Didn't even get to sit down and someone's already at the door…
Uchiha Sogetsu wore casual clothes and a towel over his head, steam still rising from his skin.
Clearly, he'd just finished a bath.
"Sogetsu-nii!!!"
Even without seeing, the racket outside told him who it was—Uchiha Obito.
"Not even a minute's peace," Sogetsu sighed, opened the door—and blinked.
Obito hadn't come alone. Two more stood with him.
He recognized one immediately: a handsome young man with tousled blond hair and a warm, gentle aura that drew people in. Konoha's rising star among the jonin, Jiraiya's disciple—the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Also known as the kindest of kind boys in all of anime—and the "fastest" legend in the shinobi world.
Sogetsu's gaze slid to the shy girl behind Minato.
Rin Nohara. Proof of the adage: "The dead first love is always the brightest." If you removed this one girl from Naruto, half the story would vanish.
Catching his look, Rin flushed. "H-hello. I'm Rin Nohara, one of Sensei's students."
"Long time no see, Sogetsu." Minato's smile was as open as ever, though an apologetic crease touched his eyes. "Sorry to drop in right after you got back from a mission."
"Not at all. Come in." Sogetsu returned the warmth and stepped aside.
"We're coming in~"
They changed shoes and sat politely in the living room.
Sogetsu served three cups of green tea, went to change, then sat opposite them, composed. "Minato, what can I do for you?"
"There is something… I'd like to ask." Minato's expression turned rueful; words caught in his throat more than once.
Reading the room—and flicking a glance at Obito and Rin—Sogetsu set his cup down. "Let me guess. Is this about the White Fang's son—the Hatake prodigy, Kakashi?"
"You're sharp as ever." Minato sighed. "We're hoping you can help him."
"Please, Sogetsu-nii!" Obito dropped into a full dogeza, forehead to tatami. "Kakashi's my best friend. I can't stand seeing him fall apart!"
"Sogetsu-senpai, please help Kakashi. He… he really has it rough," Rin added softly. "People won't stop talking about that incident. He's shut himself in and won't answer anyone. We're worried."
Just as Sogetsu opened his mouth, translucent text flashed before his eyes:
Side Quest: Shattered Belief
The conviction that once held firm has been broken. Lead the boy back to the path you deem right.
Reward: Fireseed
Path: Error — Rank VI "Fire Thief"
Form: Red glove
Ability: Greatly enhances the wearer's charisma; makes their words highly persuasive. Within 50 meters, can steal one target's extraordinary ability/jutsu. The better you know the target, the easier it is to take the ability you want; the less you know, the more random it becomes.
On success, the target loses that ability/jutsu for 12 hours; the Fireseed's bearer can wield it proficiently for about 10 minutes.
Side effect: While worn, there is a small chance to randomly lose one item on your person, and one of your own abilities will be unavailable for 12 hours (only one ability per interval).
"I know this is awkward," Minato said when Sogetsu hesitated, taking it for refusal to be entangled in the White Fang fallout. Then, as if steeling himself, "If you're willing to help, I can grant you one favor—within reason and not against principle."
A glint passed behind Sogetsu's lenses.
Interesting. His silence had been misread as reluctance to touch a sensitive case.
That worked in his favor.
"Mm. You put me in a tough spot, Minato." He pulled a face. "But since it's you, it's hard to refuse."
"For real?!" Obito's head snapped up, eyes blazing.
"I'll do it." Sogetsu smiled. "We're shinobi of the same village. Besides, White Fang-senpai treated me well. I can't just pretend I didn't see."
"Thank you, Sogetsu," Minato said, sincere.
"No need." Sogetsu waved it off. "But I did just get back. Let me rest today, and I'll go tomorrow. That all right?"
"Of course. No need to rush." Minato rose, ever courteous. "We'll get out of your hair."
"See you, Sogetsu-senpai!"
"Bye, Sogetsu-nii!"
He'd barely sat down again when a note from Tsunade arrived.
Simple message: meet at a certain tavern on a certain street. Important.
"Born busy, I guess."
He sighed, changed clothes again, and headed out.
The tavern was nearly empty in broad daylight. Only Tsunade sat in a corner, knocking back drink after drink.
"Lady Tsunade, you called?"
Sogetsu slid into the seat across from her and opened his spirit-sight.
A haze of gray sadness wrapped her soul; deep within, streaks of angry red and flecks of abyssal black—despair.
Bad mood. Must be about the Third. He snatched the sake bottle from her hand. "When you're like this, alcohol just knocks you out faster. I'd rather not watch you demolish another shop."
"Brat… why do people change?" Tsunade's eyes were unfocused, cheeks flushed like ripe apples, the aura of a mature woman heavy around her.
"Circumstances. Experience. Desire. Emotion." Sogetsu met her gaze, voice even. "Time changes many things. Very few can walk a perfectly straight line from beginning to end."
"I just can't understand… why it became like this." Tsunade laughed at herself, leaned back, threw an arm over her eyes. "Grandpa's original intent wasn't this. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Sensei… it feels like everything changed. I'm the only idiot who stayed where I started."
"Tell me, brat… am I wrong?"
Sogetsu shook his head. "Many things aren't about right or wrong. If you believe it's right, then keep going."
"Heh. That's exactly the sort of thing you'd say."
She wiped her eyes and, lips caught between her teeth, peered at him through a tipsy haze. "What about you? Will you change?"
Sogetsu was quiet a heartbeat. He pushed his black frames up his nose.
In the dim light of the izakaya, his thin lips curved the slightest bit; his eyes were tranquil and bottomless as a still pond.
"No. I won't, Lady Tsunade."
"I was, and I will be. I am who I am."
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