Kakashi quietly returned to his home.
Looking at the empty house, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
But after so many years of coming and going alone, he had long since grown used to it.
Closing the door behind him, Kakashi sat down heavily on the floor. A pained expression soon appeared on his face.
"Hiss… that hurts!"
He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his shoulder. It truly hurt like hell.
That guy Natsuhiko had really made him suffer.
Even though it had only been a spar, once they started fighting, neither of them had really been able to hold back.
So while they restrained themselves from using too many techniques, they still ended up employing ninjutsu.
Kakashi already knew that Natsuhiko was skilled in Water Release. During previous missions, he had witnessed that terrifying Water Release—seemingly inherited from the Second Hokage.
That in itself wasn't a big deal. Many people knew the Second Hokage's techniques. As an ANBU squad captain, it was perfectly normal for Natsuhiko to know some of them.
But when Natsuhiko suddenly used Earth Release, Kakashi was genuinely surprised.
He had to admit that his classmate—and captain—seemed far more talented than he had imagined, and perhaps even stronger than expected.
Most ninja are born with only one chakra nature. Any additional chakra affinities must be cultivated later through training.
However, some individuals are born with two—or even more—chakra natures. Those people are generally considered geniuses.
Kakashi himself had been born with two chakra affinities. He was naturally skilled in Lightning Release and Earth Release.
During their previous missions, he had only seen Natsuhiko use Water Release. And it was said that Natsuhiko had been rather unremarkable during his time at the academy.
So Kakashi had always assumed that Natsuhiko possessed only a single chakra nature and hadn't been particularly wary of his Earth Release.
"It seems... everyone has underestimated the Captain."
After his shoulder felt a bit better, Kakashi let out a helpless sigh.
He felt that his captain had hit rather hard.
Perhaps spending so long in ANBU had given him a certain ruthlessness—even in sparring.
And Natsuhiko's tactical choices had been incredibly agile and unpredictable.
Recalling the earlier battle, it had seemed as though Natsuhiko had used the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique to hide underground.
But later Kakashi realized that the one underground had actually been a Shadow Clone.
While Kakashi used Earth-Style Wall to block the attack, Natsuhiko had already created a shadow clone. His real body had quietly withdrawn and hidden.
Using that tactic as a diversion, he had drawn Kakashi's attention to the clone underground—then launched a direct attack from behind.
"The Sharingan played a significant role at the beginning during the taijutsu and ninjutsu exchanges… but after that, Captain completely neutralized it."
The more he thought about it, the more Kakashi realized that Natsuhiko's attacks had been highly purposeful.
From start to finish, it seemed his goal had been to guard against the Sharingan.
It could even be said that every step Natsuhiko took had been calculated in advance. He had deliberately exploited certain weaknesses of the Sharingan to launch surprise attacks.
And since Kakashi himself wasn't yet proficient in using the Sharingan, he had been completely drawn into Natsuhiko's rhythm.
Given that, his defeat had been only natural.
"Was he really fighting specifically against the Sharingan? But why would Captain be so familiar with it?"
Kakashi thought carefully, but no matter how long he considered it, he couldn't reach a clear conclusion.
In the end, he could only categorize Natsuhiko's tactics as "extremely successful improvisation."
He couldn't think of any other explanation.
As far as Kakashi was concerned, Natsuhiko's relationship with the Uchiha clan should be fairly good.
The Uchiha girl who had been watching the entire match from the sidelines—Uchiha Sora—seemed to be Captain's friend.
And Kakashi realized he hadn't been mistaken. Uchiha Sora, Natsuhiko, and he himself had all once been classmates.
Moreover, when Natsuhiko was still in school, she had always been his deskmate.
"A classmate..."
Kakashi felt that his shoulder no longer hurt as much. He lay back directly onto the tatami.
Recalling that brief year—perhaps only a few months—he had spent at the academy, he suddenly felt that he had immersed himself in sorrow for far too long.
Because of that, he had missed so many things worth cherishing, worth remembering.
Obito, Rin, Guy… and Natsuhiko.
Taking a deep breath, Kakashi realized he had already lost too much.
Only after losing them had he turned back to see that they were the most precious things he had ever had—and that realization made the pain in his heart even sharper.
"Even if failure is the main theme of life… I don't want to fail anymore.
Obito, Rin… I'll listen to Natsuhiko. I'll carry your will with me and live on bravely."
...
Uchiha Sora returned home alone, her head still spinning.
She truly hadn't expected that her former deskmate—born a civilian, sent to the battlefield around the age of eight, and someone who had left a deep impression on her as a child—would become so powerful.
Five or six years ago, when Natsuhiko left the academy, Sora had been extremely upset.
She knew they were in the midst of war, and someone like Natsuhiko likely had little chance of surviving such a conflict.
Yet there was nothing she could do.
She had been sad for a long time because of it.
As the frontline situation gradually improved, and as occasional news of Natsuhiko filtered back through classmates, she finally learned that he was safe.
Time moved forward.
When it was her turn to graduate, she followed other members of the Uchiha clan to the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools.
By then, Natsuhiko's appearance was no longer very clear in her mind. After all, five years had passed, and they had both grown.
The only thing she clearly remembered was that Natsuhiko had snow-white hair—just like Kakashi's.
Though his face had grown blurry in her memory, the person himself—the name Fukami Natsuhiko—remained deeply imprinted in her mind.
When the war finally ended and she returned to the village, she hadn't expected that Natsuhiko would still be nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps he was too busy.
Perhaps he had other missions.
She didn't know.
She could only continue to learn about her former deskmate's general situation through others.
What she never expected was that today, the training grounds within the Uchiha clan compound had already been reserved in advance, forcing her to train at the village's public grounds instead.
And it was precisely because of that choice—
That she saw Natsuhiko again.
And witnessed just how terrifying he had become.