Kakashi's movements paused, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Sasuke's gaze shifted from the Hokage Rock to the unconscious Naruto, "Using such stupid and noisy methods, desperately trying to prove to everyone that he still exists, craving even the slightest bit of attention and recognition..."
"That's all."
Kakashi was stunned.
It wasn't because Sasuke's insight was astonishing, but because he himself, as Minato's student, had never seriously considered the words Sasuke just spoke.
Over the years, he had been immersed in his own pain and darkness, numbing himself with missions in the Anbu.
He knew of Naruto's existence, occasionally glancing at him from afar, but what did he see?
A troublemaker who only caused mischief, a dead-last who jumped around, a relic that reminded him of the past.
He had never truly cared about why this child had become like this.
An intense feeling of shame and self-reproach instantly overwhelmed Kakashi.
'What have I been doing?'
Kakashi's expression turned somewhat grim. He was silent for a moment before speaking again, "...You seem to understand him quite well."
"I don't." Sasuke's reply was crisp and direct. "I've just seen too many similar eyes."
In the Soul Society, in the Rukongai, those souls who fought desperately to climb up, to be remembered, to prove their worth… their eyes were identical to Naruto's.
The only difference is that their way is killing each other, while Naruto's way is playing pranks.
In essence, there is no difference.
Sasuke withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at Kakashi or Naruto.
"Although I don't know why, the people in the village seem to despise him a lot." His words carried a faint trace of mockery, whether aimed at the villagers or the village itself.
"But in such an environment, to still laugh like an idiot, not stained black... I suppose he's a pretty remarkable guy."
Having said that, he didn't linger any longer, turning to leave.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke's aloof back, his eye flickering, lost in thought.
"Wait, Sasuke." Kakashi's voice suddenly came from behind.
Sasuke's steps halted, but he didn't turn around.
"Forget about revenge."
Kakashi said slowly, "Nothing remains at the end of that road."
The air seemed to freeze in that instant.
Sasuke whipped his head around, like a dragon whose reverse scale had been touched, instantly ignited with rage.
This was the first time since returning to this world that he had shown such intense emotion.
"What do you know?"
Sasuke suppressed his hatred, enunciating each word clearly, "Having the people you cherish the most killed, one by one, right in front of you..."
"What do you think?"
Facing Sasuke's almost devouring gaze, Kakashi did not refute.
He just stood there quietly, his single exposed eye slowly curving into a crescent moon shape.
It was a smile that seemed gentle, yet carried endless sorrow.
"Mm... doing that is also possible." Kakashi sighed softly.
"But unfortunately..."
Kakashi raised his hand, scratching his signature silver hair, saying with feigned nonchalance, "The people I cherish the most are all gone. They were all killed a long time ago."
"!!!"
Sasuke was stunned.
He had anticipated countless responses, like lectures or admonishments, but he never expected such a calm, yet heart-palpitating answer.
The sadness flowing from the other party's eye was real. That emptiness after losing everything was all too familiar to Sasuke.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke, who is frozen in place, and knew his words had taken effect.
He slowly stood up, effortlessly hoisting the unconscious Naruto onto his shoulder.
"Your brother, Uchiha Itachi. I know of him."
Kakashi's tone returned to its usual laziness, "Graduated from the Academy at seven, awakened the Sharingan at eight, became a Chunin at ten, and became an Anbu Captain at thirteen. A genuine genius."
He looked at Sasuke, his eyes turning serious again.
"And you? Right now, you don't even know a proper ninjutsu. What will you use for revenge?"
"Just relying on your abnormally fast movement and that sword in your hand? That's far from enough against a true genius."
"If you truly want to kill him, and not just go to your death in vain..." Kakashi also turned, preparing to leave.
"Then stay first. Get stronger."
However, he had only taken two steps when Sasuke's clear, cold voice came from behind.
"Stop."
Kakashi halted and turned to see Sasuke staring at him.
"Hm? What is it?" Kakashi asked with a smile.
Sasuke didn't answer. His hand slowly rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist, a standard drawing stance.
"Let me see it. Your... capacity."
"Capacity?" Kakashi's eye instantly turned grave.
Sasuke's thoughts returned to a long time ago.
He remembered his father, Uchiha Fugaku, whenever he mentioned the village's geniuses, would always bring up two names.
One was his own brother, Uchiha Itachi.
And the other was the man before him now, Hatake Kakashi.
"Kakashi is also a remarkable genius, becoming a Jonin at twelve. But compared to Itachi, he's still far behind."
His father's words at the time were filled with pride for Itachi.
But Sasuke remembered that Hatake Kakashi was someone who could be mentioned in the same breath as Itachi.
'If I couldn't even defeat this man, how could I talk about taking revenge on that man?'
Kakashi looked at the determination in Sasuke's eyes and instantly understood his thoughts.
He sighed helplessly, 'Indeed, this child was more troublesome than I had imagined.'
He carefully placed the unconscious Naruto against the wall, ensuring he wouldn't be caught in the impending fight.
Then, he slowly straightened up, facing Sasuke, his expression turning serious.
"Really, kids these days are so full of energy, huh?"
"And besides, does 'capacity' need to be spoken about so openly?"
Sasuke didn't respond.
Reiatsu gathered gathered at his feet. The moment Kakashi's words fell, his figure vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Kakashi.
Kakashi's pupils dilated.
'So fast!'
He quickly raised his hand, blocking behind him with a kunai.
Ding…
Sword and kunai collided, sparks flying.
Kakashi used the force of the block to flip backward, putting several meters between them.
But his heart was roiling with shock.
"Not bad reaction." Sasuke commented flatly, but his offensive didn't stop in the slightest.
He pushed off with his feet again, his figure becoming ghostlike. The gleam of his sword turned into silver threads enveloping Kakashi.
Kakashi's eyes were grave, no longer holding any trace of underestimation.
Poof!
White smoke swirled.
When the sword came slashing down again, the figure in the smoke had vanished. He had only hit a log.
'Body Replacement Technique?'
'Where did he go?'
'The Chakra signature moved to a tree.'
Sasuke raised his head.
Kakashi was leaning against the tree trunk on a branch, his expression somewhat helpless, "Truly an incredible speed."
"I didn't want to use this on a child originally." He said slowly, raising his left hand to grasp the Konoha's forehead protector that slanted over his left eye.
"But since you're so eager to see my 'capacity'..."
His fingers tightened, pushing the forehead protector upward.
"...It would be too rude not to show some real skill."