The Thorn in the Wound

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

Kakashi didn't answer. He simply looked at Sen Chisato calmly, without the slightest hint of avoidance.

"That expression... You don't think you did anything wrong, do you?" Sen Chisato asked again, his manner flippant.

"I'm too weak!" Kakashi said solemnly.

Sen Chisato leaned back, his expression strange.

He turned to look at Namikaze Minato, who was rubbing his forehead and sighing.

"Ha! I thought you'd come up with some good excuse. That's no different from me!" Obito said with disdain.

Although he'd been scolded and felt downcast, the moment Kakashi was involved, he perked right back up, ready to mock him to his face.

It wasn't easy to catch Kakashi looking foolish.

Just as Obito was about to take the opportunity to make a few more sarcastic remarks, he caught Sen Chisato watching him with a beaming smile out of the corner of his eye.

Obito's face fell, and he muttered to himself as he shrank back.

Sen Chisato couldn't help grumbling to himself: Why were there so many problem children in Team Minato? They were all so unruly and difficult to deal with.

If Uchiha Obito's problem was that he lacked a clear understanding of himself, then Kakashi's was a genuine psychological illness, and a terminal one at that.

Ever since Hatake Sakumo's death, Kakashi had been trapped in a dead end he couldn't climb out of.

"This isn't a matter of strength." Sen Chisato chose his words carefully. "In fact, at twelve years old, you're already as strong as a Jonin. You're very strong. Even the God of Shinobi wasn't as strong as you at your age."

Kakashi wasn't wrong. Deep down, Sen Chisato agreed with him.

Strength could solve most problems. If it couldn't, then you weren't strong enough.

Otherwise, there'd have been no need for him to make so many plans to increase his strength.

But that wasn't how you guided and advised someone. You couldn't just speak in terms of cold reality. You had to be positive and uphold the Will of Fire.

Kakashi said nothing. He just looked at him quietly, as if to say, How can you say something like that with a straight face?

Only then did Sen Chisato realize that he was stronger than Kakashi, and younger, too... He'd used the wrong approach!

But Sen Chisato wasn't fazed at all.

He said nonchalantly, "Of course, you might think I'm lying to you, but strength really isn't your weakness. That's not where your problem lies."

Kakashi still said nothing, disbelief written all over his eyes.

"Your problem is that you're too self-centered and too stubborn. You always think you have to handle everything yourself. You don't trust your comrades and see them as a burden. You're willing to abandon everything for the sake of a mission." Sen Chisato continued as if speaking to himself, but he added some provocative remarks.

Sure enough, the moment he brought up missions and comrades, Kakashi's eyes changed.

"Ninja are tools. As long as the mission is completed, everything can be abandoned, everything can be sacrificed! Completing the mission is the rule. Anyone who breaks the rules is scum!" As he spoke, his eyes grew increasingly hollow, like a stagnant pool. Only his trembling voice betrayed how unsettled he really was.

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

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

Sen Chisato gazed up at the sky and recited slowly, "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns. The fire will continue to illuminate the village and cause new leaves to sprout."

"That's the Will of Fire, the great belief all Konoha Ninja uphold. Ninja are tools, and missions should come first. That isn't wrong. But it doesn't mean we should abandon our comrades for the sake of a mission."

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

As he spoke, Sen Chisato looked grave, his eyes shining like those of a noble defender of the faith.

"Hmph!" Kakashi said nothing, merely letting out a cold, mocking laugh.

Sen Chisato didn't get angry. Instead, he asked an apparently unrelated question: "Do you think I'm strong?"

"Very strong!" Kakashi answered without hesitation. He was certain of that and had no grounds to question it.

"What about the First and the Second?" Sen Chisato asked.

Kakashi fell silent, staring at Sen Chisato in confusion.

What kind of questions were these?

"The First was called the 'God of Shinobi.' He founded Konoha and brought an end to the chaotic Warring States period. But even though he was so strong, why did he found Konoha? Why did he protect all those weak people?"

"Then there's the Second. He was one of the strongest people in the Shinobi World at the time. His disciples—that is, the Third and the others—were a burden to him."

"But for their sake, he resolutely stayed behind to cover their retreat, and ultimately died on the battlefield."

At this point, Sen Chisato asked, "They were so strong. What mission couldn't they complete? What enemy couldn't they defeat? Why did they still choose to do those things?"

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

"What is the village? And what is the future?" Sen Chisato asked without comment.

Kakashi didn't answer.

The question was beyond him at that age. He couldn't answer it.

But if Sen Chisato had asked, then he must know!

So Kakashi stared at Sen Chisato with burning eyes.

For some reason, his long-silent heart began pounding fiercely. The answer seemed important. Even if it might completely contradict everything he'd always held to, he still yearned for it.

It was as if finding that answer would let him feel at peace, bring him comfort, and finally quiet his heart.

Success!

Sen Chisato laughed to himself.

He wasn't afraid of Kakashi getting angry or arguing back. He was only afraid Kakashi wouldn't react at all.

Not making Kakashi wait, Sen Chisato gave him the answer outright: "Those weak people, the comrades who can't keep up with you, the people you see as burdens—they are the village. They are the future!"

Kakashi clenched both fists, his breathing growing heavier.

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

But he forced himself to keep it under control and said nothing.

Sen Chisato seemed not to notice and continued, "You were weak once, too. If the village hadn't protected you, do you think you'd have had the chance to grow stronger?"

"Just like the Third and the others—they were a burden to the Second at the time. If he'd abandoned them, the Second could have escaped safely. But then what?"

"Even if the Second had survived, how many more years would he have lived? How many years could he have protected the village? After he was gone, who would protect it? So, for the village and the future, he stayed behind and died covering his comrades' retreat."

Kakashi suddenly raised his head and shouted in agitation, "But my father..."

"He was a hero!" Sen Chisato interrupted before he could finish, his gaze sincere and his manner resolute.

Kakashi froze.

"You think that because Hatake Sakumo died, and was even cursed and blamed while he was alive, everything about him must have been wrong."

Sen Chisato pointed at Namikaze Minato and the others. "Then why don't you ask them what your father was really like in their eyes?"

Kakashi turned to look at Namikaze Minato, his face full of fear and hope.

Meeting his gaze, Namikaze Minato said firmly, "Sakumo was certainly a hero. Even my teacher respected him greatly."

"I heard Sakumo was very considerate of his comrades and patient and generous toward his juniors," Nohara Rin said with a gentle smile.

"He was the White Fang of the Leaf, after all. When I found out you were his son, you have no idea how jealous I was," Uchiha Obito said, looking at Kakashi with undisguised envy.

But when he saw Kakashi's sour expression, he added scornfully, "Compared to Sakumo, you're absolutely hopeless!"

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

Tears welled uncontrollably in his eyes, streamed down his face, and finally fell to the ground, soaking into the soil.

What had happened to his father was like a thorn lodged in his heart, leaving him confused and hurting until he'd grown numb.

Whenever he touched it, the thorn was still there.

But he'd never thought of pulling it out. He treated it as a warning, constantly reminding himself to learn from it and never do the same thing as that man.

Since that man had been wrong, all he had to do was the opposite and do what was right.

But...

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

Otherwise, why would he feel so confused? Why would it hurt whenever he touched the wound?

When the wound was torn open again and the thorn pulled out, the pain left him convulsing, choking on it.

But he no longer had to endure that pain.

"So... I wasn't the only one who understood you, Father!"