Konoha, Cemetery.
Kakashi stood before a gravestone, holding a bouquet of flowers.
Since his father's death, Kakashi had grown increasingly silent. There weren't many things in the village he cherished anymore. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was one of them.
As his teacher and squad leader, Minato had been the brightest, most inspiring person Kakashi had ever known.
The life of a ninja was often steeped in blood and darkness. But Minato was different—like the sun, he always illuminated those around him.
Footsteps approached from behind. Few people visited this place. Kakashi turned warily, then recognized a familiar figure.
"Long time no see, Kakashi. Heard you were in the village. When I found your place empty, I guessed you'd be here."
"Aoba, when did you get back?"
"Just now."
"Good to have you back." Kakashi rarely spoke to others, having almost no friends except Guy. But Aoba was an exception.
Back when rumors targeted Sakumo Hatake, Kamikawa Aoba had been one of the very few ninja who stood by the White Fang.
At that time, Kakashi had been lost, unsure whether his father's actions were right or wrong. But he knew who stood with him.
This made Aoba one of the rare few Kakashi would converse with.
"You look... different somehow."
Kakashi studied Aoba's face—still the same young, handsome features from his memory.
Yet one thing had changed. His right eye was now covered by a tilted forehead protector.
"Your eye..."
"Couldn't be helped. Ran into that brute Raikage. Had to pay some price. Burned all my cards just to escape alive."
"Surviving an encounter with the Raikage is already an extraordinary feat."
"Not bad, I suppose. Left him a little souvenir too—one finger. Though it didn't slow him down much."
As he spoke, Kamikawa Aoba placed his bouquet before the Fourth Hokage and his wife's shared gravestone."Let's go grab something to eat. I probably won't be staying in the village for long. Call Guy and let's have some barbecue. I've been craving this for years."
"...Alright."
At the Akimichi family's barbecue restaurant, Kamikawa Aoba, Kakashi, and Guy were already digging in.
"You all know how it is. The Land of Hot Springs might as well not exist in the eyes of those Cloud Ninja bandits. They cross the border whenever they please—what's the Land of Hot Springs going to do about it?
But the Land of Fire is different. When I'm stationed at the border outpost, their crossing is a declaration of war. It's a fight to the death."
"I know. I've read the border reports. Cloud Ninja incursions have noticeably decreased these past few years. In the area you're stationed, Aoba, there's almost no border crossing by Cloud Ninja anymore. They used to be completely unrestrained."
"Exactly. That's just how Cloud Ninja are—a bunch of outright bandits. There's no reasoning with them. Even if you want to talk, you have to beat them down first."
Aoba's grievances with Cloud Ninja over the years could fill days of storytelling. Cloud Ninja had long taken advantage of Konoha's conciliatory policies, provoking incidents every now and then.
As the garrison at the border outpost, if Aoba didn't act, it would be on him. Konoha's higher-ups could use that as an excuse to hold him accountable at any time.
So, he had no choice but to fight. Fortunately, he also needed worthy opponents to hone his skills. Thus, he used Cloud Ninja as his sparring partners.
Over these years, he had practically perfected his unique combat system through real battles. He even earned the title "Wind Chasing Sword," meaning his sword was faster than the wind.
Aoba wasn't entirely satisfied with the title. In this world, there were plenty of people faster than the wind. Still, "Wind Chasing Sword" had a nice ring to it, so he eventually accepted it.
Interestingly, after Aoba started fighting back with full force, Konoha suddenly had issues with it. They even sent him official reprimands for being too heavy-handed and damaging relations between the two nations.
Aoba treated those documents like they were worthless.
Though he had taken many lives, none of it could be pinned on him. Every kill had been made within the Land of Fire's borders—his sworn duty. Every incident had been started by Cloud Ninja crossing the border and provoking him. In the real world, border guards would shoot trespassers on sight.
As his reputation grew, Konoha's complaints faded. Eventually, they even recalled him.
Aoba knew this recall likely meant a promotion to Jonin.
Konoha was a militarized organization. Titles like Jonin, Chunin, and Genin weren't just honorifics—they denoted rank, authority, and chain of command.
Jonin were equivalent to high-ranking military officers, with inherent command over Chunin and Genin.
Thus, promotion to Jonin was extremely difficult. Combat prowess alone wasn't enough—it required leadership ability and comprehensive tactical proficiency.
The village had many Tokubetsu Jonin (Special Jonin) who only met some of the criteria and couldn't advance to full Jonin.For Aoba, none of these were issues. Over the past three years, he had led a dozen or so Chunin and Genin at the border outpost, engaging in dozens of bloody battles with Cloud Ninja.
He had killed three of their Jonin, sixteen Chunin, and numerous Genin. He had even managed to save half of his comrades while being pursued by the Raikage himself. Whether in terms of combat prowess or overall tactical ability, he was absolutely qualified.
In fact, if not for the lingering issues left by Orochimaru back then, he would have been promoted long ago.
The three of them ate and drank their fill. Just as they stepped outside, they were stopped by a masked Anbu member.
"Kamikawa Aoba, report to the Hokage's office immediately for debriefing."
"Well, looks like that's it for today. Let's meet up again when we have time."
"Alright! Next time, let's sweat it out together on the training grounds—"
No one needed to guess that this was Guy speaking—and at the top of his lungs, no less. Fortunately, Aoba was prepared. Before Guy could finish his booming declaration, Aoba used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish from the scene.
This was a situation best left to Kakashi alone. Aoba simply couldn't handle Guy's overwhelming enthusiasm.
At the Hokage's office, Aoba was surprised to find not only Sarutobi Hiruzen present but also the two old fossil advisors and a certain scumbag with a bandaged right hand and a covered eye.
"Lord Hokage," Aoba greeted respectfully.
"Hmm, Aoba. You've worked hard guarding the borders these years."
"Serving the Will of Fire is its own reward. There's no such thing as hardship," Aoba replied flawlessly. Hiruzen gave a slight nod—at least his attitude was commendable.
"Now that the village is in dire need of capable hands, we've recalled you for two main reasons."