Konoha 48, October 20th
Fallen leaves, accompanied by the pitter-patter of rain, stuck to the ground.
Inside a hospital room filled with the smell of disinfectant, a dark eye silently gazed through the window at the muddy, withered yellow on the ground outside.
Hatake Kakashi.
He was dead.
Died on the night of the Nine-Tails attack.
A Tailed Beast Bomb struck the Konoha shelter.
The original owner of this body had tried to use an Earth Style: Mud Wall to block that Tailed Beast Bomb in order to protect the villagers.
Obviously.
He failed.
The future Sixth Hokage died prematurely.
The one standing here now was merely a drifter from an unknown place.
Is this world something like a parallel universe timeline...
A drifter...
No, Kakashi subconsciously reached out and gently touched the gauze over his left eye.
The Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan.
The most powerful Mangekyo Sharingan in the shinobi world.
It was pierced by a steel rebar from some wall.
The extent of the damage was irreparable, even with ninja medical technology.
"Kakashi-kun, you have a visitor."
The gentle voice of a nurse came from outside the slightly ajar door.
"Ah, please come in."
Kakashi's expression remained unchanged as he responded to the nurse.
But just as he finished speaking, a green whirlwind burst into the hospital room.
"Kakashi!"
Accompanied by a beast-like shout, before Kakashi could react, the person threw his arms around the white-haired boy's body, crying his eyes out.
[Might Guy's Emotional Fluctuation +1]
[Chakra +1%]
[Current Chakra 101%]
"Waaaah!"
"Kakashi, I'm so glad you're okay!"
Looking at the bowl-cut-haired boy hugging him, Kakashi's mouth twitched.
"Guy, I'm fine."
"If you don't let go, I probably won't be."
Faced with Might Guy's enthusiasm, a hint of helplessness showed in Kakashi's visible dark eye.
Perhaps he would have a bit of a headache in the future figuring out how to get along with this 'eternal rival'.
"Waaaah!"
"Kakashi, I'll wait for you to recover so we can have our one hundred and fifty-seventh duel!"
Hearing this, Might Guy immediately stopped crying and let go of Kakashi. He carefully patted Kakashi's shoulder as if he were a precious, fragile item, and after confirming his dear friend was fine, he started crying again.
Seeing this, Kakashi's eyes showed a hint of helplessness again.
"Guy, don't be like this."
"Kakashi, he..."
A clear voice came from behind Might Guy.
Besides Might Guy, Sarutobi Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi had also come together to visit their genius classmate.
After all, when the Tailed Beast Bomb struck, they were also in the shelter. If Kakashi hadn't desperately resisted and changed the bomb's trajectory, they would have also died that night.
It's just that...
Kurenai Yuhi's words trailed off halfway.
Her gentle, crimson eyes stared, slightly dazed, at the white-haired boy sitting on the bed.
[Kurenai Yuhi's Emotional Fluctuation +1]
[Chakra +1%]
[Current Chakra 102%]
"...Kurenai."
Seeing the dazed girl, Kakashi gently called out to her.
"!"
"..."
"Guy, don't be like that, what if you make Kakashi's injuries worse..."
She blinked, and as time passed, a faint blush quietly appeared on the girl's face.
The black-haired girl, shy and flustered, averted her gaze and began to scold the clueless Might Guy.
Her words went from flustered to exasperated, then grew quieter and quieter.
In the end, it was barely a whisper.
"That's not what I meant!"
The girl realized her gaffe and quickly waved her hands at Might Guy, saying:
"Kurenai was just worried about a comrade, she got a little anxious."
"Guy, don't take it to heart."
Facing Kurenai's embarrassment, Kakashi gave a kind look towards the completely oblivious Might Guy.
As for Kurenai's loss of composure, Kakashi understood.
After all, this face was truly...
Overly handsome.
For women, it was an existence that broke all the rules.
One could say he was in no way inferior to the future Uchiha Sasuke.
[Kurenai Yuhi's Emotional Fluctuation +1]
[Chakra +1%]
[Current Chakra 103%]
"Th-that, Kakashi."
"You should, you should take care of yourself."
"I have something to do, I'll come see you again in a couple of days..."
Kurenai Yuhi's face was slightly flushed. Ignoring the slightly strange expression on Sarutobi Asuma's face beside her, she left the room as if fleeing.
"Um, Kakashi."
"I'm leaving too. When you're discharged, I'll help you with your rehabilitation training."
The mature-looking, black-haired boy looked at the calm Kakashi sitting on the bed, a hint of sourness in his tone.
Originally, Asuma had many things he wanted to talk to Kakashi about, but Kurenai's reaction made him swallow all his words.
"Ah, right, Kakashi needs to rest now!"
"Kakashi!"
"I'll be waiting for our one hundred and fifty-seventh duel!"
Might Guy gave Kakashi a thumbs-up, flashing his signature bright white smile, which made Kakashi subconsciously adopt his dead-fish eyes expression.
Watching the once lively hospital room fall silent again, the white-haired boy frowned slightly.
Emotional... fluctuation?
Ever since Might Guy and the other two entered the room, three prompts had appeared in his mind.
Kakashi impassively suppressed the astonishment in his heart.
Only now did he begin to ponder it carefully.
But no matter how Kakashi tried to investigate, the prompts that had just appeared did not sound again.
Or rather, did he need to do something to others for the so-called prompts to appear again?
And a 1% increase in chakra?
Kakashi tried to sense his chakra.
But the increase was so small that it took Kakashi a long time to confirm that his chakra had indeed increased.
After all, there's almost no difference between one hundred grains of rice and one hundred and three.
Even with three extra grains, you couldn't feel full.
"Kakashi?"
"Have Asuma and the others left?"
Just then, a clear and beautiful voice sounded.
A beautiful, short-haired girl in a white coat walked in, holding what looked like a file.
"Is that... Shizune?"
Kakashi said, a bit uncertainly, based on the memories in his mind.
"Ah, Kakashi still remembers me."
"That really makes me happy."
Shizune came to Kakashi's side holding the file, speaking with a gentle smile.
Two years ago, after the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, took office, she left the village of Konoha with Lady Tsunade. Upon hearing that the Nine-Tails' seal was broken, Lady Tsunade had rushed back to Konoha with her.
"Kakashi, your Sharingan was lost in this chaos..."
Shizune hesitated for a moment, glanced at Kakashi, and handed him the file.
"If we don't give you a transplant, it will have a great impact on your daily life and your strength..."
"Of course, it definitely won't be as good as the Sharingan..."