Chapter 234: Kakashi and Sakumo Hatake X Minato Namikaze's Test
"Father,"
"What happened to your face?"
Naruto World, night.
When Kakashi finished his day's training and returned home, he appeared straight before Sakumo Hatake, sporting two black eyes.
Even having applied ice beforehand to reduce the swelling and covering his nose with his mask, it was hard to hide the fact that he had been beaten into a pulp.
Sakumo Hatake cast a somewhat surprised glance at him...
Kakashi, whose white hair was entirely inherited from his father, pretended not to care and braved it out, "It's nothing."
He brushed past Sakumo Hatake's shoulder, pushed the door open, and walked in.
"The food is warming in the pot, eat it while it's hot."
"Got it."
Creak~ The door opened and closed.
Sakumo Hatake simply gave a brief instruction and didn't press the matter further... It's inevitable for young ninjas to get a few bumps and bruises during training. This was never a big problem; on the contrary... it was a good thing.
Didn't he know the logic: sweat more in training, bleed less on the battlefield?
Sakumo Hatake cut off his stray thoughts and pulled a piece of paper from his clothes to read carefully. The four large characters [Thunder Breathing] were clearly written on the paper. It was the gift Roy had condensed into an "information stream" with a single tap that morning.
Perhaps out of mutual appreciation, or perhaps because they were both swordsmen... Sakumo Hatake never thought that at his age, he would actually meet a "young friend". Moreover, what made him sigh with emotion was... he originally went with the intention of taking the other as a disciple, but ended up... being taught instead, which somewhat exceeded his expectations.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash... Second Form: Rice Spirit... Third Form: Thunder Swarm... Fourth Form: Distant Thunder..."
Clang~
White Fang unsheathed, held firmly in Sakumo Hatake's hand. The man put away the paper, took a deep breath, drew the sword, and began to dance... As lightning flashed, brilliant arcs exploded, illuminating a small patch of the night sky...
Inside the house, hearing the noise, Kakashi grabbed a plate, served himself some curry rice, and ate it while holding it... He quietly appeared in front of the window, looking out into the courtyard through the moonlight. Those eyes, three parts resembling Sakumo Hatake's but with an added look of "seemingly not caring about anything", blinked rapidly... It was a "swordsmanship" he had never seen his father use before!
Father's sword isn't like this... Or is he hiding something from me...
Could this actually be his true trump card?
The genius boy who would later be known as the "Copy Ninja" certainly benefited from the convenience of the "Sharingan", but even so... in the future, Kakashi would be able to develop the Rasengan simply by imitating his teacher Minato Namikaze, and then independently evolve it, using [Lightning Style] to develop [Chidori] and [Lightning Cutter], which were not inferior to the Rasengan. This was enough to show that his talent was outstanding, far surpassing his peers!
"Thunder Breathing, Fifth Form: Heat Lightning... Sixth Form: Rumble and Flash..."
The sword moved at will, lightning flowing like mercury. Immersed in the "Breathing Style", Sakumo Hatake danced faster and faster... Gradually... Kakashi's eyes widened, the spoon dangling from his mouth, forgetting to eat his food, as he found it increasingly difficult to capture Sakumo Hatake's movements!
Too fast... and... getting faster...
It clearly looked slow, why did it suddenly become so much faster?
Kakashi was stunned... It hadn't been long since the young boy entered the path of the ninja, and he had indeed shown unparalleled "Ninjutsu" talent. But... when it came to the "Way of the Sword", the boy was miles behind "Konoha's White Fang"!
"This isn't 'Swordsmanship', it's clearly [Lightning Style]... a [Secret Technique] that forcibly elevates one's combat power by adjusting 'autonomous breathing'!"
Completely not inferior to those [Kekkei Genkai] families in the village!
"Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form: Flaming Thunder God!" Originating from Zenitsu Agatsuma's self-created finishing move, it debuted in the night sky... The thunder turned from silver to gold, condensing into a golden thunderstorm that poured into the ground... Sakumo Hatake finished his dance and sheathed his sword, feeling an indescribable comfort throughout his body... It seemed every pore, every cell was jumping for joy...
Irrigated by lightning, his vitality was boosted, as if reborn!
Phew~ He opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of turbid air. Clang~ He sheathed White Fang. With his back to Kakashi, Sakumo Hatake's expression was complex as he thought to himself, "I owe a massive favor."
Before Kakashi could ask, he blurted out an explanation: "Don't overthink it, this is not my stuff. Without the owner's permission, I cannot pass it on to you."
