The rain continued to fall in a soft, steady patter.
Kakashi didn't linger and headed back to the Hatake residence.
It was empty.
The spacious home was steeped in an aura of loneliness and desolation.
A faint scent of dust lingered in the air as well.
This suggested that the house had stood uninhabited for quite some time.
After setting down his luggage, Kakashi returned to his room.
Without hesitation, he pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk.
"Just as I expected—it's still here."
Gazing at the object inside the drawer, Kakashi murmured softly.
It was a broken sword.
The shattered blade lay haphazardly in the drawer, as if it were mere trash.
In the dim light, the fractured edge gleamed with a quiet intensity.
Who could have imagined that this was the blade once wielded by Konoha's legendary White Fang, Sakumo Hatake—the man who, with a single short sword, had brought the entire ninja world to its knees?
After his death, his son had not only broken it during some careless play but had shown no interest in reforging or repairing it, simply tossing it into this forgotten corner.
Carefully, Kakashi gathered the broken fragments one by one and laid them out on the desk.
He wiped away the dust that clung to them.
The dullness faded, and the blade's shine returned once more.
Staring at that familiar gleam, Kakashi couldn't resist gently running his fingers along the jagged edge.
Now that he'd lost his Sharingan, he needed to swiftly reclaim the sword techniques he'd set aside for the past two years.
Kakashi couldn't fathom why his former self had abandoned his father's sword in favor of the Sharingan, which had never truly belonged to him.
After all, the two weren't mutually exclusive.
But now, he was here.
This sword would once again shine with the brilliance of Konoha's White Fang.
That said, the blade was already broken and would need to be reforged.
Moreover, Kakashi felt it was a bit too short—it might be more accurate to call it a dagger than a sword.
He carefully packed away the broken sword, planning to seek out the ninja cats of the Uchiha Clan for help after paying his respects to Minato Namikaze.
The ninja cats were renowned master smiths in the ninja world.
The ninja tools they forged were of exceptional quality.
And since the ninja cats were the Uchiha Clan's exclusive summoning beasts, outsiders rarely had the chance to acquire their craftsmanship.
At the thought of the Uchiha Clan, Kakashi's expression grew subtly complicated.
During the Nine-Tails' attack, the massive beast's enormous eyes—each the size of a house—had clearly displayed the three-tomoe Sharingan.
And that night, not a single Uchiha had shown up to assist with sealing the Nine-Tails.
It wasn't just the villagers; even many of Konoha's shinobi likely harbored suspicions toward the Uchiha Clan.
If Kakashi wanted to approach the Uchiha to have the ninja cats reforge the White Fang, he'd better do it soon.
Otherwise, the one who had orchestrated keeping the Uchiha away from the battlefield would begin making their moves.
At that point, any association with the Uchiha would inevitably spark rumors.
Even so, Kakashi wasn't particularly concerned.
Rumors?
The original Kakashi had dealt with plenty, and in the information-saturated era of his previous life, they were even more rampant.
Even fresh young leaves could be steeped until they turned old and withered.
With that in mind, Kakashi stowed the broken White Fang sword, grabbed some money, and headed out.
After buying some fruit from a street vendor, he stepped into a nearby flower shop.
But Kakashi, who had initially planned to buy just two bouquets of white chrysanthemums, hesitated for a moment and ended up purchasing a third.
The cemetery was tucked away in a corner of Konoha; though somewhat remote, it possessed a certain serene tranquility.
Few people were on the paths.
Even though the village had suffered heavy losses recently, nearly half a month had already passed.
The living had to keep moving forward.
Dwelling too deeply in grief for the dead often led to one's own downfall.
Many new gravestones had been added to the cemetery, each adorned with white chrysanthemums placed before it.
Kakashi glanced at the fresh headstones, then made his way toward the Memorial Stone at the forefront.
Minato Namikaze's grave was easy to spot; as the Fourth Hokage, it stood right beside those of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
It was a shared grave for Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
Kakashi placed the two bouquets of white chrysanthemums and the fruit he'd bought in front of the grave, then squatted down to gaze at the photo on the headstone.
In his memories, this blond, blue-eyed man always wore a gentle smile.
But in the gravestone photo, his expression was calm—one Kakashi had seldom seen.
"You didn't have to die..."
Kakashi felt respect for Minato Namikaze, but not understanding.
Why chase after his wife when the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and Four Symbols Seal could have dealt with the Nine-Tails and resealed it?
With those words left hanging, Kakashi turned and walked away without looking back, heading to a corner of the cemetery based on his recollection.
But upon seeing the fresh white chrysanthemums still dotted with dew in front of the gravestone, Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Rin was an orphan; after her death, few people besides Kakashi ever came to visit.
His gaze swept the surroundings—nothing but rows of neatly arranged gravestones.
Yet the white chrysanthemums before the headstone proved someone had been here.
Kakashi squatted down, his expression unchanging, and looked at the gentle, lovely girl in the photo on the gravestone.
This was a girl who'd chosen to die rather than let harm come to her comrades.
For her, having such a fervent, obsessive... "simp" must have been an excruciating burden.
Kakashi had already figured out who the visitor was.
Obito Uchiha.
The one behind the Nine-Tails' attack.
"Next time, I'll come see you again..."
He patted the gravestone, then stuffed his hands into his pockets and left the cemetery.
As he walked away, his eyes subconsciously drifted to a nearby headstone.
"Well, I forgot about you today."
"Next time, I'll bring some flowers."
"Dad."
Kakashi gave Sakumo Hatake's gravestone a brief glance, then departed.
The cemetery seemed to settle back into its quiet stillness.
Not long after Kakashi left, a dark figure emerged from the small grove beside the cemetery.
The person was clad in black, wearing a one-eyed mask striped like a tiger's.
A single crimson eye beneath the mask followed Kakashi's retreating figure.
He walked silently to Rin Nohara's gravestone, staring at the bouquet of white chrysanthemums Kakashi had left. Beneath his black clothing, his chest rose and fell unevenly, as if he were holding back a surge of anger and pain.
He snatched up the bouquet and hurled it aside in a fit of release... [Uchiha Obito's emotions fluctuate +1] [Chakra +1%]
"Who are you?"
The sudden voice shattered the cemetery's silence.
Kakashi, who should have been long gone, now stood at the cemetery gate, his dark eyes fixed on the figure with a touch of coldness.
"So, you noticed me?"
He turned slowly and silently to face the white-haired young man who'd returned, and at the same time, a hoarse, low voice emerged from Obito Uchiha's mouth.
"As expected from the famous Sharingan Kakashi..."
"Where's your Sharingan?"