"Captain Habu, has anyone ever told you that your ability to conceal your presence is outstanding?"
Kakashi turned around, surprised to find Mokgetsu had unknowingly sat next to him.
"Hiding oneself is a basic skill for a ninja," Mokgetsu replied with a cheerful smile.
"Captain Habu, you're aware, right? The White Fang of Konoha didn't sacrifice himself; he committed suicide after being criticized for failing a mission," Kakashi said.
While asking this, Kakashi didn't look at Mokgetsu, but rather gazed indifferently at the river.
"Why do you admire a ninja like White Fang who failed?" Kakashi turned to look into Mokgetsu's eyes.
"I don't agree with saying White Fang was a failed ninja," Mokgetsu did not answer the question, instead denying Kakashi's statement.
"Why not a failed ninja? As a ninja, not completing a task due to personal reasons counts as failure. Do you understand White Fang better than I do?" Kakashi countered.
Mokgetsu, who never spoke a word to his father, could he possibly know him better than Kakashi?
"Maybe, my perspective is opposite to yours. I believe White Fang was a ninja who upheld his own Ninja Path," Mokgetsu shook his head and replied.
"What did he uphold? Isn't the rule for ninjas putting the mission first?" Kakashi thought Mokgetsu was talking nonsense.
"Since we are talking about ninja rules, do you know the origins of ninjas?" Mokgetsu smiled and asked.
Kakashi thought carefully, then shook his head.
"Do you know the Six Paths Sage?" Mokgetsu continued to ask.
"The deity in legend who created the Ninja World?" Kakashi knew a little about the Six Paths Sage.
"The Creator God is a legend, but the Six Paths Sage indeed existed in real history. The Six Paths Sage established the Ninja Sect for the sake of world peace, hoping everyone could understand each other through the connection of Chakra, and that's how ninjas came to be."
"Back then, there were no titles like Genin, Chunin, or Jonin for ninjas, nor were there tasks like assassination and espionage. Everyone's common goal was world peace."
"If we are to talk about ninja rules, then safeguarding peace is the true rule of ninjas. If we look at it this way, all current ninjas are violating the ninja rules," Mokgetsu explained.
This wasn't something he had made up. The origins of ninjas in the Hokage are different from his original world; they indeed were born for peace, making the big villains in Hokage wanting to establish a world of peace rather understandable, because the origin of ninjas was for peace.
"Ninjas originated like this..." Kakashi looked at Mokgetsu with some surprise.
"I like to read history books in my spare time, so I know a bit more," Mokgetsu adjusted his glasses and smiled.
He didn't speak of overly secretive things; although records of history like the Ninja Sect were few, there were some related records.
"Using standards from a thousand years ago to demand current ninjas might be excessive, but I believe a ninja shouldn't just be a task-completing machine; they need to have their own thoughts.
Though White Fang failed his mission, he successfully saved his teammates, upholding his inner convictions, so I don't think the White Fang of Konoha was a failed ninja!" Mokgetsu said seriously.
"Upholding one's own convictions..." Kakashi found this somewhat disorienting.
He felt like he had said something similar about how comrades are the most important a few years ago.
"Gather at the training grounds at 1:30 PM. If you speak ill of White Fang again, I'll get angry," Mokgetsu said jokingly, smiling.
"Captain Habu, don't you know the name of the White Fang of Konoha?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask.
As his biological son, being told by outsiders not to speak ill of his father was too strange.
"Hatake Sakumo, of course, I know," Mokgetsu replied.
"Hatake Sakumo, Hatake Kakashi, does that mean..." Mokgetsu feigned a pondering look.
"Actually Kakashi, are you related to White Fang?"
Kakashi: ...
For a moment, he really didn't know if Mokgetsu was teasing or genuinely didn't guess it. If it was the former, it was quite a twisted sense of humor.
"Just kidding, I know you're White Fang's child. Don't be late this afternoon," Mokgetsu smiled.
Pretending not to know would underestimate Kakashi's intelligence. A Chunin mingling with two interns, and both are acquaintances; Kakashi should also have guessed it was arranged by the Third Hokage.
Watching Mokgetsu's departing figure, Kakashi's eyes flickered.
"Longing for the father, was this a special arrangement by the Third?" Kakashi speculated.
Then Kakashi went to the library, heading straight to the history section, and after perusing many ancient texts, he indeed found some history related to the Ninja Sect, though it was scant and highly fragmented.
This dispelled some of Kakashi's doubts; he initially thought Mokgetsu had made up the story to comfort him.
At 1:30 PM, Kakashi arrived at Training Ground #22 on time.
"Kakashi, you're here early. Want to compete in a handstand?" Already at the training ground doing handstand exercises, Might Guy asked.
"Sorry, I refuse." After reading books all morning, Kakashi didn't want to engage in a pointless competition.
At 1:40 PM, Obito came running in hurriedly, panting heavily while explaining the reason for his tardiness.
Because of the scene he saw earlier this morning, Kakashi didn't question Obito's words this time.
"This morning we completed three tasks. How many do you think we can do in the afternoon?" Mokgetsu asked with a smile.
Even though each task was only worth thirty points, every bit counts, so earning more is always good.
"Five!" Obito declared boldly.
"Then let's set the goal at five," Mokgetsu decided.
To save time, Mokgetsu directly took on three tasks at the start. Normally this wouldn't be allowed, but seeing their efficiency that morning, the clerk let them do it.
This time Mokgetsu let Obito and the others act together. With Obito's network, Kakashi's agility, and Might Guy's physical strength, the three of them completed tasks rapidly.
In less than two hours, the trio completed three tasks.
By 6 PM, Mokgetsu Squad had completed seven D-Class Missions, exceeding their target.
Obito and Might Guy were delighted with the substantial rewards, and Mokgetsu was content gaining three hundred Chakra points.
The only one not feeling much might have been Kakashi, who planned to check more information after the session.
"Everyone did really well today. Tomorrow morning, let's skip the tasks and just train at the training ground," Mokgetsu said.
He planned to try taking Kakashi as a disciple, thus gaining more in missions down the line, otherwise, he felt he was losing out.