Kakashi looked down at his food. The food had lost its steam and, unknowingly... had grown a bit cold.
"Oh~" he said.
The boy opened his mouth and mechanically scooped a spoonful of curry in, not even realizing that grease had splashed onto his mask. This drew a sigh from Sakumo Hatake... The child's mother died early, and he was usually busy with missions, neglecting his discipline. Perhaps, this is why... Fugaku is a good father, and he is not...
"You can take off your mask when you eat,"
"A ninja's mystery is not expressed through their appearance..."
"Oh~" Kakashi scooped another spoonful of curry into his mouth. This time, he pulled his mask up a bit higher, revealing slightly more. Seeing this, Sakumo Hatake pushed the door open, walked in, hung White Fang on the wall, and conveniently rubbed Kakashi's head: "When you're done eating, just put it in the sink. I'll wash it when I come back from my shower."
Saying that, Sakumo Hatake took off his Jonin flak jacket, brushed past Kakashi's shoulder, and strode towards the bathroom.
Tap... tap... At night, the electric lights in the room were already on.
The light flickered, dragging Sakumo Hatake's shadow onto the living room floor, flickering along with it...
Seeing him about to enter the bathroom and disappear,
Kakashi suddenly asked: "Who is it?"
"Father, may I know whose 'swordsmanship' this is?"
The boy didn't fully understand it, but that didn't stop him from... feeling it was formidable, especially since he possessed a pair of... discerning eyes...
Who? Sakumo Hatake paused his steps, and a face three parts like Fugaku and seven parts like Mikoto immediately surfaced in his mind, along with those eyes set in that face... overly mature eyes that completely mismatched his age!
"Jin Uchiha... your Uncle Fugaku's son..."
"It's him?" Kakashi was stunned. "What, you know him?" Sakumo Hatake noticed his son's strange reaction and looked back.
Kakashi slowly shook his head: "I don't know him, I've only heard of him from Obito."
"Your teammate Obito Uchiha?"
"Yes." Kakashi shrugged. "I feel he admires Jin Uchiha quite a bit. Today, it was also him who beat me into this state."
"Of course," Kakashi quickly added, "he was beaten even worse by me."
"Is that so?" Sakumo Hatake was somewhat surprised. Regarding Kakashi's two teammates, Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara, he, as a father, had communicated with Minato and had some understanding... It was said that Obito Uchiha was the dead last, strung up and beaten by his own son during every training session. Today, however, there was an anomaly... The man's eyes flickered, and he thought of a possibility: "It seems he awakened his Sharingan."
Kakashi never thought he could hide it from Sakumo Hatake, and admitted frankly: "Yes... he awakened his eyes."
A trace of gloom surfaced on the boy's cold face, recalling the training battle with Obito that afternoon. His movements, including the "Substitution Jutsu", had nowhere to hide under the opponent's Sharingan... Unspeakably uncomfortable and constrained, Kakashi had to admit... the Sharingan is truly formidable.
"No wonder..." With his guess verified, Sakumo Hatake comforted him in a warm voice: "Kakashi,"
"Since Obito has awakened his eyes, from now on, you can't treat him as the dead last. You have to learn to try and rely on him more... After all, like Rin Nohara, he is also your comrade..."
"I know," Kakashi said in a muffled voice. "Father, honestly, I didn't think he could awaken his eyes. According to Sensei, aren't there very few?"
Not many? Sakumo Hatake thought of the two pairs of Sharingan he saw that morning, one belonging to Shisui and one belonging to Roy. Both were young, and even... that child Jin had awakened his own swordsmanship domain, the "Sword Eye". He fell into an eerie silence...
Whoosh~ A gust of wind blew in from outside the window, blowing away the last bit of heat from the curry rice on Kakashi's plate...
The boy's white hair moved with the wind. Noticing Sakumo Hatake's unusual silence, he raised his eyebrows, wondering... had he said something wrong?
Looking at Sakumo Hatake again, the man stood with his back to the bathroom. As his thoughts churned, an absurd idea suddenly popped into his head... Is there a possibility that—
All Uchiha can awaken their eyes?
Instantly, Sakumo Hatake forcibly snuffed out this thought himself, almost... almost... scaring himself with it...
"Minato is right, the Sharingan is not that easy to awaken,"
"Even among the Uchiha, Obito is considered a genius. You should value him more." Sakumo Hatake regained his senses, gave Kakashi an instruction, pushed open the wooden door of the bathroom, and stepped inside... This time, the man rarely took a cold shower, using it to calm his mind and, incidentally... to expel all those absurd thoughts popping up in his head...
