Kapitel 239: Chapter 239: Little Kakashi
"It's been a long time, Tatsuma, Minato. You two have become remarkable Ninjas now."
In Sakumo Hatake's home, with his upper body bare, wrapped in several bandages, and his eyes filled with unending fatigue, even with noticeable eye bags, Sakumo Hatake barely managed to smile as he spoke to the two visiting individuals:
"A lot happened during the New Year, but I just found out. I also heard from Kakashi that you visited him during the New Year. Thank you so much.
Kakashi's mother left us very early, and I have been away from home for many years. Fortunately, this child is sensible and has never blamed me. However, having you as role models has somewhat made up for my shortcomings."
Sakumo Hatake put his hands together and sincerely thanked the two. Tatsuma and Minato quickly shook their heads, and Tatsuma said, "Sakumo-sama, we just visit occasionally; you don't have to do this."
Although Tatsuma knew Kakashi's future achievements and liked this precocious child, he had too many things to deal with over the past few years. His visits were merely out of courtesy and didn't warrant Sakumo Hatake's gratitude.
Sakumo Hatake waved his hand with a smile and said, "Compared to me, an unqualified father, what you have done is already more than enough."
After speaking, Sakumo Hatake glanced outside the door, making sure Kakashi wasn't around, and then said, "You are here today because of the mission to the Hidden Cloud Village, right?"
"Yes, but Sakumo-sama, do you need more rest given your condition?"
Sakumo Hatake's physical condition didn't look very good. Firstly, there were the injuries, and secondly, the subsequent effects brought about by the injuries, such as weakness from blood loss.
Tatsuma added, "I see you still have some injuries. Let me treat you first."
Sakumo Hatake had just returned to the village and probably hadn't even had a chance to get a good night's sleep after reporting in before notifying Tatsuma to come and discuss a new mission. He certainly hadn't had time to receive proper treatment at Konoha Hospital.
Seeing the determination in Tatsuma's eyes and his already standing posture, Sakumo Hatake swallowed his words of refusal, nodded, and said, "Then I'll trouble you. But time is short, so let's discuss the mission while you treat me."
"Alright."
If they were at Konoha Hospital, Tatsuma, as a doctor, would definitely insist that Sakumo Hatake rest well, but that wasn't possible now. Sakumo Hatake himself wouldn't agree to it.
The three of them began discussing the mission details. Outside, Kakashi, wearing a face mask, looked worriedly in the direction of the room. His father had only returned last night, but throughout the night, Kakashi had heard his father groan several times, indicating that the injuries were definitely severe; otherwise, how could he have spent the entire night so restlessly?
Sakumo Hatake hadn't slept well all night, and Kakashi had worried all night as well. As a result, Kakashi's eyes bore the same fatigue as Sakumo Hatake's, with drooping eyelids making his eyes look lifeless.
Unlike him, there was another child in the yard: Uchiha Obito, who had been specifically "borrowed" by Tatsuma and Minato. Obito was in high spirits, thanks to his naturally excellent sleep quality, and was currently excitedly playing with Kakashi's training equipment.
"Kakashi! Hey, Kakashi! Look at me, hurry!"
The noisy voice brought Kakashi back to his senses. He looked at Obito helplessly, wondering what Tatsuma-nii was thinking to believe that he would get along with this childish fool.
As expected, this childish fool was once again behaving exactly as Kakashi anticipated. Seeing Kakashi look over, Obito bit down on a dumbbell wrapped with a belt and lifted it, even shaking it proudly.
"Thud~"
"Ah!!!"
Just as Obito was showing off his strong teeth, one of them suddenly came loose, and the dumbbell crashed to the ground. Obito clutched his mouth and rolled on the ground in pain.
"Idiot."
Kakashi gave an honest assessment. Hearing Kakashi insult him, Obito quickly got up from the ground, ignoring the blood in his mouth, and said, "Hmph, I was just about to lose that tooth anyway."
Obito's excuse didn't catch Kakashi's attention at all. After arguing with himself for a while and seeing Kakashi ignoring him again, Obito moved closer and pointed to Kakashi's face, saying:
"Kakashi, Kakashi, why do you wear a mask? It's so ugly!"
Kakashi gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Why do you wear goggles? Even uglier."
Hearing Kakashi call him ugly, Obito forgot the original topic he had brought up, snorted, and said, "You wouldn't understand."
As he spoke, Obito adjusted his goggles. He had decided that he must protect his eyes well before activating his Sharingan. Besides, he needed to activate his Sharingan soon and not end up like his cousin, who was already fourteen and still hadn't awakened his Sharingan!
"Ahchoo!"
In Tea Street, Tenko, who was on patrol, sneezed. His nose didn't itch, but his eyes felt itchy. Rubbing them, he wondered, "My eyes are itching. Could it be that I'm about to develop another Tomoe?"
In the yard, Kakashi had no intention of arguing with Obito. Instead, he kept glancing towards the house. Compared to Obito, he was more eager to seek advice on ninja techniques from Tatsuma, Minato, and his father.
As for Obito, who constantly ran out of the Uchiha compound to play with civilian children, he was clearly not right in the head. Kakashi thought it best not to spend too much time with him.
Seeing that Kakashi hadn't responded to his long-winded chatter, Obito felt a bit dissatisfied and very bored.
