respected most was the Third Hokage?"

"...Huh? Haven't you always been like that?"

"I am neither a god nor a saint. Of course there are people I respect."

Setting the note on the table, Aizen smiled at the somewhat startled Kakashi Hatake and said softly:

"Then, Kakashi, a simple question. Would you try to cross over to Kirigakure on a drum washing machine when you couldn't swim and had no ninjutsu?"

"Wouldn't that be insane?"

"The people I respect are precisely that kind of madman."

Writing a series of characters on the blank sheet, Aizen's voice seemed to take on a trace of nostalgia and reverence.

They were not memories from his past, but memories he had fused with.

It was precisely because they had fused that he could admire the courage of those who had gone before.

Perhaps their goals had not been pure. Perhaps there were countless reasons to refute them. But they had truly taken that step in defiance of the planet.

It was a step that defied the world in which they lived, a step that crossed beyond that world. Amid countless meager conditions and insane assumptions, they had ultimately stepped toward an impossible outside world.

Compared to that, this place and the Soul Society, which only knew how to live off their old foundations, both seemed dim.

"Can you believe it? We possess such immense power. Every one of our abilities and technologies is something they could only dream of. They had nothing—only the results of their own calculations, and theories full of loopholes and limiting conditions."

"And yet, they succeeded. More than once. One after another, they pressed forward without hesitation. I was inspired by people like them, so I believe I should do things like that too. At the very least, I want to see the scenery that can only be seen when it is paved with endless courage and wisdom."

"Perhaps my actions are not just, and my methods will be criticized. But I will not change because of what others think. So, Kakashi, you must find your own goal and answer, as well as the ideal you would give everything to achieve. No matter how hasty or ordinary that ideal may be, it is still your own thought."

"That is your own story, a story that neither I nor anyone else can alter."

"..."

Kakashi Hatake stared speechlessly at Sosuke Aizen, who had launched into another long-winded speech, then covered his head with somewhat exaggerated frustration.

"You always turn little things into long lectures. Can't you change that habit, Aizen? My ears are practically growing calluses from listening to your grand principles."

"Haha, my apologies. It may be an old habit. Whenever I face this kind of situation, I cannot help saying what I want to say. People's greatest failing is their love of teaching others—that's all."

Smiling somewhat awkwardly, Aizen handed the note to Kakashi.

But when Kakashi saw the words written in elegant calligraphy, he curled his lips in even greater speechlessness.

"All those who take a step forward with courage are people I respect."

...How was that any different from saying nothing?

Adults were always like this. Completely unreliable.

Casting a resentful glance at Sosuke Aizen, who seemed so embarrassed that he had to push up his glasses to hide it, Kakashi Hatake sighed. Dejectedly clutching the paper and pen, he left the room and began pondering how he should answer instead.

Kakashi did not notice that in the corner he passed, a man wearing a haori marked with the character "Eleven" was looking at Aizen, who had resumed reviewing documents in the room, with a complicated expression. It was obvious that Aizen was truly relaxed at the moment, and he even greeted him with lingering amusement.

"Good morning, Captain Hatake Sakumo. Aren't you going to spend more time talking with your child?"

"...That child is far more outstanding than I imagined. And I did not expect that you really would become a good teacher."

"I bear no malice toward children. Their future fills me with anticipation. I have expectations for Kakashi-kun; you should know that."

"So that's why you only treated Kagami Uchiha that way?"

"What do you mean by 'that way'?"

Aizen sorted the documents in his hands into their files, then looked curiously at Hatake Sakumo, whose face was twisted with conflict.

"I did not kill him, nor did I insult the beliefs in his heart. I even gave him countless opportunities. For the sake of his fighting spirit and convictions, I merely altered his memories slightly. Is there a problem with that?"

"...I brought this humiliation upon myself, trying to reason with you."

Why did I ever think there might be something like ethics or morality in your head...

I must not have slacked off enough lately.

Looking at Aizen, who seemed genuinely puzzled and as though he were sincerely displaying his mercy, Hatake Sakumo sighed numbly. He took a scroll from his clothes and placed it on Aizen's desk.

"Also, a wooden puppet was wandering around the Soul Society. It said it wanted to deliver something to a man who looked especially good at singing and particularly refined. It rambled on about a lot of nonsense. I thought about it and took it directly."

"Ah, it should be a letter from my partner. Thank you for your trouble."

Aizen accepted the scroll from Hatake Sakumo with both hands. Without hiding anything from him, he opened it directly.

The instant it was opened, the Sealing Jutsu activated automatically. As a cloud of smoke dispersed, a glass jar containing flesh and blood and a thick letter appeared before Aizen.