Minato Namikaze's gift was a pair of heart-shaped crystal pendants.
The two halves could be joined together to form a complete heart. The vendor had spouted a lot of beautiful, poetic nonsense about its meaning, but Kyosuke hadn't listened to any of it; he just thought it was way too damn expensive.
However, it seemed the effect was perfect. The two people on the boat were already hugging.
At this moment, Kakashi had the fireworks ready. He was just about to light the fuse when Kyosuke urgently pulled him back.
"Don't disturb them. Let's leave."
According to the script, at this exact moment Kakashi was supposed to set off the fireworks, Noriko would turn on the colored lights, and brilliant explosions would light up the sky while the forest glowed romantically.
However, the three kids looked at the serene lake surface and mutually decided it was far better to retreat quietly.
They had no idea that Minato, emboldened by the successful confession and very excited, leaned in to whisper pleasingly to Kushina, "I still have a surprise."
Kushina, leaning comfortably against his shoulder, grew curious. "What surprise?"
"Don't worry, you'll definitely like it." Minato looked toward the shoreline expectantly.
"Isn't it starting yet?"
"Uh, probably soon..."
That night, Minato—who had been completely stood up by his wingmen—hadn't even gotten to fully savor the sweetness of new love before Kushina gave him a solid beating for his 'deception' regarding the surprise.
Despite the bruised ego, from that day on, Minato's face was radiant. His cheerful sunshine aura reached blinding levels, and he happily began teaching Kyosuke the Rasengan as promised.
Days later, Kyosuke looked at the violently dissipating Chakra in his palm and shook his head helplessly. He had failed again.
Minato encouraged him. "Don't lose heart. You've made great progress this month. I estimate you'll be able to learn it within half a year."
Half a year?
Even if all five of our 'minds' practice together in the dream space, it would still take this long to learn a high-level Ninjutsu. We're far behind the true geniuses.
For example, Kakashi had already begun successfully creating his original jutsu, the Chidori.
After the instruction session finished, the squad disbanded. Not long after Kyosuke left the training grounds, he saw Minato waiting for him at the intersection ahead.
"Minato-sensei, is something the matter?"
Minato nodded, his expression unusually heavy and worried.
"Kyosuke, your personality is relatively mature for your age. Please pay close attention to Kakashi during this time."
"Kakashi?"
Kyosuke was genuinely puzzled. Kakashi had been perfectly fine these past few days. He did missions seriously, trained hard, and his strength was progressing rapidly.
Kyosuke hadn't noticed any problems.
Minato explained vaguely, "It's his father. You'll find out soon enough. He's encountered some severe difficulties recently that might cause trouble for Kakashi. As a teammate in the same squad, you need to care for him."
Hearing this, Kyosuke's heart skipped a beat.
What was meant to come has finally arrived.
In the anime, Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, abandoned a crucial mission to save his comrades. This was met with widespread criticism and blame—even from the very comrades he had saved—which ultimately drove him to suicide.
Kyosuke didn't know if there was a darker political power struggle involved. After all, as a powerful ninja who surpassed even the Sannin and was known globally as the White Fang of Konoha, Sakumo was only in his early thirties. He was in his prime years and arguably the village's most important pillar of military strength.
Just because of one failed mission, how could such massive, coordinated public pressure arise? Every ninja knew that the vast majority of shinobi have experienced failure.
Look at the Sannin: Jiraiya stayed away from the village for years, Tsunade abandoned the village because of her lover's death, and Orochimaru was conducting illegal human experiments. Each offense was more excessive than the last, yet none were driven to death by public opinion.
Common sense dictated the village should have cherished Sakumo like a treasure, suppressing any rumors with a wave of the Hokage's hand. Even if he wanted to die, it shouldn't have been allowed.
Yet, reality was exactly the opposite. It would be strange if there wasn't something fishy going on in the shadows.
But Kyosuke was currently just a Genin. These grand political matters weren't for him to consider. He could only follow Minato's request and take good care of Kakashi.
