Incident in Childhood

Not long after the teacher had advised Kakashi and me to graduate, the most terrifying thing still came—

"Have you heard? That White Fang actually caused a mission to fail because of personal feelings!"

"Huh? Lord Konoha's White Fang?"

"Yeah, yeah. I heard it was an incredibly important mission. The village invested so much into it, yet because of his personal feelings..."

"But I heard he did it to save his comrades..."

"I heard that too, but apparently his comrades wanted him to continue the mission. When you think about it, ninjas are supposed to make sacrifices. The mission should be the most important thing, right?"

"Exactly! He actually caused such an important mission to fail. And the Third Hokage gave him such high honors!"

"The Hokage's half-sleeve cloak—that was an honor never granted before! This White Fang repaid Konoha's trust like this? It's a disgrace! Someone like him doesn't deserve to remain in Konoha at all!"

"Isn't that a bit too harsh? Everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

"But what if this failure gets your family killed? Who can guarantee that the mission's failure won't bring about a terrible disaster?"

"I guess that's true..."

...As I walked down the street, countless similar remarks reached my ears. These people did not even bother to hide it. They stood openly in the streets and said such things.

Perhaps some ordinary civilians were speaking out on their own, but far more of them had surely been deliberately incited.

That was how politics worked. As long as you had even the slightest stain, something as minor as adding a few extra grains of salt to a pot of soup could be endlessly exaggerated and used to smear you.

But these people... Sakumo had fought on the battlefield, personally slain Sasori's parents, and easily turned the tide of the Second Shinobi World War.

Yet he was being freely insulted by people who understood nothing.

Was the title of war hero really so disrespected? Or was Root's ability to stir people up truly that powerful?

Even though I had prepared myself mentally, I still felt angry.

Especially when the comrade Sakumo Hatake had saved was still proclaiming that he would rather sacrifice his life to complete the mission and had never needed saving at all...

Either he had been threatened, or he had seen the mission fail and wanted to use this as an excuse to glorify himself and win support from the higher-ups and the public.

Konoha politics really was filthy.

"Qingyue, they're talking about Kakashi's father, right..." Rin walked beside me, her face full of concern.

"Yes."

"Kakashi will definitely hear these things too, won't he? Should we go find him?"

"You're right. He does have that kind of personality."

As for how to get Kakashi to talk Sakumo around, my mind was still completely blank. I had no idea what to do.

I had never had much of a father-son relationship myself, so I had no idea how to advise him.

In my memories, before the divorce, my dad had been young and impulsive and opened a store, but he loved having fun and often played cards with his friends outside...

After the divorce, Dad found another girlfriend within two years. Before long, I had a stepmother and a younger brother.

After remarrying, Dad seemed to turn over a new leaf. He began caring for the family, abandoned his old friends, and focused on his career. When he left for another city, I began living with my mother.

After I entered middle school, Dad and I only saw each other during the New Year. Every time we met, we felt like strangers. We barely talked and often argued.

It was even worse in high school. All the way until I graduated and began working, I had never been able to regard my original home as my true home.

When we arrived at Kakashi's house, the curtains were drawn despite it being broad daylight. Kakashi sat alone by the door, his hands resting on his knees and his head lowered.

Although his mask covered the lower half of his face, I could still tell he looked angry and at a loss.

I felt like I had seen that expression before.

It was the expression I had worn when people mocked something I had created. I wanted to argue back, but I did not know how.

[Lord Qingyue, Kakashi's emotions are currently unstable. It is likely that he has also received considerable criticism. There is a strong possibility that father and son will be separated by life and death without ever communicating.]

Yeah, Hill was right. How had I not thought of that?

If the father suffered such accusations, then his son would surely suffer along with him. A seven-year-old child, even a genius ninja, could not endure that, could he?

"Um... Kakashi..."

The feeling of having words reach my lips but being unable to say them was unbearable. The choking sensation was like an invisible hand gripping my throat, leaving me unable to breathe.

At times like this, I envied personalities like Obito's and Naruto's. They could honestly say what was on their minds.

"Can we go inside and see Sakumo?" Rin asked.

"What would seeing someone like that accomplish... A ninja who fails to complete a mission is a failure."

His words were icy and lifeless, without any conviction behind them. He surely did not truly agree with them. In his heart, he probably believed his father had done nothing wrong.

But...

"True. In the ninja world, anyone who cannot complete a mission is trash."

"Qingyue, that's a little too much..."

"But someone who does not cherish their comrades is worse than trash. That's what I think. Put yourself in my shoes, Kakashi. If you and I were carrying out a mission together and I was in danger, saving me might cause the mission to fail. What would you choose?"

If it were me, I would save my comrade without hesitation.

It was a selfish choice. Abandoning the mission for my own feelings could lead to severe consequences.

But I was also certain that I might not regret failing the mission to save a comrade. If I abandoned a comrade for the mission, though, I would definitely regret it.

Compared to people unrelated to me whom I might or might not save after completing the mission, the people I cherished and could save by abandoning the mission were more important.

Kakashi seemed choked by my question. He remained silent, and for a long time, I received no answer.

"That's enough. The fact that you can hesitate between me and the mission already proves where you stand, Kakashi."

"I..."

"Since your stance is the same as your father's, I think you should tell him these things. If you don't, you may never get another chance. At worst, we'll bear these insults together. We'll run into something like this sooner or later anyway."

Since I had decided to go to the battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War, I would definitely save Rin, Obito, and the others.

That meant I would very likely abandon a mission at hand to save them when the time came.

I did not care what they said about me. I had endured that kind of life and still returned to society to work normally. A few words would not be enough to break me.

At worst, Rin and I could defect. My path of growth was bound to lead toward facing off against the Otsutsuki in the end. I could develop and grow anywhere.

Ah, my parents might be sad... But there would always be a way.

Kakashi remained seated in front of the door. His legs trembled slightly as if he wanted to stand, but in the end, he still chose silence.

Rin stood beside us, at a loss. She looked at Kakashi, then finally turned her gaze back to me and cautiously tugged at the corner of my clothes.

I put on a smile and gently patted her head, hoping to reassure her.

I would absolutely handle this well. This was the first major change I would make after coming to this world.

Whether as a manga fan, as Kakashi's friend now, or as the loser from my previous life who never truly opened his heart to his father before dying...

I wanted to help them, and I had the means to do so.

Besides, if Sakumo was around during the Third Shinobi World War, perhaps things would unexpectedly be much easier. I hoped everything could proceed smoothly.

First, I had to solve Kakashi's problem right in front of me!

"Kakashi, go into the house and talk to your father right now, or I'll..."

--

"Beat you half to death, throw you in front of your father, and force you to have a proper talk with him!"

What was this guy even saying?