Faced with Sakumo Hatake's sudden appearance and interruption, the three members of Minato's squad were momentarily stunned.
The gentle Rin Nohara looked timidly at Kakashi. "Kakashi-kun, this uncle is..."
Kakashi eyed Sakumo Hatake up and down with his usual dead-fish stare, confusion evident in his expression. "And you are... who, exactly?"
Upon realizing Kakashi didn't recognize the man before them, the usually quiet Obito Uchiha grew visibly annoyed. He stepped forward and said, "Hey, old man, who are you? Why are you looking for Kakashi?"
Obito's attitude was purely out of concern for Kakashi. The way the stranger spoke was rather impolite, and since he clearly wasn't Kakashi's father, who gave him the right to talk like that?
But to Sakumo Hatake, this attitude felt completely different. He suddenly had a mental image of a bratty blond yelling at him, "Old man, I'm taking the Ghost Fire out for a ride with the kid. Watch the car for me, or I'll break your legs."
His fists clenched.
Clenched hard!
He barely resisted the urge to punch someone. After all, there was no rush. If a beating was necessary, there would be time for that later.
So, the man simply said, "I was sent by Lord Kei, and your teacher, Minato-kun, informed me of your location."
Hearing this, the three were stunned again, expressions turning to surprise.
Sakumo didn't give them time to ask questions. He turned and said, "I'll be waiting for you at Training Ground No. 5. You have ten minutes. If you don't show up, you bear the consequences."
With that, he vanished like a ghost—clearly using the Body Flicker Technique.
The three looked at each other in confusion. Obito couldn't help asking, "Kakashi, that... uh, that senior, is what he said true? Was he really sent by Lord Kei? And he knows Teacher Minato too?"
He had originally wanted to call the man "that guy," but considering his possible connection to Lord Kei, he shifted to a more respectful tone.
Kakashi fell into thought. As a proper shinobi, it was natural to doubt such claims. One had to verify the truth first.
After all, it wasn't unusual in the shinobi world for someone to impersonate an agent of someone else for scams. In fact, if Sakumo hadn't been carrying Uchiha Kei's black card back in the arcade and claimed to be his shadow guard, it definitely would've triggered suspicion and an investigation.
For some reason, though, despite his confusion, Kakashi instinctively felt a sense of closeness and trust toward that mysterious uncle.
This feeling made him uneasy. As a shinobi, he believed such emotions were inappropriate.
Although the butterfly effect stirred by Uchiha Kei had softened Kakashi's mindset—he no longer viewed his comrades as mere tools but was slowly becoming the Kakashi of the future who valued comrades above all else—
Still, it had only been a few months. He wasn't yet the Kakashi most fans of the Hokage would remember.
So these emotional reactions disturbed him deeply. He couldn't suppress the surging feelings within, which only added to his inner conflict.
Nevertheless, Kakashi remained Kakashi. Young he might be, but he possessed a mature mind. He quickly calmed himself and said, "Rin, go confirm with Teacher Minato. Obito and I will go to Training Ground No. 5 to meet that man."
Neither of his teammates objected and nodded in agreement.
Confirming with Minato Namikaze was clearly the right move. Though splitting up posed risks, if they informed Minato, he could instantly teleport to them using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
If the man turned out to be an enemy, Minato would arrive in time. And if he was trustworthy, then no worries at all—Minato's markings on the three of them had never been removed. After Obito was kidnapped by Root, they even wanted more markings placed on them, just in case someone sealed them off and prevented Minato from arriving.
This kind of situation had already occurred once. Root had previously blocked Minato's marks.
In fact, less than three minutes after they split up, Rin Nohara had already returned home and reported everything to Minato Namikaze.
Upon hearing the news, both Minato and Kushina Uzumaki showed subtle expressions. Then Minato smiled. "Don't worry. That senior was indeed sent by Kei. I was the one who told him where you were."
Kushina added with a laugh, "That's right! He's a good man, that senior! You'll definitely be spending a lot of time with him in the future."
The meaning behind their words was clear. Given Sakumo Hatake's personality, he would definitely be training Kakashi in the future. And training all three members of Minato's team together would naturally become routine.
However, Rin didn't realize her teacher's wife's "devious intentions." She simply felt relieved, thanked them sincerely, and hurried off to find Kakashi and Obito.
After she left, Kushina closed the door and asked Minato, "So Kei succeeded? Senior Sakumo really left the Genjutsu world and returned to reality?"
Minato nodded with a soft smile. "Yes. I was just as shocked when I heard, but it's true."
Kushina grew more curious. "How did it happen? Why was Kei suddenly able to do something like that?"
Minato pondered briefly before saying, "It's still a secret for now. Kei didn't ask us to keep it secret, but we should anyway. Actually, Kei awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the ability that brought someone back from the Genjutsu world to reality is one of its powers."
Kushina's eyes widened. "Man-Mangekyō Sharingan? A-are you sure? That's way too fast!"
Astonishment. Wonder. Disbelief. All of it turned into sheer awe and admiration.
