Rebirth

Time: October, Konoha 37.

Place: Konoha, Hatake Residence.

In the front room, a silver-haired man held an infant rather awkwardly, whispering softly and murmuring to the baby.

Hatake Sakumo wore the gentle smiles of a first-time father, completely at odds with his persona as the Leaf God of Death on the battlefield.

He was quite annoyed that he had not made it back to the village before his son's birth. Fortunately, his wife, whose health was usually only average, had a safe delivery, and both mother and child were well.

Thinking of this, Hatake Sakumo walked gently toward the master bedroom on the side, terrified of waking his resting wife.

To his surprise, the moment he opened the door, his wife, whose breathing had been steady and even in her sleep, immediately woke up.

"Masako, did I wake you?" Hatake Sakumo asked, walking toward his wife on the bed.

"No, I woke up naturally after getting enough sleep." Masako Hatake's voice sounded somewhat weak.

It had just been a full month since childbirth, and her frail body had not fully recovered. She was just about to lift the blanket to get out of bed when the infant in Hatake Sakumo's arms suddenly wailed loudly.

"Give Kakashi to me; he must be hungry."

"Oh, oh, right!"

Hurrying forward, Hatake Sakumo carefully handed Kakashi to his wife.

Kakashi, who had been pretending to sleep, began his feeding for the new day. Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he couldn't help wondering in his mind: The Sage of Six Paths isn't peeping at me, is he?

Originally a native of the Blue Star, after dying on the spot in a safety accident, he had fortuitously transmigrated soul-first into the familiar world of Naruto.

At the exact moment of death, his spiritual body drifted away from his physical form. Driven by some inexplicable and powerful attraction, he abruptly crossed between realms and finally appeared in the outer space of this planet.

The mysterious force that guided his crossing seemed to be searching for something at first. Soon, it carried him plunging rapidly down from space.

When he passed through this planet's atmosphere, he seemed to hear a voice whisper "Huh?" by his ear.

Still in a soul state, he clearly saw that he was in outer space and falling at an extremely fast speed.

Within his field of vision, he did not see the presence of any living creatures. Yet at that moment, to be caught off guard by such a sound genuinely gave him a terrible scare.

Driven by the gravitational pull, his soul smoothly plunged toward the Land of Fire's Konoha in the center of the continent, right into the womb of a pregnant woman about to give birth, usurping the nest and fusing souls with the unborn baby.

After birth.

On one hand, an infant's physical stamina was extremely limited, making both movement and thinking very strenuous; on the other hand, fearing that abnormal thinking might cause unnecessary trouble—since nobody knew if anyone in this brand-new world would discover the existence of his soul transmigration—Kakashi didn't dare show even a sliver of difference from a normal baby, and successfully got through the initial month.

This was precisely during the Second Shinobi World War. As a high-tier combat asset of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo had been on the front lines of the battlefield between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind ever since the war broke out. It was only recently, when the hostilities between the two sides paused slightly, that he had managed to return to the rear.

In the very beginning, only Masako Hatake had kept him company. Hatake Kakashi didn't even know what kind of world the one he had transmigrated to was like.

It wasn't until that day that Hatake Sakumo returned from the front lines. Looking at the dust-covered White Fang of the Leaf, he appeared somewhat younger and sharper than the Leaf God of Death in his memories.

With that familiar Konoha Jonin standard flak jacket and the short blade on his back, Kakashi let out a long sigh of relief after confirming the timing and his identity following his transmigration.

It was still better than coming to a completely brand-new world and having to explore everything all over again. He still had confidence that he could do quite well in the Naruto world, where he knew the ins and outs.

It had already been a month since his birth, and Kakashi, who had been living according to the state of a normal infant, had just learned that Hatake Sakumo would soon return to the front lines.

The current time was Konoha 37.

In this year, the White Fang of the Leaf hacked Sunagakure to the point of near self-isolation, and even the son and daughter-in-law of Suna's high-ranking Elder Chiyo were killed by the White Fang.

Growing ever bolder in battle, Konoha had now pushed the battle line deep into the interior of the Land of Wind, and the decisive battle between the two sides was about to erupt.

Therefore, as the primary combat force, the White Fang had already received repeated urges to depart. Today was his last day at home.

Knowing that Hatake Sakumo would return victorious, Kakashi wasn't worried, but Masako Hatake was extremely anxious.

"When you reach the Land of Wind, be careful in everything. The child and I are both waiting for you to come back at home. If you can avoid..."

"Don't worry, Masako. We'll win, and I'll return safely."

Interrupting what Masako was about to say, Hatake Sakumo replied with a smile.

"I still have to train Kakashi to become a better ninja than I am."

Knowing full well that her husband was an exceptional ninja who regarded his comrades as paramount, wishing he would pay more attention to his own safety yet not knowing how to broach the subject, Masako could only silently pray in the depths of her heart.

At this moment, she deeply regretted that she was only an ordinary person with no talent for becoming a ninja, unable to help her husband on the battlefield.

Time slipped away unknowingly, and as he slowly grew, Kakashi did not wait for the system he had been expecting.

A sense of loss was inevitable, but he quickly adjusted his mindset and began conceptualizing and refining his path forward.

Back on the Blue Star, he had been very fond of the Naruto anime and had watched it from start to finish. He still clearly remembered all the main plot points in the original work.

As an important character who appeared early in the original story, Hatake Kakashi had many high-light moments.

Unfortunately, as the plot progressed in the later stages, Kakashi began failing to keep up with the power creep, only gaining the qualifications to participate when he was forcefully given power-ups during the final battle.

Such a stark disparity had once caused many viewers to feel endless regret.

Looking across the stages of Kakashi's combat strength growth, before the age of six, the White Fang helped him lay a solid foundation, enabling him to possess strength far surpassing an ordinary Genin.

After the age of six, on the premise of his own tremendous hard work and by virtue of his transcendent comprehension, he rapidly achieved strength enhancements across all kinds of battles, barely possessing Jonin-level strength by the age of twelve.

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge forged the moniker of Sharingan Kakashi, instantly granting him the strength level of a Jonin. Yet it also restricted Kakashi's further advancement in the later stages.

Being an ordinary person himself without a Bloodline Limit or hidden bloodlines of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, he struggled every step of the way while dragging along the chakra-guzzling Sharingan.

Coupled with a clouded mind and spirit, he squandered the golden stage of a ninja's strength growth for nothing. From age twelve to the start of Naruto: Shippuden in the original work, his strength merely advanced symbolically from the level of a Jonin to that of an elite ninja.

Given Kakashi's aptitude and comprehension, this was a situation that absolutely should not have happened. Therefore, one could say success came from the Sharingan, and failure came from the Sharingan. It gave Kakashi a very high floor, but it also capped his ceiling limit.

Yet now, a brand-new soul—one who knew the historical development trajectory of the original timeline—had arrived!

Since the heavens favored him and gave him another life, how could he live it in mediocrity and follow the original work step by step!

After acquiring the strength to change his destiny, he vowed to break all kinds of shackles and greet a much more magnificent life.