Kakashi Hatake's recent life had been extremely dull and tedious.
Originally, after he joined the Anbu under Minato Namikaze, carrying out various Anbu missions focused mainly on protecting comrades and rescuing others had become an indispensable part of his daily life. The grateful gazes and words of those who survived through his efforts allowed Kakashi Hatake's once nearly dried and withered heart to sprout a little life and sunlight again.
After Kushina Uzumaki entered the middle and later stages of pregnancy, guarding his master's wife during her daily outings allowed Kakashi Hatake to further feel the beauty of life. Watching the happiness and gentleness that filled Kushina's face, the cold mask he had disguised with his face covering and forehead protector began melting bit by bit.
On top of that, there was the hot-blooded fool Might Guy, who tirelessly came to challenge him, as well as Asuma Sarutobi and the others, who occasionally dragged him to eat ramen and barbecue together…
If everything could have continued normally, then perhaps before long, Kakashi Hatake, a person who had nearly trapped himself forever in the past of losing his companions, would have been able to turn back into a normal boy. With the goal of protecting his comrades and village as motivation, he would have further excavated the shocking talent that had allowed him to become a jonin at twelve years old.
But after the attack that occurred in the Land of Wind, everything changed.
Kakashi Hatake, who had submitted an application before the first investigation squad departed, had been unable to join because he failed to find an Anbu comrade who could take over his duty in time.
By the time the second investigation squad set out because of the dying message left by the first investigation squad, the severity of the situation had suddenly risen to a level unsuitable for him, a newcomer among jonin, to participate.
Although from the result, the second investigation squad, which was almost entirely made up of seasoned veterans among jonin, also failed to escape the fate of total annihilation, Kakashi Hatake could not stop himself from thinking.
If he had joined them, perhaps everyone would not have gone missing.
Then, after Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, participated in the joint investigation team led by Nagato, the leader of the Akatsuki organization, with the Fourth Kazekage and the acting representative of the Fourth Mizukage both joining in, and sent back the intelligence he obtained through exchange—
He, Kakashi Hatake, a Konoha Anbu who had temporarily made protecting comrades his life's goal, inexplicably became the one being protected.
This made it especially hard for him to understand the increasingly insane world outside.
It was one thing for the "Root" organization missing-nin who had split off from Root to retaliate against Konoha using extreme methods. But their goal was actually to lure him out of the village and then steal the Sharingan he had received from Obito Uchiha?
That theory was already absurd enough.
What was even more absurd was that Jiraiya, who had joined the joint investigation team, had actually used a very serious attitude to tell his teacher, Minato Namikaze, that the leader of the "Root" organization might be Obito Uchiha, who should already be dead, or someone who had obtained the other Sharingan from Obito. He had even provided a chain of reasoning that made it difficult to find a way to refute immediately.
How could Kakashi Hatake, who had always felt guilty toward Obito Uchiha and sincerely believed him to be a hero of Konoha, accept that?
But Kakashi Hatake, who was being protected inside Konoha's main village, had no way to find evidence to refute Jiraiya. Nor could he resist his teacher Minato Namikaze's precaution of assigning more Anbu around him and raising his protection level.
Unable to carry out missions to protect others, and unable to prove that Obito Uchiha could not possibly be the culprit behind this attack, Kakashi Hatake could only wander around listlessly under the Anbu's surveillance, wasting the prime of his youth.
"Rin… Obito… Am I completely useless like this?"
Standing before Konoha's Memorial Stone, Kakashi Hatake looked at Obito Uchiha's name listed upon it. Then he looked at Rin Nohara's grave not far away, where he had just placed a bouquet of flowers in mourning. He smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Sigh. I should not come see you like this and complain to you… You must be so bored underground. I should tell you more happy things."
"And speaking of happy things, the biggest one recently is probably that Minato-sensei's child is about to be born, right? I heard people in the village say that Minato-sensei directly threw his work to Shikaku Nara today and ran home super nervously to accompany Lady Kushina…
"I wonder what kind of person Minato-sensei's child will be. If it is a boy, it would be nice if he resembles you a little more, Obito. Although that will probably cause Minato-sensei some trouble, if he is a child who cares about comrades, then if I become his teacher in the future, I will be able to relax a little. If it is a girl, then resembling Rin or Lady Kushina both seem pretty good? I do not really understand, but I will work hard to protect her too…"
Kakashi Hatake stood there alone, rambling to the silent, empty cemetery.
Not far away, Shisui Uchiha silently watched this scene that made it difficult not to feel sympathy. Slowly, he let out a breath.
"What a tragic man, Kakashi Hatake. The close friend you thought had been dead for so long has actually become Madara Uchiha's successor in secret, and he personally witnessed the scene of you being forced to kill your other companion…
"You still miss the person he used to be. But in reality, he has already thrown himself into the darkness with firm resolve, and from the shadows, he has begun eyeing the eye he gave you… I wonder whether the current you can endure such an impactful truth."
Just as Shisui Uchiha was shaking his head and sighing over Kakashi Hatake's tragic life, within the perception of the Heavenly Curse Mark, an icy killing intent that made his spine go cold appeared at an extremely close distance without warning.
Shisui Uchiha was abruptly startled.
Almost before thought had time to form, he had already leaped away from his original position and thrown three shuriken at tricky angles toward the direction from which he sensed the danger coming.
Puff, puff, puff.
The shuriken sank into the ground without obstruction.
But the danger Shisui Uchiha sensed did not disappear because of that. In his field of vision, the shuriken he had thrown had actually passed through an arm emerging from the ground before sinking into the earth.
And yet, they had not injured the other party at all.
Genjutsu?
No. That was not right.
Shisui Uchiha, who had already activated his Sharingan, was very clear that at this distance, he could not possibly have been caught in an enemy's genjutsu without realizing it while his Sharingan was active.
But if the scene of his shuriken passing through the enemy's arm and entering the ground was not genjutsu, then the name of the person who had ambushed him became clear all at once.
"Uchiha… Obito. Is it really you?"
Facing Shisui Uchiha's question, the arm emerging from underground paused.
Then it raised a finger and shook it lightly.
"Obito Uchiha? No. I am no one…"
"And you are nothing but a puppet, Shisui Uchiha."
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