The man collapsed to the ground, both hands clutching himself as he curled into a miserable ball.
The elderly woman Kakashi had winked at earlier slowly covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh.
She cleared her throat. "Come on, what are you all dilly-dallying for? Someone help clean this up," the old woman said, pointing at the body. "And everyone, get back to your farm work. We have a harvest together."
The demand got the crowd moving, though they shot uncertain looks toward Kakashi.
The elderly woman moved toward Kakashi, leaning heavily on her cane. Now that Kakashi could see her up close, she could put a name to the face. This was Hatake Kaho. Her responsibility was overseeing the clan's farmland.
Kaho seemed quite reliable in Sana's memories, even if she was biased toward the clan head.
"Kakashi-sama, should I have the clan head's house prepared for your return?"
Does Kakashi want to live in the big house where everyone goes to complain? Not really.
Does Kakashi want to live in a better space than the stick house she woke up in? Absolutely.
"Hmm, I haven't decided yet whether I want to live there," Kakashi told her honestly, then wiped a fake tear from her eyes. "It used to be my home with Daichi."
When Kakashi was sure her acting had earned enough sympathy, she said, "I will have to see if it is too painful."
"Alright, but while you are there, there are a few things that will need the clan head's signature."
"I will make sure Itsuki signs them," Kakashi told her with a straight face.
Kaho nodded. There was nothing she could say. As long as Kakashi protects them until the young man finishes training under her, they will not protest.
It wasn't like Itsuki could do any worse than Minoru did. If anything, Itsuki was far more trustworthy and a good man who never caused trouble. What harm would there be in letting him try to lead them?
If he turns out to be a failure, someone can challenge him and inherit the title of clan head.
"Then I will also be taking my leave."
Kakashi dusted off her hands as she watched the elder woman leave, then looked to Itsuki. "Maa, let's head to the clan head's house."
"Yes, sensei!"
As they headed to the big house, Kakashi took her time to study her surroundings.
It was much larger than Kakashi had expected. Rows of farmland stretched across the clan's territory, divided into neat sections with farmers already tending the crops. Some were harvesting, while others worked the soil or carried baskets between the fields.
Beyond the farmland stood several wooden houses, most modest but well-maintained. Narrow dirt paths connected them, with children occasionally running between the buildings while adults went about their work.
Kakashi's gaze lingered on the fields. Sana's memories told her that the Hatake clan had always relied more on farming than on their shinobi work.
They would sell their harvest to the nearest clans and villages. But for some reason, they had been struggling to make a good profit over the last three years.
"Wow, I have never been in here before," Itsuki said as the two of them pushed open the wooden fence to step into a small courtyard.
The clan head's house stood in the middle of the space, deliberately so that anyone who wanted to go complain to their clan head could make it there in record time.
It was noticeably larger than the other wooden homes surrounding it, though the architecture was not all that impressive compared to the structures built in Konoha.
Seeing that Itsuki was stuck by the fence and too self-conscious to slide open the tatami door, Kakashi walked past him and did it herself.
The place might look impressive to the guy right now, but he would learn the truth soon enough.
This place… it was a paperwork prison.
The entrance opened into a spacious main room with polished wooden floors. Sliding doors divided the rooms inside, while simple furniture lined the walls.
Kakashi immediately noted that there were no light switches or light bulbs anywhere. Instead, there were oil lamps and candles scattered about. Just this lack of technological advancement already told her a lot.
Kakashi walked farther in, Itsuki following a few steps behind, his head turning this way and that as he took everything in.
She was searching for the office.
Relying on Sana's memory, Kakashi walked down the familiar hall and found a private study. Ignoring the scrolls and documents strewn across the low desk, Kakashi's eyes remained fixed on the map hanging on the wall.
The map showed the vague shape of the Land of Fire, but its contents were all wrong.
Kakashi wanted to pull all her hair out. As she expected, Konoha was nowhere to be found on the map.
She was still trying to figure out whether this was a different dimension or... a different timeline.
Both possibilities were deeply concerning.
If this was another dimension, there was a chance Konoha might never exist here at all.
But if this was merely a different timeline...
Kakashi's eye twitched.
Someone like Madara Uchiha could be running around.
Kakashi rubbed her face tiredly. To exist in a time when Madara Uchiha was alive and at full power was a fate she didn't wish on anyone.
On the bright side, if this really is the Warring States period before Konoha's founding, that means Senju Hashirama and Tobirama should both be alive.
Worst comes to worst, she could probably hide behind the Shodai Hokage and the Nidaime Hokage and let them deal with it.
Kakashi could only hope this world isn't too messed up.
Her eyes flicked to the documents. They must have a clue about which year they were in exactly; she would just have to go through them.
She turned to Itsuki with a smile. "Come sit here. I will give you your first lesson."
Itsuki still hesitated. Kakashi might not be impressed, but Itsuki was losing his mind. In all his nineteen years, he had never been inside a place of such importance.
But he managed to collect his courage and sit in front of the clan head's desk. "What is our first lesson?"
Kakashi laughed brightly. "How to fill out paperwork, of course!"
"Eh?!"
That's how Itsuki spent the rest of the afternoon, stuck reading documents and signing them.
Turns out being a clan head isn't all that cool. Actually, it was pretty tedious. No wonder Kakashi-sensei had refused the responsibility. Itsuki couldn't help but feel as if he had been tricked.
Kakashi didn't pay any attention to her student's sulking. Instead, she focused on the request the previous clan head, that dump idiot, had approved.
It was a request for guards to protect the harvest cart being delivered to a village half a day away from their settlement. The request was made by the elder responsible for overseeing the trades involving the clan's goods.
She frowned at it. "Isn't twenty people a little too excessive for one cart of crops?"
Itsuki tilted his head in thought. "I don't think it's too much. After all, there are a lot of bandits running around."
"But if that's true, shouldn't we be keeping that number here?" Kakashi returned the document to the pile. "This clan only has seventy people. If you send our most capable shinobi away, what is everyone else supposed to do if the clan is attacked?"
"But that never happened before."
"Just because it hasn't yet doesn't mean it never will," Kakashi scolded him gently. "As the one people look to for guidance, you have to always think your decisions through."
"Then what do you say I should do, Sensei?"
Kakashi's eyes sparked with a sinister look. "Why send twenty when you can send just one very strong shinobi?"