Chapter 234: Kakashi: I've Decided to Read a Book to Change My Luck
Kakashi's mood had not been good lately.
Both life and work felt unusually unlucky, so much so that he had started wondering whether he really was "cursed with bad luck," like some people joked, or whether something else was going on.
First, the village itself was uneasy. The atmosphere between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan had grown stranger by the day, heavy with the sense of a storm gathering just out of sight.
Then, when he went to pay respects at Obito and Rin's graves, he unintentionally noticed something that made his scalp go tight.
Rin's grave looked… disturbed.
Kakashi could not hold back in that moment.
He opened Rin's grave on the spot, hands moving faster than his thoughts, and checked everything thoroughly. But there were no signs of change at all. The bones were intact, the burial looked normal, nothing was missing.
That only made him more confused.
And then his mind jumped to Obito.
It made no sense. Obito was dead, and his body had never been recovered. There was only a cenotaph. Still, Kakashi could not stop himself from digging anyway, just in case.
The result was the same.
No problems.
No abnormalities.
But because of that action, he was questioned for a long time by the Third Hokage.
Worse, he was granted "leave" and advised to see a psychologist.
It gave Kakashi a headache just thinking about it.
After finally clearing the Third Hokage's suspicions, he was assigned a mission: infiltrate the Land of Snow and gather intelligence around the Hidden Snow Village.
"They call it a mission," Kakashi muttered under his breath, "but isn't this just a way to make me rest?"
He could tell. The Land of Snow had always been far from the main continent of the ninja world. It was basically isolated, a place that kept to itself. The territory was vast, but the cold was brutal, the kind that made even the Hidden Sand Village, which complained daily about living in a desert, look comfortable by comparison.
No one wanted the Land of Snow.
No one bothered with it.
"Hm?"
Kakashi suddenly turned his head, frowning.
Just now, he had felt a gaze on him, a faint sense of being watched. But the moment he reacted, the feeling vanished. When he looked back, there was no one.
He could only assume he was being overly sensitive.
Still, he kept walking, quietly sharpening his focus.
"Even so…" Kakashi's thoughts shifted. "This mission might actually turn up something."
He had been planning to handle it seriously. Mission or not, he was still Anbu. But he had not expected a genuinely useful discovery.
The Daimyo and the Kage of the Land of Snow had changed.
It was not official information. Kakashi had overheard it, and what stood out most was how cautious everyone sounded when they spoke about it. He only caught fragments by chance when passing a private residence, and even then, the voices had been low and wary.
After some careful probing, he finally pieced together what little he could.
Then he slumped into a quiet, familiar disappointment.
As someone close to the Hokage, and as a former student of the Fourth Hokage, Kakashi understood how Konoha treated intelligence.
Information from the other Four Great Nations and the Four Great Ninja Villages always had the highest priority.
Next came reports related to well known rogue ninja, underground organizations, black markets, and exchange offices.
After that came the smaller countries, places like the Land of Bears.
And at the very bottom was the Land of Snow.
Kakashi had even heard coworkers complain during idle chatter that the Land of Snow barely counted as a country at all.
It was exaggerated, but not by much.
It reflected the truth of how people saw the Land of Snow.
No one cared what happened here.
Kakashi's gaze cooled as he walked through the snowy streets.
Forget the Land of Snow changing its Daimyo. Even if the Land of Snow were invaded and burned to the ground, most people in the ninja world would not even blink.
"Hm? What's this?"
Kakashi's eyes paused on a bookstore display.
The cover advertisement was so loud it felt like it was shouting directly into his face.
"Latest masterpiece! Shocking release! Astonishing! Endless praise from those who ran out of toilet paper late at night!"
Below it, in equally bold text, was another line:
"Icha Icha Paradise is selling like hotcakes! Buy now and get a 10 percent discount on the complete collection of The Story of Me and Orochi Hime!"
A large poster sat beneath the words, featuring an illustration that made Kakashi's ears heat slightly.
He cleared his throat, eyes sliding away, and yet… strangely, he also felt an undeniable pull.
Icha Icha Paradise.
He knew it. It sold in Konoha too. He had simply never bought it.
Konoha was small. Everyone knew everyone, or at least everyone knew enough to make buying a book like that feel awkward.
But here?
Here, no one knew him.
Kakashi stared for another moment, then stepped inside.
Not long after, he emerged from the bookstore with a bag in his hand.
His movements were careful, like someone trying to look casual while failing miserably.
Hidden nearby, Kenichi watched with a complicated expression.
Kakashi's grip had been discreet, but Kenichi still caught the edge of the cover.
Icha Icha Paradise.
Jiraiya's masterpiece.
That was not surprising. Kakashi would eventually become the person who repeatedly "studied" Icha Icha Paradise like it was a tactical manual.
What made Kenichi's expression turn even stranger was the second book.
Orochi Hime.
Kakashi had to know what that title was about. Even if he did not understand right now, he would sooner or later.
Kenichi could only hope Kakashi did not run into his teacher at the wrong time.
The future Kakashi would reach Kage level strength, but right now he still could not beat his sensei. Only after obtaining the Mangekyo Sharingan and awakening Kamui would he undergo a real qualitative leap.
Kenichi's thoughts suddenly stopped.
Wait.
He had already dug out Kakashi's Mangekyo.
Which meant Kakashi could not master Kamui.
Kenichi fell into silent contemplation.
It seemed he would need to find a way to make it up to his friend later.
He had plenty of considerations when he first approached Kakashi, but after everything that happened afterward, Kenichi had to admit it.
Kakashi was his friend.
Kenichi had already planned to compensate Kakashi for taking his Mangekyo. Now, it looked like he would need to do more.
"Hm." Kenichi nodded to himself. "Maybe it's time to capture Kakashi and replace his eyes, so he can open and close them freely."
It was a good plan.
Kakashi's strength had always felt strangely inconsistent, but Kenichi believed it was because of the Mangekyo's influence. Because of the Sharingan, Kakashi's eye could not properly rest, and chakra was being drained constantly.
How was he supposed to grow stronger like that?
With his chakra limited, Kakashi could only function as a high burst assassin, strong in an instant but weak in endurance.
If that problem was solved, Kakashi's future was still extremely promising.
[TL: My new fanfic is out now—One Piece: Pokémon Master of the Seas! Check it out!]
.....
[Check Out My Patreon For Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]