Young Kakashi glanced at the blond kid who seemed just as clueless as that idiot Obito, then crooked a finger at Sasuke and the seemingly well-behaved but unreadable pink-haired girl.
"Follow me."
With that arrogant attitude, it wasn't just Naruto who wanted to punch him—Sasuke was barely holding back, and Sakura was ranting nonstop in her head. What in the world had happened for such an infuriating brat to grow into their current delinquent jōnin instructor?!!
Once outside, young Kakashi looked back and happened to notice that the window of what was likely Inari's room was open.
"Wait here."
He flickered out of sight before Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura could blink.
"Wow, that Body Flicker Technique is insane!" Sasuke said in disbelief.
Naruto nodded. "He's super annoying, but young Kakashi-sensei really was awesome!"
"But how did he end up turning into such a delinquent jōnin?" Sakura complained, imitating Kakashi's mannerisms. "Always holding that weird book called 'Icha Icha Paradise'! Always late! And the excuses! Either 'Ah, sorry, I got lost on the path of life,' or 'Sorry, sorry, I helped an old lady on the way.' It's infuriating!"
Naruto crossed his arms. "But compared to grown-up Kakashi-sensei, little Kakashi-sensei was way more annoying with how smug he was! And we already have an idiot like Sasuke here!"
Sasuke shot him a cold glare but ignored him, following Sakura's line of thought.
"Maybe something happened to him too." Like that Sharingan—Kakashi still hadn't told him why he possessed an Uchiha Clan eye.
Seeing young Kakashi clarified a few things.
First, twelve-year-old Kakashi didn't have the Sharingan yet. His left eye was untouched and didn't need to be covered, which meant he got the Sharingan afterward.
So the change in his personality was likely tied to whatever happened when he received it.
Second, Sasuke noticed the impressive ninja blade strapped to Kakashi's back. That meant Kakashi had trained in kenjutsu when he was young.
Why he eventually abandoned swordsmanship and came to rely on an Uchiha Sharingan… that remained a mystery.
…
Meanwhile, young Kakashi, having used Body Flicker Technique to leave, now stood on the eaves outside Inari's room.
Inari, clutching a photograph and crying silently, didn't notice him at all.
Kakashi saw that the picture showed a man with a bright, strong expression.
The child knelt on the desk by the window, staring out at the sea with the photo in his arms, crying in painful restraint.
"Dad…"
When Inari choked out the word, young Kakashi's expression didn't change. But if Obito or Rin were here, they would have noticed the faint sorrow deep in his eyes…
Watching the boy cry over the photograph, young Kakashi suddenly understood why Inari had seemed so familiar.
It wasn't that he resembled someone Kakashi had known.
It was because Inari looked exactly like him—the Kakashi who had been left behind after his father, Sakumo Hatake, was destroyed by the village's rumors and took his own life.
For a moment, Inari's small, trembling figure overlapped perfectly with Kakashi's memory of himself years ago.
Back then, he lived alone in the old Hatake house. He went to the Academy by himself during the day, then bought fish at the market—or caught a couple in the mountains—and cooked them step by step the way the books instructed.
Life moved in quiet order. But when a house loses a person… the loneliness is crushing.
Countless nights, just like Inari now, he hugged his father's portrait and stared blankly at the wheat fields outside the Hatake residence under the moonlight.
…
Returning to Naruto and the others.
The four twelve-year-olds left Uncle Tazuna's home, with Tsunami reminding them to be sure to return in two hours for dinner.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze and the twenty-six-year-old Kakashi arrived at a quiet, undisturbed place.
"A lot must have happened over these years, hasn't it?" Minato Namikaze was the first to speak.
"Yeah."
Kakashi looked at his teacher—who now barely reached his shoulder—and there was a trace of bitterness in his smile.
"Getting to see you again… I'm truly honored."
"Hahaha, really?"
Minato reached out and ruffled Kakashi's hair, making the usually unflappable jōnin a bit embarrassed.
"All your sharp edges have been worn down."
He wasn't talking about skill—he meant Kakashi himself.
Minato's gaze shifted to Kakashi's right eye. "That eye…"
Kakashi said quietly, "It's Obito's."
Minato nodded. "I thought so."
"Sensei… today is the day you carried out the Kannabi Bridge mission, isn't it?"
"Yes. The Third Shinobi World War is at its fiercest right now. Konoha is short on manpower, and we have no choice but to send even children like you into the war…" As an adult looking back on it, Minato felt a heavy guilt settle in his chest.
Kakashi gave a faint, bitter smile. "Yeah. That morning, before we left… I even argued with Obito because he didn't give me a gift for becoming a jonin."
His voice carried both longing and quiet sorrow...