Kawaki returned home. He didn't see Sakumo in the martial arts training hall. This workaholic brother was always either on a mission or practicing. His social circle was so small.
No wonder he committed suicide later. However, with Kawaki's intentional guidance, things were much better than in the original story. At least he had someone to share his joys and sorrows with and wouldn't get stuck in his own thoughts.
When he reached the living room, his sister - in - law, Natsuki Inuzuka, was feeding her beloved Ninken.
Natsuki Inuzuka had long brown hair that fell over her shoulders. Two red markings on her face didn't make her look strange but added a touch of exotic charm.
The Ninja Hound was a large black dog almost as tall as a person. The fluffy hair from its neck to its head covered its ears, and it clearly didn't seem fun to pet.
There was no doubt that Natsuki Inuzuka was from the Inuzuka clan. Her original name was Natsuki Inuzuka, a very nice name.
She was also very beautiful. As Kawaki often said, his sister - in - law was blind to fall for such a quiet guy.
At this time, Sakumo would give his younger brother a glare and then look at his wife with a doting smile.
"Kawaki, you're back. Your brother has been roaring in the martial arts training hall for a long time," said Natsuki Inuzuka without even looking up. She knew it was her brother - in - law, Kawaki, just by his smell.
"Haha, it's high time to ditch that crappy sword," Kawaki replied.
" 'Out with the old, in with the new' ".
Kawaki walked up to the Ghost Mastiff with a big smile, squatted down, and started to stroke its thick fur to his heart's content.
Who could understand the feeling of stroking such a large Ninja Hound? It was simply wonderful.
Looking at what Kakashi had, was that even a real Ninja Hound? It was more like a pet.
It was really embarrassing for his sister - in - law. Apart from having a good sense of smell, Kakashi didn't inherit any good traits.
Kawaki made up his mind to get Kakashi a fierce dog. Otherwise, how could he match the status of the young clan leader of the Hatake family?
The Ghost Mastiff let out a soft growl of dissatisfaction. If it weren't for this guy being the master's brother - in - law, it would have bitten him to death.
"What are you growling about? I'm just stroking you. So stingy," Kawaki said. He clearly felt the Ghost Mastiff's dissatisfaction. He patted its head and then reluctantly withdrew his hand.
If he kept stroking the same spot, the fur would be thinning, which would ruin its appearance.
"Don't pat the Ghost Mastiff's head. You're going to make it stupid," said his sister - in - law, rolling her eyes at her brother - in - law. She didn't understand why her brother - in - law liked to stroke the Ghost Mastiff even though it looked so fierce.
The first time he saw it, he pinned the Ghost Mastiff down and gave it a good stroking, which made her heart ache.
The Ghost Mastiff nodded in agreement, as if saying, "If you keep doing that, I won't be nice to you."
"Brother isn't at home?" Kawaki casually asked about his brother. He wanted to gather some information and was ready to leave at any moment if the situation was not right.
"He went to the weapon workshop and then went to the ancestral shrine (where the Hatake family pays respects to ancestors) to atone for his sins."
"You should go and persuade him too."
Natsuki Inuzuka was also helpless. Although her brother - in - law and her husband were brothers, their personalities were completely different.
She wondered which girl could ever tame a man like her brother - in - law.
"Phew, that's a load off my mind," Kawaki said.
"He probably won't come out until dinner time."
Kawaki stood up happily and planned to go back to his room for a nap.
"..."
After finishing feeding the Ghost Mastiff, Natsuki Inuzuka was speechless. Kawaki had broken the White Fang. Yet now he was gloating.
"Sister-in-law, wake me up when dinner's ready."
Kawaki Hatake stretched himself and headed to his room.
"Got it."
Natsuki covered her face and replied. Well, let the two brothers sort out their own issues.
After a comfortable afternoon nap, it was the Ghost Mastiff that woke Kawaki Hatake up.
It paced back and forth at the door for a long time before finally mustering the courage to enter Kawaki Hatake's room, which had become a nightmare in its dog - life.
