Thorn in the Wound

"So, what do you think your problem is, Kakashi?" Sen Chisato asked, sitting cross-legged on the ground with a half-smile.

Kakashi remained silent, gazing calmly at Sen Chisato, his eyes not flinching in the slightest.

"That expression... you don't think you made a mistake, do you?" Sen Chisato asked again, his tone flippant.

"I'm too weak!" Kakashi stated earnestly.

Sen Chisato leaned back, his expression peculiar.

He glanced at Namikaze Minato, who was holding his forehead and sighing.

"Ha! I thought you'd come up with a better excuse. Isn't that the same as me?" Obito sneered, his face full of disdain.

Although he had been lectured and was feeling down, the moment it involved Kakashi, and he could mock him to his face, he perked up again.

It wasn't easy to see Kakashi embarrassed.

Just as he was about to seize the opportunity to mock him further, he saw Sen Chisato smiling at him out of the corner of his eye.

Obito's face fell, and he mumbled, shrinking back.

Sen Chisato couldn't help but complain inwardly, 'Why are there so many problem children in Team Minato? They're all undisciplined and difficult to handle.'

If Uchiha Obito's problem lay in his lack of self-awareness, then Kakashi was purely suffering from a psychological illness, and a terminal one at that.

Because of Hatake Sakumo's death, Kakashi had become fixated and couldn't break free.

"It's not a matter of strength," Sen Chisato said thoughtfully. "In fact, at twelve years old, with strength comparable to a Jonin, you are already very powerful. Even the God of Shinobi wasn't as strong as you at this age."

Although Kakashi was right, and he agreed with him wholeheartedly.

Strength could indeed solve most problems; if it couldn't, then it was simply not enough strength.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have planned so much for the growth of his strength.

But counseling and guidance shouldn't be done this way; they couldn't all be explained realistically; they had to conform to positive energy, to the "Will of Fire."

Kakashi remained silent, just watching him quietly, as if to say: 'How can you say that?'

Sen Chisato belatedly realized that he was stronger than Kakashi, and younger too... he had used the wrong approach!

But Sen Chisato wasn't flustered at all.

He said nonchalantly, "Of course, you might think I'm lying, but strength is truly not your weakness; your problem isn't here."

Kakashi still didn't speak, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Your problem is that you are too self-centered, too stubborn, always wanting to solve everything yourself, not trusting your comrades, seeing them as burdens, and being willing to abandon everything for the sake of a mission," Sen Chisato continued to speak to himself, but he added some explosive material.

As expected, the moment the issues of missions and comrades were brought up, Kakashi's eyes changed instantly.

"Ninjas are tools; as long as the mission can be completed, everything can be abandoned, everything can be sacrificed! Completing the mission is the rule. Those who violate the rules are trash!" As he spoke, his eyes became increasingly hollow, like stagnant water, but his trembling voice indicated that his heart was not so calm.

"Are you saying that the Will of Fire is wrong, and Lord Third Hokage is wrong?" Sen Chisato retorted.

Kakashi looked confused. What did this have to do with the Will of Fire and the Hokage?

Sen Chisato looked up at the sky and chanted leisurely, "Where the leaves dance, a fire shall burn. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village, and allow the new leaves to sprout."

"This is the Will of Fire, the great ideal that all Konoha ninjas adhere to. Ninjas are tools, and everything should prioritize the mission; that is not wrong. But this does not mean that we should abandon our comrades for the sake of the mission."

"Many times, saving a comrade is more important than completing a mission!"

As he spoke, Sen Chisato's expression was solemn, his eyes flashing with light, like a noble defender.

"Heh!" Kakashi remained silent, letting out a cold scoff.

Sen Chisato was not angry; instead, he asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Do you think I am strong?"

"Very strong!" Kakashi said without hesitation. This was something he was very sure of and had no right to question.

"What about Lord First Hokage and Lord Second Hokage?" Sen Chisato asked again.

Kakashi fell silent, looking at Sen Chisato with a confused expression.

What were all these questions?

