Chapter 109

"Chief Kaito, hello."

"Didn't expect it to be the legendary Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake. It's quite an honor."

Kaito smiled at Kakashi, having no intention of playing any roundabout games, but instead directly revealing Kakashi's identity.

Kakashi's expression remained calm, seemingly unperturbed by the disclosure of his identity.

Strictly speaking, his identity was indeed easy to recognize, whether it was his characteristic silver hair, or the Sharingan hidden under the mask.

Or his most proficient technique, the Chidori, all of these were clear markers of his identity.

Moreover, Kakashi was a hero of the three wars and the disciple of the Fourth Hokage. This made him quite well-known throughout the shinobi world.

Even his enemies, when facing him, could almost instantly recognize who he was. Kakashi had long grown accustomed to such situations.

In fact, someone like him was ill-suited to be part of the Anbu, as they all needed to protect their own identities, not letting others know easily.

Yet he was easily recognized the moment he appeared, possessing no ability to conceal himself. It was only that he himself didn't want to leave.

"Chief Kaito, you're flattering me. Compared to you, I am nothing. Moreover, those so-called titles are all dependent on this eye."

Kakashi's voice seemed somewhat cold, even a bit mechanical. His current state was quite different from the Kakashi that Kaito remembered from the latter part of the narrative.

However, Kaito was well aware of Kakashi's background and situation, as well as when his transformation took place, so there was little surprise.

What truly surprised him was that Hiruzen Sarutobi had actually sent Kakashi to accompany Naruto, though it wasn't too difficult to understand.

After all, Kakashi did have some relationship with Naruto, strictly speaking, they could even be considered as fellow disciples. But sending Kakashi to Kaito was truly in line with Kaito's wishes!

Kaito had long planned to meet Kakashi and even pondered how to win over this future Sixth Hokage.

Now the opportunity had been delivered to him, and it would be unjustifiable if he did not take good advantage of it.

"That eye was given to you by Obito. Even though it violated the rules, we will respect the wishes of the hero."

Kaito said to Kakashi with a smile. While Obito was not exactly a good guy, the Obito before his fall was indeed pitiful.

"And you haven't let this eye collect dust, have you? I believe that Obito would also be pleased.

At least when you meet in the Pure Land a hundred years from now, you can proudly tell him that you used his eye to see the path of the future, can't you?"

Ninjas have few taboos about the topic of death, and Kaito's use of the phrase 'a hundred years' can also be considered a blessing in this world of extremely low average lifespan.

Kaito's words seemed to somewhat relax Kakashi's tense mood.

Although the change was very subtle, it could still be discerned through changes in posture and movement.

"Thank you."

After a long while, Kakashi said softly, and this time his voice didn't sound so cold.

"You're welcome. The fact that your mission is to keep an eye on Naruto, I truly didn't expect."

Kaito still maintained his smile, waiting until Naruto and Shisui disappeared within the Uchiha clan territory before slowly turning to look at Kakashi.

"But, this arrangement is quite good, after all, that is your teacher's child."

Kaito's words instantly made Kakashi's body stiffen. His previously relaxed mood instantly tensed up again.

"Having you watch over your teacher's son, monitoring his every move, tsk tsk, you must have seen him suffer a lot, haven't you?"

What was originally a fairly harmonious atmosphere, at this moment, became somewhat oppressive.

Kakashi looked at Kaito warily, his blood-red Mangekyou Sharingan slightly rotating, as if ready to strike at any moment.

"Don't look at me with such eyes, Kakashi."

Kaito, in face of Kakashi's current attitude, still maintained his calm demeanor. He spoke in an indifferent tone.

"Did I say anything wrong, and do you think your eyes can have any effect on me?"

As his words fell, Kaito slowly closed his eyes, yet in an instant, they were already open again.

In his crimson eyes, the three tomoe were slowly rotating. At this moment, Kakashi felt an incomparable pressure!

This kind of pressure instantly reminded him of the time, years ago, when he was tracking Orochimaru.

Back then, Orochimaru was already injured, but even so, just a glance from Orochimaru made him feel immobilized in an instant.

That cold gaze, that unimaginable pressure.

At this moment, he felt as if he was experiencing it once again, and it seemed even more terrifying than back then!

Gritting his teeth, Kakashi forced himself to calm down. His hand was already subconsciously placed on his ninja blade.

