A deathly silence fell over the office. The only sounds were the whistling wind outside the window and the rhythmic drip-drop of water falling from Kakashi's clothes onto the floor.
Minato looked at his student, who was on the verge of a total breakdown. He knew that in this moment, a simple "that was just the enemy's attempt to sow discord" might be enough to temporarily soothe Kakashi.
But he couldn't bring himself to lie completely.
Because on a strategic level, it had been a baiting operation.
Minato took a deep breath, pressed the towel firmly into Kakashi's cold hands, and then placed both hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Look at me, Kakashi."
Minato's azure eyes showed no hint of evasion; they were as clear as the sky after a rainstorm.
"That valley was indeed a lure."
Kakashi's pupils dilated. His body swayed violently, as if all the strength had been suddenly siphoned out of him.
"However," Minato increased the pressure on the boy's shoulders to steady him, "in that plan, you were never 'expendable'."
"What...?" Kakashi stammered, his expression vacant.
"The enemy possesses Space-Time Ninjutsu and can even manipulate Wood Style. His intelligence network reaches deeper than we ever imagined." Minato spoke at a steady pace, putting weight behind every word to project strength. "If I had concentrated all our defensive forces around Kushina, we would have risked total annihilation the moment he broke through."
"I needed a 'false target' convincing enough for him to take the bait."
Minato stared directly into Kakashi's eyes. "In all of Konoha, besides myself, you are the only one who could make him believe that valley was the true heart of our defense."
"Because you are Kakashi Hatake."
"Because you are my student."
"Because I knew you would put your life on the line to protect that post."
Minato's voice carried a faint, nearly imperceptible tremor. "The enemy is intelligent and arrogant. Ordinary Anbu couldn't have fooled him. Only you—only that desperate, uncompromising will to protect that you carry—could create the illusion that the valley was the key."
"I didn't put you there because your life was cheap."
"I put you there because I believed you were the one who could survive it."
Minato released one shoulder and pointed first to his own chest, then to Kakashi's heart.
"You are an elite of the Leaf and you are my student. I believed that even against a formidable foe, you would not fall easily. That is trust, Kakashi. That was my absolute faith in your strength."
Kakashi froze. The towel in his hands crumpled under his grip.
Trust?
So... it was trust?
Kakashi lowered his head, his voice cracking with emotion. "Everyone... my comrades in the Anbu... they're all dead."
"That masked man, he killed them all. He mocked me. He said I couldn't protect anything. Just like..."
Just like he hadn't been able to protect Rin. Kakashi didn't finish the sentence, but Minato knew.
That crushing guilt was threatening to drown the boy entirely.
Minato felt a sharp pang in his chest. He understood that feeling all too well. Only thirty minutes ago, in that other dimension, he had stood before a scarred Obito who asked why he was always late. He had felt that same soul-crushing despair.
Obito had already fallen into the darkness.
And Kakashi was standing on the edge of the abyss.
If he let Kakashi know right now that the masked man who slaughtered his comrades, who waged psychological warfare against him, and who nearly destroyed Konoha was actually Uchiha Obito—the best friend he mourned every day at the Memorial Stone—Kakashi would lose his mind.
His already fractured psyche would shatter completely.
I cannot tell him.
Even if he had to carry this lie for the rest of his life, even if he had to swallow all the bitterness alone, he could not let Kakashi know the truth. Not like this.
The conflict in Minato's eyes eventually hardened into a resolute determination.
He stepped forward again, opened his arms, and pulled the rain-soaked Kakashi into a firm hug. It was just like the time Kakashi was a child, returning wounded from his very first mission.
"I'm sorry."
Minato's voice was thick with apology as he spoke into Kakashi's ear.
"As Hokage, my decisions require the sacrifice of comrades. But as your teacher... I am so sorry, Kakashi, that I made you carry so much."
"I should not have left you to face that masked man alone."
As Minato's warmth seeped through the wet, cold fabric of his clothes, Kakashi's rigid frame finally began to soften.
"You protected the village, Kakashi."
"You held him back and bought me the time I needed. If you hadn't held your ground in that valley, Kushina and Naruto might not be here right now."
"You did well."
"You really... did well."
Minato repeated the words softly, comforting Kakashi while simultaneously trying to convince himself.
After a long silence, the boy in his arms let out a stifled sob.
Kakashi's hands trembled as he reached up, clutching the fabric of Minato's Hokage Cloak so hard his knuckles turned white. That suffocating feeling of being "abandoned" that had been crushing his heart finally began to crack under his teacher's warm embrace and words of validation.
I wasn't expendable.
Teacher still trusts me.
"Lord Hokage..." Kakashi managed, his voice nasal and heavy.
"Call me Teacher," Minato corrected him gently.
"...Teacher."
Kakashi finally broke. It wasn't a loud wail, but a series of jagged, repressed sobs caught deep in his throat.
Minato closed his eyes, letting Kakashi vent his emotions. His gaze seemed to pierce through the office walls, looking toward a distant point in time and space.
'Obito...'
Minato whispered the name in the silence of his mind.
'Look at this. Look at what you've done. You nearly destroyed your best friend.'
'I know you have hate in your heart. I know you've given up on this world.'
'But as long as I am the Hokage—as long as I am your teacher—I will never give up on you.'
Minato thought of the seal he had placed on Obito's heart. It was the shackle Madara used to control him, but it was also a lead. Now that he knew the source of the rot, there was hope for a cure.
'I lost you once.'
'This time, no matter where you run, no matter how much darkness you try to spread... I will bring you back.'
'Even if I have to break your legs, even if I have to lock you in a cell in Konoha for the rest of your life... I will pull you out of that hell.'
This wasn't just the duty of a Hokage. It was a promise from a teacher to his two students.
Ten minutes later, Kakashi finally regained his composure. Looking slightly embarrassed, he released his grip and took a step back, keeping his eyes lowered, unable to meet Minato's gaze.