At the Beginning

Everyone's recognition? Sure enough, this child had inherited your will too, Teacher Minato.

Hearing Menma say that,

Kakashi, completely unaware of Menma's true thoughts, felt quite gratified. To be honest, Kakashi still felt guilty toward Menma. After all, both he and Naruto were Teacher Minato's children, yet they had received utterly different treatment.

It was not as though Kakashi had never considered taking care of Menma or visiting him during the past twelve years. Kakashi did have a little conscience, after all. Unfortunately, it was not much—truly only a pitiful little bit.

Kakashi Hatake was, in fact, a very complicated person, and the circumstances of his life had indeed been full of ups and downs.

Perhaps even Kakashi himself had never truly understood who he was.

In his previous life, Menma had initially viewed Kakashi through the filter of the protagonist group, so naturally, he had mostly seen Kakashi's good points. Later, he gradually came to his senses. Now, after personally living through these twelve years, Menma no longer held any favorable feelings toward Kakashi.

Of course, he did not feel much hostility toward him either.

Because, when it came down to it, Kakashi did not actually have any obligation to take care of him. He was merely the Fourth Hokage's subordinate. Why should he have had to look after Menma? Was he not allowed to protect himself?

Therefore,

Menma regarded Kakashi as an ordinary person.

He would not spare Kakashi much attention, but if Kakashi ever stood in his way in the future, Menma would raise the Slaughter Blade without hesitation.

When facing an ordinary person,

there was no need for emotion or hesitation!

Menma looked calmly at Kakashi.

"Mm, next!"

Kakashi nodded lightly, then shifted his gaze to Sakura Haruno.

The moment she saw Kakashi's gaze,

Sakura Haruno immediately perked up and said energetically, "My name is Sakura Haruno. My dream for the future is to become a ninja like Lady Tsunade. As for what I like, um... this... rather than saying it's something... um, it would be better to say... the person I like is... ah!!!!"

As she spoke, she put on a shy act and furtively glanced in Sasuke's direction.

Menma did not know how the others felt, but at that moment, he genuinely got goosebumps all over. When he had read the Original Work in his previous life, even through the Electronic Screen, it had given him an indescribable sense of disgust. Now she was standing right beside him.

The disgust had doubled, all right?

Seriously, no wonder Sakura Haruno had absolutely no popularity with bystanders in the early parts of the Original Work. With that behavior, that personality, and her excessive actions and words later on, it would have been strange if anyone liked the early Sakura Haruno!

Sakura Haruno only began to turn public opinion around after Shippuden.

From then on, especially later in the story, she truly did have a bit of Kushina's feeling about her.

Now?

Just two words.

Disgusting!

Menma was already doing his utmost to control his expression, but the corner of his mouth still twitched slightly.

Girls these days value feelings more than anything else? Good grief...

Kakashi could not help shaking his head inwardly as well, and immediately spoke up to cut off Sakura's further self-directed performance.

"What do you hate?"

"Ino!"

Menma was not Naruto from the Original Work.

And Naruto in this life was the esteemed Son of the Fourth Hokage.

Therefore, Sakura Haruno's most likely choice for the person she hated had to be Ino Yamanaka, her "love rival"!

And she blurted it out without a moment's hesitation.

It could only be said that they were truly plastic sisters.

A look of just as expected flashed through Kakashi's pupils.

"Mm, then, the last one."

Kakashi nodded, his gaze sweeping over before settling on Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke still wore an indifferent expression.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There is nothing in particular that I like or hate. As for my dream, it is to restore the Uchiha Clan, and to kill that man without fail!"

As he spoke those final words,

the aura around Uchiha Sasuke seemed to grow increasingly cold and sinister.

Kakashi's brows furrowed slightly as well.

Itachi Uchiha...

Menma, standing off to the side, also subconsciously glanced at Sasuke's profile. The name and face of that young man, only five or six years older than them, surfaced in his mind.

That was a truly ruthless man!

Killing his father and mother—could an ordinary person do such a thing?

In Menma's eyes, Itachi Uchiha's terrifying nature was absolutely among the very top in this world!

He was definitely not mentally normal.

"Mm, then we can consider ourselves initially acquainted. I'm a rather easygoing person, so there is no need for you to be too restrained. However, before we officially begin carrying out missions, I still need to give you a small test mission!"

"A test?"

"That's right, a test. It will be at five tomorrow morning, at the Second Training Ground. Remember, don't be late. I really am easygoing, but I especially hate people who are late!"

Kakashi said with a smiling expression as he looked at Menma, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.

"You're obviously someone who is always late yourself, yet you have the nerve to say that, Brother Kakashi. Say, you're not going to fool us into arriving at five tomorrow, then show up several hours late again, are you?"

Unlike in the Original Work, where Kakashi could easily fool the three members of Team Seven on their first meeting, in this timeline,

not to mention Menma, the Transmigrator,

Naruto was genuinely the Son of the Fourth Hokage.

He had long been familiar with Kakashi's habits years ago.

Thus, he mercilessly exposed Kakashi on the spot.

Seeing Naruto's deeply resentful expression, as well as Sakura's obvious look of suspicion,

Kakashi did not look embarrassed in the slightest.

He calmly said, "Those are two different matters, Naruto. Tomorrow, I definitely will not be late. After all, this may very well be both your first mission and your last mission, you know? Also, Naruto, you should call me Teacher Kakashi!"

That distinctly ill-intentioned look

startled Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura alike.

Menma raised an eyebrow as well.

"Ah? Our last mission? Teacher Kakashi, why do you say that?"

Sakura Haruno looked at Kakashi with a hint of unease.

"Hehe, you'll find out tomorrow. Well then, that's all for today. Oh, one last piece of advice: don't eat breakfast, or you'll regret it!"

Kakashi smiled lightly.

"Poof!"

Immediately afterward,

before the four of them could react,

he formed hand seals with both hands.

His body turned directly into a cloud of white smoke and vanished.