Kakashi's hollow gaze shifted almost imperceptibly.
He slowly turned his head.
Half a step behind him, Shinichi Higashino stood quietly, holding a plain dark umbrella to shield him from the pouring rain.
Shinichi did not look at Kakashi; his gaze was also fixed on the brand-new tombstone ahead, his eyes calm and profound.
"You..."
Kakashi's lips moved slightly under his mask, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He redirected his gaze to his father's tombstone, as if that were the only world he could anchor himself to.
Shinichi did not speak, offer comfort, or ask questions. He simply stood in silence, holding up a temporary, unspoken shelter for his former rival and current classmate, who perhaps needed an umbrella more than anyone right now.
The rain curtain violently washed over the cemetery, but in this corner, there was only the dense sound of rain hitting the umbrella and the frozen silence between the two youths.
"For a Ninja..."
After a long time, Kakashi's voice cut through the rain, hoarse and dry.
"...Is completing the mission more important, or protecting your comrades?"
Hearing this, Shinichi paused in silence, his gaze still fixed on the cold tombstone, and slowly began to speak:
"The First Hokage-sama was born during the turbulent Sengoku Era. In that era, Ninja clans slaughtered each other, and children were forced onto the battlefield, their lives as fleeting as morning dew... The sacrifice of comrades was a constant, moment-to-moment occurrence."
"Even someone as strong as Shodai-sama, who was later revered as the God of Shinobi, experienced the pain of being unable to protect those important to him during that cruel era." Shinichi's voice was soft: "The literature states that the young Shodai-sama lost multiple relatives and personally experienced the helplessness of watching loved ones vanish before his eyes. It is precisely because of this that he understood the difficulty and preciousness of protection more deeply than anyone."
"Therefore, Shodai-sama gave his all to establish a different world, creating a world where children did not have to rush to the battlefield at a young age, and where comrades could entrust their backs to one another. The core of this was the legacy later known as the Will of Fire—cherishing the Village, protecting comrades, and safeguarding the next generation that carries on the legacy."
"Are you saying comrades are more important?" Kakashi turned his head, his gaze piercing Shinichi sharply.
Shinichi still did not directly answer the binary question, and he continued:
"The reason why the Ninja profession and system can operate, and why mission rules are strictly adhered to, is that they collectively maintain the order and credibility necessary for the Village's survival. Completing missions and protecting the clients' interests is maintaining Konoha's credibility and peace. This is also protecting the Village and all the comrades who live within it."
"So, you think the mission is more important?" Kakashi's voice dropped.
"No, Kakashi." Shinichi gently shook his head, moving his gaze away from the tombstone for the first time, looking at the cemetery view blurred by the rain beside him, and seemingly toward a more distant future.
"What I want to say is, I don't know."
"I have not experienced the desperation that Sakumo-sama faced, nor have I borne such a heavy choice. Perhaps only when I am truly pushed to that point, in a flash of lightning, will I know what my instinct chooses. Before that, any judgment made without personal involvement is reckless."
"However." Shinichi changed the subject, his tone calm and resolute: "Before that day potentially arrives, I will do one thing with all my might."
He turned his head and looked directly into Kakashi's eyes, saying:
"Strive to become stronger! Strong enough to avoid being forced into that kind of binary choice predicament as much as possible."
"Strong enough to still struggle in desperation to find a way to both complete the mission and protect all comrades; strong enough that perhaps one day, I will possess enough power and wisdom to influence or even change certain rules, allowing me, my cherished comrades, and our next generation to face fewer such cruel dilemmas."
"Shodai-sama did exactly this. He may not have fundamentally changed the inherent cruel nature of the Ninja profession, but he was already using all his power to try, to build a framework that could protect what was important as much as possible, pushing the world toward a better direction."
"And Nidaime(2nd)-sama, Lord Third Hokage, and countless nameless predecessors of Konoha who inherited his will, have also given their all in their respective positions."
"I don't know whether Sakumo-sama's choice was right or wrong, because I wasn't there. But I know that if we only stay stuck in the debate of mission versus comrade, we can't change anything. The only path forward is to become stronger than we are now—strong enough to be qualified to rewrite the premise of the problem."
"What if you face this dilemma before you possess enough strength?"
Kakashi's tone suddenly became aggressive. Without waiting for Shinichi to reply, he rapidly added, as if trying to block all avenues of retreat:
"Suppose you are the Captain now, and I and a few others are your squad members. Our mission is to escort a vital piece of confidential intelligence back to Konoha. Right now, we are being hunted by the enemy and cornered."
"As Captain, if you choose to abandon the mission, it will bring significant loss to the Village. If you choose to complete the mission, you must abandon one or even several squad members to cover the retreat, or even, to prevent the possibility of intelligence leakage, you might have to personally kill a captured teammate."
His gaze locked onto Shinichi, his tone filled with urgency.
"Shinichi Higashino! Tell me, what will you do?!"
"I will cover the retreat."
Shinichi's voice was low, yet decisive.
"If that day truly comes, the one covering the retreat and bearing the greatest risk should, of course, be me, the Captain." He looked into Kakashi's eyes and stated clearly, word by word: "And you, Kakashi, starting now, you are the Captain. The intelligence is entrusted to you for safekeeping. You will lead everyone back."
In that instant, the air beneath the umbrella seemed to freeze.
After a long pause, Kakashi suddenly snapped back to reality and sneered, "You... are still just evading the question!"
Before he finished speaking, as if unable to tolerate the space beneath the umbrella or the person before him, he abruptly turned around, plunged into the pouring rain, and ran off without looking back, quickly disappearing into the gray rain curtain.
Shinichi did not pursue him.
He remained standing in place, but the subtle, intuitive feeling that had vaguely surfaced since he arrived at the cemetery not only failed to dissipate but grew clearer and more intense.
[Auspicious Sign (Green): Your luck is newly involved in the mysterious; you occasionally sense minor signs of good fortune and favorable developmental trends.]
Just as he expected, after hosting a lively banquet-style appreciation dinner that was different from the style of this world, his [Swordsmanship Apprentice] quickly upgraded to [Swordsman], and he gained an opportunity to draw a Green Trait.
Auspicious Sign was the new Trait he drew, a Trait that seemed related to the mysterious aspect of luck.
However, when he first obtained this Trait, Shinichi didn't notice any change, until just now...