Kakashi, having gone two days and a night without sleep, silently but strongly criticized Itachi for his hands-off approach as midnight rolled around.
At that moment, he was utterly exhausted...
The night before, he had used Shadow Clones to study documents, doubling his productivity at the cost of doubling his fatigue.
He hadn't had a chance to sleep during the day either.
Now that midnight had arrived—the time when people are at their most fatigued—he regretted agreeing to this so hastily.
Especially knowing that Itachi was sleeping soundly in bed while he had to take on such a grueling task, Kakashi couldn't help but feel frustrated.
Fortunately, thanks to the boost from Hashirama cells, he wasn't completely drained by the Shadow Clone technique. Without that, he'd have been left utterly exhausted, needing to sleep for days on end.
In the cover of night, a dark shadow flickered quickly and silently.
It moved like a ghost.
Before long, Kakashi quietly opened the window of Naruto's house, slipped inside, and closed the window behind him. His practiced ease suggested he'd done this sort of thing more than a few times before.
"Who's there?"
As Kakashi entered the room and closed the window, Naruto, who was lying in bed, opened his eyes.
His gaze was slightly unfocused, and his eyes were bleary, as though he'd just been woken from a deep sleep.
"It's me."
Naruto's quick reaction surprised Kakashi slightly—he hadn't expected Naruto to wake up so easily.
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly began to understand why Itachi had requested Naruto's blood.
Naruto's current state resembled the time Kakashi had seen him defeat an Anbu. Even though the Nine-Tails chakra lay dormant within him, not showing any signs of activation, Naruto had relied solely on his own abilities.
The fact that Naruto could single-handedly defeat an Anbu in just a few hours weighed heavily on Kakashi's mind, filling him with a sense of astonishment.
What Kakashi didn't realize was that Asura's chakra had fully integrated into Naruto after Asura's will had been extinguished. This allowed Naruto to control and activate the chakra, leading to a significant surge in his power.
Asura's chakra had always been like a seed, initially nourishing Asura's will. While present in Naruto's body, it granted him partial abilities without requiring active development. However, it wasn't something Naruto could fully utilize before.
Now, the seed had sprouted. Naruto could completely control and activate it, marking a qualitative change.
Over time, as Naruto continued to develop, this potential would only grow stronger.
"Big brother? Why are you here so late?"
Naruto didn't know about the storm brewing in Kakashi's mind. Hearing Kakashi's voice, which sounded familiar, he slowly adjusted to the darkness. With the faint light from outside, he recognized Kakashi's face and asked softly.
"I need a vial of your blood."
Kakashi didn't waste words and pulled out a syringe.
It wasn't large, about the size of a pinky finger.
"Huh? You need to draw blood?"
Hearing Kakashi's words and seeing his actions, Naruto felt a little uneasy...
But he didn't feel any aversion or resistance to the idea.
In fact, knowing he could help Kakashi gave Naruto an inexplicable sense of happiness.
Helping Kakashi made him feel like he had value, and it meant he could spend more time with Kakashi.
Unconsciously, Kakashi had earned a great deal of trust from Naruto.
"Don't worry. It'll be over quickly."
Seeing that Naruto didn't resist, Kakashi gently lifted Naruto's arm under the faint moonlight. He inserted the needle into Naruto's vein and began drawing blood, taking only about one-third of the vial's capacity.
"Use your chakra to heal the wound."
After finishing, Kakashi noticed some blood spurting from the needle's withdrawal point. He spoke softly.
Naruto, seeing Kakashi's decisive actions, couldn't refuse and turned his head away.
Hearing Kakashi's advice, Naruto slowly turned back, looking at the bleeding wound. He felt a subtle, indescribable emotion.
"Can you tell me more about yourself?"
To Naruto's surprise, Kakashi didn't leave after drawing blood.
Instead, he carefully packed up the syringe, then stared at him in a daze.
This stirred something in Naruto's heart, and he asked softly.
By helping Kakashi just now, Naruto felt their relationship had grown closer. He thought he could finally ask the questions he had been hesitant to voice before.
But unlike last time, when he'd held back, this time he felt he could speak.
"No, I can't. I have one more thing to take care of."
Hearing Naruto's question, Kakashi shook his head slowly, pulling himself out of his thoughts.
He had been pondering what jutsu to teach Naruto. After an entire night of indecision, an idea had finally struck him just moments ago.
