[Konoha Commercial Street]
"Meeting is fate. I'll gift this string of prayer beads to you, benefactor. I hope you will do more good deeds."
On the street, a middle-aged woman accepted the string of Buddhist prayer beads handed to her by the monk across from her.
"Then thank you, Master…"
By the time the middle-aged woman looked up, the monk had already walked into the crowd.
She shook the delicate string of beads in her hand, smiling broadly.
"Looks like I've got pretty good luck."
Just as she was about to head home, an ANBU wearing a mask suddenly dropped down from above.
"Stop!"
As a villager of Konoha, she recognized the ANBU.
The middle-aged woman stood still, a bit nervous, "Sir, is something wrong?"
The ANBU picked up the prayer beads and inspected them up and down. After confirming they were just ordinary beads, he returned them to her.
"Routine check. It's nothing, you can go."
———
[Konoha Hospital Entrance]
"Buddha's blessing. Whether you and I have fate or not, I'll give this item to you."
"Thank you, Master."
A woman with freckles on her face received a string of prayer beads from the monk.
Incidents like this happened several times throughout Konoha Village.
All of them were monks who had come together with Chiriku.
ANBU specifically checked them, but they were just ordinary prayer beads, so they stopped paying attention.
———
[Hatake Kakashi's Home]
Kakashi stood under a tree with his eyes slightly closed, his posture relaxed.
A breeze passed by, blowing down a large number of leaves behind him.
Kakashi's eyes snapped open. His short blade left its sheath, and streaks of blade light flashed continuously.
Whoosh!
After a single breath, Kakashi sheathed his blade.
He crouched down and carefully examined the leaves on the ground. More than half of them had been cut cleanly in two.
But Kakashi wasn't satisfied. Instead, he let out a sigh.
Not far away, someone was sitting at a stone table.
He also had white hair and looked very similar to Kakashi. It was Hatake Sakumo.
"Your mind is burdened and your will is scattered. Like this, you'll never learn the focused strike."
Hatake Sakumo lifted his teacup and spoke unhurriedly.
Kakashi walked over to Sakumo and lowered his head, "I'm sorry, Father. I've disappointed you."
Sakumo wasn't angry. He simply stood up and patted Kakashi on the shoulder.
"Taking a detour isn't something to fear. Even taking the wrong path doesn't matter. As long as you don't stop, that's enough."
"Go out for a walk. Don't rush. You still have a long road ahead of you."
"Yes, I understand, Father."
———
After leaving home, Kakashi walked aimlessly and, without realizing it, ended up near Konoha Hospital.
Rin was working inside now.
Kakashi stood there for a long time, hesitation showing on his face.
After Obito was killed by Rin (at least, that's what Kakashi believed), the relationship between Kakashi and Rin became somewhat delicate.
When Rin forcefully kissed Kakashi, she vented her feelings in that moment. Although it was a kind of retaliation against Obito, it also made things between her and Kakashi somewhat awkward.
After all, Kakashi was already in his twenties, while Rin was not of age.
Even though the atmosphere between them was awkward, being able to come back to life was already an enormous stroke of luck.
Rin was still very happy, because as long as she was alive, she could use her medical ninjutsu to treat more people.
The ninja world had been very peaceful these past few years. Rin spent most of her time busy in the hospital, studying medical techniques and treating patients.
Rin and Kakashi met quite often, but their relationship never progressed.
Aside from feeling that Rin was too young, Kakashi still had lingering thoughts about what happened back then.
Rin naturally noticed the awkwardness that had grown between them.
After all, the age difference between them was a bit large, so there was inevitably a gap.
So Rin and Kakashi made an agreement: after Rin turned eighteen, they would consider other matters.
Not long ago, Rin turned eighteen.
But Kakashi still hadn't made up his mind. That was also the reason his blade technique had been stuck at a bottleneck.
Just as Kakashi was lost in thought, a voice sounded by his ear.
"Huh? Isn't this Kakashi?"
"Are you here to find Rin? I'll go call her," A woman with some freckles on her face looked at Kakashi curiously.
"Ah! No need. I was just passing by."
Kakashi recognized this woman. Her name was Chizuru, also a medical ninja and Rin's colleague.
Before figuring out how to face Rin, Kakashi wasn't planning to see her yet.
So he gave a quick greeting and left in a hurry.
Chizuru flicked the prayer beads in her hand and spat lightly as she watched Kakashi's departing figure.
"Dragging things out like that. Not manly at all. Hmph!"
As Rin's colleague, Chizuru had worked with her for many years and knew a bit of the situation.
After so many years with no progress between Rin and Kakashi, even she felt anxious watching it.
At this moment, a figure with two purple markings painted on her face walked out of the hospital. It was Nohara Rin.
"Chizuru, didn't you go to eat? Why are you standing here?"
Chizuru shook her head and didn't mention Kakashi's appearance just now.
"I just ran into a monk. He said I had a connection with Buddhism and gave me this."
Chizuru shook the prayer beads in her hand.
"I heard that the land of various temples is going to be taken back by the village."
"These monks won't have that much land to use anymore."
"Not sure if they're coming out to win people over."
"I've already seen them give prayer beads to a lot of people."
"Maybe they're just acting out of desperation."
"But this string of beads is actually pretty nice."
Rin Nohara shook her head, "From the development over the past few years, you can tell Konoha's planning has been very good."
"Since the village wants to reclaim the land, there must be a reason for it."
Rin was someone who deeply loved peace. The fact that there hadn't been any major wars in the ninja world these past years was what she most wanted to see.
And the person currently governing Konoha was still her teacher, so naturally she supported any policy.
Chizuru didn't dwell on the topic. Her eyes shifted, and she said, "Since you're out anyway, let's go eat at Ichiraku Ramen."
Rin went along with it easily, "Sure, it's been a while since I've been there."
The two walked together. Chizuru casually asked, "How come I haven't seen you go look for Kakashi lately?"
Rin's steps paused for a moment, then she continued walking, "There's so much to do at the hospital. It's not like I have to go find him."
Chizuru snorted, "I'm just saying, even if he's handsome, he's not worth you liking him for so many years. You should've given up long ago."
Rin tucked her hair back, her gaze drifting, "It's true I like him, and I can't bear to let it go, but that doesn't mean I have to be with him."
Chizuru was a bit surprised, "What do you mean by that?"
Rin smiled gently, "If Kakashi can't give his whole heart to me, then there's no meaning in the two of us being together."
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