Kakashi stood in the Hokage's office, and he wasn't alone—many jōnin were gathered as well.
"Team 1… failed. Team 2… failed. Team 3… passed…"
Each instructor reported in turn, their voices steady as they listed which teams had passed or failed their final tests.
"Team 6… passed."
Suddenly, all attention fell on him. In fact, most of them had been watching him since he entered the room. It was mostly because of his ragged appearance. He was covered in dust from head to toe, and his hair, which usually defied gravity, was a complete mess. No wonder they were staring. They were probably wondering what happened.
'So am I…'
He truly never expected to receive such peculiar genin. Almost all the files gathered on them at the Academy had been false. He knew because he double checked when he came back.
He sighed. "Team 7… passed."
A few eyes around the room widened.
After they finished reporting, the Hokage lit his pipe, smoke curling around him as he looked at Kakashi.
"So… what happened to you, Kakashi?"
The others were curious too as they glanced in his direction.
'Addressing the elephant in the room, huh…'
"Well… I just happened to be assigned some interesting genin, that's all."
Suddenly, a man with slightly messy hair and a beard, also smoking, tapped Kakashi's shoulder.
"Well, I never expected you, of all people, to accept a genin team," Asuma said.
Kakashi sighed, glancing at him. "Me too…"
Though Kakashi didn't hate it. If anything, he was excited.
Asuma smiled, "Although I am sure it will do you some good!"
The Hokage puffed out more smoke. "Well, I hope you all take care of them. They are the future of the Leaf."
They all nodded.
"You are dismissed."
The room slowly emptied, but just as Kakashi was about to leave, he was called back.
"Kakashi, wait a moment."
He closed the door and walked back.
"Tell me… how's Minato's son?"
The Hokage's gaze lingered on the monument outside the window, smoke curling lazily from his pipe. The lines on his face seemed deeper than usual. Kakashi hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Well… he resembles his mother...a lot more than you'd think, and he inherited his father's brains…I think. It's hard to tell with how he is.... But other than that, he grew up well."
The Hokage puffed on his pipe and sighed. "I see."
He looked visibly younger, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Kakashi observed him for a moment.
"You should visit him. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."
Hiruzen turned and looked back at Kakashi, his expression heavy.
"I barely have time to be with my own family… even my son became a ninja just so he could see me regularly… Oh, how I wish I could retire."
His eyes then shifted, a hint of mischief flickering in them.
"Say, Kakashi… would you mind becoming—"
"No."
Before he could finish, Kakashi interrupted.
"Oh, come on...you are perfectly able to be hokage!" He grumbled
"And you are still young..." Kakashi responded dryly.
"Was that sarcasm?" He asked, raising a brow.
"I won't dream of being sacastic with you, sir."
Hiruzen sighed, then perked up again. "What about the Uchiha boy?"
Kakashi sighed. "He's grown quite well, too… out of the three, he was the most troublesome to deal with..."
Hiruzen nodded in understanding. "Well… I won't keep you too long. I am sure you have other matters to attend to."
Kakashi nodded and left. As he watched him go, Hiruzen sighed, looking at the monument again, then the Hokage turned around and picked up another stack of endless paperwork.
---------------------------------------------------
Sasuke sat in a hot bath, sighing deeply.
Normally, Sasuke preferred cold showers after training. They made him feel refreshed and less drained. But now, Nano kept his body in optimal condition. He rarely felt exhausted anymore, which took out the small joy he had found in it, so he had developed a habit of taking hot baths instead to wash away his mental fatigue.
After the test, Kakashi had dismissed them, telling them to meet again the following morning. Sasuke had spent some time with his team celebrating at a ramen shop Naruto recommended. Normally, he wasn't the type to do things like that, but he had been hungry, and ramen had sounded appealing...
'Maybe the visions affected me more than I thought.'
And as usual, he ended the day with training.
'Nano.'
[Yes, Host.]
"Is… what you said earlier really possible?"
[Yes.]
Sasuke sighed. What Nano had proposed was absurd. While training his ninjutsu, Nano had claimed Sasuke didn't need hand signs to perform jutsu, and he could simply make a mental command to cast a justu. He still couldn't wrap his head around it, even now.
'Explain again.'
[Understood, re-explaining. During your ninjutsu practice, I analyzed your chakra flow as you performed hand signs. I observed its movement and how it molded based on the signs you used.]
'Meaning…'
[Meaning that as long as you perform a ninjutsu at least once for me to analyze, the next time you want to use that jutsu, you will not need hand signs. A mental command would be enough.]
Sasuke sighed again. Hand signs were a core principle of every ninjutsu. Even skilled shinobi used them. Many worked tirelessly to reduce the number of hand signs required for techniques, but at most, they could only cut them down to one or two. Removing them entirely…
That was something only the Sage of Six Paths himself was said to be capable of. Even in his visions, nothing like this had happened. The closest was Jiraiya, the Sannin, who could cast powerful techniques with just a clap or a stomp of his foot—and even that required exceptional chakra control.
He already knew Nano was extraordinary, accelerating his growth and progress at an incredible rate, but revolutionizing hand signs altogether…
'Just what created something like this...'
Whatever. If it didn't harm him or hinder his progress, there was no reason not to try.
'Nano, insert the analysis of today's training when I go to sleep.'
[Understood.]
He sighed as he stood, drying himself off before dropping onto his bed.
What did he even plan to do in the future?
He'd been thinking about that question for a long time now. His original goal had been to "learn" the truth, but now that his visions had proven somewhat accurate… what was next?
He already knew he wouldn't remain in Konoha for long. He wanted to kill Danzo, and doing so would make him a traitor, no matter what evil the man had committed. Danzo was still a highly influential figure of the Leaf. Thanks to his visions, Sasuke knew the perfect time to escape and leave, but… did he really want to walk the same path as the counterpart from his vision?
He knew the difference between the Vision of himself and Naruto. Naruto walked a path of light, slowly surrounding himself with bonds, while Sasuke's other self had walked a path of darkness. Sasuke understood where his counterpart was coming from—growing up with one singular goal would do that, especially when it was self-destructive.
But he was different.
He knew the truth. He knew who his enemies were. He knew where revenge led… losing his last family member.
Sasuke was tired. Tired of hatred. Tired of conflict.
'My dream… is to be the freest person in the world.'
His eyes widened suddenly as Naruto's words came back to him.
"Freest person in the world, huh…"
A person not bound by hatred. A person who could simply live as they pleased, without worrying about the schemes of others.
To be free.
'How nice would that be…'
To achieve that freedom, one would need to be powerful. Powerful enough not to be bound by anything. Powerful enough to truly be their own person.
'So this is what you see… Naruto.'
Weirdly, Sasuke felt a burden lift off his shoulders.
He smiled slightly.
'From now on… I will seek freedom.'
'Nano.'
[Yes, Host.]
'You will be the tool I use to achieve that freedom.'
[Understood.]