Nohara Rin was very perceptive, so she could sense that Uchiha Jin had been avoiding her all along.
No!
To be more precise, he was avoiding everyone.
Uchiha Jin seemed unwilling to get too close to anyone. Although she had often forcibly dragged him into interacting with his classmates during their year at the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Jin still showed little interest in it.
Even though everyone had advanced to their second year this year, and Uchiha Jin had graduated alongside Kakashi, he still didn't have a single friend!
Yet whenever she thought of the scene two years ago, when Uchiha Jin had saved her, she still felt that he had to be a gentle person.
Although she didn't understand why he hid his true personality, she had never told anyone about it. Instead, she stubbornly took Uchiha Jin around to make friends everywhere.
The kindhearted girl hoped that bonds would help Uchiha Jin lower his guard and truly become more cheerful.
But... sigh!
After letting out a helpless sigh, Nohara Rin felt a headache coming on.
Early the next morning.
Uchiha Jin, who had wanted to sleep in, was still roused by his mother. He learned that Kakashi was waiting outside the clan compound to see him about something.
Uchiha Jin was completely bewildered.
He and Kakashi weren't particularly close.
Although Nohara Rin had often forcibly dragged him along to play with Kakashi during their year at the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Jin had needed to maintain his aloof image, while Kakashi himself was a taciturn person. Thus, the two of them were limited to merely "knowing" each other.
Although they were now members of the same squad, he still had no real relationship with this guy, did he?
So the question was...
Why had he come looking for him?
Because the Uchiha didn't welcome outsiders, Uchiha Jin hadn't even eaten breakfast. He went straight outside the clan compound, where he found Kakashi with a deathly expression.
"Kakashi, did you need something?"
"Actually, you weren't assigned to our squad. I personally went to ask Hokage-sama to transfer you here!"
Kakashi's tone was calm, but Uchiha Jin froze.
"What?" Uchiha Jin stared blankly. "Why?"
His brain completely crashed. For a moment, he couldn't understand it at all.
No wonder...
He had always been unable to figure out why he had been allowed to join this squad.
Although the squad before him wasn't Hokage's Team 7, considering Hatake Sakumo's influence in Konoha—especially since Hatake Sakumo had only recently committed suicide—Sarutobi Hiruzen truly wouldn't have dared assign Kakashi to a cannon-fodder squad, even taking that influence into account.
But why had an insignificant Uchiha like him been allowed to join a squad of this level?
He just hadn't expected it to be Kakashi's doing!
But why?
Uchiha Jin's eyes flickered as his mind began racing.
"Come with me."
After saying that, Kakashi left first.
Uchiha Jin furrowed his brows slightly, but still chose to follow.
Not long afterward.
The two arrived at a small training ground, one following the other. A trace of pain appeared in Kakashi's eyes. "My father developed this training ground. Coincidentally, it's one of the blind spots in the Barrier Team's surveillance and defenses."
"Because of my father's special status, even though the village knew about this place, it never considered covering it."
Uchiha Jin narrowed his eyes slightly.
It was indeed a good place, but he wasn't concerned about that. Instead, he repeated his question.
"Can you tell me the reason now?"
He had no mind to empathize with Kakashi's pain.
Share his feelings? He couldn't do that!
Their relationship hadn't reached that point. He still had a mountain of trouble on his own shoulders, and he hadn't even figured out how to survive the night of the clan's annihilation.
So...
He interrupted Kakashi's recollection and asked about the matter he cared about most.
"I don't know either." Kakashi shook his head. "This was my father's arrangement!"
"Before he killed himself, he talked with me all night. He told me that he had to die, and that only by doing so could I live safely."
"My father warned me not to tell anyone about this. He only told me that from then on, I had to become friends with you, and that no matter what happened, I should listen to your advice."
"So tell me!"
"Why exactly is this? What happened to my father?"
"What does it mean that if he hadn't killed himself, I wouldn't have been able to live safely?"
"Since my father trusted you so much, you must know, right?"
Looking at Kakashi's agitated face, Uchiha Jin was utterly shaken.
Hatake Sakumo?
His brain completely crashed, and his eyes grew even more bewildered.
This... didn't make sense!
In the Original work, Hatake Sakumo hadn't made any arrangements for Kakashi before committing suicide. Yet now, he had told Kakashi about it in advance, and the matter even involved him?
Could this be the butterfly effect?
That didn't make sense!
In the past, Nohara Rin had often dragged him to the Hatake House, and he had gone there to play. But Hatake Sakumo had been extremely busy, so the number of times they had met could be counted on one hand.
During those three or five meetings, their exchanges had been limited to, "Have you eaten?"
Why would Hatake Sakumo trust him?
The situation before him looked practically like entrusting his child to someone before death.
"Wait, don't get so anxious."
Feeling uneasy, Uchiha Jin couldn't help asking, "Answer one question first. Since your father told you to come to me, why didn't you come to me during this period?"
He had asked the crucial question, trying to guess Hatake Sakumo's intentions.
After all...
It had nearly been a month since Hatake Sakumo's suicide. If he really had left instructions before his death, why had Kakashi only come clean now?
Kakashi was too young.
He had no scheming to speak of, so he simply told the truth. "My father deliberately forbade me from looking for you immediately. I had to wait until the squads were assigned, then use the excuse that no one else could keep up with my pace to ask Hokage-sama to arrange for you and me to be on the same team."
Uchiha Jin's eyes flickered as his mind began racing.
Judging from Hatake Sakumo's arrangements, he didn't trust Sarutobi Hiruzen or the other senior figures in the village. But why did he trust Uchiha Jin?
The Original work had said that Hatake Sakumo was very good at judging people. But that only meant he could see through their potential—for example, he could tell at a glance that Might Guy would become a powerful man in the future. Even then, it should only have meant that he could see through their strength!
Wait.
He had transmigrated into a real world now. Anime could only show so much, and most of it had been presented from the perspective of the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki. What the anime showed was largely Naruto Uzumaki's understanding.
From a realistic perspective, what kind of person was Hatake Sakumo?
Setting aside all the filters from the Original work, he was first and foremost a powerful man. So he had certainly killed countless people.
Being able to infiltrate another hidden village alone to carry out assassinations required far more than overwhelming strength. After all, he hadn't reached the level of Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara. The fact that he could infiltrate enemy territory without being discovered was proof enough that he possessed specialized skills in espionage.
What skills did espionage require?
Disguising one's identity, controlling one's emotions, gathering and analyzing information, and even interacting with people and truly blending into the enemy village's environment!
So...
Hatake Sakumo wasn't merely strong. He was powerful in every aspect, with no weaknesses.
Next was his status.
He had served as the Anbu captain and had truly come into contact with Konoha's darkness. He was no stranger to the Root.
Would someone like that really be brainwashed by the "Will of Fire"?
Would he really be driven to suicide over mere public opinion?
Before you continue