A week later.
The investigation into Orochimaru finally concluded, and Kakashi Hatake at last had some time to rest.
However, after so many days of investigation, no conclusive results were reached, only a large number of corpses were found, left behind after prolonged Wood Release cell experiments.
As for Orochimaru himself, his whereabouts remained unknown.
At the same time, due to his special status, even though Anbu had already concluded that he was a rogue Ninja, the report was merely shelved after being submitted to the Hokage's Office, and instead handed over to Root for international investigation.
"Another open-ended investigation..."
Kakashi Hatake looked at the setting sun in the distance and sighed softly.
The longer he stayed in Anbu, the more he felt the darkness of human nature—whether it came from ordinary Ninja or the higher-ups.
He was indeed a bit tired of it.
"Kakashi-senpai, what did you say?"
Just as he was thinking, a slightly puzzled voice came from beside him.
Kakashi then remembered the kid next to him, turned to glance at him, and said casually:
"Nothing."
Uchiha Itachi looked at him, then continued to walk on.
He didn't know if it was his imagination, but whenever he saw this kid, Kakashi always thought of his younger self.
The same exceptional talent, the same sharp edges, the same premature immersion in darkness.
Only, what had driven him to that point back then was his father's inexplicable death, and his own overly naive thoughts.
What was driving Itachi, however, was the visible conflict between the higher-ups and the Uchiha Clan.
Because of these similar experiences, Kakashi, in his daily life, actually didn't want to meet this kid often, sometimes even avoiding him.
Kakashi Hatake actually understood that it was his aversion to the path he had taken.
Politics, what a harmful thing.
At times like this, he needed to relax a bit.
Thinking this, he casually pulled out a novel with a cover from his pocket and started reading it.
'Even though he's already so outstanding, he's still constantly learning and progressing?'
'As expected of Kakashi-senpai.'
Glancing at Kakashi's actions, Uchiha Itachi thought to himself, deciding that he also needed to continue his extra training after returning home.
He would just have to cancel his plans with Sasuke.
The two, whose thoughts were completely unrelated, slowly walked into the Hokage's Office Building, preparing to submit their mission report first.
They had only gone up two floors when Uchiha Itachi suddenly noticed a man in a white lab coat walking out of a door. He happened to catch sight of Kakashi, and the gaze behind his thick glasses clearly brightened:
"Oh, Kakashi?"
"You actually have time to come here."
The voice was cheerful and gentle, like an older brother from next door, even his gaze carried a hint of concern.
Just by hearing the voice, Kakashi Hatake had already identified the person. He habitually put on a world-weary expression, and looked over with a dead-fish eye.
Sure enough, it was Sōsuke again.
"I didn't come here on purpose."
"I still have a mission to submit."
However, despite his disdainful expression, Kakashi still put away his adult novel and spoke with a rather helpless tone.
"That's perfect then. I was just about to go eat. Want to join me?"
The tall man's face held a warm, spring-like smile, his thick glasses slightly pressing on the bridge of his nose, and his tone was very friendly. Even with the glasses and hairstyle partially obscuring his face, it was clear he was very handsome.
At this moment, he spoke while taking off his lab coat, which was stained with experimental residue, completely disregarding Kakashi's expression.
'He's actually so familiar with Kakashi-senpai, who isn't good at socializing...'
'He must be a very gentle person.'
Uchiha Itachi watched silently, thinking to himself.
Just as he was thinking, he saw the other person's gaze fall upon him, and he asked, puzzled:
"But, have you already started taking on students? You didn't even tell me. You're still as excessive as ever."
"Not a student, a colleague."
Kakashi Hatake, with his hands in his pockets, gestured towards the kid beside him: "You should have heard of him. The Uchiha Clan's genius, Uchiha Itachi."
"He should be promoted to Jonin next year."
"Eh?"
The other person's face showed a clearly incredulous expression, and he said in surprise: "So you are Itachi-kun. I apologize, I misunderstood."
Uchiha Itachi bowed stiffly, replying like a little adult:
"It's alright, this..."
As he spoke, he realized he hadn't asked for the other person's name and turned to look at Kakashi.
Kakashi Hatake took the opportunity to introduce: "His name is Aizen Sōsuke. He's my Classmates (classmate/peer), and also a Jonin. He should have been promoted to research lab chief this year—I heard he recently completed several impressive research projects."
"They're all just small projects, nothing compared to you geniuses."
"Itachi-kun can just call me by my name."
He always seemed to be so unpretentious, speaking gently.
