Sorry, I haven't been posting lately; my professors have really been throwing the work at me. Send help, lol—exam after exam, essay after essay, presentation after presentation. A real pain in my ass if you ask me. I'd much rather be making chapters for my fic tbh.
My Professors:
Me:
Lol, hope you enjoy the chapter.
- With Kakashi -
Tilting his head to dodge a kunai, Kakashi pointed at the Sand chunin and caught him in a genjutsu, a swift kunai to and through his chest, killing him.
The Sand ninja hesitated, seeing that a kunai could kill their comrade in such a way was really hurting any confidence they had in themselves.
Using their hesitation, Kakashi summoned a shadow clone, before he flung seven shuriken in a wide volley, hand seals following that multiplied them into thirty-five shuriken, the clone having just finished his own seals.
'Wind Style: Great Breakthrough'
The Sand Jonin were the only ones quick enough to avoid a quick and violent death, the wind jutsu-powered shuriken, shredding through all the defensive jutsu with ease, the dead chunin resembling pincushions.
"DIE!"
A Jonin shouted as he sprang up behind Kakashi, using the hiding like a mole jutsu, a kunai closing in on his neck, three others closing in on both of Kakashi's sides, and a pair of hands sprouting from the ground to hold him in place.
"Amusing."
Kakashi drawled before a wave of purple lightning spread out around him under his feet, catching the attacking Jonin off guard and frying them with a continuous flow of the deadly current.
Kakashi let the jutsu go, breaking the hands that had held him in place as they had only tightened when his lightning overrode the Jonin's brain signals.
Walking past the smoking corpses, Kakashi walked over to see his dad finish the last Sand Jonin with fluid, wind-like movement and a thrusting sword slash to the Jonin's heart.
"This is quite the sword you have."
Sakumo took the time to admire the craftsmanship now that he wasn't fighting.
Kakashi stopped next to his father.
"It was forged from the chakra metal of your old blade."
Sakumo blinked.
"My blade? What happened to my blade?"
Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Well..... it broke."
He replied before looking away as if observing the village, ignoring the blank stare that he could feel on the side of his face.
"Haaa."
Sakumo exhaled and shook his head with a slight smile, merely acting upset to mess with his son.
"Well, at least something good came out of my blade."
Sakumo tossed it back to Kakashi.
"Make sure you train in your swordsmanship after this, yours was..... for a lack of a better word, lacking."
Kakashi nodded, sheathing his blade and sealing it back into his forearm.
"So, do you want to be free?"
Kakashi asked, seeing the conflict in Sakumo's eyes at the question.
"Father, I don't agree with what you did. You left me, a child, to shoulder the scrutiny of the village. But I know why you did it, and I don't hate you for it. I was bitter growing up, but I eventually came to terms with your decision and have long since forgiven you. You made a tough choice, and the villagers didn't understand, or they would have if someone didn't use the situation to their advantage."
Sakumo listened, eyes widening slightly as he listened to his son.
"Son, this sort of talk is...."
Kakashi held up a hand to interrupt.
"Treasonous? Compared to the one responsible, I'm a virtuous man who loves rainbows, peace, and everything bright. Danzo."
"How do you know this?"
Sakumo didn't distrust his son, but he never took anything anyone said as the be-all and end-all.
"I served in his Root for a brief period. Danzo, along with Orochimaru, experimented on villagers and later children to reproduce the Wood Style. Many died, and only one was successful. The one that managed to survive served under my Anbu squad when I was captain."
"Then why are we talking about him? Surely he's dead, or at the very least imprisoned for life, with his chakra sealed."
Sakumo looked disturbed; human experimentation on the villagers was the taboo of taboos, and no one would normally escape punishment if their involvement were known.
"For all his strengths and knowledge, the Third Hokage has a severe weakness: his kindness. His kindness is a double-edged sword that Danzo has used to build power quietly. The job of the Root is to protect the village from threats, both domestic and foreign, but the real purpose of that organization is to further an ambitious old man. I should know, because Danzo once tried to assassinate the Hokage using the wood style user I just talked about, but I managed to inform him, and Tenzo was freed from the Root and put under me in my squad."
Sakumo was speechless, and how could he not be? The village Elder that he previously thought was just a bitter man with too much zeal for the title of Hokage was, in fact, corrupt. Not only did he apparently push the villagers to shame him, but he was also involved in human experimentation and an attempted assassination attempt on the Third Hokage.
"What could the Hokage be thinking?"
Sakumo rarely, if ever, openly questioned the Hokage's decisions, but right now, he can't help but question the man's reasoning. Regardless of being soft-hearted, there had to be a limit, and that limit should have been reached long ago if what his son revealed was true.
Kakashi let his dad think to himself for a bit, silently wondering how he'd react if he told him about the other things he 'suspected' Danzo was guilty of.
'He might just rush to kill the war hawk if he knew all the things I know.'
Kakashi had to fight not to smirk under his mask; the thought was amusing and had an ironic sense of justice to it, but Kakashi had already decided that he'd be the one to kill the mummy. Kakashi turned to look at his father as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I think I'm ready to go," Sakumo said softly, his voice steady despite the weight of the words. He offered a conflicted smile, acknowledging the bizarre nature of the situation—reanimated by force, yet finally speaking to his grown-up son face-to-face. He knew he didn't belong in this realm, and a large part of him wished to reunite with his wife, having been stuck in a lonely afterlife for years, held back by the crushing regrets of his final actions.
"I'm glad that you have forgiven me, Kakashi..." he continued, his gaze drifting to the village before returning to his son. "That means more than you know. To hear that from you... I can move on in peace.
He looked back at Kakashi, his dark eyes deeply lined with decades of regret, yet now holding a distinct undercurrent of profound relief. The conflict had vanished, replaced by the certainty of impending peace.
"And finally see your mother."
Sakumo smiled, his form bathed in a soft white aura as the pull of the afterlife called his name.
"It would appear that I'll be able to move on naturally," he murmured, his voice gentle.
"Live well, Kakashi. Don't rush to join me, and be sure to live the way you want."
A single tear ran down Sakumo's left eye, his figure beginning to fade rapidly into the light.
"I'll tell your mother all about you. I'm sure she'll love hearing all about it."
These last words were mere whispers in the wind, but Kakashi made sure each one was ingrained in his memory. As the light intensified and Sakumo finally vanished completely, Kakashi was left gazing down at the cold, silent corpse of the leader of the Sound genin team, Dosu.
- Chapter End -