Kakashi froze for a moment, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Sasuke shifted his gaze from the Hokage Rock to the unconscious Naruto. "Using such a foolish and noisy method, desperately trying to prove his own existence to everyone, craving even the slightest bit of attention and acknowledgement...
"That's all there is to it."
Kakashi was stunned.
It wasn't because Sasuke's insight was so astonishing, but because as he heard Sasuke's words, he realized that he, Minato-sensei's own student, had never once seriously considered it.
All these years, he had been immersed in his own pain and darkness, numbing himself with missions in the Anbu.
He knew of Naruto's existence, occasionally glancing at him from a distance, but what did he see?
A troublemaker, a dead-last who jumped around, a relic that reminded him of the past.
He had never truly cared about why this child had become this way.
A powerful wave of shame and self-reproach instantly flooded over Kakashi.
What on earth have I been doing?
Kakashi's expression turned grim. After a moment of silence, he spoke again, "...You seem to understand him well."
"I don't," Sasuke's reply was blunt. "I've just seen too many eyes like his."
In the Soul Society, in the Rukongai, the souls who fought desperately to climb higher, to be remembered, to prove their own worth—their eyes were exactly the same as this blond kid's.
The only difference was that their method was slaughter, while this kid's method was mischief.
Essentially, there was no difference.
Sasuke withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at Kakashi or Naruto.
"Although I don't know why, the people in the village seem to hate him," he said with a hint of faint mockery, though it was unclear if it was aimed at the villagers or the village itself.
"But to still be able to laugh like an idiot in this kind of environment, without being tainted black... he's a rather remarkable guy."
With that, he lingered no longer and turned to leave.
Kakashi watched Sasuke's solitary and proud back, his eyes glinting as he pondered something.
"Wait, Sasuke," Kakashi's voice suddenly came from behind.
Sasuke's steps halted, but he did not turn around.
"This whole revenge thing... it's best to let it go."
Kakashi said slowly, "At the end of that road, there will be nothing left."
The air seemed to freeze in that instant.
Sasuke whipped around, his anger flaring like a wild beast whose reverse scale had been touched.
This was the first time since returning to this world that he had shown his emotions so intensely.
"What do you know?"
Sasuke suppressed his hatred, speaking each word with deliberation. "To have the people you cherish most, killed one by one, right in front of you..."
"How would you feel?"
Faced with Sasuke's gaze that could almost devour a person, Kakashi did not argue.
He just stood there quietly, his one exposed eye slowly curving into a crescent moon.
It was a smile that seemed gentle, yet carried countless sorrows.
"Hmm... I suppose that's one way to put it," Kakashi sighed softly.
"But, unfortunately..."
Kakashi raised a hand and scratched his signature silver hair, speaking in a deliberately casual tone:
"The people I cherished most are already gone. They were all killed a long time ago."
!!!
Sasuke was completely stunned.
He had anticipated countless possible replies—lectures or admonitions—but he had never expected to receive an answer so calm it was chilling.
The sorrow flowing in the other man's eyes was real. That hollowness of having lost everything was something Sasuke knew all too well.
Kakashi saw Sasuke frozen in place and knew his words had had an effect.
He slowly stood up, easily hoisting the unconscious Naruto onto his shoulder.
"Your brother, Uchiha Itachi, I know him."
Kakashi's tone returned to its usual laziness. "Graduated from the Ninja Academy at seven, awakened his Sharingan at eight, promoted to Chunin at ten, and became an Anbu captain at thirteen. A true genius."
He looked at Sasuke, his gaze turning serious again.
"And you? You don't even know a single decent ninjutsu. With what will you get your revenge?"
"Just that abnormally fast movement of yours and the sword in your hand? In front of a true genius, that's far from enough."
"If you truly want to kill him, and not just throw your life away..." Kakashi turned, also preparing to leave.
"Then stay here for now, and get stronger."
However, he had only taken two steps before Sasuke's cold voice came from behind.
"Stop."
Kakashi stopped and turned to see Sasuke staring at him.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Kakashi asked with a smile.
Sasuke didn't answer. His hand slowly came to rest on the hilt of his sword at his waist, a standard quick-draw stance.
"Let me see it... your... caliber."
"Caliber?" Kakashi's expression instantly became serious.
Sasuke's thoughts drifted back a long time ago.
He still remembered that when his father, Uchiha Fugaku, mentioned the geniuses in the village, he would always bring up two names.
One was his own brother, Uchiha Itachi.
And the other was the man before him, Hatake Kakashi.
"Kakashi is also a remarkable genius, becoming a Jonin at twelve, but compared to Itachi, he's still far behind."
His father's words back then were filled with pride for Itachi.
But Sasuke remembered: Hatake Kakashi was an existence who could be compared to Itachi.
If he couldn't even defeat this man, then what right did he have to talk about taking revenge on that man?
Kakashi looked at Sasuke's determined eyes and instantly understood his thoughts.
He sighed helplessly. As expected, this kid was even more troublesome than he had imagined.
He carefully placed Naruto, who was on his shoulder, against a nearby wall, ensuring he wouldn't be caught in the coming fight.
Then, he slowly straightened up, facing Sasuke, his eyes growing serious.
"Geez, are all kids these days so full of energy?"
"Besides, is 'caliber' really something you need to talk about?"
Sasuke didn't reply.
Spiritual Pressure gathered at his feet. The moment Kakashi's voice fell, his figure vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Kakashi.
Kakashi's pupils widened.
So fast!
He quickly raised his hand, blocking behind him with a kunai.
Clang—!
The sword and kunai clashed, sending out a dazzling shower of sparks.
Kakashi used the force of the block to backflip, creating several meters of distance.
But inside, a storm of shock raged within him.
"Not a bad reaction," Sasuke commented flatly, but his assault didn't stop in the slightest.
He pushed off his feet again, his figure like a phantom, the gleam of his blade weaving a net of silver light that enveloped Kakashi.
Kakashi's expression was grave, all traces of condescension gone.
With a poof, white smoke billowed.
When he swung his blade again, the figure in the smoke had vanished; he had only struck a log.
Substitution Jutsu?
Where did he go?
The chakra signature had moved to a tree.
Sasuke looked up.
Kakashi stood on a branch, leaning against the trunk, his expression somewhat resigned. "That really is some incredible speed."
"I didn't want to use this on a child," he said as he slowly raised his left hand, grasping the Konoha headband that slanted over his left eye.
"But, since you're so eager to see my 'caliber'..."
He pushed the headband up with his fingers.
"It would be rude not to show you some of my real skills, wouldn't it?"