Chapter 26 – Reflections of a Father
The academy courtyard was nearly empty when classes ended. Most students had already gone home, their laughter fading with distance. Kakashi lingered by the steps, his eyes fixed on the ground, pretending not to wait.
But when the White Fang appeared at the gate, there was no mistaking it.
Sakumo's presence was quiet yet heavy — not the crushing weight of a clan head or a Hokage, but the steady gravity of a man who carried wars on his shoulders. His white hair caught the sunlight, and his blade rested across his back like a second spine.
The whispers of the morning echoed faintly in Kakashi's memory. Slaughtered an Iwa squad… feared by the Sannin… He swallowed them down as his father approached.
"Ready to go?" Sakumo asked gently.
Kakashi nodded, following as they walked down the path. Silence stretched, until Sakumo's sharp eyes slid toward him.
"You've been quiet today," he said. "Not the usual quiet. Something's on your mind."
Kakashi hesitated. His small fists clenched. "…It's Akira."
Sakumo's brows lifted slightly. "The Uchiha boy?"
"The one with those strange eyes," Kakashi clarified, his voice low. "He… he said something today. When everyone was whispering about you."
Sakumo stopped walking. His gaze sharpened, but he didn't speak, letting his son continue.
Kakashi looked away, his voice stiff, as though saying it aloud might break something inside him.
"He said people only see the weapon, not the man. He said power like yours isn't for fear — it's for protection."
Sakumo's breath caught, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected such words from an Uchiha child.
Kakashi's voice wavered, though his expression didn't. "When he said it, I… I felt like he understood. Not just you, but… me too. Like he was carrying something the same way."
For a long moment, Sakumo studied his son. The stiffness in Kakashi's shoulders, the way he hid everything behind cold silence, the way he clung to honor without words. And now — this strange bond he had with the Uchiha boy.
Not rivalry. Not simple friendship. Something deeper.
Finally, Sakumo smiled faintly, though his eyes carried a shadow. "It seems this Akira sees things others don't. You should hold on to that, Kakashi. People like him… they're rare."
Kakashi's lips pressed thin, but his chest felt lighter. He didn't answer, yet his silence spoke volumes.
As they continued walking, Sakumo's thoughts lingered.
(That boy… Akira Uchiha. There's more to him than bloodlines and eyes. My son sees it, feels it. A kind of bond that doesn't have a name yet… but it may shape them both in ways even they don't realize.)
The White Fang glanced once at Kakashi — his boy who already carried the weight of a man. He thought of Akira's words, spoken through Kakashi's lips, and for the first time in days… the battlefield ghosts within him fell silent.
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