In the Hatake Clan Compound, Kakashi simply watched Sōkyū Hatake in silence, his eyes betraying nothing unusual.
He knew in his heart that Sōkyū Hatake had set out on a path entirely different from his own.
After all, Kakashi himself could never bring himself to act against Konoha or the Hokage.
If anyone else had told him about this plan, he would have dragged them straight before the Hokage without a second thought.
But the person standing before him and speaking of this now was Sōkyū Hatake of the Hatake Clan, his own younger brother.
As the older brother, could he really harm his dear little brother?
"Sōkū, I know you've always had a mind of your own, so... I won't stop you, and I won't tell anyone about your plan. But there's one thing I hope..." Kakashi looked intently at Sōkyū Hatake, seemingly working something out in his mind.
"What do you hope?" Sōkyū Hatake knew that changing Kakashi's mind certainly wouldn't happen overnight. It could even be called a massive undertaking on every front.
So what he needed to confirm now was whether Kakashi would tell anyone about his plan.
"I hope, no matter what... could you... not act against Konoha?" Kakashi was still deeply conflicted. He wanted revenge for his father, Hatake Sakumo, but he also didn't want the village to be affected.
One could only say that Hiruzen Sarutobi had done a very good job of spreading the Will of Fire.
"Well... Kakashi, I can promise you that, but you'll need to cooperate with me too." Sōkyū Hatake sighed inwardly.
Perhaps even he didn't know whether he would ultimately act against Konoha.
So he hadn't given a particularly direct answer, instead approaching it indirectly. Of course, the prerequisite was that Konoha didn't come bothering him.
After all... he wasn't someone others could push around as they pleased.
"That's good, then. Sōkū, come take a walk with me." After a long silence, Kakashi sighed and spoke.
And so the two walked along the street, one ahead of the other.
As Kakashi's reputation grew, the villagers in the streets and alleys no longer hurled abuse at them as they once had.
Instead, they even greeted Kakashi when they saw him, as though they hadn't been the ones insulting him before.
"See that, Kakashi? If you hadn't made something of a name for yourself now, we'd still be the sons of the failed White Fang to them," Sōkyū Hatake said flatly.
"I know. Thank you for bearing with it, Sōkū." Kakashi knew that Sōkyū Hatake, who had stayed in the village, must have suffered even more from the disdainful looks he had faced every day before.
At that thought, other ideas seemed to stir in Kakashi's heart.
"Mm-hmm." Sōkyū Hatake said nothing more and simply continued walking.
Before they knew it, Sōkyū Hatake and Kakashi had reached the Heroes' Memorial Stone. In a corner, Hatake Sakumo's gravestone stood quietly.
Judging by how clean it was, someone wiped it down regularly.
"I come wipe it down every week." Seemingly noticing Kakashi's confusion, Sōkyū Hatake answered directly.
"Thank you for doing that." Kakashi felt as though something was lodged in his chest. Sōkyū Hatake really had taken very good care of him.
The brothers looked at each other without a word, then sat down before Hatake Sakumo's gravestone.
Thump!
At some point, Sōkyū Hatake took a bottle of liquor out of his storage space, brought out three small drinking cups, set them in front of them, and filled all three to the brim.
"How could we visit Father without bringing liquor?" Sōkyū Hatake said with a smile, steadily picking up one of the cups.
"Sōkū, you're only six, aren't you???" Kakashi stared at Sōkyū Hatake in shock. Here, children weren't allowed to drink, and that included him.
"If you can't drink, go sit at the kids' table." Ignoring Kakashi, Sōkyū Hatake raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.
Kakashi simply stared at Sōkyū Hatake, what seemed like anger burning in his eyes.
What did he mean, go sit at the kids' table if I couldn't drink???
Then, as if out of spite, Kakashi picked up the cup before him and downed it without a second thought!
In an instant, Kakashi felt a burning sensation travel down his throat into his stomach. Then a searing heat rose from his stomach, and his cheeks flushed red in moments.
"Hahahaha! Does it taste good?" Sōkyū Hatake teased as he watched Kakashi's reaction.
"Hmph! Give me another!" Kakashi glared at Sōkyū Hatake, then set his cup right in front of him.
"Another it is. Actually, never mind. This whole bottle's yours." Without wasting words, Sōkyū Hatake placed the bottle he had just brought out in front of Kakashi, then took out another for himself.
"???" Kakashi stared at Sōkyū Hatake in shock. What the hell? I just wanted to show off. What are you doing???
But now he had no choice but to follow through. Steeling himself, Kakashi picked up the bottle and poured himself a drink.
The brothers drank like that, one cup after another, chatting about other things along the way, such as what had happened on the battlefield.
"Hic... Sōkū, what do you think... Father was thinking back then?" Kakashi was clearly drunk, and his flushed face made it a little hard not to laugh.
"Father?" Sōkyū Hatake looked up at the night sky. In truth, he didn't have particularly deep feelings for Hatake Sakumo. After all, by the time he had arrived, Hatake Sakumo was already dead.
But clearly, Kakashi was doing much better now with what had been weighing on his heart. All he lacked was a little confidence from his own people.
"Yeah. Father just left like that. Sometimes I really don't understand. Was it because... Father couldn't handle the pressure?" Kakashi asked very seriously.
But to Sōkyū Hatake's ears, Kakashi's words really sounded as though he was mocking Hatake Sakumo. Hahaha.
"Ahem. Kakashi, life is full of choices, and Father simply chose a path he believed was right, didn't he?" Sōkyū Hatake looked at Kakashi, his eyes shining with a philosopher's light.
"He chose a path he believed was right?" Clearly, Kakashi had already been taken in by Sōkyū Hatake's spiel, his eyes radiating the clear, pure stupidity of a college student...
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