Kakashi's hollow eyes shifted almost imperceptibly.
He slowly turned his head.
Standing quietly just half a step behind him was Shinichi Higashino. He was holding up an ordinary, dark-colored umbrella, shielding Kakashi from the torrential downpour.
Shinichi wasn't looking at him. His gaze was fixed on the brand-new tombstone ahead, his eyes calm and profound.
"You..."
Kakashi's lips parted slightly beneath his mask as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no words came out. He turned his eyes back to his father's tombstone, as if it were the only thing anchoring him to reality.
Shinichi didn't speak. He offered no words of comfort, nor did he ask any questions. He simply stood there in silence, holding open a temporary, wordless shelter for his former rival—and current classmate—who perhaps needed an umbrella more than anything else right now.
The storm violently lashed the cemetery. But within this small pocket of space, the only sounds were the heavy drumming of rain against the umbrella and the solid, frozen silence between the two boys.
"For a shinobi..."
After a long time, Kakashi's voice cut through the sound of the rain. It was hoarse and incredibly dry.
"...which is more important? Completing the mission, or protecting your comrades?"
Hearing this, Shinichi fell silent for a moment. His gaze remained locked on the cold tombstone as he slowly began to speak.
"The First Hokage was born during the Warring States Period, an era of endless conflict. In those days, shinobi clans slaughtered each other relentlessly, and even young children were forced onto the battlefield. Life was as fleeting as the morning dew... The sacrifice of comrades was an everyday reality, happening constantly."
"Even someone as powerful as the First Hokage—the man later revered as the God of Shinobi—experienced the agonizing pain of being unable to protect those precious to him during that brutal era," Shinichi said softly. "The records state that he lost multiple family members when he was young. He intimately experienced the helplessness of watching his closest kin die right before his eyes. Precisely because of that, he understood the immense difficulty and the absolute value of protection far more deeply than anyone else."
"That is why the First Hokage gave everything he had to build a different world. He wanted to create a world where children wouldn't be forced onto the battlefield at such a young age, a world where comrades could truly entrust their backs to one another. The core of that dream is what we now call the Will of Fire—to cherish the village, protect your comrades, and safeguard the next generation who will carry the torch."
"Are you saying comrades are more important?" Kakashi turned his head, his gaze piercing sharply into Shinichi.
Shinichi still didn't give a direct answer to the "either/or" question. He continued:
"The reason being a shinobi exists as a profession, the reason the system functions, and the reason the rules of a mission are strictly obeyed... is because they collectively maintain the order and credibility that allows the village to survive. Completing a mission and protecting a client's interests means upholding Konoha's reputation and peace. That, in itself, is protecting the village, and by extension, protecting all the comrades who live within it."
"So, you believe the mission is more important?" Kakashi's voice dropped low.
"No, Kakashi," Shinichi gently shook his head. For the first time, he pulled his gaze away from the tombstone, looking out at the rain-blurred cemetery, as if looking toward a distant future.
"What I am trying to say is... I don't know."
"I have never experienced the desperate situation Lord Sakumo faced. I have never had to bear the crushing weight of such a choice. Perhaps only when I am truly pushed to the absolute brink, in that split second of life and death, will I truly know what my instincts will choose. Until then, any judgment made from the safety of the sidelines is nothing but arrogant negligence."
"However," Shinichi's tone shifted, becoming calm yet incredibly resolute. "Before that day possibly arrives, there is one thing I will do with absolutely everything I have."
He turned his head, looking directly into Kakashi's eyes.
"I will fight to become stronger! Strong enough to avoid being forced into a dead-end where I have to choose one over the other."
"Strong enough so that even in a desperate situation, I can struggle and carve out a path to both complete the mission and protect every single one of my comrades. Strong enough so that maybe, one day in the future, I will have the power and the wisdom to influence or even change the rules—so that I, the comrades I cherish, and the generations after us will have to face fewer of these cruel dilemmas."
"That is exactly what the First Hokage did. Perhaps he didn't fundamentally change the inherently cruel nature of the shinobi profession, but he used every ounce of his strength to try. He built a framework designed to protect what is precious to the best of its ability, pushing the world in a better direction."
"And the Second and Third Hokage, who inherited his will, along with countless unnamed seniors in Konoha, have all done everything in their power from their respective positions to continue that effort."
"I don't know if Lord Sakumo's choice was right or wrong, because I wasn't the one standing in his shoes. But I do know this: if we just stay trapped in the endless debate of 'mission versus comrades,' we will never change anything. The only way forward is to become stronger than we are now—strong enough to earn the right to rewrite the premise of the question entirely."
"What if you face that dilemma before you gain enough strength?"
Kakashi's tone suddenly turned aggressive. Not waiting for Shinichi to answer, he rapidly continued, as if trying to cut off every possible avenue of retreat:
"Let's say you are the captain right now. I, and a few others, are your squad members. Our mission is to escort a piece of absolutely vital, highly classified intel back to Konoha. Right now, we are being hunted by the enemy. We are cornered."
"As the captain, if you choose to abandon the mission, it will bring catastrophic losses to the village. If you choose to complete the mission, you must abandon one or several squad members to hold the rear. You might even have to personally kill a captured teammate to prevent the intel from leaking."
He stared dead at Shinichi, his voice laced with desperate urgency.
"Tell me, Shinichi Higashino! What would you do?!"
"I'll hold the rear."
Shinichi's voice wasn't loud, but it was absolutely decisive, cutting through the air like iron.
"If that day ever truly comes, the one who stays behind to cover the retreat and shoulder the maximum risk should naturally be me, the captain." He looked straight into Kakashi's eyes, speaking clearly, emphasizing every single word. "And from that moment on, Kakashi, you are the captain. I entrust the intel to you. You are responsible for bringing everyone home."
For a moment, the air beneath the umbrella seemed to freeze solid.
After a long pause, Kakashi violently snapped back to reality. He let out a cold laugh. "You're... you're still just dodging the question!"
Before the echo of his words faded, as if he could no longer stand being under the umbrella or looking at the person holding it, Kakashi abruptly spun around. He plunged headfirst into the torrential downpour and sprinted away without looking back, rapidly disappearing into the gray curtain of rain.
Shinichi didn't chase after him.
He remained standing in place. However, the subtle, inexplicable throb in his heart—the sudden whim that had pulled him toward the cemetery in the first place—hadn't faded at all. Instead, it grew clearer and far more intense.
> [Auspicious Omen (Green): You have faintly brushed against the profound mysteries of fate. You will occasionally sense minor signs of good fortune and the beginnings of highly favorable developments.]
>
>
Just as he had anticipated, after hosting that lively, highly unconventional "thank-you banquet" that clashed with the world's typical customs, his [Kenjutsu Apprentice] class had rapidly upgraded to [Swordsman], and he had earned another Green-tier draw.
[Auspicious Omen] was the new trait he had pulled. It seemed to tap into the incredibly abstract, esoteric concept of "luck."
However, when he first received it, Shinichi hadn't noticed any immediate changes... until just now.