Kakashi's voice sounded fragmented, and it can be seen that he was nervous.
Rin's voice was also a little soft, barely audible, but they could make out the gist of it.
Rustling sounds drifted through the wall, and Naruto glanced at Choji beside him without thinking and warned him in a low voice.
"Quiet your breathing!"
Choji: "…"
The room fell silent again, as if no one was inside. Naruto frowned slightly, Choji narrowed his eyes, and Shikamaru glanced at the shadow beside him.
Bang, bang, bang!!!
Three sharp knocks landed on their heads. The three idiots only felt a pain on their heads and cried out in unison.
When they turned around, they saw that the man himself was standing behind them.
Kakashi looked at these three geniuses with a tired expression and sighed.
"What are you doing?"
"Uh…" Naruto took a step back and looked at Choji beside him with a questioning look.
With a look of fear on his face, Choji silently mouthed a 'polite phrase' at Naruto, his eyes practically bulged out of his skull, as if trying to explode Naruto's brain with sheer force.
Shikamaru stood lazily to the side, looking completely unfazed. He knew that this had nothing to do with him, and with Kakashi's style, he'd only drag the main culprit in for questioning.
"Naruto, stop staring at them. If you have something to say, come in and say it." Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and pulled him directly into the office.
At the same time, he stuck his head out and spoke to Choji and Shikamaru outside.
"It's getting late. Head home and rest."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!" The two replied in unison, and scurried downstairs like ghosts who'd just lost their souls.
Downstairs, Shikamaru and Choji walked under the streetlights, one after the other. Shikamaru wore a dark green windbreaker, with his hands clasped behind his head, his long shadow stretching out in front of him with an air of melancholy.
Choji was half a step behind, scratching his ears and cheeks in frustration.
"Shikamaru, who do you think that person really is? From Kakashi-sensei's reaction... it seems like they have some kind of special relationship?"
"I'm not sure. You'd have to ask Naruto for that… he's probably at the center of it all." Shikamaru replied absentmindedly, his thoughts still occupied with unfinished work.
Hearing this, Choji didn't press further. Shikamaru's brooding mood was visible to the naked eye, and even his lazy demeanor couldn't hide the sharp, upward drive in his spirit.
Back when Naruto first mentioned it, he didn't quite believe it, but now, Choji was genuinely starting to think that the Nanadaime Hokage might very well end up being Shikamaru.
Not that it was a bad thing. After all, the Hokage's position was the highest honor. Shikamaru had been his friend since childhood, and he was brilliant… of course Choji wanted the best for him.
But for some reason, it felt like the distance between them was getting farther and farther. They were still friends, but Shikamaru no longer had time to discuss meaningless things with him.
It was as if a thick, sorrowful barrier had risen between them, many things no longer needed to be shared.
While they were still good brothers now, one day, Choji might even have to address him as 'Hokage-sama'.
…
Inside the office, Naruto showed an expression of shameless defiance, playing dumb no matter what Kakashi asked.
"I don't know. The person I met by chance was using some creepy Forbidden Technique to bring people back to life. You know me… I can't stand injustice, so I had to step in and uphold justice."
"And then... well, she came back to life. It's not my fault. She said she knew you, Kakashi-sensei, so I brought her back to the village."
"Huh? No, I didn't report her identity. I thought she must've been someone important to you. Uh... her records were probably wiped clean anyway."
Kakashi felt a bit of a headache after hearing this.
Looking at Naruto's stubborn and crazy look, he couldn't know whether to feel angry and amused.
"Stop talking nonsense."
After he asked a few more questions and was sure that he could not get any information from Naruto, Kakashi gave up. Rin sat nervously in her chair, biting her lip as she glanced around.
Seeing this, Kakashi decided not to press Naruto further. He sighed, turned to look at Naruto and asked the last question.
"Did you take care of that guy? Any idea where he came from?"
He was referring to the man who had kidnapped Ino and Hinata, the dead Uchiha Obito.
But Kakashi didn't know his identity yet, nor that he was Obito. But no matter what, this person had put the village into a level two alert state, so he couldn't just ignore the issue of identity and let it go.
"Dead. Some guy I didn't recognize." Naruto shook his head with a calm expression.
"Where's the body?"
"Gone. I burned him to death and turned his body into ash." Naruto grinned. "That man had some skills. He's definitely not some random nobody."
"Hmm... Might be a Missing-nin. I'll have someone investigate other villages later." Kakashi nodded. Right now, he had to deal with Rin's situation and didn't have time to dwell on it.
The so-called investigation means that the Anbu would sneak into other Shinobi Villages to obtain information.
"Alright, let's leave it at that for now, as long as there's no immediate danger."
"So... can I go now?" Naruto asked tentatively.
"Wait." Kakashi naturally would not let Naruto leave. His mind was still reeling and he didn't know how to handle Rin's sudden return.
He needed time to process things, that's why he'd dragged Naruto in for questioning in the first place. So how could he let Naruto go when he hadn't calmed down yet?
Naruto turned to look at Rin, then looked at the flustered Kakashi, and simply pretended not to hear Kakashi's words as he backed out of the room.
"Hey! You…!"
The office fell into silence again. Kakashi stood with his back to Rin, not knowing what to say. Rin was also a little nervous, sitting there with her head down.
"Uh... Rin, do you remember anything else from when you woke up?" Kakashi finally turned and asked.
"No." She shook her head.
"I see." Kakashi fell silent again.
Rin suddenly stood up, looked at Kakashi, pursed her lips, and said after some hesitation.
"Kakashi... am I causing trouble for you?"
"No! Not at all!" Kakashi waved his hands frantically, his voice trembling slightly, fearing that Rin would misunderstand him.
"It's no trouble, it's definitely no trouble."
"I'm just... glad you're back. That's all."
"It's getting late now. Tomorrow morning, I'll have someone prepare documentation for you. Rin, you may need to go to Konoha Hospital for a full check-up later."
"N-not that there's anything wrong! I mean... I'm just really glad you're alive!"
By the end, Kakashi's voice was shaking. Rin smiled understandingly and stood at the edge of the chair as if remembering something.
She took two steps forward, closing the distance between them, with a warm smile on her face. The distance between the two was only half an arm's length now, and she took one last step and gently wrapped her arms around Kakashi in a light embrace.
Her voice was soft, as if to comfort him.
"Kakashi, I didn't die. I just... took a long nap. You don't have to blame yourself anymore. What happened back then was my choice, and it was also the duty of every Konoha's Shinobi."
"I've never regretted it. Everything I did was for the village, for my friends, for my family. I've never resented you, Kakashi. You have always been my trusted companion."
"Neither I nor Obito ever blamed you. Being placed on the same team as you was the luckiest thing that has happened to me. After all these years… it's enough."
Rin placed her hands on Kakashi's shoulders as she whispered gently.
"It's enough. You don't have to carry this guilt anymore. Just treat it like a bad dream, Kakashi."