Outside the medical room, Kakashi paced back and forth anxiously.
He looked just like an old father waiting outside the delivery room.
On the way back, Naruto had run into Kakashi by chance. At first, Kakashi had only greeted him as usual before heading off to the Konoha Forest to meet Guy. But when he caught sight of the girl in Naruto's arms, Kakashi had been so shaken that he immediately pushed up his forehead protector and activated his Mangekyō Sharingan to confirm whether what he was seeing was just an illusion.
Once he realized the girl was truly who he thought she was, the formerly listless Kakashi seemed like a changed man—his spirit revived, his body no longer weary. He followed Naruto straight to the medical ward and had been standing guard at the entrance ever since, not moving an inch.
After some time, the door finally opened. Naruto stepped out, only to have his arm immediately seized by the waiting Kakashi.
"Naruto, how is she? She's not in any danger, right?" Kakashi asked with desperate urgency.
Naruto looked at him, tempted to joke: Congratulations, both mother and child are safe.
Or perhaps: It was critical—only one could be saved. Should we save the mother or the child?
But in the end, he swallowed the words.
"You shouldn't be asking me that," Naruto said helplessly. "I'm not a medical-nin. I was just assisting. The actual treatment was done by Kabuto."
Naruto had only lent his Yang Release chakra to help—he wasn't a professional medic after all.
The moment Kakashi heard that, he immediately turned, grabbing Kabuto's arm with both hands. His voice was trembling:
"Kabuto! How is Rin? Is she out of danger? How is her condition?"
"Senpai Kakashi." Kabuto calmly pulled his arm free. "You should ask Sakura. I may have performed the treatment, but she handled the final procedures. What I can tell you is that the surgery was a complete success."
Only then did Kakashi let out a long breath of relief.
He turned at once again: "Sakura!"
But Sakura met him with a mischievous look.
"Hehe… I never thought I'd see Kakashi-sensei like this. It's the first time I've ever seen you lose your composure. Looks like that girl really is very important to you, isn't she?"
Under Kakashi's tense gaze, Sakura finally continued:
"Relax. She's fine—completely healthy. Once her wounds finish healing, she'll be no different from a normal person again."
Such was the power of Yang Release—never mind a pierced heart, even if the organ were entirely gone, it could regenerate anew.
As she spoke, Sakura thumped her chest proudly with a thump-thump. Then her eyes gleamed mischievously, and she leaned forward with a strangely pervy grin that looked out of place on her otherwise delicate features.
"So this is the type of girl Sensei likes, huh? I checked her condition. She may be young, but her development is already—tsk, tsk…"
"Ahem." Kakashi, relieved by Sakura's confirmation yet embarrassed by her latter words, coughed awkwardly. "She's… she's my former teammate."
But Sakura clearly wasn't buying it.
"That's not what she thinks at all, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said slyly. "While she was unconscious, she called out your name nine hundred and eighty times."
Kakashi scratched the back of his head, feigning a laugh, but his eyes kept straying toward the patient's room.
It wasn't that kind of relationship between him and Rin. But she was important to him, undeniably so.
"Well, forget it. If you want to go in, then just go in," Sakura sighed, exasperated by his obvious distraction. She could understand though—if it were Sasuke in that bed, she would feel the same.
But she gave him one last warning:
"Remember, the patient just came out of surgery. Her body is very weak right now—what she needs most is rest. She probably won't wake until tomorrow. So don't stay too long. And definitely don't do anything weird to her, Kakashi-sensei."
"I'd never do such a thing," Kakashi said flatly.
"You say that, but who knows? You are always reading those kinds of books…" Sakura muttered under her breath as she watched him leave.
Then she whispered: "Besides calling Kakashi-sensei nine hundred and eighty times, she also called some guy named Obito seven hundred and eighty-four times. To call someone that much, he must owe her a lot of money."
"Not just her," Naruto added with emphasis. "That guy owes Kakashi a lot of 'money,' too. And he owes my parents—and me—even more 'money.'"
"Ohh, so he's a deadbeat," Sakura nodded solemnly. "Disgusting."
"More than disgusting," Naruto said coldly. "The man's out of his mind."
What would happen if Kakashi and Rin were wed right in front of Obito? Or if Obito had to act as the witness to bless the bride and groom? The thought is almost amusing…
The Obito of this world murdered my master and mistress. He's beyond redemption. But maybe… the Obito of Rin's world still has a chance.
Late at night, Guy stood alone in the Konoha Forest. The autumn wind howled, and with only a thin layer of clothing, his body trembled from the cold.
"Kakashi, where on earth are you?"
"You're really far too late this time."
But at that very moment, Kakashi was by Rin's bedside, gazing at her with a tenderness he had never shown before. Deep inside, he swore an oath:
This time, he would never let Rin be harmed again. Never.
Only after losing something does one learn to truly cherish it.
Once empty and alone, Kakashi now had one more bond in his life.
Even in his weary existence, he had found a spark of purpose.
If only Obito in heaven could see this, too.
At that time, Lee happened to pass by the forest and spotted Guy. He had noticed him still standing by the same tree since that morning. Now, after finishing his day of training, Lee saw him still there in the exact same posture. Curious, he wondered aloud:
"What is Guy-sensei doing out here?"
After pondering a moment, Lee's eyes suddenly lit up in realization.
"I see now! Guy-sensei is doing stationary standing training! By standing perfectly still, he's tempering his willpower!"
"When one's physical training hits a bottleneck, it can no longer bring growth. That's when one must sharpen the spirit through willpower—to surpass one's limits and break through to new heights of strength!"
"As expected of Guy-sensei! To think he could come up with such a genius form of training!"
Eyes blazing with passion, Lee shouted with fervor:
"If Guy-sensei can stand motionless for an entire day, then I can't lose to him! Starting tomorrow, I'll train in stationary standing too! Not just for one day—three days! No… five days!"
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