Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Filial.

Truly filial.

A laughable level of filial piety.

If the Third Hokage heard this, he might kill this rebellious son on the spot…

But describing Shimura Danzo as evil? That's actually quite accurate—might as well add "naturally" in front of it…

However…

Haneda turned his head and glanced at Kakashi, who was sitting behind him. Kakashi was wearing his mask and was looking right at him.

"You heard all of that, didn't you, Kakashi?" Haneda asked quietly.

"Yeah," Kakashi nodded slightly.

As a prodigy who graduated at five and became a Chūnin at six, his hearing was naturally excellent—there was no way he hadn't heard.

"Kakashi, my father never truly cared about becoming Hokage. What he really valued was the village of Konoha and the people living in it."

"Just like my father, the Will of Fire in my heart has never been about the Hokage," Kakashi said softly.

"Looks like you've stepped out of the darkness, huh, Kakashi?" Haneda smiled.

"Yeah, after all, there's the light of the sun…"

"Quiet!!!"

Before Kakashi could finish, the teacher at the front of the classroom was already fuming with anger.

Bang!!

He slammed the desk with force and shouted loudly:

"This is class! Haneda! Kakashi!!"

After yelling at them, he pointed around the classroom, continuing his outburst:

"And the rest of you! One after another, you're all slacking off. What kind of chaos is this classroom turning into?!"

"Sorry, sensei," Haneda immediately apologized, pulling Kakashi along as he bolted for the door.

"Kakashi and I will just leave the classroom so we don't disturb your lesson any longer."

???

The teacher stared, dumbfounded, at the two figures who quickly disappeared through the classroom door.

This… This isn't how it's supposed to go…

He had only said a few words—he hadn't even mentioned any punishment.

He was only doing this for the benefit of Haneda and Kakashi.

Watching their disappearing silhouettes, the teacher suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, feeling aggrieved…

'Haneda is so bold, daring to openly skip class like this—he's my new role model!' Obito thought, with three parts admiration and seven parts envy.

'But why did Haneda take Kakashi, that idiot, with him to skip class instead of taking me?

Damn it, Haneda, you abandoned me!

How could you!!!'

...

Outside the ninja academy.

Kakashi, dragged by Haneda, ran out of the school, and as he glanced back at the gate, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Haneda, isn't skipping class like this… bad?" Kakashi, ever the good student, asked anxiously.

Seeing this, Haneda immediately activated his "Big Bluff Technique."

"Kakashi, you care too much about rules. If you keep going like this, one day you'll be trapped by them."

"A true man, a real man…"

"Stop, stop, I know you just didn't want to stay in class," Kakashi interrupted before Haneda could finish his spell.

He might've been lost before, but that didn't mean he was stupid. He knew what kind of person Haneda was.

"Alright, you got me," Haneda shrugged and said, "But, skipping class this time is actually still for the sake of learning."

"Learning?"

Kakashi thought for a moment. Haneda was the same age as him, yet he had defeated him. Surely, it must be because of his persistence and hard work! He must have trained secretly, making sure to stun everyone with his achievements!

"Yeah, learning," Haneda nodded, explaining, "Yesterday, I acknowledged a new older brother—Uchiha Fugaku, a Jōnin. How about we go and ask him for some advice?"

"An Uchiha Jōnin?" Kakashi's eyes lit up. After his defeat by Haneda, he had been curious about the Uchiha clan. If he could see a true Uchiha master in action, it would definitely be worth it.

"Lead the way, Haneda. I can't wait," Kakashi said, with a hint of excitement.

...

Haneda led Kakashi to the Uchiha clan's district.

Seeing an outsider enter the Uchiha compound attracted quite a few curious glances. However, bringing in another clan's child wasn't a big deal. The district wasn't off-limits.

"So this is the Uchiha district? It's pretty big, but it feels a bit cold… like only Uchiha live here," Kakashi murmured as he curiously surveyed his surroundings.

Haneda explained, "Yeah. The village's prejudice against the Uchiha, combined with the clan's pride, means that outsiders rarely come here. But the truth is, most of the Uchiha aren't bad. Many have just been mentally scarred, turning them into obsessives. Lots of clan members shut themselves off emotionally and chase after power."

"To be honest, I don't enjoy dealing with most of the clan members either," Haneda added with a pause, "except for Obito. That guy's a real softie."

"Living in this kind of environment must be tough, huh?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"It's not that bad. Most Uchiha are just overly proud, but they do take care of their own," Haneda replied, pausing before continuing, "Like for me—both my parents are gone, and there's no one to take care of me—but the clan gives me money every month, and the other Uchiha kids never bully me."

"For the Uchiha, bullying the weak is a disgrace."

"We're here."

While talking, Haneda led Kakashi to the Uchiha training grounds. In front of them was a small grove with many targets set up, each one pierced with numerous kunai and shuriken.

The clan head had told Haneda that Fugaku often trained here.

"Fugaku-nii, I'm here," Haneda called loudly into the grove.

He was thinking to himself, 'I'm giving the Uchiha a chance to rise—don't let this slip by!'

"Oh, it's you, Haneda," Fugaku replied, sounding somewhat impatient. His tone always carried a hint of reluctance.

"Yes, it's me. I brought a friend too—Kakashi, the son of White Fang," Haneda introduced.

"Two kids? More trouble…" Fugaku thought to himself, annoyed.

Sighing, he jumped down from a tree branch, emerging from the grove to stand before Haneda and Kakashi.

"Ahem, so you came to ask me about ninjutsu?" Fugaku asked with a straight face, showing no expression.

"Yeah, Fugaku-nii, I'm having some trouble with Shadow Clones, so I immediately thought of you," Haneda said as he introduced Kakashi, "This is my friend, Hatake Kakashi. He's first in our class, top of the year."

Haneda thought he was making it pretty obvious: 'Come on, make a connection already! You're just one step away from getting White Fang on your side!'

But Fugaku, with a deadpan expression, said, "I see… Kakashi, the Hatake clan specializes in kenjutsu. While the Uchiha also have skilled swordsmen, I'm not proficient in it, so I can't teach you much."

Hearing this, Haneda nearly ground his teeth in frustration, almost fainting with anger.

That was just a polite way of saying, "I'm not interested, you should leave."

In other words, "I don't want to teach you, so you'd better take the hint and go."

'Ugh, what an idiot—no wonder you ended up dying so miserably later on. Your political awareness is atrocious! Fine, if you can't handle this, then I'll take over! If you can't figure this out, surely your father can, right?'

***

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