"Lord First Hokage, known as the 'God of Shinobi,' established Konoha and ended the chaotic Warring States period. But he was already so strong, why did he establish Konoha and why did he protect those weak people?"

"And Lord Second Hokage, he was the strongest in the ninja world at the time, and his disciples, like Lord Third Hokage, were burdens to him then."

"But for Lord Third Hokage and the others, he resolutely stayed behind to cover their retreat and eventually died on the battlefield."

As he spoke, Sen Chisato asked, "They were all so strong, what mission couldn't they complete, what enemy couldn't they defeat, why did they still make such decisions?"

Kakashi was stunned. After thinking for a long time, he finally replied, "For the village, for the future."

"What is the village, and what is the future?" Sen Chisato asked noncommittally.

Kakashi did not answer.

This question was too advanced for him at this moment; he couldn't answer it.

But since Sen Chisato asked, he must know!

So he looked at Sen Chisato with burning eyes.

For some reason, his long-dormant heart began to beat violently, as if this answer was very important. Even if this answer might completely contradict what he had always upheld, he still yearned for it.

It was as if by obtaining this answer, he could find release, find solace, and truly calm his heart.

Success!

Sen Chisato chuckled inwardly.

He wasn't afraid of Kakashi getting angry, nor of Kakashi refuting him; he was only afraid of Kakashi showing no reaction at all.

Without making Kakashi wait long, Sen Chisato directly tossed out his answer: "Those weak people, those companions who can't keep up with you, those people you see as burdens, they are the village, they are the future!"

Kakashi clenched his fists, his breathing growing heavy.

He thought again of that incident, the one he had never forgotten, the one that woke him from countless nights of dreams.

But he forced himself to control it, saying nothing.

Sen Chisato seemed not to notice and continued, "You were weak once too. If not for the village's protection, do you think you would have had the chance to become strong?"

"Just like the Third Hokage and the others, they were a burden to the Second Hokage at the time. If he had abandoned them, the Second Hokage could have left safely, but what then?"

"Even if the Second Hokage had survived, how many more years could he have lived, and how many more years could he have protected the village? After he passed, who would have protected the village? So, for the sake of the village and the future, he stayed, dying to cover the retreat of his comrades."

Kakashi suddenly looked up, shouting with emotion, "But my father..."

"Was a hero!" Sen Chisato interrupted before he could finish, his eyes sincere and his attitude firm.

Kakashi froze.

"You think that because Hatake Sakumo died, and was cursed and blamed during his life, it negates everything he was."

Sen Chisato reached out and pointed at Namikaze Minato and the others: "Then why don't you ask them what kind of image your father had in their eyes?"

Kakashi turned to look at Namikaze Minato, his face full of timidity and expectation.

Meeting his gaze, Namikaze Minato said with certainty, "Sakumo-senpai was certainly a hero. Even the teacher respected him greatly."

"I heard Sakumo-senpai was a person who cared for his comrades and was very patient and kind to his juniors," Nohara Rin said with a gentle smile.

"That's the White Fang of the Leaf! You have no idea how jealous I was when I heard you were his son," Uchiha Obito said, looking at Kakashi, his envy unconcealed.

But as soon as he saw Kakashi's sour face, he added dismissively, "Compared to Sakumo-senpai, you're terrible!"

Kakashi lowered his head, his fists clenched, his whole body trembling.

Tears uncontrollably welled up from his eyes, flooding his face, and finally dripped onto the ground, soaking into the soil.

The matter of his father had been like a thorn, always lodged in his heart, leaving him confused and numb with pain.

When he occasionally touched it, the thorn was still there.

But he had never thought of pulling it out, treating it as a warning, constantly reminding himself to take heed and never do the same thing as that man.

Since that man was wrong, he just had to do the opposite, do the right thing.

But...

He had always agreed with and understood that man's actions!

Otherwise, why would he have felt so lost, and why would his heart ache when he touched upon it?

When the wound was reopened, and the thorn was pulled out, he writhed in pain, suffocating from the agony.

But he no longer had to endure such suffering.

"So, it wasn't just me who agreed with you, Father!"