"Don't worry, Minato-sensei. I know what to do."
That day, Kakashi returned home to find his father somewhat silent and withdrawn, but he didn't think much of it and enthusiastically continued developing the Chidori.
In the following days, vicious rumors suddenly erupted in the village. People were openly discussing Sakumo's act of abandoning the mission, and many accused him of being too weak and not a qualified ninja.
Hearing the escalating rumors, Kyosuke knew Sakumo's life had entered a countdown. He felt deep regret for this soon-to-pass powerhouse, and immediately went to find Guy.
"Guy, you've heard the rumors, right? Many people are blaming Kakashi's father. Kakashi must be in a terrible mood right now. Let's go comfort him."
Guy was enthusiastic and sincere, possessing great personal charm. Kyosuke planned to bring Guy along, knowing his boundless energy would have a better effect on lifting Kakashi's spirits.
Guy, warm-hearted as always, immediately agreed. "That's right! A life full of friendship is what makes one's blood boil! Let's set off right now."
On the way, the two of them pooled their accumulated pocket money to buy some high-quality fruit, soon arriving at the Hatake compound.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Kakashi opened the door, clearly surprised to see Kyosuke and Guy standing there.
Kyosuke observed Kakashi's expression and found that he actually seemed fine, showing no overly negative emotions yet.
After all, right now people were merely accusing his father of abandoning the mission. To be fair, such an accusation itself couldn't be called entirely wrong; for a shinobi, completing the mission is paramount. Kakashi simply couldn't imagine that his legendary father would commit suicide over some bad gossip, so he wasn't yet in pain.
Kyosuke smiled warmly. "We've been teammates for so long, yet I haven't visited your home. The weather is nice today, so I brought Guy over to hang out. We wanted to see how a genius lives, and see if there are any secret training methods lying around."
Guy grinned even more enthusiastically, clenching his fist. "I've become much stronger recently and want to challenge you! You can't refuse today."
Seeing the smiling faces of his two classmates, the slight haze in Kakashi's heart was swept away. He felt genuinely happy, but still crossed his arms defensively. "Come in first. But don't think I don't know, Kyosuke—you came right at mealtime just to eat our meat, didn't you?"
Kyosuke followed Kakashi into the yard, not denying it at all. He chuckled. "Was I not being obvious enough? You only just figured that out?"
Guy pointed to the bag in his hand, speaking up for Kyosuke. "Kyosuke actually bought these fruits! It's the first time I've ever seen him buy a gift for someone."
Kyosuke laughed loudly. "I didn't have an income before, so I could only shamelessly leech off others! Now that I have an income, naturally I have to show some appreciation. When I become Hokage in the future, I'll treat you all to a massive feast."
Hearing Kyosuke's boastful words, Kakashi closed his eyes speechlessly. "It seems we won't be eating your food anytime soon, then."
By this time, the three had crossed the yard and entered the main hall, where Kyosuke finally came face to face with the White Fang of Konoha—Sakumo Hatake.
"Hello, Uncle!"
Kyosuke and Guy bowed respectfully in greeting. Sakumo's attitude was incredibly gentle as he smilingly invited the boys to sit down, while Kakashi went to fetch some tea.
"I know you both; you are excellent ninjas. With you as comrades, Kakashi will be able to overcome any great difficulties he encounters in the future."
Sitting there, Sakumo didn't possess the terrifying sharpness of the legendary White Fang at all. Instead, he was gentle and elegant, like a kindly elder giving warm guidance.
Kyosuke and Guy quickly acted humble.
Kyosuke rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly. "Actually, we both have our own ulterior motives for coming today. Guy has always wanted to challenge Kakashi, and I've always wanted to learn swordsmanship. Uncle, your swordsmanship is famous throughout the entire Ninja World, so I was hoping to receive some guidance from you."
Kakashi rolled his eyes from the side. He knew it—Kyosuke, that massive miser, couldn't possibly let himself lose out. Buying the fruit was definitely a calculated bribe.