Kaito's pace was quick, and Naruto and Sakura had no choice but to jog along behind him.
Before long, the three of them arrived at the entrance of Konoha Hospital.
Kaito knew that Kakashi, due to using Kamui, was still lying in this very hospital.
Naruto asked curiously,
"Kaito-senpai, aren't you going to check out the Uchiha compound?"
Kaito shook his head and replied flatly,
"There's nothing worth seeing there. Kakashi is still in this hospital, isn't he? Better to check in on him first."
"Huh? Kaito-senpai, you even know that? Then… what's your relationship with Kakashi-sensei?"
"He used to serve under me."
With that said, Kaito headed inside the hospital. Naruto and Sakura exchanged a glance before following him in.
...
Inside the hospital ward,
Kakashi was completely absorbed in reading a little book when the door was suddenly pushed open. Startled, he quickly shoved the book under his blanket and turned his lone "dead-like eye" toward the door.
When he saw the face of the one who entered, Kakashi's eye went wide—almost as if he was about to pull down his mask and use his Sharingan as well.
A faint smile curved on Kaito's lips as he said,
"Kakashi, what's with that look? Don't recognize me?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Kakashi swallowed hard and slowly stammered,
"K–Kaito-san!"
"Not bad. So you haven't forgotten your captain after all!"
Kaito chuckled, shook his head, and sat down by Kakashi's bedside.
A moment later, Naruto and Sakura arrived at Kakashi's ward. They called out from the doorway, "Kakashi-sensei," but when they got no response, they stuck their heads in.
What they saw was Kaito sitting with arms folded at Kakashi's bedside, while Kakashi hung his head low, looking for all the world like a student being scolded.
Ignoring Naruto and Sakura at the door, Kaito fixed Kakashi with a stern gaze and reprimanded,
"Kakashi, what have you been doing all these years? You had no idea what Naruto's life was like before?"
Naruto hadn't expected that Kaito would be scolding Kakashi on his behalf. Warmth spread in his chest.
Kakashi, however, looked aggrieved. He said in a small voice,
"At the time, I didn't know Naruto's father was Minato-sensei. The Third Hokage sealed off the truth. I only began to suspect after I took over Team Seven..."
"Heh. The Third again, huh? No—Danzō, Koharu, and Homura share responsibility too."
At the sound of those names from Kaito's mouth, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Kakashi's forehead.
Kaito's eyes were chillingly cold as he went on,
"And then there's the extermination of the Uchiha clan. Don't think I can just pretend I don't know about that..."
The more Kakashi listened, the more fear twisted inside him. From Kaito's tone, it sounded like he'd come back to settle accounts with Konoha's leadership.
The Third might be dead already, but the others were all still alive and well!
Kakashi wanted to speak up and dissuade him, because he felt that if Kaito went after the higher-ups, it would be no different from courting death.
But before he could say anything, Asuma suddenly arrived with Team Ten—they'd come to visit Kakashi.
Asuma glanced at Naruto and Sakura leaning against the doorway and said,
"What are you two doing here? Huh? Isn't that Sasuke!? What's going on?"
Ino and the others were equally shocked when they saw Sasuke slung across Naruto's back. They looked to Naruto and Sakura, wanting answers.
Naruto paused, then said,
"Asuma-sensei, it's a long story. You'll understand once you go in..."
"Hm? Don't tell me this has to do with Kakashi?"
The moment Kakashi heard Asuma's voice at the door, his head throbbed with a headache. When Asuma entered, Kakashi frantically signaled with his eye for him to leave immediately.
Asuma, however, didn't get it—he thought Kakashi was just greeting him.
Well, really—who could make sense of Kakashi's single-eyed expressions?
Asuma then noticed Kaito sitting at Kakashi's bedside. He only caught Kaito's side profile, but it still felt strangely familiar.
Behind him, Ino's eyes lit up the instant she saw Kaito. She nudged Sakura with her elbow and whispered,
"Sakura, who's that handsome guy?"
"That's Kaito-senpai. He's from the Uchiha clan too!"
"What? There are other Uchiha survivors? No wonder—he definitely looks the part!"
Ino wanted to go up and strike up a conversation, but Sakura saw through her intention and quickly pulled her back.
Ino looked at her, puzzled, only for Sakura to lower her voice and warn,
"You'd better not get any ideas about Kaito-senpai. He's dangerous."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll see soon enough."
Asuma overheard Sakura's words. He froze for a second, then thought to himself,
"Uchiha Kaito? But wasn't he supposed to be dead?"
He hesitated, then looked at Kakashi. Kakashi immediately gave him a firm nod.
This time Asuma understood. He snapped his head toward Kaito, eyes wide as if he'd seen a ghost, and exclaimed,
"It really is Kaito-senpai?!"
Back when Kaito was in Konoha, he had disguised himself as a loyal Uchiha embodying the "Will of Fire." Even the Third Hokage admired many of his theories. Otherwise, the Third wouldn't have made Kaito an Anbu Captain.
The Third often mentioned Kaito in Asuma's presence too, so over time, Asuma had grown respectful toward him.
But one thing left Asuma helpless—Kurenai also deeply respected this Kaito-senpai. Only, her respect seemed to go a little beyond normal bounds.
He still remembered how devastated she'd been when word of Kaito's "death" reached Konoha. After that, Kurenai became withdrawn and silent, leaving him with no chance to pursue her.
Thinking of that, Asuma's expression toward Kaito grew increasingly complicated.
Kaito, of course, knew nothing of these thoughts. He rose from Kakashi's bedside, smiled at Asuma, and said,
"Asuma, long time no see. You're looking a bit older."
He didn't hold Asuma accountable for the deeds of the Third Hokage. Despite many fanfics portraying Asuma as some entitled brat, Kaito had known him as a child and knew he wasn't like that.
What's more, Asuma was a dedicated teacher to his students, one of the most generous of the jōnin instructors, and he treated Naruto decently too. Later on, he even taught Naruto about wind-nature chakra transformation.
So, aside from being the Third's son, Asuma was actually a pretty good man.
Asuma, on the other hand, felt a bit awkward at Kaito's words. He studied Kaito's face—so youthful it looked younger than his own students—and said helplessly,
"Uh... Kaito-senpai, is it possible that it's not me looking older, but you looking way too young?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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