Chapter 587: Kakashi: I Choose to Give Up Thinking
Since Isshiki had chosen not to seek help from his own clansmen even after being driven into such a desperate situation, the internal state of the Otsutsuki Clan was not difficult to imagine.
Thinking about it, Kenichi formed several theories regarding the clan.
The Otsutsuki were probably extremely ruthless toward their own members, with fierce internal competition and a rigid hierarchy.
Expecting them to willingly provide someone with a path toward greater power was probably unrealistic.
Still, Kenichi did not spend too much time dwelling on it.
Those matters were too distant for now.
Rather than waste energy speculating about the inner workings of the Otsutsuki Clan, it was better to focus on completing his Tenseigan research and further advancing his own bloodline.
Only by obtaining greater power could Kenichi continue strengthening himself and break through his current limits.
As for how he intended to become stronger, Kenichi already had several ideas.
With that thought, he turned and walked back into the laboratory.
He intended to continue his experiments while checking Toneri's current physical condition.
Once he confirmed that the Tenseigan transformation had stabilized and caused no serious problems, Kenichi could begin preparing to awaken the Tenseigan himself.
He already had a method in mind.
But he had no intention of pouring all his attention into the Tenseigan project.
Since the experiment still required time for observation, he could use that period to continue studying time itself.
Kenichi turned his gaze toward the time machine.
He was considering completely dismantling it.
If he could determine exactly what kind of energy powered the machine and allowed it to travel through space and time, perhaps he could finally make some genuine progress.
"Speaking of which..."
Kenichi yawned.
"I casually brought Minato and the others back a while ago. The Shinobi World must be pretty lively right now."
"Good thing I prepared a solution beforehand. Otherwise, I'd probably spend every day resurrecting people instead of doing research."
During his spare time, Kenichi had brought Minato and several other important Kage-level combatants back through Edo Tensei.
The consequences were obvious.
Everyone had regrets.
Everyone had someone they wished they could see again.
That was perfectly normal.
If not for Kenichi's explicit refusal, backed by his overwhelming strength, and Hagoromo's explanation that the coming battle against the Otsutsuki would result in many deaths, Kenichi's laboratory might already have been surrounded by people begging him to bring back their loved ones.
Kenichi understood their feelings.
But he had no intention of resurrecting too many people.
Hagoromo had also warned him that the Pure Land required souls to maintain its existence.
Kenichi naturally had no reason to oppose Hagoromo over something like that.
In exchange, however, he had managed to learn more about another mysterious existence.
The Shinigami.
"Shinigami?"
Hagoromo had looked thoughtful when Kenichi asked.
"Oh, you mean that one."
"He was born within the Pure Land, so naturally he possessed considerable power. He also survived by feeding on souls."
Hagoromo's explanation had been brief.
But Kenichi had easily reconstructed the miserable story behind it.
The unfortunate Shinigami had once lived in the Pure Land and preyed upon souls.
Then Hagoromo discovered him.
What followed was apparently a severe beating.
Afterward, Hagoromo expelled the Shinigami from the Pure Land entirely.
That explained why the creature always looked so thin and emaciated.
After losing access to the Pure Land, even the souls he managed to consume elsewhere apparently could not fully satisfy him.
The poor thing was practically starving all the time.
...
"What has Kakashi been doing lately?"
Kushina asked her husband with obvious concern.
As she spoke, she casually twisted a stalk of sugarcane between her hands, squeezing the juice out with nothing but raw strength.
Minato barely reacted.
He had long since become accustomed to seeing his wife do things like that.
Being able to exist physically beside Kushina again and spend time with Naruto filled Minato with a quiet sense of contentment.
But when Kakashi was mentioned, his expression became troubled.
"Sigh..."
Minato sighed deeply.
"Kakashi still hasn't really accepted what happened."
"He's been shutting himself inside his house lately."
"Other than occasionally going out to get food, he refuses to come outside or see anyone."
His mood became heavy.
Ever since they confronted Obito and exposed everything he had done, Kakashi had fallen into an increasingly depressed state.
Obito had ultimately died by Kakashi's hand.
And Kakashi had refused to take Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan.
Instead, he had removed the Sharingan that Obito had originally given him.
After that, Kakashi had withdrawn completely.
He stayed inside his home all day and refused to meet anyone.
The situation gave Minato an enormous headache.
Unfortunately, he had no good solution.
Minato was usually good at comforting people.
But Kakashi's situation was different.
Both of Kakashi's teammates had died by his hand.
