Kakashi's path to growth?

"Shinichi, when did you awaken your Sharingan?"

The Third Hokage asked the question with apparent casualness.

"On the day my father died."

There was no way Shinichi would tell him the truth, so he made something up on the spot.

Awakening the Sharingan required a drastic emotional shift, so his lie was perfectly plausible.

"Since you could defeat Hizashi, you must have had the strength of an elite jonin for some time. In my opinion, your talent is no less impressive than Kakashi's. Why, then, have you spent all these years at home, refusing to go out on missions?"

The Third Hokage continued questioning him.

Over the years, Shinichi had neither gone on missions nor held a position in Konoha. He had essentially been a stay-at-home man.

Yet this idler whom nobody paid much attention to possessed strength on par with an elite jonin. That certainly gave him something to ponder.

"There's something you don't know, Lord Hokage."

Faced with the Third Hokage's pointed question, Shinichi put on a bitter smile. "Kakashi was still young when Father died. Over the years, he suffered one blow after another, and his heart nearly sank into darkness. If even I, his older brother, didn't look after him, he might have..."

Don't you love fooling people with the Will of Fire?

Then I'll play the emotional card. You have no reason not to fall for it, right?

"So it was all for Kakashi!"

The Third Hokage took a deep drag on his pipe and sighed.

Although he still harbored some doubts, he accepted Shinichi's explanation.

Besides, Shinichi had voluntarily confessed to possessing the Sharingan. At the very least, that proved he was still loyal to him and Konoha.

"Let's put the past aside for now. What do you plan to do from here?"

An unusual gleam flickered in the Third Hokage's eyes. "Kakashi has grown up, and I don't want you to keep wasting your time. Why not join the ANBU for now? As for the Uchiha Clan, I'll speak to them on your behalf."

He was trying to recruit Shinichi.

With the Hokage's faction protecting him, the Uchiha would presumably know better than to make trouble for Shinichi.

"I wouldn't dare trouble you, Lord Hokage."

Unexpectedly, Shinichi shook his head with a smile and offered a suggestion. "Kakashi has already joined the ANBU, so there's little point in me joining too. Why not let me join the Konoha Military Police Force instead? I'm half Uchiha, after all. It would be the perfect opportunity to keep a discreet eye on the Uchiha for you."

Ever since the Night of the Nine-Tails, countless villagers had suspected the Uchiha of secretly orchestrating the attack and were deeply wary of them.

That was especially true of the Konoha High Command led by Danzo, and the Third Hokage was no exception.

Shinichi was certain the Third Hokage had no reason to reject this proposal.

The Uchiha won't readily allow outsiders into the Konoha Military Police Force, but this boy Shinichi is related to them by blood. If I send him to monitor the Uchiha, he might well be the ideal candidate...

The Third Hokage weighed it up in silence.

At that moment, he dismissed all his earlier suspicions and trusted Shinichi more than ever.

Where else could he find such a fine subordinate, someone who volunteered to ease his burdens as Hokage and understood the true meaning of his Will of Fire?

"Since you're willing, I'll agree."

The Third Hokage spoke with satisfaction. "However, the Uchiha Clan has always been hostile to outsiders. You must be careful in everything you do."

That settled Shinichi's proposal.

Even Shinichi had not expected this. He had only come to fool the Third Hokage and clear himself of suspicion, yet he had been handed a legitimate opportunity to approach the Uchiha Clan!

Talk no Jutsu King for the win!

Having achieved his goal, Shinichi did not linger. He hurried home.

He had not forgotten that Kurenai was coming over tomorrow. He needed to get back and prepare.

"Hiruzen!"

Shortly after Shinichi left, Danzo, the king of taking the blame, stormed into the Hokage's Office. "I just received intelligence that the Hatake Clan brat possesses a Sharingan, and a three-tomoe one at that. Even Hiashi and Hizashi were no match for him."

"Hatake Shinichi concealed such strength for years. Clearly, he harbors sinister intentions and may threaten Konoha! The Uchiha Clan certainly won't let this go either, so I believe we should immediately send men to subdue the Hatake Clan and bring that brat in for interrogation!"

Had Shinichi still been there, he might have burst out laughing.