"Yes, Sōsuke-senpai."
Uchiha Itachi didn't refuse, but still maintained a sense of distance, habitually adding an honorific.
"Perfect, Itachi-kun, you should come along too."
"This project finally finished today, and I'm planning to treat myself to something good—how about Akimichi Clan's barbecue?"
Sōsuke first smiled at Itachi, then turned to look at Kakashi.
Kakashi looked as if he couldn't do anything about him, sighing and complaining:
"I haven't agreed yet!"
Then, he saw the other person suddenly put his hands together, as if he had just thought of something, and smiled: "Oh right! Guy should be finishing training and returning to the Village soon. If I shout your name on the street, I'm sure to run into him. Why don't we invite him too..."
"..."
"Let's go, let's go."
Kakashi's tone immediately softened.
Uchiha Itachi paused, looking somewhat bewildered at the two who were already walking ahead.
It was truly rare in the Village to find people who, like these two seniors, didn't hold any strange views towards the Uchiha.
But, it felt quite nice.
The young man pursed his lips, a warmth unknowingly rising in his heart.
If everyone in the Village were like them, perhaps the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the Village wouldn't have reached this point, would it?
He thought to himself, his steps instinctively following... "Whew—"
The beer glass clattered onto the table.
Kakashi Hatake let out a long breath, as if to release all the pent-up frustration of the past few days, his mask pulled down to his neck.
Chasing down Orochimaru was no easy task.
A few drinks in, it's always easy to bring men closer together. At least he now looked significantly more relaxed than his previous tense demeanor, and the conversation gradually opened up:
"Recent missions are getting more and more troublesome, involving a lot of things. If I could, I'd really like to spend all my time in the lab like you, Sōsuke."
"You'd definitely go crazy."
Sōsuke used shared chopsticks to grill beef on the hot plate, responding casually with a laugh: "A few days ago, our entire department found an error in the data. We almost had to scrap the entire project and start over, but still couldn't find the problem."
"Halfway through the investigation, we found out that a new recruit from the Aburame Clan had accidentally dropped a poisonous insect into a petri dish during an experiment, just for a moment."
"Twice!!"
"Haha... We were working overtime until one or two in the morning every day then, almost losing all our hair."
He spoke, then looked up and smiled in Kakashi's direction: "Moreover, even if you wanted to stay at home doing nothing, it would probably be very difficult, wouldn't it?"
As one of the few friends of this outwardly cool, inwardly passionate masked man, he naturally knew Kakashi's true job.
Anbu was not something you could just quit whenever you wanted.
Kakashi Hatake said nothing at this, burying his head and downing another glass of sake.
However, when he looked up, his overly handsome face always made the surrounding female customers turn their heads frequently.
This was also one of the reasons he disliked taking off his mask.
Uchiha Itachi, seeing Kakashi-senpai's true face without his mask for the first time, his gaze lingered on his face for a few seconds with some surprise.
He had originally thought Kakashi-senpai's true appearance would be ordinary enough to be suitable for a spy.
What a surprise.
Just as he was thinking, he saw a pair of chopsticks holding a grilled slice of meat, gently placing it on the plate in front of him.
"Don't be so reserved, Itachi-kun."
"Relax a little."
Sōsuke smiled brightly, patting his shoulder with a large hand: "Don't mind Kakashi always having a stern face; he's actually quite easy to get along with."
"Yes!"
Uchiha Itachi instinctively straightened his back like he did at home with his father, saying seriously: "Kakashi-senpai also took good care of me during missions and taught me a lot."
"Right?"
"Oh, you probably don't know yet, do you? That book he always carries around, it's actually..."
Just as he was whispering to Itachi.
"Hey! Sōsuke!"
Kakashi, holding his sake cup, interrupted with a stiff expression.
Who reveals their past to their subordinate right off the bat?
That's too much, Sōsuke.
This reaction immediately drew a burst of laughter from the other person.
On the tabletop, condensation formed along the rim of the stainless steel plate, chilled beer frothed in the glass, charcoal crackled on the grill, dripping fat sparked tiny flames, meat slices curled golden at the edges, and smoke mixed with cumin aroma swirled under the warm yellow light.
The expressions and faces of the two also seemed to fade into the smoke, and the sounds in their ears became clearer.
Uchiha Itachi watched the two of them from the side, still looking a bit reserved.
However, this relaxed yet subtle feeling now was neither like with Shisui-niisan, born of shared ideals, nor like with Sasuke, born of familial bonds.