Both had died after being pierced through the chest.
None of it had truly been Kakashi's fault.
He had not deliberately killed either of them.
But emotionally, that distinction could only help so much.
In the end, Rin had died by Kakashi's hand.
And now Obito had as well.
It was completely understandable that Kakashi had withdrawn into himself again.
Minato remembered how badly Kakashi had changed after Rin's death.
He had become cold and closed off.
But even that had not been as severe as his current state.
This time, Kakashi genuinely refused to leave his home.
"It's really been hard on Kakashi."
Kushina's expression darkened.
"But Obito..."
Her thoughts immediately returned to him.
Kushina had always considered herself a kind person.
She could be hot-tempered, certainly, but she had always treated the people around her with warmth and sincerity.
And she had been especially good to Obito.
He was her husband's student.
She had genuinely cared about him.
She had seen his feelings for Rin and had even tried to encourage them.
Kushina believed she had done everything she reasonably could for him.
But apparently, Obito had not valued any of it.
When he carried out the Nine-Tails attack, he had not hesitated.
Because of that, Kushina knew she would never forgive him.
What made it even worse was that while she was in the Pure Land, she had once comforted Rin.
Kushina had assumed Obito was simply too embarrassed or ashamed to face her after death.
She never imagined that he had actually still been alive.
Worse, he had been responsible for both her death and Minato's.
And because of him, Naruto had endured such a miserable childhood.
If Kenichi had not eventually uncovered everything and brought them back, who knew how long she and Minato would have remained ignorant of the truth?
Every time Kushina thought about Obito, anger surged through her.
Even though Obito was already dead, she still would not forgive him.
This had nothing to do with whether she was kind, tolerant, or morally righteous.
He had destroyed her family.
She would never forgive that.
"Obito wasn't a good person."
Minato stepped closer and embraced his wife.
"Even if he was manipulated, what he did was still wrong."
"No amount of whitewashing changes that."
His tone was firm.
When Minato had watched Obito die and heard his final apology, he had certainly felt pain.
But a mistake remained a mistake.
You could not kill someone and erase everything with a simple apology.
That was not how consequences worked.
Minato had also personally witnessed what Naruto's childhood had been like.
So although part of him regretted what Obito had become, he had never considered forgiving him.
The term "whitewashing" was something Minato had picked up from Kenichi.
Speaking of Kenichi, that strange young man had brought both Minato and Kushina back and then immediately disappeared into his laboratory.
He had barely emerged since.
Minato found that somewhat regrettable.
He had wanted to invite Kenichi over for a meal.
There was also another slightly awkward issue.
Naruto called Kenichi "Big Brother."
So what exactly did that make Minato, as Naruto's father, in relation to Kenichi?
Fortunately, Minato was not foolish enough to seriously bring up the question.
Naruto could call Kenichi Big Brother.
Minato could call Kenichi their benefactor.
Everyone could use their own form of address.
There was no need to make things complicated.
"I know."
Kushina sighed.
"It's just... every time I think about it, I still feel awful."
"Especially when I remember everything Naruto went through."
Her expression became melancholy.
Kushina had once believed that once someone died, everything ended.
Obito was dead now.
Logically, she should have been able to let the matter go.
But whenever she remembered the past, she still felt uncomfortable.
It was like a thorn lodged deep in her heart.
Every time the memory surfaced, that thorn hurt again.
All she could do was hope that time would gradually dull the pain.
Minato tightened his arms around her.
Then he glanced toward the window.
Kakashi's home lay in that direction.
Perhaps he really should find some time to visit his student.
Kakashi could not remain shut inside forever.
...
Meanwhile, outside Kakashi's house, three young shinobi were cautiously peeking around the corner.
"Naruto."
Sasuke looked at him suspiciously.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
His Mangekyo Sharingan slowly rotated in his eyes.
Kenichi had already helped Sasuke awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
As for what specific dojutsu he had obtained, Sasuke had refused to reveal it.
Only Kenichi knew.
No one else had been told.
Not even the extremely self-important ancestor currently training him, Madara Uchiha.
Strangely enough, Madara's attitude toward Sasuke had recently become noticeably softer.
He seemed more tolerant around him.
Sometimes, he even showed hints of genuine affection.
Sasuke found that extremely confusing.
But he had other things weighing on his mind.
Itachi would soon return.
And Sasuke still had no idea how he was supposed to face his older brother.
That, however, was a problem for later.
Right now, Sasuke was more concerned about whatever ridiculous plan Naruto was about to carry out.
