Back at home, Xin took two bottles of water from the fridge and placed them on the table.
A few seconds later, Sakumo Hatake jumped down from the balcony.
Xin twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"Senior, the balcony's paint was just touched up."
"..."
Sakumo froze for a moment, turned around in surprise to see the two footprints he left, and his face instantly flushed. He awkwardly raised a hand to scratch his head.
"Ahaha, I didn't notice. Next time, I'll come through the front. Definitely next time."
Yeah, right!!
What's with you people and not using the front door? Either climbing through windows or jumping off balconies.
Oh well, guess I'll get used to it.
Xin shook his head and decided not to dwell on it.
"Senior, are you here for Kakashi?"
Sakumo smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I'm here for Kakashi. The kid has a lot of potential, which is why I came to see you. Although I can teach him myself, I don't want him to be overly influenced by me."
"Why me, though?" Xin was a bit speechless.
In the entire village of Konoha, wasn't there anyone else who could teach Kakashi?
"Senior, if it's about swordsmanship, there are many skilled sword masters in Konoha. If it's taijutsu, you can find plenty of qualified people. The same goes for using and mastering Lightning Release. Besides, I have a habit of not taking disciples. Why do you think Kakashi would grow well under me?"
"I don't think I'd be a good teacher."
Sakumo let out a hearty laugh, took a few sips of water, and sighed, a hint of melancholy in his voice.
"To be honest, I've been reflecting on my shortcomings these past few days, and I realized I have quite a few of them. Like this one."
He lifted his arm, showing Xin the sleeve of his Hokage half-robe.
"A lot of people think I can be the Fourth Hokage. What about you?"
That straightforward, huh?
I was just saying that Sakumo Hatake lacks political savvy, and here he is, practically proving me wrong.
"Probably... there might be some difficulty."
"Why is that?"
"Because this half-robe came from the Daimyo's recommendation, not the Hokage's direct nomination. There's quite a difference between the Daimyo and the Hokage. Besides, Senior, you must have noticed that Orochimaru has certain ambitions regarding the Hokage position, which wasn't the case before."
"True..."