The setting sun in the west cast a long shadow from the flagpole outside the mission assignment office.
Kakashi had just finished handing in the C-rank "whereabouts investigation" mission he had carried out that day.
He had intended to spend a while looking over the mission board for a suitable assignment, but something his father had said yesterday suddenly came to mind:
"Take fewer ninja missions and spend more time playing with kids your own age."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he turned and headed home.
On the way, he pondered a question: if he didn't take missions, what was he supposed to do?
His father had told him to play with kids his own age more often.
But the problem was...
Everyone his age was attending the Ninja Academy.
Kakashi was a genius, after all. He had started school at six, learned everything he needed in a single year, and graduated early. Not long after graduating, he had also become a Chunin without a hitch.
As Kakashi walked, he worried over whom he should find.
Just then, he spotted two figures in the distance, one tall and one small.
The taller one was his father, Hatake Sakumo. From a distance, he could see his father bending over and saying something to a little girl.
That girl... was she Rin Nohara?
They had been classmates for a year, after all, so Kakashi still remembered the lively girl named Rin Nohara.
He was a little curious. What was his father saying to her?
But before he could give it much thought, the two in the distance had already parted ways.
Hatake Sakumo was in a good mood today.
After the morning meeting, he had gone straight to the Hokage's office and sat down in the chair reserved for the Hokage. At last, he had settled into it.
As for investigating the Third's murder and the "catastrophic destruction" of the Root Base,
He hadn't given either matter a second thought.
What a joke. Now that he was the boss, was he still supposed to handle everything and rack his brains over every little thing himself? What was the point of being the boss, then?
He had immediately summoned the heads of several major clans-the Uchiha, Hyūga, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and others-as well as a few promising Jonin.
Among them was the seventeen-year-old Minato Namikaze.
The group stood in the Hokage's office while Hatake Sakumo sat in his chair and asked each of them to share their opinions.
Everyone talked at once, speculating about the killer and discussing countermeasures.
Once they had all had their say and were nearly finished discussing the matter, Hatake Sakumo waved a hand.
"All right, let's do that."
Some went to investigate Hiruzen Sarutobi's murder, while the others went to investigate the Root Base.
As for Shimura Danzō...
He still hadn't been found.
But according to the Shimura Clan's servants, Danzo hadn't come home at all last night.
Given that the entire Root Base on the west side of the village had collapsed, Danzo had likely been buried underground along with his hideout.
Thus, Danzo's status was officially changed from "missing" to "murdered."
Although the Root Base had collapsed, the Root ninja assigned to monitor the various clans throughout the village were still around.
Sitting in the Hokage's chair, Sakumo had the ANBU summon them all.
With Shimura Danzō dead, the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seals on them had automatically been lifted.
Many of these Root members had been thoroughly brainwashed by Danzo, but quite a few had not been brainwashed as deeply.
Freed from the Tongue Root Eradication Seal's control, each of them felt as though their chains had been broken, and they were relieved to have regained their freedom.
Sakumo looked at them and spoke calmly.
"As of today, Root is disbanded. You will be transferred to the ANBU. For now, go to the west side of the village and help the Hyūga clan head clear the rubble and rebuild the neighborhood."
"Afterward, you may return to your respective clans. If you don't want to return to your clans, come to me, and I'll arrange new places for you to live."
Hatake Sakumo knew that many of these people had been forcibly "recruited" under pressure from Danzo's authority and forced to join Root as children.
By the time he had made arrangements for the Root members, it was almost lunchtime.
He ate lunch as usual, then dealt with some documents in the afternoon.
As the sun began to set, Hatake Sakumo got up and strolled over to the west side of the village to check on the progress of the cleanup.
After a full day's work, only a small area had been cleared. It wasn't particularly fast.
Hatake Sakumo wasn't in a hurry. He walked around the edge of the ruins, making a show of inspecting this and looking at that.
Finally, he asked Hyūga Hajime, who was directing the cleanup, a few questions, nodded, and told him he was doing a good job. Then he left, ready to go home.
On the way home, Hatake Sakumo's steps grew noticeably lighter.
He had, after all, been called upon in a crisis to take over as the Fourth Hokage, and the ninja had all heard the news.
Because of the Third's murder and the disaster at the Root Base, the news would be kept from the villagers for the time being, and announced to the whole village on an auspicious day.
Hatake Sakumo hummed a tune in his head as he walked along, feeling pleased with himself, when he saw a little girl approaching from the opposite direction.
He took a closer look. Oh, isn't that Rin?
Rin Nohara. Looking at her now, she really was tiny, much younger than when she first appeared in the anime.