She was truly shocked.
It wasn't that she doubted Uchiha Kei's potential, but it was simply too fast.
Just six months ago, Kei only had a single tomoe in his Sharingan. But ever since developing the Genjutsu Game, his eyes evolved like a rocket, reaching Three-Tomoe in no time.
Of course, the Genjutsu Game had always been Uchiha-targeted. All Uchiha had been rapidly evolving under its effects. So Kei's evolution was widely accepted.
However, Mangekyō Sharingan was different. It wasn't something the Genjutsu Game could trigger. At least, no one had ever awakened Mangekyō Sharingan through the game.
The only two who had were the clan elder and the clan head, and their awakenings were due to long-term emotional accumulation. The Genjutsu Game merely helped push them over the edge.
Even then, they could barely use Mangekyō abilities due to the strain. The technique remained a last resort.
Obito Uchiha, though he had awakened his Mangekyō, was still too young and mentally closed off. He didn't even realize his eyes had evolved and couldn't use them, so he wasn't counted.
But Kei was different. He was young and seemingly unrestricted. The fact that he used the Mangekyō's power directly on Sakumo proved that.
That's why Kushina was so shocked.
Moreover, having studied Mangekyō Sharingan, she quickly showed concern. "If it's the Mangekyō, then he shouldn't overuse it. You should talk to him. He might go blind if he keeps relying on it."
Minato shook his head. "I actually mentioned that when I found out today through WeChat. But Kei told me his Mangekyō is different—it's more like Madara Uchiha's Eternal Mangekyō. So, there's no risk of blindness."
Kushina was dumbfounded. "Eternal Mangekyō? Wait, how? Did he take someone else's Mangekyō...?"
Minato smiled. "No, he didn't. That power is his alone. In other words, Kei has surpassed even Madara Uchiha. He is the first in history to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan entirely through his own power."
As he spoke, his voice was full of admiration and pride—genuine joy for the boundless talent of a dear friend.
Kushina didn't question it either. After witnessing so many miracles created by Uchiha Kei, and those created because of him, she too believed he was a once-in-a-lifetime genius, even in some ways surpassing the Senju brothers.
Of course, being the "Red-Hot-Blooded Habanero," she had something else on her mind.
"In my eyes, Minato, you're second to none. You're the best of them all!"
She took Minato's hand, eyes full of love.
His gentle smile in return radiated warmth. And so, began their shameless public display of affection and love-drenched time together.
Training Ground No. 5 was located to the north of the Hidden Leaf Village, a bit far from the village proper. Hidden deep in the forest, far from the new city district, it was considered ninja territory and not subject to civilian development for the time being.
In fact, the current Training Ground No. 5 was a newly rebuilt facility, constructed over the original one. For the Leaf Village, the cost was negligible, allowing the ground to span a size equivalent to five original training fields.
This location had been recommended by Uchiha Kei to Sakumo Hatake. Otherwise, the recently revived man might not have known where to go.
At this time, the field was empty. Sakumo stood alone in silence, patiently waiting, calculating the time.
Just as the ten-minute countdown was about to end, two boys arrived at the field in unison, landing stylishly.
Sweat clung to their faces, proof of their earnest effort to arrive on time.
In truth, this was intentional on Sakumo's part. With his vast experience, he had evaluated the trio's strength at first sight, and ten minutes was the timeframe he judged appropriate based on that.
Seeing only Kakashi and Obito, and sensing that Rin wasn't with them, Sakumo quickly deduced the situation. The corners of his lips curved slightly as he nodded to himself in approval of their decision to split up.
At the very least, they had made the right call in a critical moment.
Sakumo then spoke. "You're here. A little faster than expected. Not bad. In terms of Taijutsu, you're qualified."
Hearing this, Kakashi and Obito realized they were being tested. They became more respectful. Obito even scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh... Sorry, senior, I spoke rudely earlier. I hope you won't hold it against me..."
Sakumo merely replied with a noncommittal grunt, neither accepting nor rejecting the apology. Obito broke into a nervous sweat, feeling pressured.
Seeing this, Kakashi stepped forward. "Senior, how should we address you?"
He didn't ask for a name, likely considering that the man might be hiding his identity and couldn't reveal his real name.
Sakumo glanced deeply at his beloved son, paused, and then said, "Call me Lone Wolf. That'll do."
Clearly, "Wolf" was Sakumo's identity and name in the game world. The moniker "Lone Wolf" had been Uchiha Kei's idea.
After all, there was already an ANBU operative code-named "Wolf." Such code names were too common in the shinobi world and easily confused, so the title needed some embellishment.
Hence the name "Lone Wolf" emerged. Its full version was "Ashina's Lone Wolf," taken from the pronunciation of "Ashina no Ōkami" in .
Though Sakumo didn't understand the meaning of the pronunciation, he accepted the title with complex feelings. It was as if it carried the weight of his lost youth and past.
From now on, in his "human form," Sakumo Hatake would be known as the Lone Wolf.
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