Chapter 114 It Can’t Be Just a Passing Encounter (Ch 114)

Ever since Kakashi was dragged out of his home by Minato Namikaze that afternoon and turned back into a living person from a zombie, he has often been invited by the other party to team up to do missions together.

Whether at work or in life, Minato and Kushina took great care of him, and sometimes even invited him to dinner together.

The seniors probably took such good care of me because of our friendship with my father.

As he thought about that, he felt a little sad.

Since he was a child, he wanted to surpass his father, but now that he has lost his protection, he is still treated preferentially because of his father’s halo.

Whenever he thought of this, Kakashi couldn’t help but recall the past and realized that he hadn’t talked to his father for a long time since he became a Chunin.

The most recent time was when he lost his way in the dark waves and asked the other party which was more important, his companions or the mission.

Why didn’t you talk to your father more often before?

Why are you always in a hurry to catch up instead of accompanying?

Why is it only now that we know how to cherish everything that we used to take for granted?

Unfortunately, no matter how much he blames himself, time will not give the repentant a second chance, allowing him to return to his father’s arms and be the child who can act coquettishly and receive the other’s loving smile.

Kakashi had also thought about whether he should learn medical ninjutsu, but after trying hard, he found that he did not have much talent in this area.

All we can do is wait.

Waiting for a miracle.

…

Another mission completed, Kakashi returned to the village to rest.

In fact, he doesn’t like going home now. The empty room is full of cold air, and there is only a set of bowls and chopsticks left on the table, which makes people feel depressed.

A home without his father and Naraku is just a house.

But there is no way, he always has to come back.

It was late autumn, and as soon as he entered the gate, he could see that the entire Konoha was like him, stained with gray from the inside out.

It was even more desolate after the cold rain. The withered and yellow leaves were knocked down by the heavy rain curtain, covering both sides of the street. Only dry branches were left, stretching in vain towards the sky, trying to get the last bit of warmth from the sun in the cold wind.

He walked on the road with his head down, and two younger boys ran past him, laughing and joking, trying to figure out how many strings of meatballs their collective pocket money would be enough to buy.

The innocent and joyful laughter of children entered my ears, but it became silver needles piercing my heart.

The pain from every heartbeat and every breath reminded him how precious he had lost.

Those things he should have had have long been lost in the cold wind and can only exist as empty illusions in his memory.

Unconsciously, he has become so far away from his original life.

It was so long ago that he couldn’t even remember how he was so conflicted and confused when he made the choice, and how he was so cruel as to throw away even the token of their love.

Recalling over and over again has turned the original “Kakashi” into a stranger. He stands downstream of the long river of time, gazing at “himself” upstream, and falls into confusion and bewilderment more and more frequently.

What was Kakashi thinking at that time?

Kakashi looked up at the sky. Under the gray-blue sky, the pale white sun slowly peeked out from behind the clouds, showing some mercy to the creatures wandering in their memories.

[Kakashi…? ]

A real and familiar call came from behind, and it seemed to be very close. Kakashi turned around suddenly, but there was no one behind him.

[Kakashi…]

The voice seemed to ring from the bottom of my heart and linger in my mind.

It was as if the sealed part of the soul loosened with the passage of time, revealing a tiny, mysterious crack, from which a little light leaked out and turned into voices calling out to him.

“Naraku?”

He saw the cold wind carrying the fallen leaves and forming a small vortex on the side of the road, as if in response to him.

…

Hokage Building, Hokage’s office.

Minato was standing in front of the desk, receiving a task from the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen. Behind him were Akimichi Choza and Aburame Shima, who were also old acquaintances of his.

After reading the mission information, he applied to Sarutobi Hiruzen to allow Kakashi to join the team.

“Hokage-sama, Kakashi is a very good and dedicated ninja, more than capable of taking on this mission.”

Sarutobi Hiruzen smacked his pipe, pondered for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.

“Sure, you can do whatever you want.”

He knew that Minato had been taking Kakashi Hatake with him often in recent times and had been taking good care of him.

If someone else were to form cliques like this it would definitely not work, but Minato is after all his disciple, and he grew up under Jiraiya’s nose during his youth, so he naturally trusts the other person’s character and loyalty.

Besides, he was a little concerned about the current condition of the Son of White Fang. Such a talented person should be fully utilized to become a ninja who carries out the will of fire. He should not be disabled for no reason.

It would be better to let Minato watch the other party, perhaps it would save him some effort.

…

After dispersing with his companions, Minato walked out of the Hokage building alone, glanced at the white-haired man waiting not far away, and saw that he still looked as if he had suffered a fatal blow, so he smiled helplessly.

“Teacher Jiraiya, you haven’t recovered yet?”

“Can you tell me how to recover?”

Jiraiya suddenly came in front of Minato, pinched his shoulders with both hands, and complained in a low voice with a sad face.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Tsunade was in the village some time ago? It was just a little bit short.”

“This…” Minato was full of questions: “It’s not like you and Lady Tsunade don’t see each other all year round, why are you so depressed this time?”

Jiraiya took his apprentice in his arms and walked back, imparting the philosophy of life to him earnestly.

“Minato, you don’t understand. People can lose opportunities again and again, but they can’t just pass by and miss them.”

“You haven’t experienced this feeling before, you are still too young…”

“By the way, what mission did you take? I just came back and wanted to give you some guidance.”

“Didn’t you say that the ninjutsu you were researching was almost complete?”

–As usual, we’ve strayed off topic while chatting, Jiraiya-sensei.

Minato was confused, Minato didn’t understand, but Minato still maintained a decent smile.

“I’m really sorry, Sensei, but the Hokage-sama has assigned me to Loulan, and it will probably take a week or two for me to return.”

“That’s fine. It won’t take long. I’ll wait for you in the village until you finish your mission. We can talk about it then.”

After Jiraiya showed off in front of his apprentice, he put his worries aside and his mind started to become active.

Although it’s a pity that I didn’t see Tsunade, but now that the weather is getting colder, there must be a lot of materials to take from the hot springs, hehe~

When Minato saw Jiraiya’s behavior, he knew what his teacher was thinking. In order to owe as little moral debt as possible, he quickly grabbed the other party and said that they hadn’t seen each other for a long time, and the master and disciple should go to the tavern for a drink first.

Anyway, the mission starts tomorrow, so it won’t delay anything.