Kakashi, Would You Like to See Your Father Again?

Under Kakashi's gaze, Shiraishi opened the wooden box in his hands and found a Kunai specially made by Minato for the Flying Thunder God.

"Minato's heading to the front lines today, isn't he?" Shiraishi asked Kakashi after closing the box.

Kakashi nodded and explained on behalf of his teacher. "Minato-sensei wanted to deliver it to you himself before he left, but Elder Danzo had something to discuss with him, so he asked me to bring it to you."

"Danzo?" The smile on Shiraishi's face grew wider. He could more or less guess why "Danzo" had sought out Minato.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now, Senior." Kakashi turned to leave.

"Wait." Shiraishi called out to him.

Kakashi had turned halfway around. He stopped and turned back to face Shiraishi.

"Are you going to the front lines too?" Shiraishi asked.

Kakashi shook his head.

"Then do you have anything to do today?" Shiraishi continued.

Kakashi shook his head again.

"Then would you mind if I visited your home?" Shiraishi asked bluntly, changing the subject.

Kakashi was taken aback. Who met someone for the first time and immediately asked to visit their home?

Minato-sensei's friend was really strange!

Kakashi wanted to refuse, but out of respect for Minato, he hesitated before reluctantly agreeing. "All right."

"Great, let's go!" Shiraishi walked over to Kakashi with familiar ease, smiling as he urged him on.

Kakashi looked up at Shiraishi, his mind filling with questions. What was with this guy?

Though Shiraishi's overly familiar manner made Kakashi uncomfortable, he silently led him toward his home.

They crossed three streets and passed a stretch of farmland before Kakashi led Shiraishi to his front door.

Kakashi's home stood near the fields. It was a wooden house with its own yard, looking rather old and much like a farmhouse.

Considering the fame of Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo, and how many missions he'd completed, their home shouldn't have been so run-down.

Shiraishi was curious about where all their money had gone, but he didn't ask. He followed Kakashi inside and, at Kakashi's gesture, sat on a cushion in the living room.

Kakashi went to the kitchen to prepare tea. After surveying the living room, Shiraishi's gaze settled on a short sword resting on a wooden rack.

The short sword was sheathed in a dull yellow scabbard and looked utterly unremarkable. But to Shiraishi, it was surrounded by a dense aura of bloodlust.

If Shiraishi wasn't mistaken, this was the Ninja Blade Kakashi's father had left him—the one this profligate had gotten broken in a battle with an Iwagakure Ninja.

Soon, Kakashi returned to the living room carrying two cups of barley tea. Seeing that Shiraishi's gaze remained fixed on his father's short sword, he pressed his lips together beneath his mask and silently set a cup down in front of him.

Shiraishi picked up the tea. Once Kakashi had sat across from him, he said, "Kakashi, you're Minato's student, and you went out of your way to deliver his gift to me today. As your senior, I ought to thank you properly."

Looking at Shiraishi, who was only a few years older than him, Kakashi wanted to roll his eyes. But out of politeness, he replied, "There's no need. I was only following Minato-sensei's instructions."

"No, no. It's the thought of an older senior." Shiraishi took a sip of barley tea and set down his cup.

Shiraishi certainly wasn't going to let a promising young talent like Kakashi slip away, especially with his bond with Obito.

As it happened, Shiraishi's presence had given Danzo hope of becoming Hokage, so he hadn't gone to the Land of Rain to cause trouble.

With Danzo no longer stirring up trouble and Hiruzen Sarutobi now in charge of Root, the Akatsuki in the Land of Rain hadn't yet suffered its first massacre, and its leader, Yahiko, was still alive and well.

Shiraishi had learned all this while working in Root. Monitoring and gathering intelligence on foreign countries had always been one of Root's duties.

Now, as the leader of Root, Hiruzen Sarutobi greatly admired the Akatsuki's belief that peace could be achieved through communication.

As a result, the first generation of the Akatsuki had fortunately avoided Danzo's schemes as it developed in the Land of Rain, escaping the tragic fate of near-total annihilation.

"Kakashi, that short sword is an heirloom your father left you, isn't it?" Shiraishi asked, looking at the Ninja Blade despite already knowing the answer.

"Yes." Kakashi looked at the Ninja Blade too and answered calmly.

Under Kakashi's gaze, Shiraishi stood and walked over to the short sword on the wooden rack atop the cabinet.

Standing in front of the cabinet, Shiraishi turned to look at Kakashi. "Kakashi, would you like to see your father again?"

Kakashi's eyes widened. With Obito's help, he had emerged from the shadow left by his father's suicide, but that didn't mean he missed his father any less.

On the contrary, after losing friends one after another—especially after killing Rin with his own hands—Kakashi needed the guidance of family and elders more than ever.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked coldly. If Shiraishi hadn't been Minato-sensei's friend, Kakashi would have thought he was making fun of him.

"I once obtained a Secret Technique passed down through the ages. It came from an ancient profession known as 'Spirit Channeling.' Spirit Channelers could communicate with the souls of the dead, and even with Deities from legend." Shiraishi explained in detail.

Kakashi furrowed his brow. Shiraishi's explanation sounded far-fetched. A profession like that sounded like a scam.

"You think I'm lying to you?" Shiraishi could tell what Kakashi was thinking.

Kakashi said nothing, but his expression above the mask made his thoughts plain.

Shiraishi smiled and reached for the short sword on the rack. "The requirements for performing this Secret Technique are so strict that its tradition was lost long ago, during the chaotic Sengoku era. I only obtained it by chance."

As he spoke, Shiraishi drew the short sword from its scabbard, revealing a broken blade with only a small section remaining.

"To successfully perform Spirit Channeling, the departed must have had a powerful obsession when they died, and you must find an object that their obsession was attached to." Shiraishi pointed the broken blade at Kakashi. "As it happens, this Ninja Blade meets all the requirements."

Kakashi could no longer sit still. He stood up, a flicker of excitement on his face, but doubt kept him from believing it completely.

"Is it true?"

"Of course!"

Shiraishi stepped in front of Kakashi and held out the Ninja Blade. "Think of your father and smear your blood across the blade."

Kakashi stared at the Ninja Blade before him. Images of every moment he'd spent with his father rose in his mind as he slowly reached out and took the sword.

He extended his right thumb and placed it against the sharp blade. The memory in his mind froze on the moment he'd discovered his father at home, having committed seppuku.

Without hesitation, Kakashi dragged his right thumb across the blade. Blood ran from the cut, staining both sides of the blade.

Shiraishi formed a hand seal, his expression solemn and dignified, radiating an air that brooked no disrespect.

Yin Wind swept through the living room. The temperature began to drop, and a blue soul appeared out of nowhere in front of Shiraishi.

Kakashi's eyes widened in astonishment as he watched the blue soul sink directly into the blade in his hand.