The warmth at the dinner table was eventually diluted by the shadow of war. Minato Namikaze did not stay long. The meeting with Hokage and the arrangements for the funeral arrangements of his sacrificed companions made him leave in a hurry. Kushina sent him to the door, and the dazzling figure soon disappeared at the corner of the street, leaving her standing there blankly, the joy in her eyes replaced by a lingering worry.
Senju Chen silently put away the dishes. In the kitchen, the glutinous rice dough that had fermented just right and was as warm as white jade was still lying quietly on the chopping board. The afternoon that should have been full of sweetness now felt a little heavier.
He washed his hands, took off his apron, and said to Kushina who was still in a daze at the door, "Sister Kushina, I'm going out."
"Huh? Where to go?" Kushina came back to his senses.
"Go and see Kakashi."
Kushina's expression became complicated. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end it just turned into a low sigh, "Go and persuade him. That child... is quite pitiful."
Senju Chen nodded, turned around and walked out of the mansion without saying anything more.
The afternoon sun, no longer so blazing, shines slantingly on the streets of Konoha, stretching the shadows of pedestrians. The village looks as peaceful as ever, with the sounds of children playing and vendors shouting, intertwined into a peaceful picture.
But Senju Chen was keenly aware that beneath this tranquility, there was a subtle hint of desolation. Many pedestrians on the street were wearing mourning clothes with solemn expressions. The pace of the patrolling ninjas was also more steady than in the past, and their eyes were a little more alert.
War is like an invisible giant beast. Even if it roars far away from the national border, its breath has already penetrated into every corner of the village.
Senju Chen came directly to the Hatake Clan's mansion. Senju Chen didn't regard himself as an outsider. He knocked on the door and went in directly.
I saw Kakashi Hatake sitting alone at the training ground in the backyard.
It looked like they had just finished training, and a wooden knife fell in the middle of the field.
He seemed a little thinner than the last time we met, and his figure was even thinner. He was wearing a dark combat uniform, with his eyes closed tightly, and he sat quietly, motionless, like a statue that had lost its soul.
Senju Chen stepped lightly and walked over slowly.
He didn't speak, just sat silently next to Kakashi.
After a long time, Kakashi seemed to finally break free from his own world. When Kakashi opened his eyes, Senju Chen saw that Kakashi's left eye was different.
Those pupils like Tomoe are exactly Sharingan unique to the Uchiha Clan.
Looking at Kakashi and that eye so close at hand, Senju Chen couldn't help but have huge doubts about the world. He had changed so much since he came to this world, but some things still happened.
Isn't it true that the impact of the butterfly effect is huge? Kakashi was influenced by himself to graduate early, but in the end he returned to the plot he was familiar with.
Senju Chen is particularly curious at this time, whether he has changed anything, or whether the future of this world will definitely go according to the script.
Just like the binding nature of the world's will, no matter what you do, you will eventually be set back to its original trajectory?
The two of them sat quietly like this for a long time.
"What are you doing here?" Kakashi's voice was as hoarse as two stones rubbing against each other, without any emotion.
"Brother Minato is back." Senju Chen's tone was very calm, "He is very worried about you."
"Worried about me?" Kakashi twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was uglier than crying.
"What's the use of worrying about a loser like me."
"It was my wrong decision that led to Obito's death."
"I killed... my companion."
The last sentence he said was very serious, it was the kind of inability to let go and blame for himself.
Senju Chen was silent for a moment, then took out something wrapped in oil paper from his arms and handed it over.
"What is this?"
"Snacks. It was originally made for Sister Kushina." Senju Chen opened the oil paper package, and inside were two snow-white soft and glutinous meatballs, which were his unfinished works before. "Anko is filled with sand and sweet."
Kakashi looked at the two round snacks without any fluctuation in his eyes.
Senju Chen didn't care, he picked one up and took a bite. The soft and waxy outer skin melted between the teeth, and the sweet Anko sand instantly poured out, and the sweet taste filled the mouth.
"Being born in this war-torn era is not something we can choose."
While chewing, he said casually, "But when you are alive, you have to taste some sweetness, otherwise it will be too bitter."
"Sweetness?" Kakashi repeated the word in a low voice, and finally there was a wave of emotion in his empty eyes, which was a complex emotion mixed with pain, regret and self-deprecation.
"You know, Senju Chen..." Kakashi seemed to be venting his anger and shouted at Senju Chen next to him.
"I envy you very much. You have amazing talents, a mind that makes opponents fearful, and powerful strength that makes people fearful."
"I used to firmly believe that as long as I train hard, complete tasks, and kill all the enemies in front of me, one day I can catch up with you or even surpass you."
"I have always firmly believed that as a ninja, you should not have emotions on the battlefield and focus on the mission. This is also the lesson my father learned through his own death."
"On the battlefield, I only think about the mission and the rules. I believe that completing the mission is everything for a ninja. For the mission, you can give up everything, including your companions."
"But... but..." Kakashi's voice paused, as if he had returned to the dark cave again, to the moment that changed his life. His lips moved, and he repeated those unforgettable words in an almost sleepy tone.
"I... found that I seemed to be wrong..."
"It's so wrong..."
"He told me that in the ninja world, those who break the rules and commandments are trash..."
"... But those who don't know how to cherish their companions are trash worse than trash!"
Senju Chen listened quietly. He knew that Kakashi's defense line had completely collapsed.
"Lin was captured by Iwagakure. I thought we should continue the mission, but he went to save people. We had a big quarrel and parted ways. But... but when I was in danger, he came back."
"He saved me, but he was hit by a falling rock..."
Kakashi's voice began to tremble, and he subconsciously raised his hand to cover his left eye, but his hand stopped in mid-air.
"In order to save me, he... he was crushed under the boulder... half of his body... was gone..."
"He was dying, but he gave me his eye..."
"Lin used Medical Ninjutsu to transplant his eyes to me." Kakashi's voice was filled with uncontrollable crying, "He asked me... to use this eye to see the future clearly for him."
"But I... I..."
"I watched him die in front of me, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't do anything! I'm trash! I'm trash that's worse than trash!"
He roared like a wounded lone wolf, venting all the pain and self-blame accumulated in his heart without reservation.