Chapter 125 — The Direction of the Stick
The streets of Konoha were warm with mid-morning sunlight when Akira and Kakashi stepped out for their stroll. The village was calm — children running, shinobi chatting, merchants calling out their prices — a rare peace before war.
It didn't take long before they ran into familiar faces.
Rin waved eagerly from across the street, Obito beside her — already grinning like he had a joke prepared before even speaking.
"Well, well," Obito said dramatically, folding his arms. "Look who finally decided to show up in public. I thought you two were hibernating."
Kakashi didn't even blink. "Good morning to you too, rock-brain."
Obito gasped. "EXCUSE ME — who are you calling rock-brain?! I bet I could beat you with one hand tied behind my—"
Akira raised an eyebrow. "Obito, you lost last time without any hands tied."
Rin tried very hard not to laugh, but failed.
Obito pointed at Akira with deep betrayal. "Et tu, Akira?!"
Before more shouting could happen, the ground shook slightly — not from chakra, but from loud footsteps.
A blur of green appeared, and Guy jumped dramatically between them with a dazzling thumbs-up pose.
"KAKASHI! AKIRA! I CHALLENGE YOU BOTH TO A YOUTHFUL DUEL OF SPIRIT AND PASSION!"
Rin sighed. Obito flinched.
Kakashi blinked slowly.
Akira whispered, "Here we go…"
Minutes later, on an open training field — the battle began.
Obito and Rin stood at the edge cheering (and occasionally yelling tips that were not very useful). Guy fought with explosive energy, forcing Akira and Kakashi to cooperate. Kakashi's counterattacks were precise, Akira's movements sharp and unpredictable.
The spar wasn't hostile — it was exciting, competitive, alive.
By the end, Guy dropped to his knees, dramatic but smiling.
"You two are flames of youth! Truly magnificent!"
Obito laughed. "You got destroyed, Guy."
Guy pointed heroically at Obito. "The flame of youth burns brighter through DEFEAT!"
Obito's face said he immediately regretted speaking.
Breathing lightly, Akira brushed dust from his clothes, and then — unexpectedly — picked up a fallen wooden stick from the ground.
"Hey," he said, eyes glimmering with mischief. "Let's have some fun."
Four pairs of eyes turned toward him.
Obito narrowed his eyes. "Fun… what kind of fun?"
Guy immediately raised his fist. "I am READY for a YOUTHFUL JOURNEY!"
Akira grinned. "We'll throw this stick. Whatever direction it falls, we walk that way. When we reach a special location — we throw it again. And again. Until we find something interesting."
Kakashi exhaled. "Sounds like trouble."
Obito grinned. "Sounds perfect."
Rin laughed. "I'm in."
And so the five of them walked together — following wherever the stick pointed.
First: toward the market district.
Then: to the river bank.
Then: toward the forest outside the village.
Then: up a long trail toward the hills.
Every throw landed somewhere unpredictable, and every stop was full of laughter — Obito nearly fell into the river, Guy tried to race a deer and lost, Rin and Akira teamed up to prank Kakashi with cold river water, and Kakashi pretended he wasn't plotting revenge.
As noon approached, the air grew cooler.
Another throw of the stick sent its tip pointing toward the mountains.
They followed.
Soon the laughter faded into quiet as the scenery changed — trees thinning, wind stronger, silence heavier.
At the end of the path stood a small clearing — and in the center of it:
a single gravestone.
No offerings.
No flowers.
No name visible from afar.
Just a silent stone standing alone beneath the sunlight.
All five stopped walking.
Obito spoke first, voice suddenly gentle.
"…Why is there a grave way out here?"
Guy's usual cheerful flame dimmed to a respectful silence.
Rin looked around, uneasy.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly — something familiar, but he couldn't place it.
And Akira…
Akira felt his breath catch — like something deep inside him stirred.
He didn't know why.
He didn't know who the grave belonged to.
But his chest tightened with a strange ache — faint yet heavy, as if a piece of his soul remembered what his mind did not.
The wind blew, cold and soundless.
The five of them slowly stepped closer.