Chapter 51

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In the moonlight, the Nine Tails roared.

Opening its mouth, it released a tailed beast bomb, carving a terrifying ravine through Konoha.

A scene of Danzo wrapped in bandages appeared: "I can't let this become his path to reclaim the title of Hokage."

Suddenly, a giant red-eyed Sarutobi Hiruzen rose, looking down with an eerie smile.

"Chidori!"

Kakashi charged at Hiruzen, but in the next moment, he saw Rin pierced by his own Chidori, her eyes wide open in shock.

"Kakashi! Kakashi! Kakashi!!"

"Ahh!"

Kakashi jolted awake, his eyes wide.

This wasn't the first time he'd had nightmares about Rin, but this time he was also haunted by Sarutobi Hiruzen. He lay back on his futon, covering his left eye with his hand.

"Obito…"

Even though he no longer had the Sharingan, Kakashi found that his strength hadn't diminished. Without the chakra drain from the Sharingan, he no longer faced a critical weakness.

He reached for his White Fang short sword. Over the past three months, not only had he regained his previous strength, but he had also surpassed it, becoming a true jōnin.

Previously, he was a special jōnin, relying on the Sharingan's visual prowess and the speed of Chidori to reach jōnin-level attacks. But now, Kakashi's abilities were at jōnin level in all aspects.

Without the Sharingan, he could allocate more chakra to enhance his overall abilities. And due to years of operating with the Sharingan, his fine control over chakra had reached a remarkably advanced level.

"The White Fang of Konoha?"

Kakashi recalled Uchiha Toki's advice on his path of development.

The memory of his father's heroic figure returned to him, followed by Toki's words:

"The ANBU operates directly under the Hokage, with orders issued by the Hokage. The troops consist of multiple squads of four to five people, with squad leaders relaying orders and leading missions. All members wear white animal-themed masks, and both their missions and identities are confidential."

"There are two rules in ANBU: Rule 1: If you die, leave no corpse; destroy all traces. Rule 2: Wear a mask during missions."

"As the leader of the ANBU, Sakumo Hatake's identity was top-secret; no one should even know he was a part of the ANBU."

"Konoha suffered heavy losses due to his failed mission to save a companion? Without deliberate propaganda from certain ANBU insiders, the villagers wouldn't have even known that Sakumo was an ANBU member, let alone details about his mission."

"As an elite jōnin, Sakumo's mental resilience was solid. Would he really have committed suicide over a mission failure?"

"Unless he had a reason—like a powerful enemy, a threat, or perhaps a son who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy and was promoted to chūnin, maybe even jōnin, without sufficient experience."

"In wartime, jōnin are expected to lead missions solo. Without enough experience, they're essentially sent to their deaths."

"Think it over, young man. Konoha isn't just the 'Will of Fire.' Its roots are almost rotten."

"Father…"

Tears filled Kakashi's eyes as he reflected on this new perspective, one he'd never considered before.

He hadn't yet experienced the political clashes between Danzo and the Third Hokage, nor had he seen Konoha's secret experiments, like those that led to Yamato's creation through the sacrifice of countless lives.

He never realized his father might have sacrificed himself to protect him, not until Toki's words had made him reflect.

Kakashi sat up and splashed his face with water, instinctively scrubbing the hand that had held Rin's.

Was Konoha, the village Rin had sacrificed herself to protect, truly worth it?

Kakashi sank into a deep pain.

He put on his jōnin vest, preparing to go to the Administrative Department. Yesterday, the Information Department announced the list for the first batch of personnel for the new Defense Division, and he was among the candidates due to his swift response in previous operations.

He wanted to see if the "true Will of Fire" that Toki spoke of really existed.

"Hey, Kakashi!"

He heard a cheerful voice from the street.

Turning, he saw Might Guy waving at him with a dango skewer in his mouth.

"Come eat with me!"

This wasn't the first time Guy had invited him, but ever since the Fourth Hokage's death, Kakashi had become colder, never once accepting.

Yet Guy, unrelenting, invited him time and again.

This time was no different; Guy had no expectation Kakashi would join, and just called out habitually.

However, Kakashi turned and walked toward the dango shop.

Pointing at the last skewer of three-color dango on Guy's plate, he coughed, "That one's for me."

Guy blinked, momentarily stunned, then burst out, "Eh… Eh? Right! Sure!"

"Kakashi, let's have a fated showdown!"

"Let's do rock-paper-scissors then."