The lonely figure sat in a corner of the courtyard beneath the moonlight. The white-haired boy looked at his father, whose presence should have stood as grand and steadfast as a mountain, and for some reason, tears began to fall.
"Why? Why was it just one failed mission, yet Father refused to complete it?!"
The boy did not understand, nor did he want to understand any longer. His father was wrong—those four words were carved deep into his mind. Yet his father had never once turned back to look at him, as though, in his father's eyes, his own child no longer existed in this world.
Two Hatake Clan ninja spread a sheet of white cloth across the lawn. The white-haired boy stood motionless, watching his father walk over and kneel upon the cloth. Suddenly, his father turned to look at him. The boy lowered his head, too afraid to meet his gaze, but when he tried to look up the next second, his vision had already gone dark as someone covered his eyes from behind.
"Kakashi! It's time for bed! You're graduating tomorrow!"
"Lord Wu, you wanted to see me!"
The blond young man pushed open the door and entered. Mingye looked over at him with a smile and nodded.
"You've had a hard time carrying out missions outside lately, haven't you?"
The visitor was none other than Minato Namikaze. He bowed to Mingye, closed the door, then came to sit respectfully beside him before answering.
"It's been all right. I've gotten used to it, and I've even created my own Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"Not bad! The gift wasn't wasted on the wrong person, was it?"
Mingye teased him. Minato Namikaze scratched his head and replied shyly.
"Please don't say that, my lord!"
"This time, I have