Chapter 18: Naruto
Night.
The white-haired boy sat alone on the wooden veranda of the house. Nearby, a bamboo fountain at the edge of a small pond made a clear, crisp sound as it tipped and rose with the flowing water.
Pakkun was curled up in his doghouse by the veranda, fast asleep.
Warm light spilled onto Kakashi. His dark eyes were fixed on a novel he had dug up from inside the house.
"The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja."
Author: Jiraiya.
It was a gift from Minato Namikaze.
Flipping through the pages, Kakashi waited for Jiraiya's arrival.
The plot was clichéd. The protagonist, Naruto, carried a naive dream, defeating one enemy after another and 'redeeming' them with so-called love.
The final villain was also redeemed by the protagonist, crying his eyes out in the end.
What a naive story.
On the last page, the protagonist built a beautiful, dream-like world with everyone. Kakashi closed the novel.
"What do you think?"
"It's pretty great, isn't it?"
A voice suddenly rang out in the night.
At some point, a tall man with long white hair and red tear-like marks on his face had sat down on the veranda beside him.
Jiraiya.
"A corny story."
Kakashi glanced up at Jiraiya.
"Maa, you're as unlikable as ever, kid."
"But with that face, I bet you're popular with the girls."
Jiraiya gave a helpless laugh, leaned in toward Kakashi, and rubbed his chin with a sly grin.
"The Sandaime-sama must have spoken to you, right?"
Kakashi placed the corny novel on the floor by his feet and looked at Jiraiya.
"He did, he did. What a drag."
Jiraiya seemed annoyed that Hiruzen had called him back to Konoha, but he still took a scroll from his robes, placed it in front of Kakashi, and kept talking:
"She's an old zombie from hundreds of years ago. Can't they just let her stay in the ground?"
"Insisting on going to check... her bones are probably rotten by now."
Ignoring Jiraiya's complaints, Kakashi picked up the scroll. With a quiet "Kai," five smaller, different-colored scrolls appeared in his vision.
Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, and Earth.
"Those are the old man's insights on his five natures. Keep them safe."
Jiraiya glanced at the scrolls and chuckled.
"He thinks very highly of you," he added as an afterthought.
Kakashi was an unprecedented genius—a Jōnin at twelve, who had even created the S-Rank Raikiri.
In Hiruzen's eyes, he was the next pillar of Konoha.
Naturally, he would provide whatever Kakashi needed.
If not for the fact that the original Kakashi had become disillusioned from all his experiences, Hiruzen would never have let him serve in the ANBU.
ANBU seems prestigious, but in the end, it's an existence that operates in the shadows.
To become the pillar that everyone places their hopes in, one must walk in the light.
Just like how the current Hiruzen had never mentioned Kakashi joining the ANBU.
"I know."
Kakashi wasn't made of wood; he could see Hiruzen's goodwill and high regard.
"In that case, I'll be counting on you to guide my Fūton training, Jiraiya-sama."
"Maa, I get it, I get it. Such a pain."
"The old one won't let me off the hook, and now the young one won't either."
Jiraiya sighed and complained, then fell silent.
The atmosphere fell into a strange silence.
"Have you... been to see Naruto?"
Jiraiya suddenly broke the silence, his gaze distant as he looked at Kakashi.
"...Not yet."
Kakashi replied after a pause.
"Let's go see him, while I'm back."
Jiraiya stood up, patting the dust off his pants without a shred of a great shinobi's dignity.
"Alright."
Seeing Jiraiya stand, Kakashi put away the scrolls, slipped on his shoes, and followed him to the gate.
"Pakkun, watch the house."
Kakashi glanced back at the soundly sleeping Pakkun.
Pakkun didn't respond.
Kakashi didn't mind. He just locked the door and followed Jiraiya.
The autumn night was chilly. Kakashi and Jiraiya walked side-by-side on a Konoha road.
The warm streetlights stretched their shadows to the end of the road.
"I thought you would be completely crushed after this."
"But looking at you now, I was worrying too much."
Jiraiya looked at the silent young man beside him.
"Jiraiya-sama, have you ever experienced the feeling of starvation?" Kakashi asked, walking beside Jiraiya.
"Starvation?"
Jiraiya didn't understand why Kakashi would ask that.
"When a person is starving, they tend to have a pessimistic view of things."
His dark eyes reflected the streetlights, shining brightly in the night.
"The Sharingan I had before kept my body in a constant state of chakra-starvation."
"But now..."
He gently touched his left eye. His voice was cool in the night air, but it carried a trace of vitality, almost like Might Guy's.
"As I thought, it's best not to force something that doesn't suit you."
Jiraiya understood Kakashi's meaning. He looked ahead, a bit wistfully.
The image of someone he could never have appeared in his mind.
"The dead don't leave us just so the living can wallow in grief."
"The living must carry the hopes of the dead as they walk this long, hard road of life."
Kakashi continued, not paying mind to Jiraiya's thoughts.
"You little brat... now you're lecturing me."
As they chatted, the two arrived at their destination.
A seemingly ordinary house.
Only seemingly. Kakashi could sense at least two ANBU squads hidden nearby.
Considering Naruto was just a newborn, Hiruzen had specially arranged for two caretakers to watch him 24/7.
With Jiraiya leading the way, they went through a simple check-in with the ANBU, and Kakashi entered the house without any trouble.
"Jiraiya-sama."
The caretaker on night duty saw them and bowed respectfully to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya waved his hand and asked softly:
"Is Naruto asleep?"
Hearing Jiraiya's question, the caretaker quickly replied:
"Naruto-kun just had some milk. He should be getting sleepy. If you want to see him, Jiraiya-sama, you should still have time."
The caretaker was a member of the Sarutobi clan, hand-picked by Hiruzen.
Even though she didn't know why this baby named Naruto was so important, she adhered to the principle of not asking unnecessary questions and simply cared for him like any normal child.
"In that case, take us to see him."
Jiraiya nodded and motioned for Kakashi to follow.