He wanted to leave and find Rin to play. If it weren't for Kakashi, he would probably already be playing ninja games with Rin or playing ghost games.
Thinking of this, Obito wanted to slip away, but recalling Tatsuma-nii's recent instructions, he looked at Kakashi and said, "I'm going to find a friend to play ninja games. Do you want to come? Though with your arrogant personality, you probably don't have any friends, right? Can you even play games? How about something simpler? Ghost games? How about you be the ghost?"
Obito's chatter made Kakashi frown. He replied, "I don't play ninja games. I'm already a ninja."
"Hmph!" Obito mimicked mockingly, "I'm already a ninja~ How impressive. You probably can't even refine chakra, can you? Let me tell you, I could refine chakra half a year ago. My cousin even taught me a ninjutsu, the Uchiha's Great Fireball Jutsu. I bet you can't do that!"
"Great Fireball Jutsu?"
Kakashi squinted and asked, "Did you learn it?"
Obito, who had been bragging, suddenly froze. Tenko had indeed taught him the Great Fireball Jutsu, but Obito hadn't grasped it yet. However, looking at Kakashi's arrogant face, Obito felt a mixture of shame and anger, and retorted, "Hmph! Of course, I learned it. Do you think I'd lie to you?"
But after saying this, Kakashi's eyes showed no sign of belief. Even through his mask, Obito could see Kakashi's mocking and distrustful expression.
"Hmph! I'll show you right now!"
In his anger, Obito forgot that he hadn't actually learned the Great Fireball Jutsu. He jumped a few steps away, formed hand seals, and began to gather chakra.
Kakashi watched him leisurely. However, one minute, two minutes... ten minutes passed, and Obito still hadn't finished gathering chakra.
Obito didn't know why, but today his chakra was unusually uncooperative, refining much slower than usual. Fortunately, Kakashi hadn't expected much from him in the first place.
When Obito began gathering chakra, Kakashi's thoughts drifted away again. He even felt a bit grateful that his cleverness had made the foolish Obito shut up, giving him some quiet time.
Fifteen minutes later, Obito finally finished refining his chakra. After coughing heavily a couple of times to get Kakashi's attention, he clumsily started forming seals.
"Fire Release! Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Cough cough cough~"
Unfortunately, Obito didn't manage to unleash a brilliant flame under pressure. Instead, he coughed up several mouthfuls of black smoke, his face turning bright red.
Kakashi rolled his eyes and said, "Is that the Uchiha's Fire Release or the Sarutobi Clan's Fire Release?"
Hearing Kakashi's mocking words, Obito's face turned even redder. He retorted angrily, "Hmph! I just made a mistake. At least I'm better than you, someone who can't even use ninjutsu!"
"Earth Release! Earth Wave Jutsu."
Without wasting any words, Kakashi immediately formed seals. After making the sign of the serpent, he slapped his hands on the ground in front of him. Instantly, the ground started to ripple.
Caught off guard, or perhaps even if he had been prepared it wouldn't have mattered, Obito started to stagger until Kakashi stopped channeling his chakra. Only then did Obito, still shaken, manage to stand up while supporting himself on his knees.
"This kid..."
Inside the house, having just finished their conversation, Sakumo Hatake showed a helpless smile. Standing up, he said, "I'll go check on that Uchiha kid. Kakashi's behavior is really out of line."
Although he was reprimanding his son, Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but show a proud smile.
Kakashi was only four years old. Even for children from ninja clans, at this age they were just starting to learn chakra refining techniques and the Three Basic Jutsu. The Uchiha kid, on the other hand, was still very clumsy with chakra refining, but Sakumo's son was already able to use ninjutsu.
Even though it was just a simple Earth Release, this talent... even Tatsuma and Minato hadn't shown such skill at that age.
Of course, Sakumo Hatake didn't think his son's talent surpassed Tatsuma and Minato's. After all, the ninja resources they had access to in their childhood were incomparable to what Kakashi had.
Tatsuma stood up at this moment and said, "No need. Obito is not a petty person, and it's best for him to toughen up. But we should take our leave now. If we don't go back soon, Obito's grandmother might start worrying.
"As for the mission, Minato and I will make preparations in advance. You should also take care of yourself and increase rest time as needed."
"Alright."
Sakumo Hatake nodded without saying much. Tatsuma and Minato took Obito away, while Sakumo Hatake looked at his son and asked, "When did you learn ninjutsu? I haven't taught you yet, have I?"
"Since I learned to read last year, I've been studying on my own in your study."
"No need to rush. You're still young and have plenty of time. Don't stay cooped up at home all the time. Go out and play with kids your age more often. Make each stage of your life fulfilling."
Sakumo Hatake ruffled his son's head, feeling the texture not as curly as Tatsuma's hair. Kakashi didn't notice, just nodded thoughtfully and said:
"I will. By the way, Father, are you going on another mission with Big Brother Tatsuma and Big Brother Minato?"
"Yes, don't worry. With them around, Father will return safely."
Upon hearing his father's words, Kakashi asked in surprise, "Are they stronger than you?"
"Yes, they are stronger than me."
----
Check out my Patreon for more advanced chapters up to 50 at patreon.com/HellGolt
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein