After staying home for two days, Kakashi and Naraku couldn't sit still. Their injuries hadn't fully healed, but they were already practicing with their ninja swords in the yard.
"Clang—"
A sound came from the entrance. Seeing the figure close the door behind him, both of them lit up, sheathed their weapons, and ran to his side.
"Father!"
"Master!"
"I'm home."
Sakumo looked travel-worn but was in high spirits. He smiled, playfully smudging some dirt on both children's faces, watching them pout and wipe their cheeks like kittens.
He carefully examined his son and disciple. Seeing that their injuries were mostly healed, the worry that had plagued him for days finally eased.
Meanwhile, Naraku was also secretly observing him. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Kakashi wiped his face clean and took the package from his father's hand, asking in confusion, "Didn't you say it was a long-term mission?"
"It ended early, so I came back as soon as I could."
Sakumo ruffled Naraku's hair and asked, "I heard you already awakened a Two-Tomoe Sharingan?"
Naraku lowered his head, a look of apprehension on his face. "I'm sorry, Master. I didn't keep my promise."
"No, it's not that! Naraku did it for me—"
Kakashi quickly tried to explain but was interrupted by Sakumo's head-patting.
"It's alright, it's alright. I wasn't blaming either of you."
Sakumo looked at Naraku, his eyes curving into a warm smile, and praised him in a gentle tone, "Awakening your Sharingan to protect a friend is very cool, you know."
"Really?"
"Of course. Naraku is the coolest ninja in my heart right now."
Naraku returned to his cheerful self, and Kakashi also relaxed, weighing the items in his hand and hearing a metallic clink.
"What's this?"
"Chakra metal."
Sakumo pulled two strangely colored pieces of ore from his bag and patted the ninja sword on his back.
"Later, I'll take a trip to the Land of Iron and have a chakra blade forged for Naraku as well, so he can also use kenjutsu. Consider it his birthday present for this year."
"Master, won't that be too expensive?" Naraku remembered that Fugaku had offered material support before, so why make Sakumo spend his own money? "Actually, the Patriarch said..."
"It's different, Naraku."
Sakumo knew that Naraku's childhood experiences had left him with a very low sense of self-worth.
When he first came to their home, he was always cautious, afraid of causing trouble, and never spoke up about anything. He only became slightly more at ease after learning that the Uchiha had given money in his father's name.
"A master always has to do something for his adorable disciple. As a disciple, you should graciously accept your master's kindness now, okay?"
"...Mm, I understand. Thank you, Master."
Naraku nodded vigorously.
"Alright, let's clean up and take a bath."
Sakumo announced with a solemn expression, "Then tonight, we're going out for a big meal."
"Yay!"
Night quickly fell.
Sakumo took Kakashi and Naraku to their usual barbecue restaurant and ordered a deluxe set meal.
He placed the meat on the grill with tongs, listening to the oil sizzle. A slight smile curved at the corners of his eyes as he watched his son and disciple stare intently at the grilling meat.
"You two, tell me, what exactly happened during your last mission? I haven't had a chance to read the report yet."
Kakashi tore his gaze away from the barbecue and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "There was a guy covered in tentacles..."
To be honest, Kakashi couldn't be blamed for his disdain. Kakuzu's appearance when using Earth Grudge Fear was truly a bit inappropriate for dinner table conversation.
Naraku and Kakashi took turns describing their battle with Kakuzu. Sakumo listened intently, flipping the meat on the grill and cutting it into small pieces with scissors, occasionally praising them or commenting on their reactions at the time.
By the time they finished recounting the events, Sakumo had finished grilling all the meat, and a rich aroma filled the entire table.
"Tomorrow, we'll go to the training ground. Let's see what progress you two have made recently."
Kakashi and Naraku hadn't fully emerged from their memories of the battle. However, they weren't flustered by the sudden inspection; instead, they were full of fighting spirit, determined to show Sakumo what they could do.
"Beef brisket coming up!"
The owner's call as he served the dish broke the overflowing fighting spirit around them, turning the two competitive youths back into children by their father's side, drooling as they watched the beef being placed on the grill.
The next day, at the open-air training ground.
Sakumo, holding his usual long ninja sword, casually parried Kakashi and Naraku's attacks. Their blade energy, capable of cutting metal and stone, was effortlessly dispersed by him, turning into faint ripples that only gently stirred the hem of his clothes.
Seeing that their sword techniques were clearly making no headway, Kakashi gave Naraku a look. The latter understood, and in the pause of another sword swing, his eyes instantly turned red. His reaction speed immediately increased, allowing him to barely block Sakumo's counterattack and seize the opportunity to cast a genjutsu on him.
Genjutsu: Misty Binding Kill Technique!
Sakumo could have dodged, but he wanted to see what level Naraku's genjutsu had reached, so he deliberately looked into Naraku's eyes.
He immediately felt himself sinking into a dark, viscous swamp, struggling to breathe, his limbs feeling distinctly uncoordinated. His sword swings were unstable, and even the flow of Chakra was extremely sluggish.
What a powerful genjutsu. If he didn't break free quickly, Kakashi's Lightning Blade would be coming down on his head.
Sakumo smiled, and in the next instant, he steadily parried the surprise attack from behind with his blade. The dazzling lightning quickly dissipated, revealing the original metal sword body.
Kakashi pushed off Sakumo, jumping away, his eyes fixed on his father—a mountain that was still insurmountable for him.
"Let's stop here for now."
Sakumo sheathed his ninja sword, very pleased with Kakashi and Naraku's progress.
At this rate, in a few more years, the two of them would possess a certain degree of self-preservation capabilities in the Ninja World, and he wouldn't have to constantly worry during missions...
Sakumo only rested at home for two days before leaving the village again, taking those two Chakra metal ores with him, saying he would be back in about a month.
After recovering from their injuries, Naraku and Kakashi each had to frequently lead teams out of the village on different missions, making it impossible for them to stay together for long periods.
However, this was actually good news for Naraku. He was worried that Danzo's actions against him would implicate Kakashi. Now that the two were temporarily separated, he no longer had that concern.
With the system and popularity points, no matter how bad the situation got, he would most likely survive. As long as Kakashi and Sakumo were fine, he didn't care what happened to himself.
More than ten days passed like this. When not on missions, Naraku practiced at the open-air training ground, often staying alone until late at night, stopping only when he was too exhausted to move, lying on the ground.
Then he would stare at the starry sky, emptying his mind.
He needed to appear preoccupied and burdened so that his future actions wouldn't seem abrupt.
During this time, Naraku didn't encounter any trouble.
Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi was finally effective this time, forcing Danzo to behave temporarily?
Naraku shook his head.
No, that was impossible, no matter how he looked at it...