Fortunately, he understood that old bastard Danzo well enough to predict his next move. Otherwise, Danzo would have seized the initiative and left him without a leg to stand on.

"Danzo, I've told you many times."

The Third Hokage frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Both Hatake brothers belong to my faction and are utterly loyal to Konoha. Stop making needless accusations! Besides, Shinichi already told me everything you just mentioned. You needn't concern yourself with this. Go back to Root!"

"Are you saying I'm meddling?"

Danzo demanded angrily.

"Yes."

The Third Hokage nodded expressionlessly.

Even the mildest person had a temper. Danzo had overstepped his bounds time and again, and even the Third Hokage's patience was wearing thin.

Even the ANBU stationed throughout Konoha had not yet delivered this intelligence to him, the Hokage, yet Danzo had learned of it first. Didn't that imply Danzo's intelligence network was stronger than his?

He might as well hand the Hokage position over to Danzo!

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

Danzo flew into another impotent rage.

At the Hatake home.

After dinner, Naruto went to bed early.

Shinichi had now drawn up quite a few training plans for him, mainly focused on taijutsu and chakra control, which left the boy exhausted every day.

Without the Uzumaki Clan's powerful constitution to sustain him, an ordinary child would have long since been ruined by that training.

"Brother, don't you have a lot to explain to me?"

Beneath the moonlight, Kakashi wore a solemn expression.

Shinichi had revealed far too much in a single day, making Kakashi realize that he had never truly understood his older brother at all.

"Do you want to ask about the Sharingan? Or the Third Hokage?"

Shinichi chuckled.

"Is that really all there is?"

Kakashi gave him a meaningful look.

"You're clever, little brother, but there are some things I don't want to discuss yet."

Shinichi shook his head and said gravely, "All I can tell you is that I didn't steal my Sharingan. It was mine to begin with."

Hearing that, Kakashi could not help feeling relieved.

Although he possessed a Sharingan thanks to Obito's gift, he deeply loathed the act of stealing someone else's kekkei genkai. If Shinichi had truly done such a thing, he would not have known what to do.

"Brother, your talent is clearly greater than mine, yet you've stayed home all these years..."

As something occurred to him, Kakashi's gaze grew conflicted. He asked guiltily, "Was it to take care of me?"

"What are you thinking?"

Shinichi gave him a hard knock on the head and smiled. "Does your big brother really look that noble and selfless? If I'm not telling you certain things yet, it's because the time hasn't come."

"In short, you only have two things to do right now. First, improve your strength as quickly as possible. Second, hurry up and win Kurenai over so the Hatake Clan can grow!"

"The future of the shinobi world is far more dangerous than you imagine!"

Whether it was the Fourth Shinobi World War single-handedly sparked by Kakashi's close friend Obito, Uchiha Madara and Ōtsutsutsuki Kaguya, or even the more distant threat of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, all of them posed dangers beyond imagination!

Shinichi did not want Kakashi to become the man who could only fight every opponent to a draw. He had to grow stronger than he had in the original story!

"I want to get stronger quickly too, but my Sharingan..."

Kakashi sighed softly.

The Sharingan's power was undeniable. It would earn him the future title of "Copy Ninja," but it also imposed a considerable burden.

The incompatibility with his bloodline magnified the Sharingan's side effects enormously. Even when he was not using it, it consumed vast amounts of his chakra.

That was why he always covered his Sharingan with his forehead protector.

"When I call you stupid, you really do live up to it."

Shinichi scolded him in exasperation. "Why are you so fixated on relying on the Sharingan to get stronger? Have you forgotten your own name? Kakashi Hatake, you're a member of the Hatake Clan, the son of Konoha's White Fang!"

"Our clan's true strength has never been ninjutsu or chakra. It's Hatake Swordsmanship, unmatched throughout the shinobi world! Did Father become Konoha's White Fang and strike terror into the entire shinobi world by relying on a kekkei genkai?"

"Think carefully about what you should really be doing! Only by setting aside things that were never meant to be yours can you truly transform yourself!"

The son of Konoha's renowned White Fang, the Hatake Clan's sole heir, spent every day studying how to grow stronger through the Uchiha's Sharingan.

If Hatake Sakumo knew, he would be so furious he would climb out of his coffin!