Silver hair, a wolf-shaped Anbu mask, and an ever-present solitude.
Kakashi Hatake, a Genius who also bore pain and darkness from a young age.
The Third Hokage’s thoughts couldn’t help but return to a short while ago.
That day, Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi…
almost all the Jonin of Kakashi’s generation stood before him, requesting him to release Kakashi from the Anbu.
“Hokage-sama, please let Kakashi leave the Anbu.
If this continues, his flame of youth will be swallowed by darkness!”
Yes, Might Guy and the others were right.
And now…
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of Sasuke.
One was an Uchiha orphan shrouded in the hatred of his clan’s annihilation.
One was a Genius Ninja immersed in the pain of his comrades’ deaths, unable to extricate himself.
Two Souls, both deprived of their childhood too early, entangled by shadows.
Perhaps…
instead of one light illuminating another darkness, it would be better for two similar darknesses to try and find each other’s light.
“Kakashi,” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice echoed in the quiet office.
“Here,” the figure in the shadows responded.
“From today onwards, all your duties in the Anbu are relieved.”
Kakashi’s masked head tilted slightly, seemingly surprised, but he did not speak to inquire.
The Third Hokage slowly stood up and walked towards him.
“I have a long-term mission to entrust to you.”
Kakashi stood silently, waiting for him to continue.
“Uchiha Sasuke, you should know him.”
The Third Hokage’s tone became heavy, “This child, as you’ve seen, his current situation is very special.
I need someone to guide him.”
He paused, looking at Kakashi’s eye hidden beneath the mask, and continued:
“This mission has no clear objective, nor does it have a deadline for completion.”
“I want you to become his teacher, to explore his true inner thoughts, and most importantly…”
“Before he is completely consumed by hatred, make him understand that besides revenge, there are other things in this world worth protecting.”
A long silence fell in the office.
“Why me?” Kakashi’s hand tightened slightly as he asked his first question.
“You are very much like him, Kakashi.”
“You both carry shadows and walk in darkness.”
The Third Hokage’s tone softened, “I hope that while you guide him, you can also find your own path.”
“Teaching students, experiencing the bonds between comrades, this might allow you to rediscover what your teacher once hoped you would possess.”
“Comrades…” Kakashi repeated the word softly, a flicker of pain in his eyes beneath the mask.
“Yes, Hokage-sama,” he finally agreed.
“Very good,” the Third Hokage nodded, sitting back in his chair, “Starting tomorrow, you can try to approach him.”
“Understood.”
Kakashi’s figure flickered, merging into the shadows again, and disappeared.
In the office, the Third Hokage looked at the Hokage Rock outside the window and picked up his pipe again.
However, why did he have an ominous premonition…
The night deepened.
Sasuke walked out of the Uchiha Clan Compound alone; staying here no longer made sense.
Go to some Ninja Academy and play those boring house games with a bunch of brats?
Just thinking about it made him feel annoyed.
He wanted to leave the Village and search for Uchiha Itachi’s whereabouts.
Once this thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.
He identified a direction and prepared to leave the Village under the cover of night.
But just as he was about to move, a slightly comical sight caught his attention.
On the Hokage Rock in the distance, a small figure was dangling from a rope, holding a paint bucket and brush.
Under the moonlight, he was creating art on the Hokage stone statues.
It was that Yellow-Haired Brat, Uzumaki Naruto.
The First Hokage’s face was drawn with spiral blush, the Second Hokage was given a comical beard, and the Third Hokage’s face was covered in circles.
The most ridiculous was the Fourth Hokage’s statue, which not only had crossed snot drawn on it but was also covered in various inexplicable grimace symbols, as if Naruto held a deep grudge against him.
Sasuke stopped his steps, looking at the scene, a rare hint of speechlessness flashing in his eyes.
What a complete idiot…
Just as he was about to avert his gaze, an accident occurred.
“Oh no!”
Perhaps Naruto was too carried away; his foot suddenly slipped, and the rope tied to the railing instantly snapped.
“Ah–!”
Accompanied by a piercing scream, Naruto fell straight down from the tens of meters high Hokage Rock.
At the same time, on another hidden rooftop, Kakashi Hatake was secretly observing Sasuke’s every move.
When he saw Naruto fall from the Hokage Rock, his heart also tightened sharply.
That was…
Minato-sensei’s son!
Without time to think, Kakashi’s body instantly transformed into an afterimage.
He pushed his Body Flicker Technique to the extreme, rushing towards where Naruto was falling.
But the distance was too far; even he would find it difficult to save him in time.
Damn it, faster, even faster!
Kakashi’s mind was blank, only the instinct to save remained.
A few seconds later, when he rushed to the open space below the Hokage Rock, the scene before him made him freeze in place.
There was no bloody scene as he had expected.
Uzumaki Naruto was lying safely on the ground, seemingly only temporarily unconscious from excessive fright, without even a scratch on him.
And by Naruto’s side stood his mission target, Uchiha Sasuke.
Kakashi’s pupils contracted sharply.
What did Sasuke just do?
He was sure that before he made his move, Sasuke was clearly still standing hundreds of meters away.
How did he save Naruto, who was falling from a great height, from such a distance?
A Body Flicker Technique faster than mine?
A hint of solemnity flashed in Kakashi’s eyes.
Seemingly sensing his gaze, Uchiha Sasuke slowly raised his head, and across a distance of tens of meters, he and Kakashi silently met each other’s gaze in the night.
Ultimately, it was Kakashi who broke the silence first.
He leaped down from the rooftop and slowly walked towards the two.
Shifting his gaze from Sasuke to the unconscious Naruto, a hint of complex emotion, difficult to detect, was in his eyes.
Sasuke glanced at him, withdrew his gaze, turned, and prepared to leave.
“Wait a moment,” Kakashi called out to him.
Sasuke stopped and looked back, “Something?”
“I am Kakashi Hatake.”
He made a simple self-introduction, then pointed to Naruto, “I am…
an old friend of this child’s father, thank you for saving him.”
He squatted down, checked Naruto’s condition, and after confirming he was only unconscious, he looked up at the messy graffiti on the Hokage Rock, sighing with a bit of a headache.
“Honestly, he’s messing around again.
Why does he always do things like this?”
Sasuke followed his gaze, also looking at the comical graffiti, then said something that Kakashi had not expected.
“Because he wants to be seen.”
…..