Father and Son

Infancy was tedious, especially when your soul belonged to an adult. That made it even harder to endure.

Fortunately, people in this world generally matured early, so this period could be shortened somewhat.

When Kakashi was two years old, Masako Hatake finally succumbed to the lingering illness she had developed after giving birth. Medicine had failed her, and she passed away amid the grief of father and son.

Heartbroken over the loss of his beloved wife, White Fang seemed to age many years overnight. In Kakashi's eyes, he now resembled his original portrayal even more closely.

Over the past two years, Masako Hatake's meticulous care had gradually eased Kakashi's initial sense of unfamiliarity. Her death left him deeply saddened and reluctant to let her go.

In the recently concluded Shinobi World War, Hatake Sakumo had charged first in every battle, wielding his short white blade and cutting down all before him as he shone brilliantly.

When the victorious war heroes returned to the village, they were welcomed by crowds lining the streets. Among the great ninja clans and bloodline clans, White Fang stood out like a crane among chickens.

Konoha's higher-ups, led by the Third Hokage, wanted to draw more commoners into the ninja system.

So they held White Fang up as a model and shaped him into an example for civilian ninja. They appointed him captain of the Jonin class and deputy commander of ANBU.

The captain of the Jonin class was already considered part of Konoha's upper echelon, with the right to participate in many major decisions. It was an immensely powerful position.

Even the Sannin, the Third Hokage's direct disciples who had also made names for themselves during the Second Shinobi World War, were overshadowed by White Fang alone.

Hatake Residence.

"I finished that book. Do you have anything similar?"

A childish yet clearly articulated voice broke the silence beneath the eaves.

"Oh, you finished it so quickly? Was there anything you didn't understand?" Hatake Sakumo curiously lowered his head to look at Hatake Kakashi, who sat on the wooden platform swinging his legs.

He had only bought him that geography travelogue a few days ago. Though it contained quite a few illustrations, there was still plenty of text. The boy had finished it in less than two days?

"Mm, I finished it. I know what you mean." Kakashi, who would soon turn three, did not look up at his father. His gaze remained unfocused as he stared at his two calves wrapped in bandages, as though he knew what Hatake Sakumo was wondering.

"There were some characters I didn't understand, but they didn't stop me from understanding the book's contents."

Hearing that, even Hatake Sakumo, who knew his son was clever, could not help feeling surprised. Then he became overjoyed.

"Good. I'll buy you several more tomorrow!"

As if recalling something else, Hatake Sakumo said to Kakashi, "When I'm not home, you can play more with the children next door. You can read anytime. Making more friends is a good thing too."

"You want me to wipe their noses for them?" Kakashi replied without raising his head.

Nearly three years had passed. Kakashi felt that no matter how bored the Sage of Six Paths might be, he would not keep watching him forever. So Kakashi had decided to come clean and stop pretending. He was a genius, and he did not want to play house anymore.

There was no need to keep up unnecessary concealment or play dumb.

There had been rather too many surprises today. Hatake Sakumo could not help widening his eyes as he looked at his usually quiet son.

He suddenly realized that his boy seemed to have stopped needing anyone to care for his daily life a long time ago.

Whenever he had gone out on missions before, he had not paid much attention to such details. While his wife was still alive, he had assumed she had handled everything.

During the year since his wife's death, he had been responsible for meals whenever he was home. When he was away, he left Kakashi with the neighboring Murakami Household.

Whenever he returned from a mission and picked Kakashi up from the Murakami Household, he would always hear the kind couple praising Kakashi for being smart and sensible.

He had thought those were merely ordinary polite compliments.

After all, he was the captain of the Jonin class, while the Murakami family's third son was only an ordinary Chunin.

After assessing the Murakami Chunin's character, Sakumo had recommended him for a teaching position at the Ninja Academy as thanks for helping care for Kakashi.

The elderly Murakami couple had been immensely grateful. The Murakami Chunin was the family's only remaining male heir; his two older brothers had both died on the Land of Rain battlefield.

"When can I begin learning to become a ninja?"

After giving Hatake Sakumo enough time to process everything, Kakashi finally raised the head he had kept lowered and looked at White Fang with some anticipation.

The surprise had yet to leave Hatake Sakumo's face when the new question pulled him back from his thoughts.

"You're still too young. How about waiting until you're a little older? It seems a bit early to extract chakra now."

Dazed by the successive surprises—or shocks—White Fang's thoughts stalled slightly.

"You know about chakra, right? It's a type of energy produced within the human body..." Remembering that his son did not understand such things, Hatake Sakumo was about to explain when he was interrupted.

"A mixture of physical energy and spiritual energy produced by the body's one hundred and thirty trillion cells. After being combined in a certain ratio, they can be successfully converted into chakra. After extracting chakra, one can use jutsu through hand seals."

Kakashi asked calmly, "I saw it on the scroll rack in your room. It was marked with a 'four.' Does that mean you intended to show it to me when I turned four?"

"Uh... that was the plan."

Having quickly adjusted his mindset and emotions, Hatake Sakumo clapped his hands together.

"Fine. Since you've already read it, I'll teach you how to extract chakra today."

Hatake Sakumo rose and walked to the center of the courtyard. Planting his feet firmly, he brought his hands together before his chest and assumed a meditative posture.

"Once your physical strength has been trained to a certain degree, guide the spiritual energy in your mind and bring the two energies together within your body. That will produce chakra."

As he spoke, Hatake Sakumo opened his eyes and glanced at Kakashi's bandage-covered legs. He had originally thought they were simply a child's ninja costume for playing house, but that did not seem to be the case.

"Sensing the energy in your body and extracting chakra for the first time isn't easy. Going from zero to one is always the hardest..." Afraid that his genius son would feel disappointed if he could not immediately sense and extract chakra,

Hatake Sakumo had been preparing to guide him step by step when he saw a faint aura of chakra emerge from Kakashi's body. He was shocked once more!

After all, I'd been sensing it every day for the past two years. Though I lacked physical energy, having the spiritual energy of two people gave me no small advantage. Kakashi had originally intended to come clean with Hatake Sakumo today and have him formally begin teaching him cultivation. He had not expected that this attempt at sensing and extracting it would actually succeed in producing chakra.

"Kakashi, you will become a genius who surpasses me..." After a long pause, Hatake Sakumo burst into hearty laughter, his eyes shining as he looked at his son.

"And then replace you as captain of the Jonin class?"