"What would I go in for?" Kakashi glanced at him and took out the Icha-Icha Paradise from his waist pouch again. This time, he put it down again after barely two minutes of reading.
Naruto chuckled beside him, purely enjoying the spectacle.
Kakashi couldn't be bothered to engage with him, his gaze fixed on the direction of the examination room, his heart filled with unease.
He had long believed all his former companions were dead, leaving him with no lingering attachments.
Everything, whether he could let go or not, had slowly faded with time.
But now, out of nowhere, Rin was alive. It was as if she had simply been asleep, only to wake up twenty years later, suddenly resurrected from death.
At first, he had been overjoyed. Now, however, he was consumed by deep worry.
The gifts of fate were never given without reason. Perhaps the price had already been secretly marked long ago. Something as miraculous as resurrection might sound incredible, but someone always had to pay the cost.
In contrast, Naruto was far more composed. After all, the price had already been paid… by Obito.
The examination results came out quickly, and everything was normal. Sakura scrutinized the report repeatedly, confirming there were no abnormalities whatsoever before nodding firmly in assurance.
Kakashi was relieved in his heart, though his expression remained as calm as ever.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sakura. We'll take our leave now."
"Of course, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura bowed politely to Kakashi.
Only after watching Kakashi and Rin Nohara walk side by side out of sight did Sakura's eyelids twitch. She immediately turned to Naruto, her face alight with excitement.
"That neechan's relationship with Kakashi-sensei isn't ordinary, is it?!"
"They are former companions, similar to us." Naruto replied nonchalantly, "Kakashi won't have any free time now. He probably doesn't even want to be Hokage anymore."
"Similar to us?" Sakura's expression turned odd. She tugged at Naruto's sleeve, making a gesture that implied you-know-what-I-mean.
Naruto: "…"
"You dirty-minded girl!" He rolled his eyes, "What I meant was Kakashi cares deeply about Nohara Rin. Didn't you see how he was earlier? He couldn't even focus on his book. I'm pretty sure he's going to clash with the higher-ups."
"That's unlikely, isn't it?" Sakura frowned, standing beside him as she gazed toward the Konoha Street.
From the corridor, they could see a side street branching off the main road. Under the blinding sunlight, Kakashi walked lazily with his hands in his pockets, side by side with Rin.
Rin's petite figure complemented Kakashi's as they strolled together.
"Unlikely? Hah." Naruto narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "You don't understand Kakashi. He might care about the village's safety, but he doesn't give a damn about being the Hokage."
"He has long been accustomed to being alone. All his friends, companions and relatives are dead. But now, suddenly, Nohara Rin is alive again. If you were Kakashi, what would you do?"
"This..." Sakura was speechless for a moment, the answer was obvious, "I will do everything I can to protect her, even if it meant wielding the Hokage's authority."
"If that's what you're thinking, Kakashi has definitely considered it too. But his worries run deeper." The smile on Naruto's face remained, "There are many people in the higher-ups who are dissatisfied with Kakashi, and the nobles of the Land of Fire have been eyeing him covetously."
"With Nohara Rin's sudden return this time, that group of people probably won't stay quiet. They'll probably use her as leverage to pressure Kakashi. If I were them, I wouldn't pass up this golden opportunity."
"It's that serious?" Sakura was a little surprised, "I don't see any issues with Nohara Rin. Her physical condition is completely normal, and there are no sealing techniques in her body. Once she passes the Intelligence Division's review, shouldn't that be it?"
"That's how it should be, but just wait and see. I can't say for sure." Naruto said, and then walked away from the railing and looked into the distance, "Anyway, let's drop this. We've got our own things to do."
"Right." Sakura chuckled, sidling up to Naruto as they walked, "We're short on manpower right now. I'm planning to train some people to take over the Medical Department's duties so I can resign and follow you."
"Kakashi's definitely going to have a headache over that. He's counting on you to hold up the Medical Department." Naruto also chuckled, turned and walked down the stairs.
"Kakashi-sensei is busy with Rin's affairs, isn't he? Why would he have time to worry about this?" Sakura's laughter was light and melodious, carrying a hint of coquettishness, "And if Kakashi-sensei clashes with the higher-ups, then there's even less reason for me to stay."
"What about her opinion?"
"Her?" Dark Sakura chuckled, then suddenly changed to a mysterious tone, as if lowering her voice, "Why don't you just seduce her?"
Naruto: "..."
Two crisp sets of footsteps faded away, and the conversation in the hallway gradually disappeared.
…
Intelligence Division.
Ino suddenly popped into Kakashi's line of sight, laughing extremely happily. Her deep blue eyes flickered between the delicate, youthful Rin and Kakashi, her gaze burning with the fire of gossip.
"Kakashi-sensei! Hello!" She stood in the corridor, waving enthusiastically at him.
Her shout made half the Intelligence Division lift their heads from their desks. While the Hokage wasn't exactly a rare sight, most of the time, Kakashi only appeared on official podiums during speeches.
Moreover, the Sixth Hokage rarely visited the Intelligence Division. Today is a big surprise, as he is also accompanied by a beautiful woman who looks to be in her early twenties.
'Huh? The old man's springtime?' Everyone was shocked, 'So even an old tree could bloom!'
It wasn't an exaggeration. The number of Konoha's most eligible bachelors could be counted on two hands. Kakashi had topped the list for his complete disinterest in women, and everyone close to him was convinced he'd never awaken to those kinds of feelings.
It wasn't like the village lacked suitable Kunoichi, but Kakashi remained utterly indifferent.
Despite reading Jiraiya's Icha-Icha Paradise until his nose bled, he never showed any real interest in the opposite sex. And whether it was civilian girls or Kunoichi, he ignored them all.
It was hard not to suspect that Kakashi simply had no attraction to real women and only fell for girls from fictional world. But now, this old bachelor had a breathtakingly beautiful girl by his side?
"Uh…" Kakashi scratched his cheek, feeling a little embarrassed. Rin was even more nervous than him, glancing at him uncertainly.
"Hello." He could only bite the bullet and responded, "Just here to take care of some business. No need to make a fuss."
The embarrassed Kakashi couldn't care less, and hurriedly pulled Rin away from the scene, motioning for Ino to follow so they could discuss matters. After a whole morning, they finally completed the procedures.
Ino used the Mind Body Switch Technique to search Rin's memory, and did not find any signs of tampering, nor did she find any fluctuations from Sealing Technique's Chakra.
With this, the possibility of Rin is someone impersonating her or a spy was ruled out.
The next step was to fill in the registration forms. The moment Ino typed Rin's name into the computer, she suddenly looked up at the two of them.
"What age should I put?"
"Well… Rin should be the same age as me, right? Thirty-one or thirty-two?" Kakashi scratched his head and said without thinking.
"Thirty?" Ino's mouth fell open, "No way, Kakashi-sensei, don't joke around! This sister looks like she's barely in her twenties. How could she be the same age as you?"
"I really am…" Rin murmured softly.
Perhaps it has something to do with resurrection, but her soul looks like this when she is resurrected, and her body also matches this appearance.
As a result, her face and body look no different from those in her twenties, and it is indeed difficult to confirm her age.
"Let's just write something younger, like twenty-three?" Kakashi suggested.
"Yeah." Rin nodded obediently.