Let His True Brilliance Shine!

From the darkness beside the office, Kakashi Hatake slowly emerged.

He had stood in those shadows for far too long. From the moment the child entered to the moment he left, Kakashi had heard every word spoken that evening.

As he stepped out, his clothes seemed to carry traces of an inky darkness that would not dissolve.

Kakashi approached the desk and bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Lord Third."

His voice was quiet.

"As for Naruto and Hayashi—there was nothing wrong with how you handled things."

"Stand up."

The Third picked up his pipe from the desk and leisurely took a puff.

Smoke dispersed beneath the light. Through it, the old man studied the young man before him.

"Both Hayashi and Naruto," the Third said, "are Konoha's newest hopes."

"As long as I hold this position, I will not let them come to any harm."

He paused, then changed the subject.

"But as for you, Kakashi-I have a request."

Kakashi straightened in a flash.

"Please, go ahead."

He answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Whatever you ask, I will agree."

Seeing his reaction, the Third suddenly smiled.

"You really are something."

The old man smiled until his eyes narrowed.

"Whenever that child Hayashi is involved, why do you start acting just like me?"

"Could it be that you're getting old too?"

Kakashi: "..."

There was no answering that.

Getting old? I'm only in my twenties.

He stood there in silence, without answering a word.

The Third did not press him. He leisurely took another puff before speaking again.

"I know."

"You think that child resembles Kushina, don't you?"

"And... a friend you once had?"

Kakashi's breath caught for an instant.

He neither raised his head nor denied it.

The office fell quiet, so quiet that the faint crackle of burning tobacco could be heard.

"Kakashi."

When the Third spoke again, his voice had grown grave.

"That is far too arrogant of you."

"That child is a truly good child. I know that better than anyone."

"But he is only himself."

"You must remember that."

Kakashi kept his eyes lowered and still said nothing.

Watching him, the Third sighed inwardly.

Ultimately, Kakashi needed to hear those words, but so did the old man himself.

"When I put you in the ANBU and kept you there for all those years..." The old man tapped his pipe. "I hoped that, sooner or later, you would emerge from the darkness of your past."

"Now it seems that child will help you stop running away."

"That brings me great comfort."

Kakashi stood motionless.

Every word the Third spoke struck him straight in the heart.

Yes.

Ever since our first meeting, I've been searching that child for traces of other people.

His red hair and temper resemble my teacher's wife. His gentleness resembles Rin.

I layered those impressions over him, one after another, and felt perfectly justified in doing it.

What did that amount to?

Wasn't that a kind of arrogance toward him?

As though I wanted to make him mine, lock him inside my heart, and keep him there.

But...

Kakashi remembered that evening.

He remembered the face smiling into the sunset, and the perfectly measured tremor in the words, "Will you protect me?"

And those two bundles of bandages, along with, "Next time, don't lie to me again, okay?"

Those things had nothing to do with Kushina, nor with the time he had spent with Rin.

That smile belonged to the child himself. Those were his own words.

They had long since become something else, something soft, nestled deep inside Kakashi's heart.

So the Third's words were not entirely right.

Kakashi raised his head.

His usually lazy, dead-fish eyes held a rare seriousness.

"Lord Third."

"I have indeed seen traces of other people in him. I won't deny that."

"But those traces aren't the only reason I've kept watching him."

"This child deserves Konoha's attention in his own right."

"And he deserves to be loved."

The Third froze for a moment.

Then the old man burst into hearty laughter.

His laughter reverberated off the office walls, even making the window frame tremble.

How many years had it been?

The Third looked at Kakashi before him. During his years in the ANBU, the life in him had dwindled day by day. He had spoken less and less, until he seemed covered in a layer of dust.

But now, light was unmistakably shining through that dust.

It was a vivid brilliance that could not be hidden.

"Good. Very good."

The Third rose with a smile, came around the desk, and patted Kakashi on the shoulder.

"Since you've said that, I'm sure you can fulfill the request I'm about to make."

Kakashi's expression turned solemn.

"Please tell me. What exactly is it?"

But the Third did not answer.

With his hands behind his back, the old man slowly walked back to the window, his smile suddenly taking on a mysterious air.

"On that child's first day at the Ninja Academy-"

"Didn't he say he wanted to become a hero?"

Kakashi blinked.

That happened?

He genuinely had not known.

Only a child like Hayashi would have the nerve to announce that he wanted to become a hero on his very first day at the Ninja Academy.

But his ignorance did not stop him from listening attentively.

"If that is what the child wants," the Third said, "then he can have it."

"Kakashi, you heard the arrangements I made, didn't you?"

Kakashi paused, then understood.

"You mean... the assessment."

"You want me to assess that child."

The Third nodded.

"Then let that child, starting here in Konoha-"

"Build a formidable reputation of his own, Kakashi."

With that, the old man turned and looked out the window.

In the night, the lights of Konoha's homes stretched all the way to the horizon.

"Let that child-"

The Third's voice softened, as though he were speaking to the entire village.

"Let his true brilliance shine."

Looking at the old man's back, Kakashi bowed deeply once more.

"I know what I need to do."

He straightened, turned, and left the office, pulling the door shut behind him.

Just before the door closed, he took one last look inside-

The old man was still standing at the window, facing the lights of the village, utterly carried away by his urge to protect his young.

Only the Third remained in the office.

The old man stood by the window for a long time before slowly turning back, his gaze settling on the door that had just closed.

"Hayashi."

He spoke softly, his voice so quiet that only he could hear it.

"Give it your all."

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Hayashi knew nothing of all the twists and turns in that office.

He had long since returned home. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he eagerly summoned the system panel.

Beside the ninjutsu section, Ice Release: Wolf Fang Avalanche was still waiting in line. Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale still carried the mental label of "chakra guzzler," and Water Release: Water Formation Wall sat in a corner, gathering dust since the day he entered the village.

In the past, he might not have bothered with them.

But things were different now. He had Special Jōnin-level chakra, and he would soon be teaching Mizuki a lesson. He needed a few more things ready.

Who needed sleep?

Nothing was sleeping tonight.

Uzumaki Hayashi rubbed his hands together, then swung an arm through the air-

"Activate! Activate! Activate!"

"Analyze them all! Activate every last one-!"