The rain was still falling.
Pitter-patter.
Kakashi didn't linger and returned to the Hatake household.
Empty and desolate.
The sizable residence was filled with an air of loneliness and coldness.
At the same time, there was a faint smell of dust indoors.
This indicated that the house had been uninhabited for a long time.
Putting down his luggage, Kakashi went back to his room.
Without hesitation, he opened the bottom drawer of his desk.
"As I thought, it's still here."
Looking at the object in the drawer, Kakashi spoke softly.
Inside was a broken sword.
The shattered blade was casually placed in the drawer as if it were trash.
In the dim light, the fractured blade emitted a silent gleam.
Who would have thought that this was the sword of the once-famous Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang, who had suppressed the entire shinobi world with just this single short sword, leaving it gasping for breath.
After his death, not only did his own son break it while playing with it, but he didn't even have the thought to reforge or repair it, simply discarding it in this forgotten corner.
He carefully collected the broken pieces of the sword one by one and placed them on the desk.
He wiped the dust off them.
The dimness faded, and the bright, snow-like blade reappeared once more.
Looking at this familiar glint, Kakashi couldn't help but gently stroke the fractured blade.
Now that he had lost the Sharingan, he had to quickly pick up the swordsmanship he had abandoned for two years.
Kakashi couldn't understand why his original self had abandoned his father's sword in favor of a Sharingan that wasn't his own.
The two weren't mutually exclusive.
However, he was here now.
This sword would once again shine with the light of Konoha's White Fang.
However, the sword was already broken and needed to be reforged.
Moreover, Kakashi felt the sword was a bit too short; it was more appropriate to describe it as a dagger rather than a sword.
After carefully packing the broken sword, Kakashi planned to visit the Uchiha clan to seek the help of the Ninja Cat clan after paying respects to Minato Namikaze.
The Ninja Cat clan, renowned blacksmiths in the shinobi world.
Their ninja tools were of extremely high quality.
And the Ninja Cat clan were the exclusive summoning animals of the Uchiha clan; outsiders rarely managed to obtain their ninja tools.
Thinking of the Uchiha clan, Kakashi's expression became a bit subtle.
During the previous night of the Nine-Tails attack, the beast's house-sized eyes had clearly shown the pattern of a three-tomoe Sharingan.
And on that night, not a single member of the Uchiha clan had come to help seal the Nine-Tails.
Never mind the villagers, even many of the Konoha ninja likely held suspicions towards the Uchiha clan.
If Kakashi wanted to go to the Uchiha clan to find the Ninja Cats to reforge the White Fang, it would be best to do it as soon as possible.
Otherwise, the mastermind who prevented the Uchiha clan from reaching the battlefield would begin to make their move.
Contacting the Uchiha clan then would inevitably lead to some rumors and gossip.
But even so, Kakashi wasn't particularly concerned.
Rumors and gossip.
Never mind Kakashi's original self, hadn't he seen enough of it in his past life during the era of information bombardment?
He'd heard it all before.
With this in mind, Kakashi packed away the broken pieces of the White Fang, then took some money and went out.
After buying some fruit from a street-side shop, Kakashi entered a nearby flower shop.
However, Kakashi, who had originally intended to buy only two bouquets of white chrysanthemums, paused for a moment before buying one more.
The cemetery was located in a corner of Konoha. Although somewhat remote, it had a quiet and serene feel.
There weren't many people on the road.
Even though the village had just suffered heavy casualties, nearly half a month had passed.
The living are destined to look forward.
To dwell excessively in the grief of the deceased is often to teeter on the edge of self-destruction.
Many new tombstones had been added to the cemetery, each with white chrysanthemums placed before it.
Kakashi glanced at the new tombstones, then walked towards the Memorial Stone at the very front.
Minato Namikaze's grave was easy to find. As the Fourth Hokage, his grave was right next to those of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
It was a joint grave, for both Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
Placing the two bouquets of white chrysanthemums and the fruit he had bought in front of the grave, Kakashi squatted down and looked at the photo on the tombstone.
In his memory, this blond, blue-eyed man always seemed to wear a gentle smile.
But on the tombstone, his face was calm, an expression Kakashi had rarely seen.
"You didn't have to die..."
Towards Minato Namikaze, Kakashi felt respect but not understanding.
The Eight Trigrams Seal and the Four Symbols Seal would have been enough to reseal the Nine-Tails, so why did you have to follow your wife in death?
Leaving behind these words, Kakashi turned and left without hesitation, heading to a corner based on his memory.
But as he looked at the fresh white chrysanthemums, still wet with dew, in front of the tombstone, Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Rin was an orphan. After her death, few people besides Kakashi would come to see her.
His eyes scanned the surroundings. There was no one else besides the neatly arranged tombstones.
But the white chrysanthemums in front of the grave proved that someone had been here.
Kakashi impassively squatted down, looking at the gentle and lovely girl on the tombstone.
This was a girl who would rather die than let her comrades get hurt.
To have such a fanatical and crazed...
Worshipper.
For her, it must have been an extremely painful thing.
Kakashi had already guessed who had come.
Uchiha Obito.
The instigator of the Nine-Tails attack.
"I'll come see you again next time..."
He patted the tombstone, then put his hands in his pockets and left the cemetery.
But as he was leaving, his gaze subconsciously fell on a nearby tombstone.
"Well, I forgot about you today."
"I'll bring you a flower next time."
"Dad."
After a brief glance at Hatake Sakumo's tombstone, Kakashi left.
The cemetery seemed to return to its peaceful state once more.
Not long after Kakashi left, a dark figure emerged from the small woods next to the cemetery.
The person was dressed in black, wearing a single-eyed mask with tiger-like stripes.
Beneath the mask, a single crimson eye stared at Kakashi's departing figure.
He silently walked to Nohara Rin's tombstone. Looking at the white chrysanthemums Kakashi had placed there, his chest heaved under his black clothes, as if he were suppressing some kind of anger and pain.
He picked up the bouquet of white chrysanthemums and threw it aside violently, as if venting.
...
[Uchiha Obito's Emotional Fluctuation +1]
[Chakra +1%]
"Who are you?"
An abrupt voice broke the silence of the cemetery.
The previously departed Kakashi now appeared at the cemetery entrance, his pair of dark eyes looking at the man with a hint of coldness.
"I see. So you detected my presence?"
He silently and slowly turned to face the white-haired boy who had returned, and a hoarse, deep voice came from Uchiha Obito's mouth.
"As expected of the famous Sharin..."
"Where is your Sharingan?"