Trash Kakashi

"Come on, Naruto blocked Eiji behind him. 'Cat Uncle, I already told Grandpa Hokage. Big Brother Eiji is a good person.'"

Seeing this, Kakashi felt even more conflicted.

What do you mean, Cat Uncle? I'm your father's prized student.

Forget it. It's good that someone is taking care of Naruto.

At the very least, Eiji is a pretty kind person.

"I understand."

With a swish, Kakashi vanished from the spot.

For some reason, he suddenly wanted to visit his teacher's former guards today.

When Naruto saw Kakashi leave, he was overjoyed.

He didn't know what status the ninja before him had. He only remembered that this was the man who had taken Big Brother Eiji away last time.

In Naruto's mind, Eiji was just as much a great person as Grandpa Hokage.

As he had said, there were simply too few people in the village willing to talk to him.

Naruto returned to the campfire and stared intently at the Beef in front of him.

Every so often, he wiped away his drool.

"Big Brother Eiji."

"Hmm?"

"Grandpa Hokage came to see me just now."

"Oh, what did you say to the Hokage?"

"I told Grandpa Hokage that Big Brother Eiji wants to become Hokage just like me."

Eiji coughed several times. You silly child, why did you blurt out the truth?

Hiruzen is so narrow-minded. What if he targets me later?

Later, Eiji heard from Naruto that he had unintentionally given him a helping hand as well, and he almost burst out laughing.

Who said Naruto brought misfortune?

This kid was simply wonderful!

The meat was ready soon, and Eiji frantically piled it onto Naruto's plate.

"Eat up. You're a hero, so don't worry about the money. The Security Division can reimburse all of this."

Naruto wolfed down the meat while Eiji desperately grilled more with the tongs.

By the end, Eiji felt as if the smoky flavor had seeped into him.

After eating their fill, the two lay on the grass, enjoying the gentle sunlight in comfort.

"Big Brother Eiji, can you teach me some ninjutsu?"

Naruto's cheeks flushed red, and he seemed a little embarrassed.

"When I passed by the training grounds, I saw some kids practicing Shuriken. I want to learn too."

At this, Eiji slapped his thigh. I've been waiting for you to say that.

Hey, all you Anbu and Root Organization people secretly watching me, you heard that, right? Naruto took the initiative to learn.

It's not like I insisted on taking him as a student so I could use this relationship to control Naruto when I rebel later.

Eiji sprang to his feet. "No problem. Starting today, I'm your teacher."

"Yay!" Naruto jumped three feet into the air. "Hello, Teacher Eiji!"

There was no apprenticeship ceremony or anything of the sort. The two simply established a teacher-student relationship like that.

Eiji had initially planned to teach Naruto some theory, but after thinking about it, he felt that might be a little too difficult for him.

Forget it. We'll go straight to practical training.

Let's just do it.

Eiji took out a Kunai and handed it to Naruto, then ran to a nearby tree and drew a circle with Xiao Er.

"Relax your wrist, like this." Eiji reached around from behind and held Naruto's hand.

While Naruto practiced ninjutsu with Eiji, Kakashi unexpectedly finished work early.

He contacted his teacher's four guards from back then and arranged to meet them for drinks at a small tavern.

Clearly, the four friends were puzzled by Kakashi's sudden invitation.

After all, ever since Minato's death, Kakashi had never taken the initiative to seek them out.

Or rather, Kakashi had never taken the initiative to seek out anyone.

He put on his mask and hid in the darkness.

Why had he suddenly invited them out today?

"Naruto has made a pretty good friend."

Kakashi suddenly said this, leaving Genma and the others completely dumbfounded.

"Senior Kakashi, why did you suddenly bring up Naruto?"

Kakashi wasn't very old, but his seniority spoke for itself.

It was perfectly reasonable for these people to call him Senior.

Kakashi didn't answer. He simply poured each of them a cup of wine.

"Come on. Cheers."

With that, he downed his drink in one gulp. The four of them looked at one another, then drained their cups as well.

"Senior, you said Naruto's friend. Who is he?"

"Uchiha Eiji. Genma should remember him. He defeated Itachi in the first round of the Chunin Ninja Exams."

Genma sucked in a sharp breath. Uchiha and a Jinchuriki have gotten together?

He rubbed his chin. There was definitely something unusual about this.

"Eiji is different from the other Uchiha. He's a good kid."

After saying that, Kakashi poured more wine. "Come on. Cheers."

The meal ended quickly. Genma and the other three arrived in a daze and left in a daze.

Even now, they still had no idea why Senior Kakashi had called them there.

That night, Kakashi, slightly drunk, arrived before Minato's gravestone.

"Teacher Minato, Naruto has made a friend. Yes, he's Uchiha Eiji."

"Eiji is different from that fellow Obito. He's a genuine genius ninja."

"He treats Naruto well too. Sometimes, he even buys him a bowl of ramen with extra toppings..."

In the dark corner behind him, a Masked Man quietly appeared.

"Hmph. Useless Kakashi."

A humanoid monster with black-and-white coloring slowly emerged from the ground.

"If you hate Kakashi so much, why don't you just kill him?"

"No. He can't die. If he dies, he'll be able to see Rin."

"..."

Sometimes, Zetsu felt that the Masked Man was an idiot. That bizarre way of thinking was unique even in the Shinobi World.

Even so, Zetsu stopped arguing with him.

Kakashi's life or death had little effect on them. What they needed were more helpers.

The great Moon Eye Plan would be extremely difficult to carry out. Having a few more people would always be useful.

"Two years ago, you killed Itachi's teammate and awakened his Two-Tomoe Sharingan."

"If you give him an even greater shock, he might awaken the Mangekyo just like you did."

The Masked Man nodded. "Itachi is indeed a good choice. But I've also found another promising brat."

White Zetsu knew whom he meant. "Eiji. He defeated Itachi during the Chunin Ninja Exams."

White Zetsu once again marveled at the powerful bloodline of the Uchiha clan.

It always produced genius ninjas who far surpassed ordinary people.

Of course, the price of that power might be that they weren't very bright.

"That brat Eiji might prove useful."

The Masked Man raised his palm and clenched it tightly into a fist.

"I only need to use a few small tricks, and he'll have nowhere to go."

"Oh?" White Zetsu was curious. What brilliant idea could that pig-brain of yours possibly come up with?

"I just need to kill a few ninjas and frame him for it."

In theory, this method would be very easy to pull off.

Because no matter what happened, that fellow Danzo would always frame the Uchiha clan.

Then, if he deliberately left behind some evidence, Eiji would truly feel the malice of this world.

After Eiji experienced enough pain, the Masked Man would appear at just the right time.

Yes, what a flawless, perfect plan.

"Let's go." A vortex appeared behind the Masked Man. "We still have a lot to do."

White Zetsu slowly sank into the ground, muttering to himself as he left.

"Are you really not going to kill that useless Kakashi while you're at it?"

"Shut up. Don't attack Kakashi recklessly. I want him to live in pain for the rest of his life."