[The cheesy life advice Kakashi once gave left such a deep impression on Hanare that she recognized the masked man the moment she stepped into Konoha. He was none other than the impulsive boy from back then.]
[Really, in the entire ninja world, who else could take a perfectly handsome face and wrap it up like this? There's hardly a second person like that.]
Kakashi: ???
[Back to the point—while Hanare and Kakashi were chatting warmly, the three little ones of Team 7 were hiding up in a tree, eavesdropping.]
[At that moment, Naruto, who hadn't finished his bowl of Sage Ramen, suddenly felt weak and slipped from the tree—right toward Kakashi.]
[The impact knocked off Kakashi's forehead protector, and he fell right onto Hanare, leading to a soap-opera-style accidental kiss.]
[Naruto, quick as lightning, whipped out a bouquet of flowers to celebrate the eternal bachelor Kakashi finally getting a girlfriend.]
"Naruto, aren't you a little too fast with those reflexes? Pulling out a bouquet right then? Hard not to think you had this planned."
In the timeline of the Third Hokage.
Jiraiya burst out laughing and patted Naruto on the shoulder.
Though the kiss between Kakashi and Hanare was clearly an accident—not the romantic, natural progression everyone assumed—
Still, a kiss is a kiss. Kakashi, you're not seriously going to deny it, are you?
"Hehehe, you guys always say I'm clueless, but honestly, I'm super sharp most of the time. I had a feeling something was going on between Kakashi-sensei and that pretty lady, so I picked the flowers on the way here. See? Ended up coming in handy!"
"."
Kakashi was speechless.
He didn't know whether to praise Naruto's cleverness or to say he was being troublesome.
What should have been a simple interrogation operation ended up having unnecessary emotions added because of Naruto's commotion.
The Fifth Hokage's timeline.
Obito Uchiha lay collapsed on the ground like a dead dog, with a pool of saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"Eh~ Kakashi, what kind of genjutsu did you use on Obito? Obito's crime doesn't deserve death."
Though he said that, Orochimaru's lips never stopped curling into a smile.
He felt very pleased with Obito's situation.
"It's nothing special, just a normal genjutsu that made him experience scenarios like being surrounded by men on all sides, men piling on men, and being covered with big muscular men. Look, he's drooling happily."
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's smile instantly disappeared.
Even he, a pervert, thought Kakashi's behavior was pretty twisted.
But he didn't say much, only clicking his tongue in pity at Obito.
"By the way, Kakashi, what exactly do you think about this Hanare?"
Tsunade ignored the reckless Obito and instead asked Kakashi, the person involved, about his thoughts on Hanare.
"I obey the Hokage-sama's orders."
Tsunade understood from his words.
He didn't refuse, so that meant he agreed.
"That's settled, then. I'll mobilize the Anbu to help you find Hanare."
[After this matter, the Jomae Village ninja decided to exchange Hanare for a Jonin from Konoha.]
[During the discussion with the Third Hokage and others, Kakashi strongly opposed exchanging Hanare.]
[Hmm, trading an intelligence ace for a minor Jonin role is indeed a bad deal.]
[The Third Hokage warned Kakashi with a glance that the matter was settled.]
"I feel something's off. From what I know of Kakashi, he wouldn't refuse to exchange village members just for Hanare — especially when that person is a Jonin."
In the Second Hokage's timeline, Hashirama felt he couldn't quite understand Kakashi.
Kakashi often said that those who don't cherish their comrades are worse than trash.
So why, when it came to a female spy, did he refuse to save his comrades?
Hashirama was a little puzzled.
"Kakashi must have his reasons. After all, he'll be the Sixth Hokage of Konoha someday. You should trust him, brother."
"Haha, Tobirama, you're right. Kakashi definitely has his reasons for opposing the exchange. So what exactly are those reasons?"
"Keep watching, and you'll see."
Fourth Hokage's Timeline.
The Third Hokage put down his pipe. A pipe without tobacco just isn't satisfying.
He pointed at Kakashi on the light screen and asked Minato, "Minato, why do you think Kakashi opposes this?"
Minato chuckled and replied, "From what I know about Kakashi, he definitely has his reasons. I think the reason he's so opposed is to lull the enemy into a false sense of security, so we can better rescue the hostages."
"By the way, speaking of Kakashi, how has he been lately?"
"Hehe, should be doing fine."
"Should be? Minato, what have you done to Kakashi?"
"Nothing much. I bought the house next door to Kakashi's and let Might Guy move in. I figured with Might Guy's company, Kakashi would get better and better."
.
The Third Hokage silently stared at Minato for several seconds, then finally said, "On behalf of Kakashi, thank you."
"No need to thank me. It's what I should do."
.
[After the discussion, Hanare was brought onto the bridge for the exchange of minor characters. Everyone present looked cautious, their minds full of schemes.]
[During the exchange, the long-prepared explosive tag on the bridge suddenly detonated, breaking the bridge. Hanare broke free from her restraints, entrusted by her superiors with the critical mission of leaking Konoha's intelligence. In a blink, the Hokage warmly switched outfits online. Then Hanare's superior directly self-destructed in front of Team Seven.]
[Kakashi cornered Hanare at the cliff's edge. It turned out that during their fight, Kakashi's Sharingan predicted the seal formation on Hanare's right eye.]
[Hanare's right eye isn't used for seeing the road but to observe her own mental world.]
[This technique of Hanare's was precisely copied by Kakashi's Sharingan.]
[After Kakashi saw his own thoughts, he realized that Hanare had been under some influence at the time, which was why he strongly opposed exchanging her.]
[But for the sake of Riichi, the Jonin side character, Kakashi came up with a plan to save the side character and catch Hanare.]
[As for the capture plan itself, it was basically Kakashi bringing a few more people this time, making the approach simple and direct.]
[When Kakashi confronted Hanare, she told him that she had already deleted the Konoha intelligence for Kakashi's sake, but abandoning intelligence for personal reasons would still be punished by death once she returned to the Land of Keys.]
[So at this moment, whether to kill, torture, or film a video was all up to Kakashi.]
[Kakashi spoke righteously, declaring he would never kill a ninja who had lost their ninja dignity.]
[Tch, that sentence really sounded like a hot potato in his mouth.]
[While saying that a ninja must not be affected by momentary feelings, Kakashi let Hanare slip away.]
[Until Naruto arrived and asked Kakashi how things were, Kakashi said Hanare probably died from jumping off the cliff.]
[Naruto spoke fiercely, feeling sorry for Kakashi. His words seemed like he wanted to destroy Konoha, overthrow the Third Hokage, and flatten the Land of Keys to fulfill this tragic love born from national hatred.]
Naruto: I'm not, I didn't, don't say nonsense.
[Kakashi told Naruto to shut up, then looked up at the sky, a faint sparkle appearing in his dead fish eyes.]
[He clearly knew in his heart that Hanare would not just die so easily.]
[Years later, after Konoha was destroyed by Pain the rice-bearer, and the village was rebuilding with much work ahead, a woman with a tear mole on her face and sage eyeshadow passed through Konoha, performing talents for the tired ninjas after a long day.]
[Kakashi sighed softly from afar at the female performer's name, his eyes full of seriousness.]
****
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