Training Ground Three lay quiet beneath the afternoon sky.
A young man with silver-white hair stood with his hands in his pockets, posture relaxed. A black mask covered the lower half of his face, his left eye hidden beneath a slanted forehead protector. The green flak jacket of a jōnin rested over his dark combat uniform as he regarded the three freshly graduated academy students in front of him.
"I'm your assigned jōnin," he said calmly. "Hatake—"
"You're Kakashi-sensei, right?" one of the students cut in impatiently. "Let's skip the introductions and get started already."
So loud. And so careless.
Kakashi's expression didn't change. "The test you're about to take has a failure rate of sixty-six percent."
Not long after, the three students were already arguing among themselves, voices rising, blame flying. Kakashi watched in silence. For a moment, something dark flickered behind his visible eye.
"You all fail," he said flatly.
The trio froze.
"Go back to the Academy and start over."
One of them opened his mouth to protest, but the look in Kakashi's eye stopped the words cold. The gap in rank and strength was overwhelming. In the end, the three left in disgrace, still accusing one another as they disappeared down the path.
Kakashi sighed softly.
Then he turned his head slightly toward the nearby trees. "You've been watching long enough. You can come out."
A moment later, Sasuke stepped out from the shade of the forest.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Kakashi narrowed his eye slightly but said nothing.
"Sorry," Sasuke said calmly. "I was training here earlier. By the rules, I should've left once the test began."
He paused briefly. "But when I realized the examiner was a senior, I stayed to observe."
"You know who I am?" Kakashi asked, mildly surprised.
"Yes." Sasuke nodded. "Hatake Kakashi. The Copy Ninja. I've heard my father mention you before. He said your mastery of the Sharingan surpassed that of many Uchiha."
Kakashi was silent for a moment. "Fugaku didn't stop there, did he?"
"Of course not," Sasuke replied evenly.
As expected.
Kakashi had long known what it looked like from the outside: a non-Uchiha wielding a Sharingan. He had assumed the clan's opinion of him wouldn't be kind.
Was this why Sasuke came? To question him?
But Sasuke continued without hostility.
"My father said that, by clan law, your Sharingan could have been reclaimed. But he believed the Uchiha who gave it to you fought with honor, and that you were his closest friend. In the end, my father chose to respect that will and silenced dissent within the clan."
Kakashi's hand rose unconsciously to the forehead protector covering his left eye.
So that was why the issue had vanished so suddenly.
"I see," he said quietly. After a pause, he added, "Thank you."
Sasuke didn't linger on the subject. Instead, he glanced in the direction the failed team had gone.
"Their abilities were already sufficient for genin," he said. "Why did you fail them?"
"Because they don't understand teamwork," Kakashi answered. "And they don't understand comrades."
Perhaps because of Sasuke's earlier words, his tone carried more weight than usual.
"A shinobi who doesn't value comrades has no right to wear the forehead protector. Even if they pass missions, that mindset will eventually lead to disaster."
Like I once did.
Sasuke nodded thoughtfully. "Teamwork is essential for shinobi."
Then he looked back at Kakashi. "For you to value it this much… you must have once been someone who cherished his comrades deeply."
Kakashi let out a soft, humorless breath. "On the contrary. I wasn't."
Sasuke inclined his head. "Then your teacher, the Fourth Hokage, truly deserves his reputation. A gentle man. A good teacher."
Kakashi didn't deny it. "He was. He's the one who taught me the meaning of comrades."
Sasuke continued, his voice steady. "You chose to fail those students at the starting line because they lacked teamwork."
"But compared to that," he added, "the Fourth Hokage didn't discard you when you lacked it. He taught you through action."
Kakashi's eye widened slightly.
"A teacher exists to guide, to pass on knowledge, and to resolve doubt," Sasuke said. "That's why the Fourth Hokage is worthy of respect."
He paused, then added lightly, "Of course, I'm not criticizing you."
Sasuke turned to leave, his voice drifting back over his shoulder.
"After all, rotten wood can't always be carved."
He disappeared into the trees, leaving Kakashi standing alone, deep in thought.