Mōryō was ready.
The moment he escaped this sealed place, he would bring ruin to the entire shinobi world.
While Mōryō was plotting on one side, Koharu Utatane was making plans of her own on the other.
"It's just a monster. Perfect."
A cold glint flashed through Koharu's eyes.
"We can use Shiki."
As much as she hated to admit it, even Koharu had to acknowledge Shiki's strength.
She had already made her decision.
When the time came, Shiki and that monster would fight until both sides were exhausted.
Then she and her people would step in and clean up the mess.
Shiki, Mōryō... it didn't matter who won.
In the end, both would become stepping stones for her.
At that point, forget the position of elder.
Even the Hokage's seat might finally be within her grasp.
"Hahahaha!"
The more Koharu thought about it, the harder it became to suppress her laughter.
Even the shinobi moving beneath her picked up their pace.
She just didn't know what kind of expression she would make once she discovered that Shiki was already in the Land of Demons.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
After a night of rest, Shiki and the others were already up.
Shiki was leisurely washing up, while Kurenai Yuhi was quietly preparing breakfast for him.
The Land of Demons was small, but it had everything they needed, so life here wasn't particularly inconvenient.
Rin Nohara didn't think much of the scene in front of her.
Kakashi, however, was a different story.
The moment he saw it, something in his eyes shifted ever so slightly.
He looked... envious.
Later, after Kurenai stepped out for a moment and Kushina and Rin were no longer nearby, Kakashi finally found a chance to approach Shiki.
"Um... Lord Shiki."
"Hm?"
Shiki, who was in the middle of breakfast, glanced at him from the side.
Kakashi's expression was strange.
It was the kind of look that said he wanted to ask something, but didn't quite know how to say it.
That alone was enough to make Shiki curious.
Kakashi hesitated for a while, then finally steeled himself and looked at Shiki seriously.
"Uh... Lord Shiki?" He asked awkwardly. "How do you get Kurenai to listen to you like that?"
"..."
Shiki didn't answer right away.
He just stared at Kakashi in silence.
Under that quiet gaze, Kakashi instantly felt the pressure and lowered his head a little, suddenly unsure if he should've asked at all.
After a pause, Shiki finally spoke.
"...Are you trying to find a girlfriend?"
"Wha—! M-Me? Me?!"
Kakashi's silver hair practically seemed to tremble along with him.
Sure enough, when it came to this kind of thing, Shiki saw straight through him immediately.
Kakashi might usually act cold and distant, but when it came to understanding himself, he knew better than anyone that he had never really been that kind of person.
And right now, it was obvious.
He was jealous.
Seeing how gentle and attentive Kurenai was around Shiki had clearly gotten to him.
Sometimes, Kakashi couldn't help imagining it.
If there were a girl who cared about him like that too...
Wouldn't that be perfect?
Simply put, Kakashi was enavoidably jealous.
That was exactly why he'd deliberately waited until no one else was around before coming to ask Shiki for advice.
In Kakashi's eyes, Shiki was obviously experienced in this sort of thing.
If anyone could teach him, it would be him.
"..."
Shiki looked at Kakashi for a long moment, completely speechless.
Then, after a beat, he said:
"Obito's death really did change you."
Kakashi used to be cold.
At least, that was how he looked on the surface.
But now?
In Shiki's opinion, Kakashi was actually kind of ridiculous.
"Heh... yeah, well..."
Kakashi scratched his head awkwardly and laughed.
He knew his own situation better than anyone.
He had never truly been a cold person.
After the White Fang's death, though, Kakashi had forced himself to stop thinking about anything else and focus only on missions.
Then Obito died too...
And somehow, after all that, the part of Kakashi he had buried started surfacing again.
"Alright, alright. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
Shiki waved a hand, dismissing it like it was nothing.
"It's not a big deal."
Then he said casually,
"If you want a girlfriend, why not just be with Rin? That girl clearly likes you, doesn't she?"
Shiki wasn't blind.
And from what he knew, Rin Nohara had always cared deeply for Kakashi Hatake.
"Yeah, I know," Kakashi said quietly. "But Obito liked Rin too."
Kakashi knew Rin liked him.
But he also knew something else just as clearly—
Uchiha Obito had loved Rin with everything he had.
Even if Obito was gone now, Kakashi still couldn't bring himself to cross that line. (PS: W Kakashi)
"Are you stupid? Obito's gone. If you and Rin—"
Shiki glanced toward the doorway as he spoke, intending to keep persuading him.
In his eyes, the dead were gone.
If Kakashi and Rin ended up together, what exactly was the problem?
But before he could finish, Kakashi cut him off.
"I know what you mean," Kakashi said firmly. "But I can't be with Rin."
His voice was calm, but there was no hesitation in it.
"Obito died because of me. I can't just go back to being the way I was before."
For the girl Obito had loved, Kakashi had always kept his distance.
Respectfully.
Carefully.
As if that was the one line he absolutely couldn't cross.
Then, after a slight pause, Kakashi added, a little embarrassed,
"Besides... I like older women."
"..."
This time, even Shiki fell silent.
That part, he definitely hadn't expected.
After staring at Kakashi for a second, Shiki simply pointed outside.
"Go train."
"Huh?"
Kakashi looked up in shock, staring at Shiki as if he'd misheard him.
Weren't they talking just fine a second ago?
Why had the mood changed so suddenly?
Rolling his eyes, Shiki repeated himself without any courtesy at all.
"I said go train."
"...Alright."
Faced with an order like that, Kakashi didn't dare push it any further.
He didn't get the guidance he wanted, and he definitely didn't get any answers.
Looking thoroughly deflated, he trudged over to the window, jumped out into the courtyard, and honestly started doing his blade training.
Watching him go, Shiki shook his head helplessly.
"This guy is really something."
Then he turned and looked toward the doorway on the other side.
"Alright, Kakashi's gone. You can come in now."
The moment those words fell, Kushina, Kurenai Yuhi, and Rin Nohara walked in together.
Obviously, all three of them had heard the conversation just now.
Shiki had sensed them outside a while ago.
That was exactly why he'd said what he said to Kakashi.
Originally, he'd wanted to use this chance to push Kakashi and Rin a little closer together.
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