It pushed the door open, barked furiously at Kawaki Hatake, and then bolted without looking back.
"All I did was take you to eat some dog meat. Why are you being so fussy?"
"What an ungrateful mutt."
Kawaki Hatake yawned, twisted his neck, and got up to have dinner.
When Kawaki Hatake reached the dining room, he saw that the servants had already laid out the meals on the table.
Sakumo Hatake was sitting at the head of the table looking extremely annoyed.
His wife was sitting on his right, and the empty seat on his left was, of course, for Kawaki Hatake.
The Hatake clan was really small. Kakashi wasn't even around yet, so the meal was rather quiet.
Ignoring Sakumo's sour face, Kawaki Hatake sat down in his seat.
"Let's eat, let's eat."
Without waiting for Aniki to start, Kawaki Hatake dug in. There were only three of them anyway, so he didn't bother with the formalities.
He grabbed a sushi and stuffed it into his mouth in one bite. Kawaki Hatake always thought it was just like seaweed - wrapped rice.
Natsuki watched as her husband's face turned as dark as a pot. She sighed and started eating with Kawaki Hatake.
Sakumo couldn't hold it in anymore. Seeing Kawaki Hatake gobbling up his food, he got angry.
"I'm at an age where I need to grow."
Kawaki Hatake wolfed down a roasted suckling pig in three mouthfuls and only managed to reply to Aniki in the meantime.
"Do you know..."
"Yes, it's the ancestral sword."
Kawaki Hatake interrupted Aniki. This old mule just keeps repeating the same two lines. His 'attack power' is so low.
"Do you know why even the ancestral sword can break?"
Kawaki Hatake countered Sakumo with a question that left him speechless, not knowing how to respond.
He couldn't very well say that the ancestral sword was of poor quality.
Kawaki Hatake swallowed all the pig in his mouth and washed it down with a glass of wine.
Kawaki Hatake then put on an air of self - assurance.
"Because the Hatake clan didn't have me back then."
"From today on."
"The sword I, Kawaki Hatake, use will be passed down as the ancestral weapon."
Such shameless words really shocked Aniki and sister - in - law. They never thought Kawaki Hatake had such crazy ambitions.
"I'm very pleased."
"To our parents in the afterlife."
Sakumo was so excited that he raised his glass and clinked it with Kawaki Hatake's empty one, then downed it in one gulp.
Natsuki also accompanied them with a toast.
This left Kawaki Hatake utterly confused.
Hey, I was just showing off. There's really no need to take it this seriously.
It's so hard for me to back down now.
Sakumo's emotions had finally settled down, and he stopped dwelling on the breaking of the White Fang blade.
The dinner was quite enjoyable.
Kawaki Hatake couldn't resist Aniki's enthusiasm and drank his fill of the wine he hadn't finished at noon.
During the meal, Sakumo said many things that Kawaki Hatake never expected. In Aniki's eyes, Kawaki Hatake seemed to have become a more well - rounded person.
"You little brat, you're quite good at making money."
"You little brat, damn it, I can't beat you anymore."
You little rascal, always knowing how to get on my nerves.
...
In the end, Sakumo, who was already eight - tenths drunk, with the support of his wife, said he wanted to go and offer a stick of incense to the ancestors. He said that an outstanding person was going to come out of the Hatake family.
As the one who started it all, Kawaki could only watch silently. Aniki really took his words to heart. What a pain!
Revitalizing the family and becoming a powerful ninja was really not his dream.
He just wanted to chat up the prettiest girls, drink the strongest liquor, and ride the wildest horses.
Why did he suddenly feel like the burden on his shoulders had become heavier? He shook his dizzy head.
With a flash, he grabbed the Ghost Mastiff that hadn't left yet. He'd found the coolie to carry him back to his room.
The Ghost Mastiff probably wasn't very bright. Not leaving right away showed it didn't have a clear understanding of Kawaki.
Now it had to carry this man weighing over a hundred and dozens of pounds back to his hell - like room. What a rough life for this dog!
Living under someone else's roof, this poor dog has it rough!