"I'm home."
The front door opened, followed by a boy's cool voice.
Hatake Sakumo paused in the middle of his work in the kitchen, knowing Kakashi had returned.
He poked his head out of the kitchen and called to him:
"Welcome home. Oh, there's something I need to tell you over dinner. Get some rest first."
Kakashi nodded and answered, "Okay," but he didn't actually go rest.
He took off his coat and hung it up, then went into the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves to help.
Hatake Sakumo looked at his quiet but thoughtful son and considered:
Hmm... I need to seize this chance to make sure Kakashi notices Rin more.
As he chopped vegetables, he spoke as though the thought had just occurred to him:
"Oh, Kakashi. I ran into one of your classmates when I was out earlier. That little girl named Rin Nohara."
"She's quite cute, and very polite too."
Kakashi's hands paused as he washed the vegetables.
Rin...
He immediately pictured her on the street just moments ago, her lips pressed together as she said those three sentences in all seriousness.
"...I think the choice you made back then was right, Uncle Hatake."
"People who break the rules are called trash. But people who don't cherish their comrades are worse than trash!"
Kakashi had been thinking over those three sentences the whole way home.
Not because they were particularly eloquent, but because they struck right at what mattered most to him.
It wasn't as though he hadn't heard the gossip around the village these past two months. Some said his father was trash; others said his father had harmed the village.
Kakashi never spoke of it, but it hurt him deeply.
And those three sentences from Rin...
For one, Rin had approved of his father's choice and didn't think he had done anything wrong.
For another, those three sentences had untangled the knot in his heart.
Kakashi answered quietly, "Yeah... Rin. She really is polite."
Hatake Sakumo had no idea Rin had already said those three sentences to Kakashi.
The boy wore a mask and usually didn't say much, and Hatake Sakumo was in a particularly good mood today, so he couldn't tell anything had changed about him.
And so, father and son carried on, one chopping vegetables and the other washing them, exchanging a few words now and then.
Little by little, they prepared dinner.
Dinner was soon on the table.
Pacific saury was Kakashi's favorite, so Hatake Sakumo had fried two extra fish.
They sat down facing each other. Kakashi pulled his mask down to hang around his neck like a scarf and began shoveling down his food.
Hatake Sakumo picked up some food with his chopsticks, considering how to begin.
After some thought, he decided to ease into it first, so he wouldn't startle the boy right away.
"Oh, Kakashi."
Kakashi looked up, his mouth still full of rice.
"The Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō were killed in the village."
Kakashi froze mid-bite.
He forgot to chew the rice in his mouth and stared blankly at his father.
The Hokage... was killed?
And the village advisor, Shimura Danzō, too?
One of them was Konoha's Hokage, and the other was its advisor. How could they have been killed in the village?
But his father had said it himself.
Kakashi knew his father never spoke of things without a basis.
So it had to be true.
Yet that only made him more astonished. How could the Hokage himself have died for no apparent reason in his own village?
Without looking at his son, Hatake Sakumo continued:
"I was notified this morning and went to a meeting. Lord Mitokado Homura and Lady Utatane Koharu were there, along with the heads of the village's major and minor clans and the senior jōnin."
"After discussing it back and forth, they chose me to take up the Fourth Hokage's position in this time of crisis."
Hatake Sakumo paused there.
"For the time being, don't take any missions. Spies may have already sent word of the Third's death back to the other ninja villages."
"If things go badly, it may not be long before friction breaks out between the villages and nations again, and things descend into chaos."
"As for my succession... I expect it won't be officially announced to the villagers until word of the Third's death has spread and some time has passed."
Kakashi was utterly stunned.
He sat holding his chopsticks without moving for a long time.
The two pieces of news struck his mind one after the other like stones, leaving his head ringing.
First, the Hokage had been killed in the village.
Second, his father had become the Fourth Hokage.
Didn't that make me...
Konoha's crown prince?
Kakashi, who wasn't much of a talker to begin with, remained dazed throughout the entire meal.
He mechanically shovelled down his food, his thoughts in a jumble.
Meanwhile, at Rin's house.
Dinner was a little later than usual that evening.
There was no other reason: today, on the street, Rin had said the three sentences Uncle Hatake had taught her to Kakashi.
She had stood before Kakashi and spoken those three sentences earnestly, word by word.
When she finished, she looked up at Kakashi apprehensively.
She saw Kakashi freeze on the spot.
It was as though someone had struck an acupoint, leaving him unable to recover for a long time.
Rin panicked a little and called to him several times. "Kakashi? Kakashi? A-are you okay?"
After quite a while, Kakashi finally came to his senses with a start, as though someone had pulled him out of the water.
He lowered his eyes, his voice somewhat muffled. "Ah... no, I'm fine. Rin, thank you. Really."
After a pause, he added, "...I'll head home first."
Rin stood where she was, watching Kakashi's departing back, feeling a little happy.
She could tell that Kakashi's thanks had been sincere. Especially the last word he had added: really.
