After confirming Tenzō as the second monarch of Huiyao, Kakashi arranged the remaining matters regarding his impending death.
By the time all the arrangements were complete, everyone suddenly realized that the sky was growing dark.
"It's about time. Let's head back."
Kakashi waved his hand. Just as he was about to stand up, he coughed subconsciously, and a touch of bright crimson appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Wiping it away carelessly, Kakashi turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
Now, he no longer had anything left to worry about. He intended to leave this final bit of remaining time for his family.
The others did not know the deeper plans in Kakashi's heart; they simply felt that this man, who had single-handedly created peace, was about to die. Even someone as powerful as Kakashi could not escape the ultimate fate of death.
"I'm home," Kakashi spoke out of habit as he stepped inside, returning to his house just as he always did.
"Welcome home."
Even though they were an old married couple, Kurenai still came forward to greet him with a beaming smile. Like Kakashi, Kurenai had not been implanted with a Sage Imprint, so from appearance alone, both Kakashi and Kurenai looked middle-aged. In fact, because Kakashi's body could no longer withstand the immense chakra within him and was on the verge of collapse, fine wrinkles had already surfaced at the corners of his eyes.
"Where is Mirai?"
By now, Mirai and Ichigo were already twenty-three years old. Ichigo had already started a family, marrying the orphaned daughter of Itachi Uchiha. Only Mirai threw herself all day into a massive pile of data on chakra technology at the research institute, often forgetting her next meal after eating the last one.
"She probably forgot to eat again. I plan to bring her some food once dinner is ready."
Kurenai gently took Kakashi's coat, unable to hide the deep sorrow in her mature eyes. As the person closest to him, she naturally knew the reason behind the state of Kakashi's body. But she was entirely powerless to help.
"You're back? Dinner will be ready soon!" Hikari's voice echoed from the kitchen.
"Don't tell the children," Kakashi said with a soft laugh, reaching out to gently soothe Kurenai's slightly worried brow.
Kurenai looked at Kakashi silently. Her warm, vermilion eyes had not lost their luster to the passage of time; they were as bright and pure as ever. Looking into those eyes, Kakashi couldn't help but recall the days when he used to treat Kurenai as his personal meal ticket.
"Let's eat," Kurenai sighed. She would never oppose Kakashi's decisions.
Night
Kakashi was alone in the backyard, planting sunflowers.
This was a new variety developed by the agricultural park, capable of blooming and bearing fruit in all four seasons. Therefore, even during these freezing winter months, this plant could still survive.
Kurenai sat alone at the backyard entrance, resting her chin in her hands as she quietly watched her husband tend to the sunflowers. She understood Kakashi's personality; if she went to help, he would definitely tell her to go rest. She knew that Kakashi wanted to leave something behind in his final moments.
This entire yard of sunflowers wasn't left for Mirai and Ichigo, but for her and Hikari.
After busying himself for half the day, Kakashi personally covered the roots of the seedling with the final handful of soil. He wiped the nonexistent sweat from his brow, quite satisfied with his handiwork.
Although his death was not a true death, experiencing the sensations of a dying person was somewhat novel to him. Since he had actively forbidden resurrection secret techniques, Kakashi naturally wouldn't shoot himself in the foot. Therefore, death, to Kakashi, was a real death.
After his passing, Kakashi's soul would carry a massive amount of chakra and merge with the planet beneath his feet. The Sage of Six Paths' Pure Land could not accommodate him, nor was it possible for Kakashi to go there. After his death, he would give back to the planet, just like humanity did before the creation of the Pure Land.
However, because Kakashi's chakra was so immense, and because the ninja world had not received a feedback of chakra for a thousand years, Kakashi's chakra would instantly fill the entire planet. In an instant, it would make up for a millennium of deficit.
And similarly, because Kakashi's chakra was too powerful, his will would not dissipate. Instead, it would become the will of the planet itself.
When that time comes, should I give myself a new name? Gaia? Kakashi smiled to himself.
Time passed quickly.
Three months was neither too long nor too short. The aging of Kakashi's body grew increasingly rapid, to the point where he did not appear in public for a whole month after the New Year. This led to widespread rumors and speculation about his condition from the outside world.
Some said Kakashi went on vacation, while others claimed he was in secluded cultivation. But there was one constant: no one said Kakashi would die. After all, he was only forty-six years old, in the prime of his life. Even for an ordinary person, this would be the most vigorous period of their existence, so how could he die?
Moreover, Kakashi's strength was number one in the ninja world. How could he possibly die?
Indeed, how could he possibly die?
The 19th Year of Huiyao
"Today is a heavy and sorrowful day. The monarch of the empire, the one who brought peace..."
