Blue Thunderbolt Flash Prodigy?

"Kakashi, you're still not strong enough. To master Hatake Kenjutsu, you need immense strength and resilient wrists."

Hatake Sakumo spoke with a smile, then shook his head. "I just got back, and you already want me to train you?"

"Our Kakashi looks like a hardworking genius," the man beside Hatake Sakumo said with a laugh. "Sakumo, having such a gifted son is something to be proud of!"

"Yako, more than anything, I'd rather he become an ordinary person."

Hatake Sakumo shook his head, his expression rueful. "But as a shinobi, there are many things beyond our control."

If ordinary people could stay away from war,

that wouldn't be a bad thing.

But it wasn't that simple.

"That's right. As shinobi, we have to complete our missions. It's our duty."

Mita Yako nodded in agreement.

Hatake Kakashi was only four, but he was already wearing a mask. "I'm going to become as strong as my father. I won't lose to anyone!"

His eyes shone with a genius's pride.

"Of course. But shouldn't we greet each other properly first? Hello. You seem to know who I am."

Hatake Sakumo's warm, reserved gaze fell on Keigo Uchiha, and his eyes widened in surprise.

The boy before him... gave him a sense of danger!

"Hello, Hatake Sakumo, the powerful shinobi known as the White Fang of the Leaf. On the battlefield, you routed the enemy single-handedly and held an entire defensive line. And you even..."

Keigo Uchiha smiled as he looked at the fiery sleeve on Hatake Sakumo's shoulder.

That was the Hokage Sleeve!

Proof of Hatake Sakumo's achievements!

And the Hokage Sleeve... also meant he was a candidate for Hokage. Hatake Sakumo had the right to compete for the position of the next Hokage!

"With the Hokage Sleeve, you're a hero of Konoha and someone the other villages fear."

It was now the year 43 of Konoha. If nothing unexpected happened, Hatake Sakumo would... take his own life within the next two years, changing Hatake Kakashi's personality forever. What a shame.

Keigo Uchiha shook his head.

A powerful man like him would make a very reliable comrade.

He looked at the man beside Hatake Sakumo. He was a jōnin, too,

but Keigo didn't know him. As Mita Yako watched him expectantly,

Keigo slowly said, "And this person is..."

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm Mita Yako, a jōnin and Sakumo's friend, and you don't even know who I am?"

Mita Yako's face twisted with indignation.

This guy... was too much!

"You flatter me. I didn't expect someone so young to know so much. But killing people isn't a good thing. We shinobi are only carrying out missions to protect the village."

Hatake Sakumo felt as though he wasn't talking to a child,

but rather to an adult his own age.

"If you had to choose between your comrades and your mission, what would you do?"

Keigo Uchiha suddenly asked.

His dark eyes glinted.

Hatake Sakumo was a ruthless shinobi, merciless toward his enemies. But when it came to people from his own village, he loved and protected them sincerely. So what happened in the original story

was only natural.

"Choosing between a mission... and my comrades?"

Hatake Sakumo furrowed his brow. "If I had a mission I had to complete and a comrade who needed saving, I... don't know what I'd do. I'll decide if that situation ever comes up."

"Hey, hey, hey! How can you wait until then?"

Mita Yako raised his voice. "As shinobi, our goal is to complete our missions! Though if it were Sakumo, I'd definitely save you first!"

"We're the best of friends!"

"All right, all right. I believe you, Yako."

Hatake Sakumo shook his head helplessly. He didn't know what to do with his chūnibyō friend. But then he turned to Keigo Uchiha and asked, "What would you do?"

He was curious.

The boy before him gave him a very strange feeling. He was young, yet so composed, and... it was as if he could see right through him!

What would this boy choose?

"I'd choose my comrade."

Keigo Uchiha thought for a moment. "Protecting your comrades is a mission, too. If you can't even do what's right in front of you, how can you claim to complete your mission?"

"Take your child, for example. You didn't have a child to fulfill a mission or to support you in your old age. You simply love him, don't you?"

"Without feelings, people are no different from machines."

He didn't think Hatake Sakumo had been wrong in the original story.

It was just that the Third Shinobi World War was about to begin. The fighting was fierce, everyone was on the verge of a breakdown, and they all needed someone to take their frustrations out on. The war strategy at the time was also ruthless and unforgiving.

That was how Hatake Sakumo's tragedy came about.

But Hatake Sakumo himself had done nothing wrong.

"Well said, kid! That's exactly what I think!"

Mita Yako gave him a thumbs-up, looking like he approved.

Keigo Uchiha's mouth twitched.

Yeah, right.

What was there to approve of?

Still... could this guy be the person Hatake Sakumo had to save in the original story? If so... this would be interesting.

"Is that so?"

Hatake Sakumo looked thoughtful.

"Big brother, are you a shinobi, too? What's your name? I'm Hatake Kakashi!"

Looking at Keigo Uchiha's tall, straight figure, Hatake Kakashi instinctively assumed... he was a powerful shinobi from the Ninja Academy.

"Nice to meet you, Kakashi. I'm Keigo Uchiha."

Keigo Uchiha smiled and ruffled Kakashi's hair.

Even as a child, Kakashi was aloof,

but he instinctively admired the strong.

"Keigo Uchiha!"

Hatake Kakashi's eyes widened, then gleamed. "Are you the Uchiha Clan's genius? The Blue Thunderbolt Flash Prodigy, the one all the other geniuses look up to! The prodigy who beat a third-year student when you were only a first-year!"

"Where... did you hear that?"

Keigo Uchiha's mouth twitched.

Blue Thunderbolt Flash Prodigy.

Where in the world had that bizarre name come from? It was so embarrassing, and it wasn't what he wanted to be called!

"Everyone at the Ninja Academy is talking about you. They say even the Hokage acknowledges you, and that you're Orochimaru's favorite student!"

Kakashi gazed at Keigo Uchiha with admiration.

His eyes practically sparkled.

"Your father is an incredible shinobi, too. If you train hard, you can become a powerful shinobi as well. But some things are more important than strength, like friendship and family."

Keigo Uchiha smiled and ruffled Kakashi's white hair.

Kakashi seemed to understand, but not quite.

Just then, two figures landed beside Keigo Uchiha!