Naruto: IY Ch. 18

"You guys! Shut up!"

"Don't you insult Kakashi and his father."

Obito, for once, wore a rare expression of anger on his small face. The people in front of him were actually belittling Kakashi's father for prioritizing a rescue mission over the original task.

"So he's from the Uchiha clan?"

"Hmph, this is a Konoha matter. It has nothing to do with the Uchiha."

Two hot-blooded, fresh-from-the-academy genin sneered at Obito.

But Obito was still somewhat respected in Konoha, those two genin were dragged away by their own grandmothers, ears twisted as they went, scolding them the whole way, "Uchiha this, Uchiha that..."

"The great and famous White Fang failed a mission, and the client has lost all faith in us. I can't even get a D-rank mission now! I have two crying babies to feed at home, what am I supposed to do?"

One genin wailed and cried dramatically.

The confused bystanders started to sympathize. Some went to comfort the genin, while others gathered at the Hatake residence to hurl insults.

Yahiko and Nagato were speechless at this point, silently watching as a few older ladies tried to convince Obito to go home.

They could only think: stupidity is scarier than malice.

This was the Second Great Ninja War, and Konoha was the victor. How could they be lacking in missions?

Now, with the rise of new-generation ninja like the Ino-Shika-Chō, Minato, and Fugaku, it was like watching the morning sun rising.

If the feudal lords had to choose, they'd prefer Konoha over Ame any day.

Konoha had too deep a foundation, from powerful bloodlines to forbidden techniques left behind by Tobirama.

Ame still had a long way to go before they could dream of rivaling the five great villages.

So Yahiko and Nagato, the top talents from Yoake, could only go back to their patient development, building influence one mission at a time. Gradually, they would catch up. In this race of progress... the advantage was theirs.

No wonder Kakashi always remembered Obito so fondly later.

"Don't be like this..."

Now, under Obito's cuteness and charm, the old ladies couldn't resist. They even organized themselves to leave quietly. Before leaving, they muttered that they'd come back after Obito went to school tomorrow!

This version of Obito, before his fall into darkness, was exactly the kind of kid Yahiko dreamed of for the future of Yoake.

A true child of the people, naturally gifted, no teacher needed.

"Obito, how about joining my village? I have decided, someday, you'll inherit my will."

Yahiko placed both hands on Obito's shoulders, looking at him seriously.

He already had a bond with Nagato, one more "debt" wouldn't matter. If Madara had a problem with it, he could come out and fight him himself.

"Huh?" Obito was a bit tempted, and his brain power instantly spiked. Was Yahiko-nii really planning to have me take over the village after he dies?

Yahiko had been giving him toys and candy every day recently. Even praised him, saying he'd one day be strong enough to defeat half the Uchiha clan.

Obito had seen Yahiko use a single-hand-seal water jutsu. He didn't really understand it, but it looked super powerful, definitely chunin, right?

If I had that, I'd be untouchable!

Wait, no! That village doesn't have Rin!

"I have a reason I must stay behind," Obito scratched his head and smiled shyly.

Yahiko was disappointed but let it go.

A while later, Obito went home to eat.

Kakashi came out with a bucket of water and a rag to wipe off all the spit the villagers had left.

He looked annoyed. "Why are you still here? Are you here to give my father a hard time too?"

Nagato frowned. "You better watch your attitude."

He wasn't as easygoing as Yahiko.

"Sorry..."

Kakashi, desperate and confused, put down his cleaning tools, nervously asked the two of them, "What do you think of my father?"

"Finish this and I'll tell you." Yahiko appeared with a test paper.

It was a similar test paper from the prison assessment.

Kakashi looked helplessly at Yahiko, who was handing him the paper, and at the red-haired kid next to him who looked like he wouldn't let him leave until it was done.

He spent five minutes filling out the test.

Kakashi handed it back to Yahiko. "It's definitely full marks, no need to grade it."

Yahiko and Nagato leaned in together to check the test. A prodigy who graduated as a genin at five, maybe he really did get a perfect score?

They skimmed through it and then gave Kakashi a complicated look.

Zero points.

Even worse than Jiraiya.

Jiraiya's answers were at least somewhat reasonable. But Kakashi's...

Like one question that asked: If you encounter a fellow villager in distress outside the village, what would you choose to do?

He answered: Assess if helping would compromise my mission first.

Another asked: A traveling merchant offers information that could save lives for a high price, but you suspect he might be lying. What do you do?

He wrote: Ignore him. Can't trust unreliable sources.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. You can go. Your father was a qualified warrior."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and walked off.

"Nagato, educating children is a top priority. In the future, we need to set up a department to let kids experience society early on. And don't look at me like that, it's not child exploitation. It's all for their own good."

"Alright."

---

Late at night.

Sakumo was standing alone in his house, gazing toward the Hokage Rock, the cool night breeze brushing past.

"Forgive me, Kakashi."

His lifelong belief in protecting comrades had crumbled after being condemned by the person he had saved.

He began to question everything he had spent his life upholding in the name of the Will of Fire.

No.

He wasn't wrong. The shinobi world was wrong. He hadn't betrayed his ninja way. He hadn't abandoned his comrades.

Sakumo let out a peaceful smile.

Just as he turned to go back inside, to end his life with his tantō that had accompanied him through countless battles, he heard voices outside the door.

"Kakashi! You idiot! You nearly killed both me and the enemy today!"

"Oh."

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

"The mission was completed, wasn't it?"

A flicker of surprise flashed in Sakumo's eyes. Wasn't Kakashi supposed to be asleep?

A moment later, his figure appeared on the rooftop as he looked outside his home.

A white-haired ANBU wearing a mask walked ahead, his tone cold and terrifying.

His teammate followed behind.

It seemed that during a mission, they had gotten too close to the enemy, and the ANBU chose to attack both his comrade and the enemy in order to complete the task.

No, that wasn't right!

With his extensive experience, Sakumo realized both were disguised figures using Transformation Jutsu.

Before he could process it, two more figures approached from a distance, puzzling him even more.

It was Obito and Kakashi, but they looked about twelve years old, their likely appearance in the future.

Obito shouted angrily, "Kakashi, why didn't you go save her? You could've saved your comrade!"

Kakashi replied coldly, "Failing a critical mission because of emotional attachments will only bring regret. A ninja must erase his emotions. Those who break the rules... are trash."

The two seemed to notice Sakumo watching.

"What do you think, Sakumo-san?"

"Huh... Huh?" Sakumo froze on the spot. This involves me too?

The white-haired ANBU in front took off his mask.

For a moment, Sakumo was stunned.

He looked exactly like Kakashi...