Chapter 53: The Ninja Sword, Hazan
After a long wait, the Ninja World War finally came to an end.
On the day the announcement was made, Yuu, Kurenai, and the others gathered together to celebrate.
"Ah, we'll be able to return to the village soon." Kurenai smiled as she looked at Yuu. "Yuu, what are you planning to do once we get back?"
"Plans…?" Yuu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not sure yet."
"I'll probably go back to work at the hospital."
Unlike Kurenai and the others, his current post was at Konoha Hospital. He did not usually go out on missions, but he still had to stay there and do his shifts.
In a sense, he was a corporate slave.
"But Minato sensei has been giving me a lot of tasks lately," Yuu continued, "so I've also been thinking about whether I should pause hospital work for a while and finish those training tasks first."
Training the Flying Thunder God was a long process.
To make sure Yuu mastered it as perfectly as possible, Minato had prepared a large number of targeted assignments for him, each one more specific than the last.
Yuu was already planning to shift his focus toward training.
In the beginning, he had gone to Konoha Hospital mainly to avoid the dangers of the war.
Now that the war was over, and there was nothing left for him to learn there, it felt like time to leave.
There was no point in staying any longer.
Besides, Minato might need him soon.
After all, the Hokage election was coming.
"After working so hard for so long, taking some time to focus on training is a good choice," Kurenai said with a smile. "If you have nowhere to go, Yuu, you can come over to my house."
"My house is pretty big."
Yuu's mouth twitched. He could not help fixing his gaze on her.
Under his stare, Kurenai's expression stayed perfectly normal, as if she had no ulterior motive at all.
"That's a good suggestion," Yuu said at last, nodding. "If I have the chance, I'll visit."
Only then did a smile fully bloom on Kurenai's face.
"What about you, Kakashi?" Yuu turned to the boy beside him.
After spending more than half a year together, with Yuu around, Kakashi's condition seemed to have improved a little.
Compared to before, he was still quiet, but at least he did not feel as lifeless as he once had.
"Me…" Kakashi looked up at Yuu, thought for a moment, then spoke. "I'll probably go into ANBU."
"ANBU?" Surprise flashed across both Yuu and Kurenai's faces.
"Yeah." Kakashi nodded. "It's Hokage sama's order."
"Sensei suggested I accept it too."
The Third Hokage's decision was likely an act of kindness.
Because Kakashi's situation was… complicated.
To outsiders, Obito was dead.
But the Sharingan Obito had given Kakashi before dying had brought trouble that would not go away.
The Sharingan was a kekkei genkai unique to the Uchiha clan. What it meant to the clan did not need to be explained.
And for any bloodline family, the loss of a bloodline ability was intolerable.
No matter the reason, the Uchiha would pressure Kakashi to hand over that Sharingan.
That was the core of the problem.
As a gift from a dying friend, it was impossible for Kakashi to give it up.
The situation had reached a stalemate.
To deal with the pressure the Uchiha were about to apply, Hiruzen chose to transfer Kakashi into ANBU.
As a unit directly under the Hokage, ANBU was cut off from the outside world. Even the Uchiha could not easily interfere with it.
As long as Kakashi entered ANBU, the outside pressure would be far smaller.
Minato understood that too, which was why he advised Kakashi to accept and join.
"That's a shame, then," Yuu said. "Once you're in ANBU, we won't be able to spend nearly as much time together."
"It's fine," Kakashi replied. "When I'm on leave, I'll come find you."
"I just hope you won't find me annoying then."
Kurenai looked at Kakashi without speaking. She simply offered her blessing in her own way.
Over the past half year, the three of them had grown close. Even Kurenai and Kakashi could be considered friends now.
If nothing unexpected happened, this would probably be their last gathering of the year.
They did not know when the next one would be.
"By the way," Kakashi suddenly said, looking at Yuu, "it's almost your tenth birthday, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to make it."
"This is the gift I prepared for you."
He handed Yuu a wooden box.
Yuu took it, opened the lid, and froze.
Inside was a short sword.
The blade looked razor sharp. The entire weapon was a brilliant gold, beautiful in a way that stood out even at a glance.
It gave off a distinctly different presence.
"This is the ninja sword Hazan," Kakashi said. "It was left behind by my ancestors. I'm giving it to you."
The Hatake clan were swordsmen. For generations, their ancestors had been skilled in kenjutsu, and they had collected many ninja swords.
This one, Hazan, was something Kakashi had found in the clan's storage. It could be considered a valuable blade.
"This is truly precious." Yuu stared at the sword for a moment, then smiled. "Hazan… it's a good name."
"I'll treasure it."
Even without a detailed explanation, Yuu understood the value.
The entire sword was forged from chakra metal, which had excellent chakra conductivity.
If it were put on the market, a ninja sword like this would be worth a staggering amount.
And for Yuu, it could serve another purpose.
A proper chakra storage device required extremely demanding materials.
Back in the Land of Ancestors, he had often used things like God Tree crystals to store chakra.
But those conditions no longer existed.
Before, Yuu had tried using common materials. Not only were they inefficient, they could not hold chakra for long.
If too much time passed, the chakra inside would leak away.
This sword was different.
Chakra metal conducted chakra extremely well. It was ideal for a shinobi's weapon, and it was also perfect for use as a chakra storage medium.
"I'm glad you like it." Kakashi nodded when he saw Yuu accept it.
Watching the two of them, Kurenai felt a knot of frustration tighten in her chest.
"Damn it… I actually forgot."
She was annoyed at herself.
She had forgotten Yuu's birthday.
On a day like that, she should have been the first to remember.
.....
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