"Of course I'm sure!"
Naruto spoke with complete confidence.
"Kakashi-sensei has been locked inside his house this whole time!"
"He never comes out!"
"Aren't you worried he might keep eating expired milk and instant noodles until he gets diarrhea, becomes dehydrated, and dies in there?!"
Sasuke rubbed his face.
Something about that sentence felt deeply wrong.
He simply could not decide which part was the worst.
"Naruto."
Hinata quietly spoke from beside him.
"I can cook noodles for you."
Naruto froze.
Then he scratched his head awkwardly.
Sasuke stared ahead with a completely blank expression.
These two...
Seriously.
For some reason, Hinata had suddenly become much bolder lately.
Somewhere else in Konoha, Kushina abruptly sneezed.
And Naruto, that hopelessly dense idiot, also seemed to have matured overnight and finally realized what Hinata felt toward him.
Now Sasuke increasingly felt that Team 7 no longer had room for him.
He was starting to feel like the unwanted third person standing between them.
"All right!"
Naruto suddenly straightened.
"Enough messing around!"
"Today, we're going in there and rescuing Kakashi-sensei!"
He raised a fist triumphantly.
Then his expression suddenly changed.
Something was wrong.
Naruto spun around instantly.
A Rasengan formed in his hand and slammed toward the presence behind him.
Boom!
The Rasengan struck a wooden stump.
It shattered immediately.
"Naruto."
A familiar voice sounded nearby.
"What are you doing?"
Kakashi stepped out from the side.
He glanced at the destroyed stump with mild surprise.
Naruto had become significantly stronger in only a few days.
But Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were not paying attention to the stump.
Their eyes widened simultaneously.
All three stared at Kakashi in disbelief.
Was this really Kakashi-sensei?
The normally handsome, cool, mysterious Kakashi-sensei?
The man standing before them looked like a completely different person.
His hair was a mess and had started clumping together.
His clothes were filthy.
A strange odor surrounded him.
There was practically nothing left of Kakashi's usual composed appearance.
Naruto would almost have believed this was an impostor.
Except for one obvious detail.
The missing eye.
That proved it.
This really was Kakashi.
Naruto and the others already knew that Kakashi had removed the Sharingan Obito had given him.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
Hinata looked genuinely alarmed.
"How... how did you end up like this?"
Naruto and Sasuke also stared at him with concern.
Kakashi expressionlessly scratched his slightly enlarged stomach.
Then he looked at the three worried children in front of him.
His emotions became complicated.
When he had watched Obito die by his hand, just as Rin had years ago, Kakashi's feelings had become almost impossible to describe.
He was furious at Obito for causing Minato and Kushina's deaths.
He was furious that Obito had allowed himself to be manipulated.
And mixed within that anger were countless other emotions Kakashi could neither explain nor communicate.
Everything tangled together until simply thinking about it became painful.
Kakashi had always been a deeply emotional person.
Perhaps receiving the Sharingan had made that side of him even more pronounced.
Rin's death had caused him to shut himself away emotionally for years.
He had nearly turned himself into a cold, merciless war machine.
Eventually, Minato had placed Kakashi in the Anbu.
Through mission after mission, Kakashi gradually managed to suppress the chaos inside his mind.
But before he could truly recover...
More tragedies followed.
One after another.
Considering everything he had endured, the fact that Kakashi had not completely lost his sanity already demonstrated extraordinary psychological resilience.
"I'm fine."
Kakashi spoke gently.
He still had not completely sorted through everything in his heart.
But he had managed to understand one thing.
The past could not be changed.
Continuing to obsess over it would accomplish nothing.
So rather than constantly torment himself with questions that had no answers, Kakashi decided to slowly adjust his mindset.
He would adapt.
He would get used to what had happened.
Then, someday, perhaps he could decide what to do with all those unresolved feelings.
Put more simply...
Kakashi had chosen to give up thinking.
There was another reason as well.
Kenichi had already warned them that a massive war was coming.
A battle concerning the survival of the entire Shinobi World.
Many people would die.
A great many.
Kakashi sometimes thought that if he happened to die in that battle...
Perhaps he would finally no longer need to struggle with any of this.
"Sensei."
Sasuke looked toward Kakashi's house.
Then back at Kakashi.
"Your house probably needs a thorough cleaning, doesn't it?"
He had not wanted to say anything.
But the smell was impossible to ignore.
Kakashi had been shut inside for far too long.
Kakashi's expression immediately stiffened.
....
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