"His Majesty, today in his office..."
All the usual entertainment channels on television were abruptly cut. A news anchor dressed in black announced a thunderous piece of bad news to the entire ninja world with a heavy and grief-stricken expression:
The strongest man in the ninja world, the founder of the empire, the first monarch of Huiyao, the one who ended the thousand-year bloody war, and the one who brought peace to the ninja world, passed away from illness on January 25th at the age of forty-six.
Countless people found it impossible to believe. They felt immense pain and sorrow over it.
It was Kakashi who had brought them a peaceful life. It hadn't been that long since the Hidden Village era, and many people still remembered how frequently wars erupted in the old world. It was Kakashi who ended all of it; it was Kakashi who terminated the wars.
But their Lord Monarch was dead? Dead at just forty-six?
He was like the most dazzling star, rapidly plummeting after completing his mission of tearing apart the bloody chapters of the ninja world.
Some even went so far as to refuse to accept this reality, immediately gathering large crowds of citizens to march in the streets, demanding an explanation from the empire's high-ranking officials. Such people were not few in number, and the more extreme ones believed that high-level political struggles had assassinated their Lord Monarch.
But no matter what, Kakashi was dead.
On the streets of Konoha, everyone wore black mourning clothes, holding white chrysanthemums as they silently watched the hearse carrying their Emperor's body pass through. The sobbing, weeping, and crying simply could not be stopped.
Ultimately, Kakashi's body was laid to rest. Those who came to offer their condolences encompassed the entire upper echelon of the empire, and the outside of the cemetery was packed so tightly by citizens that not a single drop of water could trickle through.
A young woman dressed in black mourning clothes, holding a white chrysanthemum with a look of sorrow on her face, stood at the very front and laid the first white chrysanthemum before her husband's tombstone.
"Why? Why did no one tell me?" A tall, black-haired man gritted his teeth hard, his eyes locked onto the peaceful face of his father engraved on the tombstone.
Yet, in the face of his words, not a single person could answer.
"His Majesty's health had already failed three years ago. He was the one who asked us not to tell you and Mirai."
"Ichigo, calm down." Shizune stepped forward, looking at this junior whom she had watched grow up, attempting to soothe his emotions.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Shizune's words failed to soothe Ichigo; right now, he could not hear any excuses. The man in his heart, who could never be stopped no matter what difficulties he faced, had actually fallen forever. How could he possibly accept this?!
"Ichigo..." His pregnant wife reached out to grasp Ichigo's palm, looking at him with deep worry.
"Orihime..." Sensing his wife's worry, Ichigo's expression stiffened slightly.
"I need an explanation," Ichigo spoke through gritted teeth, looking at his father on the tombstone.
"Didn't Shizune already tell you? Are you deaf?" Hikari, standing at the very front, glanced at her son, her tone slightly harsh. Faced with his mother's gaze, Ichigo lowered his head reluctantly.
Kakashi watched this scene unfold. To be exact, it was Kakashi's consciousness that was watching this scene.
At the moment of his death, his soul left his body, transforming into an endless, imperceptible rain of light that scattered across the entire world. The only one capable of observing this was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki in the Pure Land.
Just as Kakashi had anticipated, his will did not vanish. Instead, along with the decomposition of his soul, his will covered the entire world in an extremely short span of time.
This planet was like a dehydrated sponge, frantically sucking in this first soul to dissolve in a thousand years. However, the power contained within this soul was simply too immense, to the point that in an instant, it completely filled the planet, with countless remnants of power still spilling into the air.
The natural energy of the entire planet instantly rose by several tiers. To put it colloquially, the planet was stuffed to the brim. Furthermore, as the news of Kakashi's death spread to every corner of the ninja world, this energy continued to skyrocket like a geyser, making the Earth a bit too weak to absorb such a sudden influx of nourishment all at once.
Watching the notifications frantically scrolling in his mind—the chakra counter rocketing all the way from thirty billion to forty billion with no sign of stopping—Kakashi didn't bother to look closely. Instead, he focused his attention on the fusion of his power with the planet.
The continuous surging of chakra made the natural energy on the planet's surface increasingly dense. This anomalous phenomenon was noticed by Guy, Tenzō, Shizune, Hayama, Naruto, and Sasuke.
"The natural energy has increased," Guy observed his surroundings, his brow slightly furrowed. He could sense that the ubiquitous natural energy around them was gradually rising, even faintly forming a thin, mist-like state.
As if feeling a sudden connection, Guy looked toward the tombstone in front of him. Is it you?
At this moment, Kakashi had no intention of paying attention to his own funeral. He was controlling his power, continuously integrating it into the core of the Earth.
