Three days flew by in the blink of an eye.
Less than three months after the end of the war, the Hidden Cloud Village's peace delegation—led by the Raikage's trusted retainer, Darui—once again set foot in Konohagakure.
The difference in how they were received this time, compared to their last visit, was like night and day.
On their previous trip, at least a few villagers had genuinely hoped for peace and come out to greet them.
But now…
"Tch. Back again, those white-skinned pigs and black-skinned barbarians."
"They tried to steal our Byakugan last time. What the hell do they want now?"
"Can't trust a single one of 'em."
"Look at 'em sluinely slinking along like whipped dogs…"
There weren't many villagers on the street, but every venomous word stabbed into the young Darui's heart like a kunai.
"These bastards…" he muttered through gritted teeth.
Though this same Darui would one day become the Fifth Raikage, right now he was still only seventeen—hot-blooded and thin-skinned. The insults made his fingers twitch toward the blade on his back.
"Rein it in, Darui," came the low, steady voice of the older Darui walking ahead of him.
"This is what defeat tastes like."
The young man clenched his jaw and forced himself to swallow the anger.
"See what a moment of greed cost us?" the elder continued, voice calm but heavy with bitter lesson. "Thousands of our comrades dead, just so we could come crawling to Konoha with our tails between our legs, begging for peace."
"When you sit in a high seat, you'd better keep your greed on a leash—especially when your strength doesn't match your ambition."
"Otherwise, this is what happens. You stand here, eat their insults, and say nothing."
The older Darui glanced back, eyes sharp beneath the brim of his hat. In his mind, the future of Kumogakure rested on the shoulders of this impulsive teenager. That was exactly why he'd insisted the boy come—to feel the humiliation of the vanquished carved into his bones, so he'd never forget that every action had consequences.
He himself was past forty. In a few years he'd be fifty. He couldn't prop up the Raikage's office forever.
The next Raikage would need more than raw power. He'd need a brain.
Among the new generation, this Darui was the one he'd chosen.
"Yes, sir. I understand, Lord Darui," the younger answered, bowing his head with genuine respect.
A few streets away, on a sun-warmed rooftop, three jōnin watched the delegation shuffle past under the villagers' scorn.
"The old man's really just gonna let them twist in the wind like that?" Asuma flicked his lighter, cupped the flame to the cigarette between his lips, and exhaled a lazy smoke ring.
"The Hokage has his reasons," Guy offered, grunting as he curled a massive dumbbell. He glanced toward his eternal rival. "Right, Kakashi?"
"Deliberately," Kakashi replied, voice flat behind his mask. One hand stayed buried in his pocket; the other flipped a page of Icha Icha Paradise without ever looking at the street below.
"Deliberately?" Asuma raised an eyebrow.
Kakashi didn't bother explaining. He simply closed the book with a soft snap. "Instead of wasting time gawking at beaten dogs, we should train. Or pick up a mission. Something actually worth doing."
He hadn't wanted to come at all—Asuma had practically dragged him up here.
Speaking of Asuma…
The bearded jōnin sidled closer, throwing a conspiratorial arm around Kakashi's shoulders and lowering his voice to a sleazy whisper. "Speaking of things worth doing… word is you and that little girlfriend of yours are getting pretty cozy, eh?"
Kakashi side-eyed him.
With that scruffy beard and the absolutely lecherous grin, Asuma looked like the kind of guy who'd get reported to the military police for loitering near the academy.
"Where'd you hear that?" Kakashi asked dryly.
"Guang ran into Anko yesterday while shopping. I just happened to be there." Asuma's grin widened. "Every time your name came up, Anko called you a 'perverted dog.' You've been busy, you sly bastard."
His expression could only be described as obscene. If Kakashi really was dating that Uchiha girl, then no one would be left fighting him for Kurenai. Victory by default!
Kakashi rolled his visible eye so hard it nearly vanished into his headband.
"Teach me your ways, sensei," Asuma pleaded, clutching Kakashi's shoulder like a man begging for the secrets of eternal youth.
"Beg harder."
"Please, I'm begging you!"
If Guy hadn't been right there, Asuma would've dropped to his knees on the spot.
"Read more," Kakashi said, waving the orange book like a holy scripture.
Asuma's eyes sparkled as he reverently accepted the volume. "And then? And then?!"
"Work on being handsome," Kakashi continued, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Very important."
Asuma froze. The hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly. "Handsome… really that big a deal?"
"Of course." Kakashi turned toward the weight-lifting machine nearby. "Hey, Guy. Am I handsome?"
Guy slammed the dumbbell down with enough force to crack roof tiles, thrust a sparkling thumbs-up, and bellowed, "Of course! Kakashi, you are the coolest, most handsome man in the entire world!"
A dramatic pause for effect.
"Though when it comes to raw, burning manliness, no one surpasses the great Might Guy!"
Kakashi spread his hands toward Asuma in a see-what-I-mean gesture.
Asuma's mouth twitched. For reasons he couldn't quite articulate, watching those two interact always made him feel like he was third-wheeling something sacred.
"…I give up. You two deserve each other."
He tossed Icha Icha back to its owner and sighed. "Heard we got a new jōnin promoted yesterday. Used to be ANBU. Name's Yamato."
Kakashi's eye sharpened at that.
Yamato?
The same Yamato?
The timeline felt… off. That particular Wood Release user wasn't supposed to leave ANBU until much later, was he?
"New colleague, huh," Kakashi said neutrally.
Only the Third Hokage could pull someone like that out of ANBU. Doing it now, right when the Cloud delegation was in the village—coincidence?
Or…
A soft rustle of fabric, and a new figure appeared on the rooftop in a crouch.
Short brown hair, a forehead protector styled like the Second Hokage's, standard jōnin vest, and a face that practically radiated harmless reliability.
"Um… excuse me. Senior Kakashi?" The newcomer scratched the back of his head, sheepish. "I'm the jōnin the Hokage just appointed."
He offered an awkward but earnest salute.
"Lord Hokage told me to report to you for instruction—something about Water Release chakra nature and shape transformation…"
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