They had been classmates for a year, and whenever they happened to meet and greet each other, Kakashi was always so aloof.
But now, the boy she had secretly liked all this time had thanked her from the bottom of his heart. Rin felt a sweetness in her heart.
Was everything Uncle Hatake said true?
Could it really have that effect?
As the girl pondered it, she dazedly changed direction and headed toward home.
The image of Kakashi standing there stunned replayed in her mind.
She walked along, thinking all the way, and only when she was almost at her front door did Rin suddenly slap her forehead.
"Oh no! This is bad!"
Her mother had sent her out to buy something, and she had forgotten!
The next morning, Kakashi didn't get up early, sleeping in for once.
He didn't have any missions anyway. His father had told him not to take any for the time being.
Five days later.
At Konoha's entrance.
A woman with straight, light golden hair walked into the village.
Her golden hair was tied in a long ponytail at the back of her head, and a striking diamond-shaped mark sat between her brows.
It was Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade, slow down and wait for me!" Shizune called breathlessly, jogging behind her with the little pig Tonton in her arms.
Tsunade heard her, but didn't slow down much.
There was a trace of helplessness on her face.
To be honest, she didn't want to return to the village at all.
She didn't want to return to this village that filled her with sorrow.
But she had no choice.
Her own teacher, the Third Hokage, had actually been killed in the village.
Whether for public or personal reasons, she had to come back.
Meanwhile, on another road.
Jiraiya was also traveling, with two boys and a girl following behind him.
They were Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko.
The news had come too suddenly: his teacher, the Third Hokage, had been killed in the village. Jiraiya had been forced to cut short his plans to teach his three disciples and set off back immediately.
But he knew full well:
It probably wouldn't be long before spies from the various villages learned of his teacher's death and spread word throughout the major ninja villages.
When that happened, another war would likely break out.
Jiraiya couldn't leave the three half-grown children behind without worrying, so he simply brought them all back to the village with him.
Yahiko stole a few glances at his master's back, then looked at Nagato and Konan trudging along beside him. He couldn't hold back any longer.
Come to think of it, it was strange. A few days ago, a giant toad had appeared from who knew where and whispered with Jiraiya for quite a while. Ever since then, his master's face had been tense.
Afterward, his master had said he was taking the three of them back to Konoha, and they had hurried onto the road. Nobody had said much along the way, and the atmosphere was stifling.
He ran to the front, turned around, and called to Jiraiya with a grin:
"Jiraiya-sensei, slow down! There aren't any beautiful women up ahead, so why are you in such a hurry?"
Interrupted, Jiraiya paused and glared at him. "You brat, can't you ever be serious? I'm going back on important business!"
"I know, I know," Yahiko replied with a grin. He waved to the others behind him. "Konan, Nagato, hurry up, you two!"
Behind them, Nagato was walking a little slowly. Shy by nature and a boy of few words, he merely answered quietly:
"Yeah... coming."
Konan nodded and spoke softly. "Nagato, are you tired?"
Nagato shook his head, his voice soft. "No."
Seeing that, Yahiko clicked his tongue twice in an exaggerated fashion.
"Konan, isn't that favoritism a bit much? You're so busy worrying about Nagato that you won't even ask if I'm tired!"
Konan smiled. "You've got so much energy. Do I even need to ask?"
Watching his three disciples banter and fool around, Jiraiya felt his heavy heart lighten a little.
He raised a hand and flicked each of them on the forehead. "All right, that's enough. We need to keep moving."
Yahiko clutched his forehead with a cry of "Ow!" Nagato pressed his lips together and smiled, while Konan gave a soft "Okay," a gentle light in her eyes.
And at that moment, in the Hokage's office.
Hatake Sakumo was leaning back in his chair, listening to Nara Shikata, the current head of the Nara Clan, give his report from across the desk.
This current Nara Clan head was Shikaku's father and Shikamaru's grandfather.
As expected, everyone in the Nara Clan was highly intelligent.
Over the past five days, Hatake Sakumo had grown increasingly fond of consulting him.
The man was quick-witted and spoke with impeccable care, making him a useful advisor.
Hatake Sakumo was listening intently when something suddenly occurred to him, and he asked:
"Oh, Shikata," he said, addressing the clan head by name. "Tsunade and Jiraiya should be back soon, shouldn't they?"
Nara Shikata chose his words carefully before speaking:
"Lord Hokage, they should be back soon. Lady Tsunade has been... traveling within the Land of Fire. She isn't far away, so she should be able to return quickly."
He deliberately softened his tone when he said "traveling."
"As for Jiraiya... he should need a little more time," Nara Shikata said, changing tack.
"He travels outside the village year-round, and his whereabouts are unpredictable. We can only rely on Mount Myōboku to get a message to him."
Hatake Sakumo grunted in acknowledgment and asked no more questions, gesturing for Nara Shikata to continue his report.
Neither of them knew that Tsunade had just stepped into Konoha.