Sakura Haruno: "My god… Black-framed Naruto-kun seems to have turned the tables."
Ino Yamanaka: "(＾－＾)V~"
Ino Yamanaka: "We hardly ever see Kakashi-sensei like that—hee-hee—so even he can get scared and go all serious."
Kakashi Hatake: "…"
Kushina Uzumaki: "This punk—if I hadn't been worried about harming the baby back then…"
Minato Namikaze: The baby!
Kushina Uzumaki: "If he dares to make that face, my slap would land faster than his dead-fish eye can open!"
Minato Namikaze: Slap him!
In the Pure Land World.
Kushina was literally laughing in anger.
This Minato…
left her speechless.
"All right, consider it my… apology?"
Kakashi had just let out a relieved breath.
Looks like this kid isn't to be provoked.
Wait!
What are you talking about?!
Kakashi felt thunderstruck, his whole body freezing on the spot.
As if he'd heard something unbelievable.
'He… what did he say?'
'Crimson Pepper… the yellow flash?'
'Did I hear wrong?'
How could he possibly know those things?'
Right now Kakashi looked bewitched, his body swaying unconsciously.
"Really?"
"Naruto-kun, when did those things you just mentioned go on sale?"
Sakura tilted her little head, puzzled as she looked at Naruto.
She'd never heard of them.
Besides, the four of them often went to Ichiraku Ramen, and the two flavors Naruto mentioned—well, they didn't exist; they had zero relation.
"Then I must have remembered wrong," Naruto answered with a gentle smile.
Sakura blinked; anyone else misremembering wouldn't surprise her.
But if it were Naruto-kun, she wouldn't believe it for a second.
Sasuke's brows knitted tightly.
He felt Naruto had said it to Kakashi on purpose.
'This guy… does he know this unreliable white-haired Jonin?'
He glanced at the stunned Kakashi.
That expression deepened Sasuke's frown.
No special reason—
he knew this state all too well.
'Ichiraku Ramen apparently has a bowl with "Crimson Pepper" added—I want that one.'
'And I want the limited-edition golden, glittering chopsticks.'
Sasuke chewed over the two lines but couldn't extract any useful information.
For a moment the four of them were locked in stalemate.
"Weren't you going to apologize for being late?"
So, even for ramen you're going to be late?"
Seeing the cold sweat drip down Kakashi's forehead,
Naruto figured it was enough and added with a smile.
"Hmph!" Sasuke snorted coldly.
Sakura nodded repeatedly, "Yeah, sensei, are you sincere or not?"
Hoo—
Kakashi inhaled deeply.
Earlier he'd been panting rapidly, sweat pouring from brow and cheeks.
With one deep breath Kakashi instantly soaked his mask.
Saliva and sweat all mixed in.
Everyone: "…"
Deliberate.
This contrast-viewing system is absolutely doing it on purpose.
Using this kind of narration to disgust us.
Damn it… but that does seem to be what happened.
Only Kakashi was already used to it—Might Guy's eyes twitched.
He quietly inched away.
Right.
How come he never noticed this sort of thing?
Might Guy couldn't help thinking:
after he'd offered Kakashi his green bodysuit and Kakashi refused,
Kakashi had given him a mask in return.
Guy had even worn it.
Then… less than ten minutes into training, Guy nearly fainted.
It wasn't that he couldn't train under oxygen control—
but every breath through mouth and nose brought in nothing but sweat; how the hell was he supposed to train?
Back then he'd only thought Kakashi was a god among men.
Listening to the chatroom keep discussing his mask problem,
and speculating about what lay beneath,
Kakashi rolled his eyes.
Yet when the ID "Minato Namikaze" appeared,
Kakashi tensed up again.
That was a secret!
Sensei Minato, please don't say it out loud!
Sss—
Nervous, Kakashi inhaled sharply once more.
Might Guy's eyes bulged; instantly his close friend no longer smelled sweet.
He stayed far away.
The black-framed large screen continued:
Without waiting for Kakashi,
Naruto turned and walked off.
He trusted Kakashi would follow.
Sakura naturally monopolized one of Naruto's arms.
Sasuke, seeing this, glanced at Kakashi—who had just come back to his senses and was still collecting himself—
snorted coldly, turned, and followed Naruto.
Uchiha Izuna: If you can't speak, donate your vocal cords—someone needs them.
Sasuke Uchiha: "…"
Uchiha Izuna: Hey! You brat!
Sasuke Uchiha: "Hmph!"
Uchiha Izuna: "…"
Uchiha Izuna: "Forget it, just keep your mouth shut."
"Kakashi-sensei is so lame~!"
Sakura wore a sweet smile on her lips.
Feeling things were too quiet, she aimed her barbs at Kakashi again.
She faintly sensed Naruto was sending Kakashi some kind of message.
Since Naruto hadn't said it openly, she wouldn't ask.
"Kakashi… sensei?"
Sasuke frowned.
"That guy's name is Kakashi?"
How did you know?"
Sakura: Beautiful~!
Sakura's lips curved slightly.
Perfect—just as she'd expected.
Sasuke would definitely ask.
"Oh."
"Naruto and Shikamaru guessed our future team assignments—and who our Jōnin Instructor would be—long ago."
Kakashi, following behind, froze.
Shikamaru… the Nara kid?
This boy… seems to know everything.
'So… what does Naruto think of me?'
The thought had just surfaced when Kakashi gave a bitter smile.
They'd only just met and already he was acting like this.
Clearly, Naruto wasn't fond of him—he even seemed to dislike him.
'Kakashi… you really are a failure…'
Yet before Kakashi could sink into emo, Sakura added:
"Speaking of which, Kakashi-sensei was in the previous Team 7!"
"I remember… Naruto said the Jōnin Instructor for the last Team 7 was the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze!"
"What a coincidence~"
Though Sakura didn't know much, she'd still unwittingly spoken volumes for Naruto.
Now Kakashi completely lost his composure.
His breathing quickened again.
A riot of emotions surged inside him.
As expected—he hadn't been wrong—Naruto knew everything.
'Heh…'
Kakashi smiled bitterly; the guilt in his heart was fully ignited at this moment.
Gazing at Naruto's back,
his presbyopia acted up again.
'Minato… sensei.'
Kakashi closed his eyes.
He murmured, "This child… these years, perhaps he's suffered far more than I imagined."
"If only they were still here… things wouldn't be like this."
"Why was the most useless one—the one who survived—yet I couldn't even look after Teacher and Sister Kushina's child…"