"That's the White Fang's blade. You aren't qualified to wield it."
The words struck Kakashi like a physical blow. His face flushed crimson, and a pained hiss escaped his lips.
"You don't know anything! What do outsiders understand?!"
His voice cracked as the dam broke inside him. "He was just a coward! What if he abandoned the mission? And being mocked by his comrades?" Kakashi's breathing grew ragged, desperate. "Why kill himself? Why?!"
Perhaps it was the humiliation of being publicly defeated by Seiran these past two years, or perhaps the wound had simply been too deep for too long—but Kakashi collapsed onto the ground, his body wracked with sobs. In front of everyone, the prodigy of the Hidden Leaf Village wept.
"He didn't have to die! Even if the villagers spat on his name—doesn't he still have me? Why did he choose suicide? Why...?"
The crowd fell silent. Only Kakashi's sobs cut through the stillness, raw and painful.
"So that's what you're hung up on," Seiran said quietly.
For two years, Kakashi had buried the truth under layers of numbness. He'd told himself a man who couldn't complete a mission was a coward—anything to avoid facing what had really happened. But Seiran's public victory had shattered those defenses completely.
Around them, the shinobi kept their heads down. Many had been part of Hatake Sakumo's downfall, spreading gossip fueled by malice. Now, witnessing Kakashi's collapse, they seemed to realize the cost of their cruelty. A tacit agreement settled over them: never speak of it again.
Might Guy clenched his fists, watching his friend fall apart. He'd never seen Kakashi this broken—weak, miserable, powerless.
"Kakashi..." Guy's voice was helpless.
Seiran's expression grew complicated. "I never met Hatake Sakumo myself, but I've heard of his deeds. I think his final choice was him carrying out his own will."
"Carrying out his will?" Kakashi's eyes lifted. He looked at Seiran, searching.
"With the resolve to die, I believe that's what he was thinking. Not out of cowardice or fear, but by sacrificing himself, he quietly affirmed his will. He drove a kunai into his heart at the last moment..." Seiran paused. "Maybe he even had a smile on his face."
"Is that so..." Kakashi stopped crying, his mind drifting inward.
Carrying out his will.
An image surfaced in his memory—his father, always smiling. Had that smile been resignation? Weakness? Or something else entirely?
Father, is that what you were thinking at the end?
For years, Kakashi had believed his father was too fragile, broken under pressure. But Seiran's words shifted something inside him. It was small, almost imperceptible—like a seed planted in the soil of his heart.
---
In the Third Hokage's Office, the voice from the crystal ball on the desk hung in the silence. Hiruzen Sarutobi stared out the window for a long time, his expression heavy with sorrow. The gentle, white-haired face of his old friend appeared in his mind's eye.
"Sakumo..."
The Third Hokage's shoulders sagged slightly. He sighed, low and weary. "Don't blame yourself. You could never have been Hokage anyway."
The words fell like stones.
---
Outside the Mission Desk, Seiran shook his head inwardly. As a man who'd lived before, he knew the full, brutal truth of this matter—the infighting among Konoha's upper echelons, the candidacy for the Fourth Hokage, all the politics that had destroyed a hero.
All he could do was try to redeem Sakumo's reputation, at least a little.
He'd sensed it from the moment he arrived—that faint, prying gaze. After a moment's thought, he'd known: Hiruzen Sarutobi was watching through a crystal ball.
I wonder what the Hokage—who indirectly drove Hatake Sakumo to his death—thinks after hearing my take on it?
Shaking off the thought, Seiran turned his cold gaze back to Kakashi.
"I know today's defeat is hard to swallow. Whenever you think you can beat me, feel free to challenge me."
"I'll be waiting."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving behind a confused Kakashi and a silent crowd.
"Hey, Seiran, wait up!" Anko Mitarashi snapped out of her daze and shouted after him.
Rin watched Seiran's departing back with a slight, appreciative smirk. "He's actually pretty cool, isn't he?"
Kakashi stood motionless, replaying those words in his mind. He didn't know what to think anymore.
---
When Seiran reached an empty stretch of road, he braced himself against a wall and gritted his teeth.
"Damn, that hurts."
His body felt like it was being pierced by a thousand needles. Every movement sent waves of agony through his limbs. He'd maintained his composure out there, but now he was paying the price. His body hadn't fully recovered, and to avoid revealing more of his abilities, he'd only used his Magnet Release Fist against Kakashi. The strain was immense.
Footsteps approached quickly. Anko appeared, worry etched across her face.
"Seiran, are you okay?"
He turned, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her close, whispering through clenched teeth. "Give me that."
"Give me... what?" Anko's confusion lasted only a moment before understanding dawned. Her face flushed crimson from her ears down to her neck, the unique scent of Seiran filling her senses.
"Seiran... here? What if someone sees us?"
"Not here? Where else? You want to go somewhere else?"
Anko's face grew even redder. She buried her face partially in her hair, shy but determined. "What if Rin finds out? She'll be mad, right?"
"So what if she is?"
"Forget it, I'm not talking to you! Just give me your Mystical Palm Technique!"
"Huh?"
The confusion on Seiran's face was genuine—until Anko placed her hands on his shoulders, her medical chakra beginning to flow, easing the needle-like pain coursing through his body.
---
Back in the Third Hokage's Office, Hiruzen had composed himself. Recalling Seiran's crisp victory over Kakashi, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"It seems the strongest of the new generation is undeniably Seiran."
He also knew Seiran possessed a terrifying railgun jutsu. If he'd used that, Kakashi would have lost even faster. The Third Hokage's smile faded slightly as he considered the implications.
"It's a shame he's a branch member," Hiruzen sighed.
If he weren't, Hiruzen would have groomed him as a Hokage candidate—a talent so perfect it was almost unfair. Kakashi had interpreted the Will of Fire beautifully, and Seiran possessed both strength and depth of character. With such exceptional seedlings, Hiruzen had planned to take Kakashi as an apprentice.
But Seiran was from a branch family. Any decision regarding him required extreme caution.
His thoughts turned to Kakashi, and another sigh escaped him.
"Kakashi can't be delayed any longer. I'll have Minato Namikaze teach him. He needs teammates—people he's familiar with." Hiruzen tapped his fingers thoughtfully against the desk. "Obito Uchiha's personality would be a good fit. His brightness might neutralize Kakashi's gloom. For the last spot, Rin Nohara—a medical ninja from a civilian background—would fit perfectly."
After a moment's consideration, the Third Hokage nodded in satisfaction.
He reached for the communication device. "Tell Minato Namikaze to come here now."