Perhaps because they watched him eat so enthusiastically, the small group became lively as well.
Hashirama Senju: Was Ichiraku Ramen really that delicious?
Tobirama Senju: I wouldn't know. It seemed to have opened after my time.
Minato Namikaze: More or less. I've had it before; it was pretty good.
Might Guy: Every time I finish a mission, I always come here for a bowl.
Might Guy: But Kakashi isn't really the type to treat people to meals.
Worthy of being the person who understood Kakashi best, Might Guy noticed that the moment Kitahara Kaede took a sip of soup, Kakashi's composed expression instantly vanished.
Then...
"Since you ate my food."
"I have something I'd like to ask of you."
Kakashi said.
"..."
So treating him to a meal was actually just a request for help?
Where did this social butterfly come from?
"..." Kitahara Kaede glanced at Kakashi.
Kakashi had not been out of the Anbu for very long, and Anbu members rarely interacted with others, so it was normal for Kakashi to display this... lack of social skills.
After considering it briefly, Kitahara Kaede began listening to Kakashi's request.
Kakashi said,
"When I was in the Anbu, Orochimaru defected, and the Third Hokage sent me to stop him."
"And then... I already had the strength of a Jonin at the time, but after Orochimaru looked at me once, I couldn't move."
"That incident has always remained in my heart. Although my current strength is vastly different from before..."
"I can't guarantee that I won't shrink back if I encounter Orochimaru again," Kakashi said.
Kakashi not only had to deal with the two children in Team 7; he also had to deal with a major problem of his own... one that had always affected him.
That was... his fear of Orochimaru.
Might Guy: I see.
Might Guy: I thought Kakashi's time in the Anbu had just been that kind of... cold, emotionless life. I never expected him to have gone through something like that.
Might Guy: I had no idea at all.
Might Guy: Kakashi faced Orochimaru when he was so young... while I was still useless back then.
The moment Might Guy called himself useless, everyone else looked at him.
Because who didn't know that he had entered with the strongest attributes and was a Kage-level powerhouse?
Who didn't know his two titles: Blue Beast and The Man Recognized by Madara Uchiha?
And yet someone like him... called himself useless?
[Beep!]
[Detected an inaccurate statement from Might Guy. Automatically equipping title.]
Might Guy: ...
The Man Recognized by Madara Uchiha: Uh...
The Man Recognized by Madara Uchiha: Was I really that strong?
Brother of Hashirama Senju: I was curious about this earlier. You were praised by my big brother, so does that mean my big brother is still alive?
Tobirama Senju: That's possible. Otherwise, the Nine-Tails Incident twelve years ago—
While everyone chatted noisily, Kakashi finally received Kitahara Kaede's answer.
"So this is psychological trauma."
"Then it's easy to deal with."
"Just recreate the scene and stimulate you a little. With your current strength, you don't need to fear him too much," Kitahara Kaede said.
"So..." Kakashi shoved both hands into his hair. "You're saying I should face Orochimaru again?"
"But Orochimaru—"
"Orochimaru is pretty easy to find," Kitahara Kaede said. "Or we could just find someone to pretend."
"I think that person would be quite suitable."
As he spoke, Kitahara Kaede glanced outside the shop.
Kakashi looked over and happened to see the Fourth Kazekage swaggering down the street with Baki.
And everyone already knew that this Kazekage... was Orochimaru in disguise.
The real Fourth Kazekage was currently the most pathetic person in the group chat.
P.S.: Let me recommend my own book.
I, Dark Naruto, Joined the Akatsuki Organization at the Start
It already has 300,000 characters.
It's about Dark Naruto freeloading off the Akatsuki Organization while working for them.
Kakashi: Am I Not Worth Even One Skill?
Perhaps sensing someone watching him, Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, seemed about to turn and look over.
But Kakashi immediately stood up and blocked Orochimaru's view of Kitahara Kaede.
Together with Ichiraku Ramen's partitions, this made the shop seem even smaller.
A Kazekage from a ninja village would not lower himself to enter a business space of less than twenty square meters like Ichiraku Ramen.
So Orochimaru, playing the Kazekage, merely saw the back of half of Kakashi's butt before continuing onward.
After all, a Kazekage wandering around another village was already quite conspicuous.
However...
He really wanted to laugh.
Not only had he easily obtained the identity of the Kazekage, he had even made the Third Hokage personally welcome him. Neither the Third Hokage nor the Hidden Leaf Village's F4 had discovered that this Kazekage was fake.
This was truly... exciting and boring.
It was exciting because no one could have imagined that he would return to the Hidden Leaf Village this way and strut through the streets so openly.
But...
It was boring because no one had discovered his identity.
So it was rather dull.
The Hidden Leaf Village had truly become slow and backward...
Watching Kitahara Kaede? (^_-) Small Group
Originally, the person most concerned about the fake Fourth Kazekage swaggering through the streets would definitely have been Rasa.
But Rasa had been muted for two days, so they could just ignore him.
The Senju brothers had their own thoughts as well.
Hashirama Senju: This Orochimaru is really bold.
Hashirama Senju: He's directly pretending to be the Fourth Kazekage and wandering around everywhere. And the money he spends on shopping probably belongs to Sunagakure, too, right?
Hashirama Senju: Do we really not need Kakashi to report this?
Tobirama Senju: What's there to prepare for? The current Hidden Leaf Village... has no real force.
Tobirama Senju: Besides, this fake Kazekage probably isn't a match for Kitahara Kaede.
Hashirama Senju: That's true.
Hashirama Senju thought it over and felt that made sense.
No matter how formidable Orochimaru was, Kitahara Kaede had already accepted the task of dealing with him.
And...
Hiruzen Sarutobi himself had said he wanted to face Orochimaru head-on, so let him do it.
Hashirama was also deeply dissatisfied with Hiruzen Sarutobi's governing ability.
So he was more than happy to cause Hiruzen Sarutobi some trouble...
Meanwhile, Kakashi felt like vomiting.
"You're saying I should ask O—oh no, ask the Fourth Kazekage to remove my psychological trauma?" Kakashi immediately complained.
Kitahara Kaede nodded.
"There is still some time before the Chunin Ninja Exams begin."
"So this is a good opportunity to heal your psychological trauma."
"..." Kakashi.
Kakashi complained internally. Because of the small group, he already knew that this fake Kazekage was Orochimaru.
So Kitahara Kaede was asking him to request that Orochimaru treat the psychological trauma Orochimaru had caused him.
Come on, don't play it like this.
"But it doesn't necessarily mean you have to fight for real," Kitahara Kaede added.
"Huh?"
Kakashi hurriedly looked over.
"Psychological trauma, put simply, is fear in your heart."
"If you want to overcome fear, it can work even without doing it for real."
"In other words, you could consider using Genjutsu."
"Use Genjutsu to simulate your psychological trauma, then let your current self break through that shadow."
Kitahara Kaede said.
"..." Kakashi.
"So... use Genjutsu to treat emotional trauma?"
Kakashi said.
He felt that this was a novel use for Genjutsu.
In the past, Genjutsu had always been treated as a weapon for attacking others, yet... it could actually be used for treatment.
Wasn't this a new discovery and extension of medicine?
"You can give it a try," Kitahara Kaede said. "After all, if you suddenly ask the Fourth Kazekage for help, he might agree."
"But having a Kage make a move comes at a price. It's too expensive and not worth it."
"..." Kakashi.
Kakashi felt that Kitahara Kaede was toxic.
Before you continue