Chapter Two: The Funeral

In the early morning, the first ray of sunlight shone through the window of Kakashi's house, where a pale-faced young man stood silently.

Kakashi, who hadn't slept all night, changed into black clothes, tied his forehead protector, and then left.

On the dilapidated streets of Konoha, people walked in pairs, each dressed in black clothes, holding white flowers for mourning.

The sunlight made Kakashi feel uncomfortable. His silver eyebrows furrowed, and his lone eye, not yet accustomed to the brightness, coupled with the exhaustion from the sleepless night, made Kakashi feel dizzy and unsteady.

"Kakashi, what's wrong?"

At that moment, a pair of hands steadied the swaying Kakashi, and a rough voice followed.

Kakashi turned to see a figure with a watermelon-shaped head, dressed entirely in green. From head to toe, it was all green – green tight-fitting clothes, a watermelon head, thick eyebrows – the identity of the person was unmistakable.

"Ah, Guy, I'm fine," Kakashi said, shaking off Guy's hand and straightening up.

Guy frowned. "Kakashi, you don't look well."

"Ah, it's nothing, just a bit tired."

Guy sighed, then said, "Kakashi, my eternal rival, let's see who gets to the funeral first."

Kakashi glanced at Guy and said, "Sorry, Guy, not today."

"Kakashi, youth shouldn't be wasted like this," Guy said, his eyes burning with determination.

Kakashi smiled and said, "Guy, I'm fine. Let's put aside youth for today and go to the funeral."

Guy chuckled, "Alright, Kakashi, it seems you forgot to bring white flowers."

Kakashi blinked, realizing he indeed forgot.

Guy pulled out two white flowers from behind him and handed one to Kakashi. "Here, take this. I knew you'd forget."

Kakashi took it, feeling a warmth in his heart.

The two chatted casually as they made their way to the funeral.

In the center of the funeral, there was a photo of a man with a gentle smile, golden hair shining like the sun.

He was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, known as the "Yellow Flash," the youngest genius Hokage in history, who now became a part of history.

Kakashi felt a moment of daze.

Beside him, Guy said, "Kakashi, the Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to protect the village. He was a great hero."

"Yeah, he was truly great."

"Kakashi, one day, I want to die like a hero too."

Kakashi turned to look at the comically dressed man. At that moment, his expression was not the usual easygoing one, but rather a seriousness and solemnity never seen before.

"Guy, I hope you can live to old age in peace, rather than dying heroically like that."

"Kakashi, that's not the ninja way to die."

"Ah, but I hope you don't die before me. If you want to sacrifice yourself like a hero, please do it after me. I don't want to attend your funeral."

"Kakashi, you..."

At that moment, an elderly man approached them. "Kakashi, Guy."

Kakashi and Guy straightened up. "Third Hokage."

The man in the Hokage robe was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Kakashi, you seem different," the Third Hokage remarked.

Kakashi remained silent.

The Third Hokage sighed. "Wherever there are leaves dancing in the wind, fire will burn. The shadow of fire will illuminate the village, and allow new leaves to sprout. When you want to protect those you cherish... that's when a ninja's true power shines. Kakashi, do you understand?"

"I understand, but I don't want the ones I cherish to die in front of me, especially to protect me."

"Then become stronger, strong enough to protect everything. Use your heart that cherishes your comrades to change everything."

Kakashi paused, then said seriously, "I will, Third Hokage."

The Third nodded. "Let's go, it's time to go in."

"Yeah. Guy, let's go," Kakashi said, then walked into the cemetery.

"Oh, Kakashi, wait for me," Guy responded, quickly catching up to Kakashi.

The funeral lasted all day, and in the evening, Kakashi returned to his home, dragging his tired body.

Kakashi still lived in the house of the Hatake clan, where Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, had lived before. Since losing his father, this home had become somewhat empty.

Lying on the bed at home, Kakashi touched his left eye. The warmth of the Sharingan had never ceased. Kakashi felt helpless and thought, "The Sharingan consumes physical strength and chakra constantly. No wonder the original Kakashi couldn't handle prolonged battles. Is there a way to solve this problem? The original Kakashi didn't solve it, largely because he felt the Sharingan carried the will of Obito and couldn't bear to tamper with it. But now that I'm in charge, I can't let this hinder me."

Kakashi stroked his chin, thinking, then suddenly his eyes lit up.

If he could seal the Sharingan when not in use, it should solve the problem. Sealing jutsu? It seemed there wasn't such a ninjutsu in his memory. He didn't learn the Sealing Evil Eye technique that was used later, and even if he did, it wouldn't be suitable for sealing the Sharingan.

"If only Minato-sensei were still here, I could ask him."

Kakashi sighed, but didn't feel at a loss.

Although the Sealing jutsu might be hard to find, Kakashi still had ways to obtain it.

Firstly, although only Kakashi remained in the Hatake clan, the clan's heritage remained, especially the jutsu of powerful individuals like Minato, which included some sealing techniques, although few.

Secondly, Kushina Uzumaki, Minato's wife, was unparalleled in sealing jutsu. Although she and Minato had passed away, during Kakashi's last birthday, Kushina had given him a scroll of sealing techniques. At that time, Kakashi wasn't very interested in sealing jutsu, so he hadn't looked at it yet.

Finally, given the Third Hokage's concern for Kakashi, while forbidden techniques might be troublesome, a couple of sealing techniques sufficient to seal the Sharingan, he believed, the Third would be willing to provide. But explaining the need to seal the Sharingan to the Third might be quite troublesome, especially considering how Minato and the Third had faced pressure from the Uchiha clan to preserve the Sharingan.

"Let's first look at the sealing scrolls left by Minato-sensei and Kushina," Kakashi thought to himself.

According to his memory, Kakashi took out the scroll Kushina had given him from the room and started reading.

After a while, Kakashi sighed and said to himself, "This sealing technique is indeed complicated. If not for the foundation laid by the original, I probably wouldn't understand a single

 word. Unfortunately, Kushina's scroll mainly contains basic sealing techniques and some practical ones. Although they're rare, they don't include a sealing technique powerful enough to seal the Sharingan. The only sealing technique in the scroll is surprisingly the Sealing Evil Eye technique used in later generations, which is still a gain."

Kakashi thought for a moment and then said to himself, "It seems there's no suitable sealing technique in this scroll. Then, I'll have to see if there's any sealing technique in the scroll left by my father."