It seemed that only by doing so could he feel secure.

"It seems you don't quite agree with what I said, and it seems you also want to make a move, so..."

As his words fell, Kaito took action without hesitation!

As a clan leader, being stared at with such eyes on his own clan's territory, anyone would take it as provocation and strike.

It doesn't matter if this person is Anbu or not, especially as Kaito's provocation was intentional.

On one hand, he wanted to see what changes had happened to him after acquiring the 'Dark Scythe'.

On the other hand, through this exchange, he wanted to convey some of his thoughts to Kakashi.

In Kaito's memory, his life had undergone three changes.

His first transformation occurred at the death of his father.

The then naïve and romantic Kakashi, who had been extremely proud of his father, started to harbour serious doubts due to his father's suicide.

He doubted whether his father was wrong, he questioned if his father's teachings were also wrong.

These doubts set Kakashi on a path of darkness, and this transformation made him extremely cold, indifferent to his companions and everyone around him.

This change only began to shift slightly with the appearance of Uchiha Obito.

Obito Uchiha was someone completely incompatible with him, much like Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto in the future, they were utterly different types of people.

Interestingly, these two, who clearly should not have ended up together, developed a deep bond and friendship.

Regrettably, this peaceful period didn't last.

With Obito sacrificing his 'life' to save him and gifting him his left eye before 'dying'.

Kakashi's heart had actually started to sink, but he also had a new goal, which was 'to protect Rin Nohara at all costs'.

However, those targeted by Uchiha Madara rarely have a good ending. Rin Nohara ultimately died at Kakashi's hands.

To put it bluntly, killing Rin Nohara himself, even if it wasn't his fault, was still devastating for him!

By this time, Kakashi could hardly be described as a person anymore. He was nearly a pure instrument of mission, a walking corpse.

Yet what happened next brought about a slight change in him, that was, the death of Minato Namikaze.

Having witnessed his teacher sacrifice his life to protect the entire village, he seemed to realize something.

That was, he still had something worth protecting!

Obito's dream was to become Hokage, in order to protect the Leaf Village.

Rin died by his hands, essentially to prevent the Three-Tails from rampaging in the Leaf Village, thereby protecting it!

One could say, his teacher, his companions, were all striving with the same dream, even willing to pay with their lives!

With such a crack in his resolve, along with the careful help of Kakashi's old friends, he gradually emerged from the gloom.

It wasn't until he saw a reflection of his old squad in Team Seven that he gradually became a normal person.

However, at that time, Kaito felt Kakashi was not living for himself, as he really resembled Obito.

At that time, he was living for his old companions, his teacher, he was living with the will of others.

But the Kakashi of now, is more often lost, moving forward cluelessly, because he has not yet left the Anbu.

He has not yet received help from the likes of Aoba and others, nor has he teamed up with the future Team Seven.

Given this, why doesn't Kaito take the initiative and counsel Kakashi first? Kaito simply couldn't, after all, they had no relationship to speak of.

However, through a certain stimulation, making him establish a goal, and doing something for this goal, striving to achieve something, it was not impossible.

After all, the people who influenced him the most were his father, the Fourth Hokage, Obito, and Rin.

Kaito could stimulate him through two of these individuals, thereby achieving his desired effect.

"Although such a method is quite mean, it's better than you being a walking corpse now, even without a goal."

Kaito thought to himself, in the blink of an eye, his ninja blade was already drawn.

And with this draw of his sword, he could clearly feel that his power and speed had become faster and stronger!

It was clear that this was the great benefit brought about by his body's inherent enhancement, he could even feel that his speed and power had not yet reached their limit.

This was not a limit due to his young age and room for growth, but rather this time, he had not yet gone all out!

However, even so, Kakashi was clearly strained when faced with Kaito's onslaught.

His speed was also lacking, his ninja blade was drawn almost the instant Kaito made his move.

However, the next moment when he blocked Kaito's onslaught, he suddenly felt a powerful force firmly suppressing him.

"Such power, such speed, this guy....."

Kakashi's expression had slightly changed, but Kaito had no intention of stopping.

In Kakashi's Sharingan, he clearly saw Kaito suddenly draw his ninja blade, and in the next moment, his figure slightly turned.

In front of Kakashi, in a situation where he could see but not react, Kaito moved to his side.

And that ninja blade, emanating with green chakra, was already sweeping towards his neck...

//

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