Kakashi stood frozen in place, completely stunned. His mind exploded with a loud boom, and the long-suppressed walls in his heart shattered, collapsing into a warm, soothing pool.
His body trembled slightly as he uttered a sentence, unsure of what to say next.
"Just... a nightmare?"
"Yeah." Rin released him, clasping her hands behind her back, her large brown eyes curving into crescents like the moon.
To those who knew Kakashi, he appeared calm and composed. But Rin knew that he hadn't always been so serene. His father's death had made him somewhat extreme, even harboring resentment deep inside.
This dissatisfaction and resentment had shaped Kakashi's coldness and stubbornness. But as his companion, Rin understood better than anyone that Kakashi simply couldn't move on.
His coldness was directed both outward and towards himself.
When Naruto subtly mentioned Kakashi's recent state to her, Rin realized that her death must have left a massive psychological scar on him.
And when she finally saw Kakashi again, his appearance only confirmed her suspicions, that stubborn people didn't let go easily.
Even if time had blurred the past, Kakashi had never forgiven himself.
Seeing the familiar and warm smile on Nohara Rin's face, the gray corner of Kakashi's heart seemed to have a glimmer of life, and his eyes couldn't help but get wet.
"Cough." He sniffed, forcing his emotions back down.
The intensity of those feelings had long faded over the twenty years that had passed.
Even if he could recall the emotions of that time, the despair that had felt like a sledgehammer smashing through a crumbling wall…
What is left for him now is only numbness. But even then, his hands are still shaking. At the same time, amidst the joy, there is still a trace of fear in his heart, afraid that this is just an illusion that has lasted for a long time.
When he wakes up tomorrow morning, Rin would vanish like a bubble.
"It's too late now, and arranging accommodations will be difficult. Rin, why don't you rest here for the time being? There is a special lounge in the office, and the bathroom is over there
"...Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
"Clothes. Oh, that's right, you don't have a change of clothes. I'll have someone buy you some new ones. What kind do you... No, let's get you something to eat first. Are you hungry?"
It wasn't that there were no places to stay in Konoha. Although Konoha is called a village, its prosperity is no different from that of a market town, and it is only slightly inferior to the capital of the Land of Fire.
Kakashi just wanted to keep an eye on Rin, to make sure she was safe and sound. Only then could he truly relax.
Rin simply smiled and didn't think too much of it. Watching Kakashi rush around in a flustered state, she gradually felt at ease.
…
After washing up, Naruto lay sprawled on his empty bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He wasn't thinking much about Kakashi's affairs.
To be honest, he didn't care much about Kakashi's personal matters. Even after Rin's resurrection, his main thought was how to reasonably pass off the hot potato.
If it wasn't his karma, he wanted nothing to do with it. He just wanted to get back at Obito, and since Kakashi was caught in the middle, this was the perfect opportunity to brush it off.
Now, the problems before him had dwindled significantly. He had long realized that these troubles weren't like work, which was never-ending.
Instead, with each one resolved, the pile shrank. Once he finished everything, the Shinobi World would finally be free of all this chaos.
As long as he dealt with the Otsutsuki, the rest would be simple. By then, if he had the strength to go toe-to-toe with the Otsutsuki, he could pretty much do whatever he wanted in the Shinobi World.
He'd just warn the Five Great Nations one by one, 'No fighting, no fighting. Anyone who starts trouble dies.'
The thought made Naruto chuckle.
'What Kage of this or that? They'd all better behave. As long as the world didn't explode, I'd just kick back and enjoy life. I'd eat everything I'd never tried before… over and over, in every possible way.'
'The real retirement life.'
'How about just going into seclusion? Anyway, with the Gate of Underworld, I can go wherever I want, find a place where no one knows to hide, with Ino and Hinata by my side.'
'...Wait, no. I hadn't actually resolved the situation with Ino and Hinata yet. I'd just postponed the conflict.'
In the darkness, he let out a long sigh.
Being able to handle the Five Great Nations didn't mean he could smooth things over between Ino and Hinata. At the end of the day, these were two entirely different matters.
No matter how much power he wielded outside, around them, he still had to tread carefully. Not that he'd grovel… he just didn't want to see them upset.
He knew he wasn't exactly a saint and has many romantic debts. The more time goes by, the more he owes, like a bottomless pit he didn't know how to fill.
But he can't stop now. The play was only halfway through, so how could he just call it quits? The things he was doing… well, he couldn't exactly explain them to others.
He had to keep going. He couldn't just abandon everything now.
To put it bluntly, he wasn't a good person. But extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. He wasn't some omnipotent god… But if he'd been a principled 'good guy', his grave would already be overgrown with weeds.
Saving the world wasn't some movie. He didn't want to do this, but he had no choice. This was life-and-death terror, and the pressure was crushing. That's why he was dragging as many people into this mess as possible.
Since he couldn't explain the threat posed by the Otsutsuki, and even if he did, it wouldn't help, he used other excuses to pull more people in.
He refused to shoulder this alone. After all, that would be way too stupid.
The further things progressed, the more unbearable the pressure became.
He tossed and turned half the night, unable to sleep. Dealing with Obito had only made him more anxious. But Obito had threatened the people he cared about, so he had to die.
Now, he had to figure out how to deal with the Otsutsuki. He'd come up with the 'Fallen God Project', which is essentially to use genetic technology to pollute the corrupt the Otsutsuki's bloodline.
If Shinobi are mixed-blooded, then Otsutsuki are pure-blooded, then polluting the bloodline of these pure-blooded people is equivalent to pulling the god-like opponent to the same level as oneself.
The reason why the Otsutsuki are so powerful is not because of the pure blood in their body. Instead of trying to use them, become them, or surpass them, it was better to dilute their purity.
The Shinobi World was in chaos precisely because of this imbalance of power.
The emergence of purer-blooded mixed-blooded, compounded by the endless reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths' sons' Chakra, maintaining a fragile equilibrium.
At the end of the day, humans couldn't control this kind of power. Without a deep enough understanding of it, blindly chasing strength would only lead to the world's collapse.
What Naruto has to do is to slow down the occurrence of this process, which is equivalent to creating a buffer zone. Instead of obtaining the power of the Otsutsuki to deal with the Otsutsuki, he'd taint them.
Even if humanity eventually studied the Ōtsutsuki anyway, that was no longer his concern. As long as he lived, no one would recklessly obtain their power.
Research is one thing, and mindless consumption was another.
As a transmigrator, he can only do so much. The order of the world is chaotic, and there will always be someone who has to hold the sword, but Naruto wished there was an easier way.
He didn't want to be the one holding the sword. He wanted to find someone else to hold the sword.
Lost in these thoughts, he finally drifted into a fitful sleep in the early hours of the morning.