CLANG!
Just as Nawaki reached for Sakumo's body, a flash of cold steel cut through the air. Kakashi, from somewhere beside him, had drawn a short sword and brandished it, forcing Nawaki back.
"Don't touch him! My father isn't dead!"
Kakashi was like a cornered beast, baring his fangs, desperate to drive away the two people threatening his father.
"Ai—!"
Nawaki heaved a heavy sigh, but he wasn't angry.
He knew this kid's heart must be boiling with a grief he couldn't voice. This violence was the only outlet for all that pent-up fury.
"Chiba, we should really get Lord Sakumo's—"
"No, Nawaki. Kakashi is right." Chiba's voice cut in just as Nawaki was about to suggest subduing the boy to prepare the body. "Lord Sakumo isn't dead. He can still be saved."
"Nawaki, guard the door. Don't let anyone near. I need to treat Lord Sakumo."
"Chiba, what are you talking about?!"
Nawaki stared, stunned. He searched Chiba's face for any hint of a lie.
He'd thought Chiba was just humoring the boy, saying what he needed to hear to ease the pain. But Chiba's deadly serious expression said otherwise. He genuinely seemed to think there was a chance.
"Are you insane, Chiba?" Nawaki whispered, his voice thick with disbelief. "Lord Sakumo's body is already cold. How could he possibly…?"
"Go! Now! And you, Kakashi." Chiba shoved Nawaki toward the doorway, then turned his gaze to the white-haired boy. "Move. Now. Any later and Lord Sakumo is truly gone."
"I won't! You're just trying to trick me!" Kakashi raised his blade, pointing it squarely at Chiba, his eyes frigid.
Thwump.
Chiba could have taken out the Hatake clan token, tried to reason. Instead, he simply knocked Kakashi out.
"System. Use [Back from the Dead] on Hatake Sakumo."
Chiba placed his hands on Sakumo's chest. The card dissolved into motes of light, flowing down his arms and into the cold body.
The system had rewarded him with one use of this after successfully reviving the Amanos. The conditions were clear: a complete body, death not exceeding two hours.
Lord Sakumo, you have to come back.
A nervous knot tightened in Chiba's gut. What if some condition wasn't met? He prayed silently.
Sakumo had saved his life once. Had treated him like family. He couldn't let it end like this.
"Hnng…"
A full ten minutes passed. Sakumo showed no sign of life. But beside him, Kakashi groaned, consciousness returning.
"You—what did you do to my father?!" Kakashi sprang up the moment his eyes opened, blade snapping back into position. His eyes were bloodshot. One wrong word, and he'd lunge.
"Cough… cough…"
A familiar sound rasped through the room.
Kakashi's eyes bulged. His short sword clattered to the floor. He stood frozen, brain short-circuiting.
"F-father?!"
Even though he'd kept insisting his father wasn't dead, deep down, he knew. He knew. But this… what was this?!
His father was coughing. No—his father was being helped into a sitting position by that man… was now standing up!
Kakashi's mind went blank. He suddenly remembered a trashy novel he'd read in his spare time. It described something just like this.
Possession. It has to be possession! Father's body is possessed!
The whiplash from utter despair to impossible hope had shattered his sanity. His mind defaulted to the most paranoid explanation.
"Holy shit, Chiba! What the hell is going on? Did you actually bring Lord Sakumo back?!"
Nawaki, hearing the commotion, rushed back inside. Seeing Sakumo alive and on his feet, he suffered the same mental meltdown as Kakashi. Struck by lightning. Rooted to the spot.
He knew Chiba's medical skills were insane, maybe even better than his sister's. But there had to be a limit! Bringing back the dead? That was just bullshit!
"Both of you, stop with the wild theories." Chiba saw their shell-shocked faces and forced out an explanation. "Lord Sakumo just lost too much blood earlier. He entered a rare state of suspended animation—catalepsy. You need to trust science."
Even as he said it, a grin he couldn't suppress tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Watching Naruto back in the day, Kakashi's tragic childhood had been a sore point for so many fans. Now, he'd just forcibly rewritten that pain. The satisfaction was deeper, sharper—far more potent than even making Pakura's eyes roll back.
"Lord Sakumo! Thank god you're alright!"
"Father… why? Why would you do this? Did you ever think about how I'd feel?"
A ninja's ability to adapt was formidable. Once the initial shock wore off, Nawaki and Kakashi crowded around Sakumo, voices overlapping.
"Lord Sakumo needs rest. Stop shouting!" Chiba snapped.
Finally, the man at the center of it all spoke. "Kakashi. Nawaki. Please wait outside for a moment. I need to speak with Chiba."
"Father, I…!" Kakashi's small hand clutched Sakumo's sleeve with desperate strength. He wouldn't let go. He was terrified this was all a cruel genjutsu, that if he left the room, his father would vanish forever.
"Be good. Go on." Sakumo's smile was pained, tender. He reached out and ruffled Kakashi's wild silver hair. Only then did the boy's grip loosen, allowing himself to be led out by Nawaki.
Once they were gone, Sakumo turned to Chiba, his expression one of pure wonder. "Chiba. How did you do it? How did you bring me back?"
Chiba's "science" excuse might work on the other two, but it couldn't fool the man who had actually crossed over.
"…A secret?" Sakumo continued, seeing Chiba's silent, knowing smile. "I understand. I will guard this secret with my life." He sealed his lips, asking no more.
"Lord Sakumo," Chiba's brow furrowed now that they were alone. "Why? Why do this? What about Kakashi?"
Sakumo sighed, his gaze clear and calm. "It was for Kakashi that I chose this path."
Chiba's breath hitched. In an instant, he understood everything.
Sakumo had never been swayed by the rumors at all. Those whispers had only been spread to give him a plausible reason to "take his own life."
Of course. An elite jōnin, a man of decisive action and iron will… how could he possibly break down and kill himself over mere gossip?
A cynical laugh escaped Chiba's lips. "This village… it's sick. Rotten to the core."
Sakumo fell silent.
He had chosen death as a shield for Kakashi. But now he was back. Alive. And he had no idea what to do next.
"Lord Sakumo, I know what worries you." Chiba saw the turmoil in the man's eyes and spoke slowly, deliberately. "I have an idea. A way to keep you safe, and ensure those people never dare lay a finger on Kakashi in the future."
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