"Don't say it like that~."
Arin smiled cheerfully.
"I just came to check on White Fang-senpai."
"Maybe I killed too many people on the frontlines, so I can't suppress the killing intent anymore."
Sakumo Hatake replied calmly:
"I heard nothing happened on the anti-Mist front for three entire years."
Yet Arin really had killed many people.
Though Sakumo did not understand why Arin was directing killing intent toward him specifically.
Arin waved a hand casually.
"White Fang-senpai, don't expose lies so easily."
"It just makes me want to… kill you even more."
Sakumo spoke in a low voice:
"If you kill me, you'll become a rogue ninja."
The village would never tolerate someone attacking their own comrades.
"Theoretically, that's true."
Arin nodded in agreement.
"But wasn't White Fang-senpai already planning to die anyway?"
Sakumo fell silent.
He had not expected Arin to expose his innermost thoughts so directly.
So in the end—
Was one's greatest understanding truly found in enemies?
How laughable.
"For a swordsman," Arin said with a grin stretching nearly to his ears, revealing chilling white teeth, "dying in battle is the greatest honor, right?"
"I'm merely helping fulfill your wish, White Fang-senpai."
Sakumo placed a hand on the short blade at his back.
Looking at the increasingly excited Arin, he glanced toward the surrounding village streets before quietly lowering his hand again.
"You truly are a dangerous person, Hyuga Arin."
"Thank you for the compliment, White Fang-senpai."
Arin bowed slightly.
Sakumo directly turned his back toward Arin and said without even looking at him:
"I'll wait for you to come kill me."
Then he jumped down from the rooftop.
Arin watched Sakumo's figure land in the street below with a smiling expression.
"A Kage-level opponent is worth a hundred thousand experience points."
And Sakumo's drops would probably be excellent too.
The strategy guides never listed Sakumo Hatake's drops specifically—
But for a sword specialist like him, anything he dropped would be extremely useful to Arin.
He raised his head toward the sun in the sky.
At some point, however, clouds had covered it completely.
"Now isn't the right time yet."
…
"I'm back."
Kakashi pushed open the door and saw his father sitting silently on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought.
"Kakashi, you're back."
Sakumo turned toward him and rarely revealed a smile.
"How's life at the Academy?"
Kakashi rolled his eyes.
"I already graduated, remember?"
He pointed at the forehead protector on his head.
"There's nothing worth learning in a place like that anyway."
"I see…"
Sakumo looked somewhat absent-minded.
"Kakashi… originally, I hoped you'd make some friends at school."
A certain idiot's face flashed through Kakashi's mind.
He clicked his tongue.
"I don't need friends."
Sakumo looked at the hesitant expression on Kakashi's face and smiled gently.
"So you did make some good friends after all."
"Quit talking nonsense, old man."
Kakashi answered coldly while removing his shoes and entering the house.
Then he looked suspiciously at Sakumo.
"You're acting weird today."
"Aren't you usually super busy all the time?"
After a long silence, Sakumo finally said:
"Sorry, Kakashi."
"I haven't spent much time with you."
"Hey, you're REALLY acting strange!!"
Whether from embarrassment or anger, Kakashi shouted loudly at him.
"Am I?"
Sakumo touched his face and smiled warmly.
"I just suddenly feel like I owe you a lot."
This was something Sakumo would never have said in the past.
Kakashi frowned.
"Don't tell me you found another woman or something."
"I absolutely won't acknowledge her!!"
Sakumo's mouth twitched.
He punched Kakashi on the head while laughing.
"Don't think about weird things like that."
"I have no such plans."
Kakashi covered his head and rolled his eyes.
That punch really was exactly the same as always.
"Let's go eat yakiniku today."
"I took some time off recently."
Sakumo suggested.
"Well…"
Kakashi replied with a tsundere expression,
"Since you're inviting me, I guess I can reluctantly go with you."
…
"Big Brother Arin, what are you thinking about?"
Nawaki looked up toward Arin, who was lying on a tree branch.
Arin hung upside down from the branch by his legs and pointed into the distance.
"WHY are those two progressing so fast?!"
Kushina was currently hugging Minato's arm with a blissfully sweet expression.
Arin had only been gone for three years.
What exactly happened?!
Nawaki scratched his head.
"Don't worry about that kind of thing."
"Don't you already have my sister?"
Arin dropped down instantly and slammed his forehead into Nawaki's.
"You may not care about living, but I still want to survive."
If Tsunade heard something like that, it would become another whole disaster.
Nawaki thought about his sister.
Over the past two years, the resentment around her had become increasingly terrifying.
Although she wore glasses now to make herself appear gentler and more virtuous—
That oppressive aura was honestly horrifying.
Which was exactly why she needed Big Brother Arin.
Nawaki quietly clenched his fists.
Judging from the current state of those two, getting together naturally seemed nearly impossible.
Maybe he needed to help a little.
"Oh right."
Nawaki suddenly remembered something and grinned mysteriously.
"Big Brother Arin, I've got something cool to show you."
"What?"
Arin looked confused.
Nawaki clasped his hands together with a bright smile.
"Watch this."
A tiny sapling slowly broke through the soil beneath him and rapidly grew larger.
Arin's pupils contracted violently.
He looked up at Nawaki in shock.
"Wood Release?!"
Holy hell.
Nawaki awakened Wood Release?!
Wasn't that supposed to require Senju lineage combined with Asura's chakra?!
"I only awakened it last year."
"Originally I just wanted to add some variations to my Rock Fist technique."
"But somehow I accidentally created Wood Release instead."
Nawaki proudly rubbed his nose.
"How many people know about this?"
Arin asked seriously.
Nawaki scratched his head.
"Orochimaru-sensei and my sister both know."
"But for some reason, the two of them told me not to tell anyone else."
"Still, I'd never hide it from Big Brother."
Arin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Honestly, whether you tell people or not doesn't matter too much."
"But you definitely need to grow stronger as quickly as possible."
He understood exactly what Tsunade and Orochimaru feared.
Their teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had once supported Wood Release experiments before eventually shutting them down.
Both in his previous life and this one, Arin knew there actually had been one successful test subject.
Danzo simply never allowed him to make contact, and Hiruzen himself did not know.
What Tsunade and Orochimaru feared was simple:
Hiruzen and Danzo using Nawaki as an experimental subject.
Because of this issue, both of them had already grown somewhat estranged from Hiruzen.
Only Jiraiya still remained unaware.
But in truth—
That was not the real problem.
The truly important issue was—
Uchiha Madara might set his sights on Nawaki.
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
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100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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