Instead, it was a very ordinary, very common sense of acceptance that should naturally exist between friends.
But, to him, it was so unfamiliar.
This made Uchiha Itachi even faintly suspect that something had been wrong with his life before.
At the same time, having had few proper friends since childhood, he was now clearly unsure of what to do, his thoughts swirling in his mind. He subconsciously looked at the sake bottles by the two's hands.
"Ah, not this."
He had only just glanced at it when his gaze towards the sake bottle was blocked by a large hand.
Sōsuke held up a finger: "Although Itachi-kun is already a mature Ninja, drinking before the age of twenty is still prohibited."
"You can eat more meat, though."
"You're still at an age where you're growing, aren't you?"
"Sōsuke-senpai... Thank you."
Seeing several more slices of beef added, almost filling his plate, Uchiha Itachi nodded, then began to eat a few bites more quickly.
Sōsuke-senpai is truly a gentle person.
He's just like a father... No, should I say an older brother?
Is this what it feels like to have an older brother?
If only Sasuke saw me that way too.
This thought inexplicably popped into Uchiha Itachi's mind.
Regardless.
Wasting food is not good.
Seeing him gradually letting down his guard and eating heartily, Kakashi and Sōsuke exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.
"How does it taste? Is the grilling alright?"
"It's delicious."
Uchiha Itachi, with bulging cheeks, nodded seriously.
As he spoke, he seemed to hesitate: "But, will it have any impact for you two seniors to eat with someone like me...?"
What he wanted to say, actually, was 'us Uchiha'.
Ever since the Nine-Tailed attack, everyone in the Village looked at members of the Uchiha Clan with a different gaze.
While it wasn't as bad as how they treated the demon fox kid, covert and overt sarcasm was always present. Some even loudly cursed Konoha Military Police Force members on duty in the streets.
In recent years, these conflicts had become increasingly intense.
As for clan meetings, there was no need to mention them; coup d'état proposals had appeared more than once or twice.
The sense of urgency in his heart also grew stronger.
Even casually chatting and eating like this now brought a strange, slight sense of guilt.
However, the other person's rhetorical question made his thoughts pause.
"What impact?"
Sōsuke-senpai first clinked glasses with Kakashi opposite him and drained his drink, then continued to use the shared chopsticks, casually grilling meat on the hot plate, as if he didn't take such a small matter to heart at all:
"Kakashi's best friend, and his teammate, was a member of the Uchiha Clan. He saved him on the battlefield more than once or twice."
"After that Guy passed away, his grandmother was often looked after by Kakashi until she also passed away the year before last."
"There are quite a few people like him in the entire Village, and quite a few informed people like me as well—do you think people like us would be unwilling to interact with you because of the Uchiha Clan crest on your back?"
Upon hearing this, Kakashi seemed to recall something, his drinking motion involuntarily stopped, and his expression also seemed to darken a bit.
Uchiha Itachi, meanwhile, widened his eyes in surprise, looking towards Kakashi-senpai.
This was the first time he had heard of this.
Sōsuke spoke, his voice unconsciously tinged with a hint of mockery:
"As for those voices you hear?"
"Actually... they are nothing more than the mouthpieces of certain individuals."
As soon as he heard Sōsuke was about to touch on sensitive figures, Kakashi immediately interrupted:
"Sōsuke! You've had too much to drink."
"Ah, my apologies."
Hearing Kakashi's reminder, Sōsuke seemed to just realize, and nodded apologetically towards Itachi.
At this moment, Uchiha Itachi unconsciously stopped eating, staring blankly at the two.
Mouthpieces?
Could it be that the Uchiha's current predicament had actually happened many times before?
Seemingly noticing his gaze, Kakashi Hatake's expression was a little complicated, but he didn't say much, only stating:
"In a few more years, you'll understand."
"..."
"Yes."
"I, I understand."
Although Uchiha Itachi replied this way, he clearly still looked very concerned, silently committing it to memory.
After this topic, the conversation between the two suddenly seemed to lessen a lot, and the atmosphere at the dinner table became a little heavy.
However, Uchiha Itachi carefully noticed that Kakashi-senpai was drinking much faster, his eyelids lowered, as if lost in some unpleasant memories.
How could Kakashi Hatake be happy?
Now twenty-two years old, he understood far, far more than he did ten years ago.
For example, the true cause of his father's death back then.
Just as the drinking party was about to end, the three suddenly heard a surprised voice from beside them:
"Eh?"
"You're here too."