Splash~ The sound of running water echoed...
Kakashi held his cold curry rice, scooped another spoonful into his mouth, and was about to leave to get a hot scoop from the kitchen when he suddenly remembered something. Through the wooden door of the bathroom, he shouted inside: "Almost forgot, Father. That Jin Uchiha you mentioned seems to have also become my teammate..."
Creak—
The faucet was forcibly wrenched off by a large hand!
The bathroom door cracked open, and Sakumo Hatake's wet head poked out from inside: "What did you say?"
Kakashi said expressionlessly: "This evening, Sensei Minato said a newcomer will join our squad tomorrow and told us to take good care of him. Obito asked who it was then, and he said it was Jin Uchiha. That guy, right there on the spot... was dumbfounded."
Sakumo Hatake: "..."
He felt as if a piece of his heart had been stolen. After a long silence, he slowly closed the wooden door of the bathroom.
"I see,"
A faint voice drifted out, adding a lot of desolation...
Kakashi only felt baffled. Following the usual practice, when a newcomer joins the team, they must be tested... Since that Jin Uchiha could be revered by Obito and could even invent his own "Swordsmanship", making his own father practice it in the courtyard... he would know tomorrow what kind of abilities he had...
Kakashi mechanically scooped another spoonful of curry rice and stuffed it into his mouth. This time, he accidentally ate a grain of undissolved salt. Under the saltiness... the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, and he put on a mask of pain.
"How many bags of rice can one carry up how many floors... Father, the salt didn't dissolve..."
Sakumo Hatake: "Eat it or leave it,"
Kakashi: "..."
For the first time experiencing a ruthless critical hit from paternal love, for a moment, his whole person froze...
Achoo~
"Why did you sneeze?"
Hunter World, Republic of Padokea, Kukuroo Mountain.
Zoldyck family castle, approaching evening, the sun setting in the west... Roy went through "Poison Resistance Training", braving the sun. After a long-lost session of "Ten Thousand Swings" filled with gratitude, as usual... he exited the training room, strolled slowly, heading straight for the basement to "pay respects" to Grandpa Zzigg and continue deep exploration of the Dark Continent... Halfway there, he coincidentally met Illumi, who had just come out of the basement.
His foolish little brother, seeing him sneeze, stopped in his tracks and stared at him with those hollow, lifeless eyes... Having not seen him for a few days, his skin was much paler, a ghastly pale, like a ghost... creepy...
"Who knows?"
Maybe the toxins in his body hadn't been fully digested, or maybe it was a whim...
Roy sniffled and heard a third answer from Illumi's mouth—
"Maybe someone is thinking of you behind your back."
"Don't tell me it's you?" Roy glanced at him faintly. "You know, my fists hurt when I hit people."
"I am learning [Nen] from Great-Grandfather," Illumi treated Roy's raised fist as air, fearless. "Once I master [Ken], my hits will hurt too."
"Then congratulations in advance..." Roy employed his perfected Shadow Step. His figure flashed, flashed again, and flashed once more, brushing past Illumi's shoulder... This time, the boy tried to imitate Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto's [Shunpo], which he had invisibly displayed through the "Gate of Cognition"... His erratic footsteps carried a marvelous rhythm. In just the blink of an eye... he left Illumi far behind...
Illumi was stunned. His long, straight black hair fluttered gently in the breeze Roy kicked up... When the boy recovered his senses, the mottled ancient corridor was empty, with no sign of his Nii-san anywhere. Only he remained, seemingly still immersed in that marvelous rhythm, unable to recover for a long time...
"Is this [Shadow Step]?"
"Why is mine, and his, different?"
Carrying one part doubt, three parts confusion, seven parts perplexity, and ten parts bewilderment... Illumi decided to ask Great-Grandfather carefully tomorrow. While thinking, he turned his back to the direction Roy left and walked towards his bedroom, that hole...
Tap... tap... Two sets of footsteps went in two different directions, walking away from each other...
Roy tried to imitate [Shunpo], but ultimately only stayed at the [Imitation] stage... Back when he met Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, he didn't think of activating the Sharingan to observe carefully, only thinking of discussing the sword...
Thinking about it now, it was somewhat regrettable...
"Next time... there will definitely be a next time..."
"Presumably, copying it right in front of him, he... definitely wouldn't have any objections, right..."
A flash of scarlet passed deep in his eyes...
Roy's mouth curled up sideways, and he arrived at the basement.
☆☆☆
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