In the original story, Toneri Ōtsutsuki could split the moon with a single Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, yet the young adult Naruto could withstand this force and deliver an iron fist of justice to Toneri. From this, it was clear that even if the young adult Naruto lacked the means to destroy a planet, his chakra had already reached the level required to do so.
As for Kakashi's chakra, let alone one young adult Naruto, even ten thousand of them wouldn't compare.
Supported by such a colossal amount of chakra, Kakashi very easily completed his fusion with the Earth. Furthermore, he continuously transmitted his power into the internal core of the Earth, transforming into a core that took over everything on the planet. This blue-and-white planet was like a defenseless young girl, entirely at Kakashi's disposal.
Kakashi even found a passage connecting to the moon somewhere on Earth. His terrifying chakra flowed along the Earth-Moon passage, instantly completing his mastery over the moon as well.
Kakashi discovered Toneri Ōtsutsuki living on the moon, but Kakashi ignored him and instead found Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who was sealed within the core of the moon.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki seemed to sense something, lifting her head to look in a certain direction. She felt a faint sensation that someone was watching her.
"Is it my imagination?"
Even the so-called Rabbit Goddess could not detect Kakashi's existence. The reason she noticed anything at all was perhaps... a woman's intuition?
The geyser-like surge of chakra lasted for a full three months, ultimately decelerating at the terrifying figure of sixty billion. The chakra accumulated in the nineteen years since the founding of Huiyao had completely doubled in just these short three months.
From this, it was evident just how massive an impact Kakashi's departure had made on the Huiyao Empire and all the citizens of the ninja world.
Tenzō smoothly ascended to power according to the last will, becoming the second monarch of the empire. Might Guy, Hayama Shirakumo, and Shizune assisted him. The few of them followed Kakashi's previously left-behind policies, continuing to focus on the livelihoods of the people. Although there were waves along the way, under the concerted efforts of the four, they managed to pass through smoothly.
Time ticked away bit by bit; days flowed by one after another. The four seasons rotated, and who knew how many springs and autumns passed.
In the blink of an eye, another thirty years went by.
The 49th Year of Huiyao
Now, the third monarch of the empire was a blonde man—Naruto.
Under Tenzō's support, Mirai, Ichigo, Rock Lee, Sasuke, Sakura, Shion, Neji, Shikamaru, Kurotsuchi, and many other newcomers rose to prominence, shining and contributing their warmth to this nation.
During this period, Kurenai passed away. Guy passed away. Tenzō also peacefully departed from the world at home. Only Hayama Shirakumo remained as usual, sitting alone by the lakeside that Kakashi loved, fishing.
In the Hatake residence, Hikari, whose youth was preserved by the Sage Imprint, sat alone in the courtyard, looking at the sunflowers that filled the entire yard. She still looked as dazzling as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, but the calmness in her eyes flowed with the vicissitudes of experience.
She was born five hundred years ago, yet she lived five hundred years later. The various things she had experienced throughout her life could no longer cause the slightest ripple in her state of mind. She had watched her husband's passing, her children starting families, and the birth of her grandchildren.
At present, she no longer had any regrets; she was simply waiting alone quietly for her life's final countdown. There was nothing left in this world for her to yearn for.
If there was one thing left to do, it was that whenever that idiot Naruto needed help with work, she still had to bear her advanced age of over five hundred years to back him up. He didn't consider her status as an elder at all.
"I miss you so much... I've almost forgotten what you look like..." Murmurs like sleep-talk spilled from Hikari's mouth.
Though Hikari still appeared young and beautiful on the outside, in reality, she was already a true elder. Along with the aging of her body, her strength had suffered a cliff-like drop. Her memory was also beginning to blur; if it weren't for the photographs at home, she would have long since forgotten her husband's appearance.
Her greatest joy now was showing off her husband's pictures in front of her grandchildren, listening to their exclamations.
"Wow, Grandpa was actually this handsome?!"
Whenever this happened, Hikari would smile so widely her mouth couldn't close.
After the happiness passed, came a sense of loss. What was the use of being so good-looking? He had only left her this old garden.
As if feeling a sudden intuition, Hikari—who looked like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl but was in fact an old grandmother—tilted her head in confusion, looking at the stone path in the garden packed with sunflowers.
For some reason, she felt someone standing right in front of her.
Is my time up? Did you come to get me, you guy?
Hikari murmured infatuatedly, wanting to stand up, only to find that her palms no longer had the strength to support her weight.
Then, a familiar warmth from decades ago covered her hand.
"Fool," Hikari chuckled softly, sitting quietly in place, her face slightly buried in the scarf around her neck, as if she were tired and wanted to take a short nap.
In the 49th year of Huiyao, the First Lady of the empire passed away at home.