Chapter 66: The Gift

After an hour or so, Minato walked through the door and saw his wife talking to a kid with grey-haired kid on their couch. Hearing the door creak open, and seeing Kushina's face light up when she looked at the door, Kannin also turned around to greet his old friend.

"Hey Minato!" He said with a big smile, "Or should I say Hokage!"

Minato was glad to see the young Uzumaki still standing after the war, and greeted him,

"Hey there, Kannin," a grin crept across his face, "And yeah! I am the Hokage! Well, at least as of 4 days from now."

"So that's when you're getting hooded?"

Minato gave a big smile, "Yep! In four days, I'm the Hokage!"

Kannin reached under his cloak and pulled out a parcel tied up in a nice bow on the top, and gave it to the future Hokage.

"Here," he said, "this is my gift to you. I hope I got your size right."

When Minato untied the bow and pulled off the wrapping paper, a clump of cloth was waiting beneath. Unfolding the white cloth, Minato saw a haori-type overcoat, with flame decals dancing across the bottom."

"I thought the flames suited Konoha's Yellow Flash" Kannin said with a grin. Waiting for Minato to look at the whole thing, he excitedly told him, "Look at the back. That's the best part."

Minato turned the cloak over and saw in big letters "FOURTH HOKAGE" written on the back and burst out laughing.

"How do you like it?" Kannin asked with a smile

"It's perfect" Minato responded, looking like a child with a brand new toy.

After putting it on to make sure it fit, Kannin stayed a while longer to talk to Minato about the war. The war wasn't technically over. Kumo hadn't signed a peace treaty yet, and Kiri hadn't either. What Kannin learned was after Iwa retreated off the front, they betrayed Kumo and assaulted them by surprise. What astounded Kannin was the strength of the Iwa force. Apparently Iwa had sent nearly 10,000 shinobi after the retreating Kumo-nin.

"We don't know much more than that right now," Minato said, "the situation is still playing out."

"Those Iwa-nin really are shifty, huh?" Kannin said, "To betray Kumo like that..."

"While I don't totally disagree," Minato said, "I'm confident that the peace with them will stand, if that's what you're worried about."

Kannin nodded his head, and took his leave, letting Minato and Kushina prepare for the big day on their own.

-

Kannin still had some other things he wanted to do now that peace seemed to be around the corner. The first few he had already done, like visit his mom and Minato, but there was one thing he was dreading, but nonetheless felt he needed to do.

Approaching the grave of Nohara Rin, where he expected to see Kakashi talking to her. As he approached, he saw the spiky grey hair of Hatake Kakashi, so similar to his own, and walked up beside him.

Kannin didn't know Obito or Rin that well personally, but his proximity to Kushina back then meant that they occasionally interacted, and he thought they were great kids. Obito was as sincere and caring as they came, and Rin was a more silent type, but he could tell she still cared. Seeing their graves saddened him, not just that Rin had died, but that, if things went as they did in the manga, Obito wasn't actually dead--in fact, Obito might actually be right behind them if memory served.

Kannin placed some flowers before the headstone, and turned to Kakashi and asked,

"How are you holding up?"

Kakashi didn't answer, which Kannin understood.

"Figures." He said, "Minato told me about what happened, Kakashi. I don't know if I'll ever be able to understand the pain you're feeling right now, but if you ever need help, you can ask me. We all lost a lot in the war, we can't lose you too."

"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi said, irritated

Kannin realized what his words implied and apologized, "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant--just that if you continue down this grief of yours, I fear that, even without dying, you will be lost too, another casualty of the war." He took hold of Kakashi's shoulder, and looking a the part of his forehead protector which covered his left eye, said, "It seems like Obito and Rin gave you some very special gifts, don't let them go to waste. The world may yet be in need of Kakashi of the Sharingan."

Kakashi looked up at him and asked, "What should I do, then?"

"Live," Kannin replied, looking back at the rest of the village, "Go out there and live. Smile and laugh and cry. I'm not saying you should just magically feel better, just to go out there and realize there are still things to fight for. Besides, Minato's hooding is in a few days, and we can't be brining down the mood, now can we?"

Hoping his little speech might have made some impact, Kannin left after that. He didn't want to intrude too much, but as one of the few people left that Kakashi might trust, Kannin felt obligated to offer his help. It was the least he could do.

Walking around town, Kannin breathed in the Konoha air, and smiled, knowing that his job was done for the time being. After being promoted to a jonin and taking a position of command in the army, he was given a decent salary, and probably didn't have to go on a mission for pay in a year or so. It felt good to be free.

"Now time for the second important thing I have to do." He said to himself with a sigh, making his way to the Uchiha compound.