Naruto's blond hair had stirred something in Kakashi, briefly pulling him into a deep, somber place in his heart. It wasn't a pleasant feeling—more like a bittersweet memory.
"What else do you have to do?"
Naruto was caught off guard by Kakashi's refusal.
Hearing there was something else Kakashi needed to handle, Naruto felt a little anxious.
Did Kakashi want to harm him too?
Naruto's heart grew conflicted. His small hands tightly gripped the blanket.
If Kakashi really did want to harm him, what should he do?
This thought sent his mind into a spiral of confusion, leaving him unable to find an answer.
"Don't worry. I want to teach you a jutsu—nothing else."
Sensing Naruto's unease and the deep sense of loss radiating from him, Kakashi's tone softened. His voice was warm and full of genuine kindness and affection for Naruto.
Hearing this, Naruto loosened his grip on the blanket. A wave of joy washed over him, and he felt a growing sense of reliance on Kakashi.
In the past, he relied heavily on Hiruzen Sarutobi. He was like a land-bound duck that couldn't swim, clutching at a life-saving straw in the water, desperate to hold onto Hiruzen to avoid drowning in a boundless, icy, and dark abyss.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately let him down. It was as if he had discovered a ray of light in the darkness, hoping to break free, only for that light to suddenly dim and plunge him back into the void.
"If only he had never seen the light, he could have learned to live in the darkness."
When a ray of light pierces the darkness only to vanish, that light becomes guilty.
But if it endures, it becomes salvation.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's light, however, was always false. It could never last.
Even so, despite being hurt by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto still wanted to take one more gamble. He wanted to grasp that light, even if it might once again leave him beyond redemption.
Yet, as he stood now, he no longer needed that light.
Because he had grown accustomed to the darkness—and in doing so, gained tremendous power. His heart had long turned away from the light.
Still, there was an inner struggle tied to his warmth toward Kakashi.
To Naruto, Kakashi embodied the family and friendships he longed for.
Even so, Naruto wasn't sure how to maintain such connections.
"Thank you, big brother..."
...
After a long silence, Naruto spoke softly, his voice trembling slightly, betraying his inner turmoil.
Those who lack love often appear strong, but the smallest acts of kindness can pierce their defenses, leaving them overwhelmed and unable to stay calm.
"Do you have a pen and some paper? Considering your struggles with hand signs, I'll teach you a jutsu that doesn't require them. But it's an A-rank technique, so it won't be easy. Once you master it, you'll see a whole new world."
After some thought, Kakashi spoke gently.
At this stage, teaching Naruto any other jutsu wouldn't be very practical. It was better to go straight to the point and teach him the Rasengan, a technique that originally belonged to his father.
Kakashi had decided on this course of action the moment he saw Naruto's blonde hair.
Initially, he had planned to teach him the Chidori, but he didn't have any chakra nature papers with him.
Unlike the Rasengan, which forms a pure, non-elemental chakra energy sphere, the Chidori requires lightning-nature chakra.
And in truth, Kakashi felt it was more fitting for the Rasengan to reappear in Naruto's hands.
Although he had mastered the technique from Minato, the Rasengan didn't suit Kakashi personally. He found limited opportunities to use it.
Under the faint moonlight, Kakashi wrote down the training steps for the Rasengan.
He had no intention of providing hands-on guidance or demonstrations. By the time Naruto made significant progress, Kakashi figured he'd already be back.
This arrangement was also to ensure Naruto stayed focused on training and out of trouble while Kakashi was away.
A small precaution, just in case.
"Train well. I'm leaving now."
After finishing the notes, Kakashi left. The Anbu he had incapacitated would wake up before long.
"Thank you, big brother. Can you tell me your name?"
Naruto carefully folded the paper Kakashi had left behind, tucking it close to his body like a treasure. He softly asked the question while watching Kakashi slip out the window.
Kakashi paused slightly at Naruto's words.
"You'll know one day."
After a brief silence, Kakashi responded quietly.
Before Naruto could process it, Kakashi was gone, leaving behind only the closed window and a dazed boy.
"I'll train hard..."
Much later, a faint promise escaped from Naruto's lips inside the dimly lit room.
Under the night sky, a young blonde boy curled up on his bed, clutching the folded papers to his chest. The tattered blanket barely covered him, but the neat writing on the pages whispered of hope and determination.