Kakashi helplessly spread his hands. These Hannya Group members really were stupid enough; since the two of them had dared to show themselves so openly, they had obviously come fully prepared.
"It's a soundproof barrier! Everyone, be careful. There may be other Konoha ninja nearby. Deal with these two first!"
"I knew Konoha meant us no good. Luckily, we came prepared too! Didn't expect that, did you?" the Hannya Group sneered.
Kakashi rolled his eyes. Have some shame, would you? Who was it that planned to rob us in the first place?
Kakashi and Itachi drew their blades and met the charging Hannya Group.
Neither of them wasted a single movement. They harvested life after life with utter precision, and there was a strange beauty in the dance of their blades and footsteps.
Like a silent pantomime, one actor after another quietly fell, becoming corpses.
After wiping the blood from White Fang, Kakashi carefully sheathed his sword.
Looking at Itachi Uchiha in the distance, Kakashi walked over and patted his shoulder. "Well done."
Itachi Uchiha had held it in all the way here, but he finally could not resist asking the question in his heart.
"Why are you called the Companion Killer? They all say that you would sacrifice your own comrades to complete a mission."
But I don't think you're that kind of person... Itachi did not say the rest aloud.
"Heh. My comrades chose to die by my hand in order to protect the village and protect me."
Kakashi withdrew his hand, picked a sturdy corpse to sit on, and slowly closed his eyes.
"After that, I washed my hands endlessly every day, but it seemed no matter what I did, I couldn't wash away the blood on them."
Opening his eyes again, Kakashi pointed at his Sharingan. "The guy who gave me this eye once said something."
"Ninja who abandon their missions are called trash, but those who don't cherish their comrades are worse than trash."
"I understand..."
Itachi nodded. Seeing the pain on Kakashi's face, he hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and giving it a pat.
Kakashi looked at Itachi in surprise, but Itachi had already quickly withdrawn his hand, as though nothing had happened.
"Then do you ever feel conflicted because of the Sharingan? Do you think that, in some sense, you belong to the Uchiha Clan?" Itachi asked again.
Kakashi smiled. "Well, honestly, I've never really thought about that. But I think my bond with the Uchiha Clan is something I'll never be able to untangle in this lifetime."
Never be able to untangle it... Itachi fell silent again.
At the foot of the mountain, Guy had already discovered the Hannya Group's scheme. The scroll they had handed him was actually an explosive tag!
Guy kicked the scroll away and roared, "You people have no sense of fair play!"
"Heh, you idiots from Konoha, we never intended to cooperate with you from the start!"
"Hannya Group, attack!"
After the Hannya Group leader shouted, however, she received no response. The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
Looking at Guy, who had no idea what was going on, she cleared her throat and shouted even louder, "Hannya Group, attack!"
Yet there was still no movement on the mountain.
Guy had already folded his arms and silently watched the woman's performance.
"Tap."
Kakashi and Itachi lightly landed behind the woman and the other two Hannya Group members. Then they swiftly passed by with blades in hand, stopping in front of Guy.
The three Hannya Group members still wore looks of disbelief as they slowly collapsed. Until their deaths, they never understood where their reinforcements had gone.
"Kakashi, why did you kill them all?!" Guy asked in shock.
Kakashi rubbed his forehead. "Idiot, how can you call an ANBU member by name while he's carrying out a mission?"
"The Hannya Group betrayed Konoha. My mission was to execute them all. Now that both our missions are complete, let's head back together."
Guy found it difficult to accept Kakashi's coldness.
"Even so, you shouldn't have killed them all! Those were three living lives!"
Good thing you didn't see all the corpses up on the mountain, or you'd have gone crazy, Kakashi thought.
"You're too naive, Guy."
"If we let them return, they might harm my fellow Konoha citizens. Which do you think is more important?"
Guy said seriously, "Even if I can't argue against you, what you did was wrong, Kakashi."
Their ideals differed, and they eventually parted on bad terms.
After returning to the village, Kakashi and Itachi went to the ANBU headquarters, returned their equipment, and changed into casual clothes.
"Want to have dinner together tonight, Itachi?" Kakashi asked. He was still thinking about hot pot.
Itachi Uchiha smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Kakashi-sama, I have something to do tonight..."
After hesitating, Itachi decided to explain the reason to Kakashi. "My little brother will be getting out of school soon. I promised him that once my mission was over, I'd pick him up and take him home."
Ah. Kakashi fell into thought. Come to think of it, Naruto probably had never experienced being picked up from school before, had he?
Maybe he should let the kid experience what it felt like to have someone pick him up today.
"Hmm, how about we go together? I happen to be picking up a little guy too."
Itachi tilted his head and thought for a moment before happily agreeing.
Itachi did not speak much. As they walked to the Ninja Academy, he remained quiet the entire way.
When they reached the school entrance, little kids ran out one after another, bursting with energy after school.
Kakashi spotted many familiar faces in the crowd and could not help smiling. These were Konoha's future.
"Big brother!" a clear young voice called out.
A little boy dressed in dark blue came running over and threw himself into Itachi's arms.
Itachi affectionately rubbed Sasuke's head, then looked at Kakashi beside him. "Kakashi-sama, this is my little brother, Sasuke."
"Sasuke, hurry and greet Kakashi-sama."
Only then did little Sasuke notice that someone else was beside his brother. Blushing slightly, he stepped away from Itachi and gave Kakashi a small bow.
"Hello, Kakashi-sama."
So cute. Kakashi crouched down and pinched Sasuke's tender, chubby cheek, making the little boy look thoroughly unwilling.
"Ahem..."
After realizing he had made the little boy unhappy, Kakashi thought for a moment, took a kunai from his clothes, and handed it to Sasuke.
"Since this is our first meeting, consider this kunai a gift," Kakashi said.
Sasuke looked at the kunai before him, tempted, but he still turned to look at Itachi.
"Big brother, can I have it?"
Itachi smiled and nodded at Sasuke, and his impression of Kakashi improved further.
A little-brother fanatic did not need much. As long as you treated his little brother well, he would like you.
Before you continue