Chapter 109 — Echoes of Forgotten Bonds
The sun had already dipped below the horizon when Akira and Kakashi walked through the quiet streets of Konoha. The air smelled faintly of rain and noodles from nearby stalls.
They stopped by Ichiraku Ramen, each ordering their usual — a small comfort after long missions. The warmth of the bowls steamed against the cool evening air as they carried them back toward Kakashi's home.
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Inside the house, the silence was peaceful. Kakashi placed the ramen on the low table, and before he could even sit, Akira's eyes shifted — the veins around them flaring faintly.
"Byakugan — activate," Akira said quietly.
A ripple of light shimmered across the room.
In the next instant, the two vanished from sight and stepped into the hidden dimension — a tranquil space glowing with soft light, filled with gentle wind and the scent of flowers.
There, under the glow of floating orbs, sat Sakumo Hatake — Kakashi's father.
His white hair shimmered in the soft light as he looked up from the small pond before him. His expression softened immediately upon seeing them.
"Ah, you two," Sakumo said warmly, a father's calm in his tone. "You just returned from a mission, didn't you? Did you even rest before coming here?"
Kakashi gave a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.
Akira smiled as he stepped forward. "Yes, we did rest a little, Uncle Sakumo. The mission was fun — and… I also met my father."
Sakumo's gentle smile faded slightly, his eyes narrowing in mild surprise.
"You met your father?" he repeated softly. "And… learned more about the Otsutsuki?"
Both Sakumo and Kakashi turned toward Akira — their reactions different, but equally intense.
Sakumo remembered what Akira once told him four years ago — about the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, and how both had warned of the Otsutsuki's darkness.
And Kakashi… he was shocked because he had been there on that mission — and Akira had never mentioned meeting his father at all.
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Kakashi frowned slightly.
"When did that happen, Akira?"
Akira blinked innocently. "Oh, that? It was during the fight with Mitsutsuki. Naruto and Sasuke were struggling, so I went to help. Dad appeared, defeated the Otsutsuki, and then left without saying much."
Kakashi exhaled slowly — not out of anger, but something deeper. A weight he didn't understand pressed on his chest.
He didn't know why, but every time the word Otsutsuki came up, his heart tightened. There was something inside him — an old, forgotten ache — that stirred whenever he looked at Akira.
He couldn't explain it.
When Mitsutsuki had appeared in Roran, Kakashi had felt something strange — a fleeting image in his mind. Two friends, faces blurred by time. People with white hair and pale eyes… others with red eyes and crimson hair.
And among them — a boy.
A boy with white hair and red eyes, smiling faintly in a field of light.
The memory was distant, almost dreamlike — yet the emotion was real. A longing to protect. A sadness of losing something he once cherished deeply.
Now, looking at Akira, Kakashi felt the same thing — that same soul-deep recognition.
He didn't know who that boy in his vision was.
But the feeling told him one thing clearly — he couldn't bear to lose Akira too.
Whatever this connection was — whether it came from a forgotten life, or the remnants of time itself — Kakashi silently swore he would protect Akira, no matter what.
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Sakumo, watching both of them quietly, felt the faint stir of something ancient between them — a bond older than memory, perhaps even older than the leaf village itself.
He didn't speak it aloud, but he sensed it:
The threads of fate were moving again.
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End of Chapter 109.
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