Come to think of it, Rin had been a thirteen-year-old girl when she appeared in the anime, whereas now...
Kakashi was only seven this year, so Rin was probably about eight.
As Hatake Sakumo looked her over, the girl seemed to notice his gaze. When she saw it was him, she called out in a clear voice:
"Uncle Hatake."
After greeting him, she thought for a moment and asked:
"Um... Uncle, how has Kakashi been lately?"
The more Hatake Sakumo looked at the girl, the cuter he found her.
Hatake Sakumo wasn't at all surprised that Rin had brought up Kakashi herself. He had watched Naruto, after all, and knew that Rin liked Kakashi.
He answered with a smile, "Oh, hello, Rin. Kakashi? He does C-rank Chunin missions every day. At this hour... he's probably almost home, I suppose?"
As he spoke, he "observed" Rin Nohara.
Hmm, this girl would be quite a good match for my son.
An idea struck Hatake Sakumo. He bent down and lowered his voice.
"Rin, do you like Kakashi?"
The question caught the girl completely off guard.
As though someone had uncovered an enormous secret, Rin stumbled back two steps in shock and waved her hands repeatedly.
"Ah~ No, I don't! I really don't!"
Watching the little girl grow flustered, Hatake Sakumo was delighted and kept talking.
"Rin, let me give you a little tip. If you comfort Kakashi like this, he'll definitely be grateful to you afterward and see you as a dear friend."
Rin grew even more flustered. Her little face turned bright red, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Hatake Sakumo stopped teasing her and leaned closer.
"Next time you see Kakashi, comfort him by saying this:"
"Kakashi, I think Uncle Hatake made the right choice back then."
"Those who break the rules are called trash. But those who don't cherish their comrades are worse than trash!"
"Remember, you only have to tell Kakashi those three sentences. He might not show much on his face, but he'll definitely be deeply moved inside."
After listening, Rin was a little puzzled, but she didn't ask any more questions.
She had heard a little about Uncle Hatake's "affair" over the past two months. As she saw it, speaking well of a friend's family member and comforting that friend really could make them feel favorably toward you.
Clearly, Rin was still a little girl and couldn't understand the last two sentences.
But Hatake Sakumo understood perfectly well.
In the anime, Obito had used those last two sentences to make Kakashi regard him as a dear friend.
But Hatake Sakumo was also a little worried. If Rin later told Kakashi that he had taught her to say it, the effect would be greatly reduced.
So he added, "This is a secret between the two of us. You can't tell anyone, including Kakashi."
"Remember, you came up with those three sentences yourself."
After a moment's thought, Hatake Sakumo held out his little finger.
Rin's ears burned, but she held out her little finger too and solemnly made a pinky promise with him.
Seeing that his "great undertaking" was complete, Hatake Sakumo stood up and left in satisfaction.
In his excellent mood, Hatake Sakumo failed to notice a small figure standing on the street in the distance, watching what had just happened.
But Kakashi was too far away to hear what his father and Rin were saying.
Kakashi was relieved. His father was in the mood to come out for a stroll, and he seemed to be doing well. He had completely put that incident behind him.
The thought lifted his own mood. Without dwelling on it, he continued on his way.
Meanwhile, Rin was still a little flustered after making the pinky promise with Hatake Sakumo, and the warmth in her cheeks lingered for quite some time.
Am I... that obvious?
But it looks like Uncle Hatake doesn't dislike me.
If only Kakashi could be like that too.
Rin walked along absentmindedly, having completely forgotten that her mother had sent her out to buy something. Her mother was still waiting at home to cook.
Kakashi and Rin drew closer as they walked toward each other.
The words his father had said yesterday came back to Kakashi: "Take fewer missions and spend more time playing with kids your own age."
Kakashi looked at his approaching classmate and opened his mouth, then closed it again. In the end, he spoke first.
"Rin, school's out?"
Rin had been lost in her own world, wondering whether the method Uncle Hatake had taught her would actually work. Hearing someone call her out of the blue, she came back to her senses.
"Ah... K-Kakashi."
"School? It got out ages ago."
Kakashi replied expressionlessly, "Really? So the Ninja Academy gets out that early."
That does... seem to be right.
He thought back briefly. When he had attended the Ninja Academy... school really had gotten out quite early.
Kakashi considered it. He had taken the initiative to greet someone his own age, hadn't he?
That should count as "spending more time with kids his own age," as his father had said.
Satisfied, Kakashi resumed walking home.
"Um... Kakashi."
Rin called him back.
Kakashi looked at Rin, a little puzzled.
Rin pursed her lips and slowly spoke.
"Um... I think Uncle Hatake made the right choice back then. Those who break..."