Chapter 155: Kakashi's Image Completely Shattered
"Strange."
After waking up, Kakashi lay on the bed twisting his neck and rotating his arms, moving his body around.
He found it strange that after fainting and waking up, he felt full of energy.
Just before losing consciousness, he had felt like his body was about to give out, in intense pain and discomfort.
How did lying unconscious for a bit fix everything?
He wasn't a Uzumaki like Naruto, nor was he a jinchūriki.
How had his recovery ability become this strong?
Or had he unconsciously developed a ninjutsu called "Sleeping" where once he used "Sleeping" he would instantly recover to full condition?
That didn't seem right either.
The time he was hit by Itachi's Tsukuyomi, he still woke up with an aching waist and a splitting headache.
Could it be that Yamato had come again?
Possible, but unlikely.
Kakashi knew Yamato's personality. After Kakashi beat him up last time, Yamato probably wouldn't secretly stuff wood into him again.
After thinking for a long time without finding an answer, Kakashi simply gave up.
Anyway, feeling better was a good thing.
After declining Might Guy's challenge to a sparring match, Kakashi left the Medical Department and walked along the streets of Konoha.
"Sigh."
Kakashi let out a sigh.
The two Tsukuyomi used on him earlier were meant to turn illusion into reality, extracting parts of Obito's and Rin's bodies to be used for Impure World Reincarnation, to verify whether Shiromo's plan was feasible.
But he had ended up fainting at the very end.
The experiment must have already finished by now.
Kakashi wasn't really concerned about the results.
He just regretted missing the chance to see Rin one more time.
Now that the experiment was over, the Impure World Reincarnation should have already been released.
So Kakashi stopped thinking about it.
Among Konoha's well-known figures, Kakashi could be said to be one of the most tragic.
Parents died early, then his close friend was "killed in action", another teammate was killed by his own hands, his sensei and sensei's wife died…
By the time of Boruto's era, even two of his former subordinates were gone.
The fact that Guy and Yamato were still alive was no small miracle.
Because he had lost so much, Kakashi could even smile when telling Sasuke, "Everyone I care about are already dead."
Because he had lost so much, Kakashi could now adjust his mindset very quickly.
And the thing that first helped Kakashi walk out of the darkness and stabilize his mental state was the novel Jiraiya gave him.
It was also the true love of his life.
Kakashi pushed Rin out of his mind. After buying a pile of daily necessities at the supermarket, he prepared to head home.
While walking, Kakashi suddenly noticed a huge poster pasted on a wall.
It announced the celebration of 'Icha Icha Paradise' officially being adapted into film and television. Buying a movie ticket allowed participation in events and raffles, with various mysterious gifts.
Kakashi's eyes instantly widened.
He completely ignored the bags in his hands, throwing them to the ground as he lunged at the poster, stroking the characters on it while letting out lewd giggles of "Heh heh, heh heh, heh heh."
At that moment, on the rooftop of a building behind him, Kushina and Rin happened to be passing by and saw the scene.
After leaving the Medical Department, the two had planned to patrol the village to see if there were any signs of the masked man, to prevent him from hiding somewhere and plotting to harm the village.
They had just finished patrolling when they saw Kakashi's behavior.
"When we were kids, Obito told me Kakashi was a masked, repressed pervert. I never thought it was actually true…"
Rin clutched her head, her eyes unfocused as she spoke.
"This is what happens when you're corrupted by Jiraiya, one of the three ninja taboos… no, wait."
Kushina was in the middle of sighing when she suddenly realized something: "This is actually a good thing, Rin. At least it proves Kakashi likes girls."
That's right. With the distortion of human nature and the collapse of morality, this had somehow become a good thing.
When Kushina learned about Naruto and Sasuke's bond, she had felt something similar.
Before she died, she hoped Naruto wouldn't be led astray by Jiraiya and would avoid the three ninja taboos. Now it seemed being like Kakashi might be better.
"Mm, that's true."
Rin nodded.
Compared to the other possibilities, this really was a good thing. But for some reason, she didn't feel happy at all.
It felt like some childhood halo had shattered.
After lewdly fondling the poster for a while, Kakashi found the event location listed in one corner.
The offline event location in Konoha was Ino's family flower shop.
Kakashi turned around, picked up the bags from the ground, and sprinted toward the destination.
In front of the flower shop, a line of moderate length had already formed.
Ino stood beside a rolling raffle machine, helping people draw prizes one by one.
Making a purchase at the flower shop granted one raffle chance. Buying a movie ticket there also gave one raffle chance. Reciting classic lines from 'Icha Icha Paradise' in front of the staff earned another.
In addition, some raffle tickets were distributed through collaboration products.
For example, instant noodles.
After reading the rules, Kakashi rummaged through his bags and dejectedly realized he hadn't bought a single cup of instant noodles.
"Looks like I only have the basic three raffle chances."
Kakashi's expression became serious.
It was just about time to visit Obito's and Rin's names at the Memorial Stone anyway. Kakashi bought two bouquets of flowers and one movie ticket, then got in line.
"To think Jiraiya's boring stuff actually got turned into a movie?"
Kushina squatted on the rooftop, looking down.
"So, Kushina-sensei, what is that novel actually about?"
Rin was very curious.
After all, she was still underage when she died and couldn't read those kinds of things.
Seeing Kakashi act so lewd earlier, she only knew it was adult content.
But what exactly was it about?
"Uh…"
Just as Kushina hesitated, wondering how to explain it, a figure appearing below made her eyes widen.
"Naruto, Naruto?!"
Kushina discovered that Naruto was holding a thick stack of raffle tickets, grinning as he lined up behind Kakashi and even greeted him.
—Had Naruto also been poisoned by Jiraiya?!
"Kushina-sensei, this is a good thing."
Rin used the same logic Kushina had just used to comfort her, to comfort Kushina now.
"..."
It really was a good thing. At least it meant Naruto was still interested in girls.
Kushina helplessly accepted reality.
It was indeed a good thing, but why couldn't she feel happy?
Also, just how much did Naruto like Jiraiya's novels?
Kakashi had only bought flowers and a movie ticket on the side, earning two raffle tickets.
Add one more from reciting lines later, and that made three.
But Naruto's thick stack…
When Kakashi saw the thick stack of raffle tickets in Naruto's hands, his eyes widened.
Two little figures appeared in Kakashi's mind.
The evil one urged him to knock Naruto out and seize the tickets.
The good one said, yes, this is for Naruto's own good.
"Naruto, you're not an adult yet. You can't watch this kind of thing. Sensei will hold onto these for you."
As Kakashi spoke, he grabbed the raffle tickets from Naruto in one motion and stuffed them into his waist pouch.
Naruto stared at his now-empty hands, his smile instantly froze.
He had come for the second prize: ten whole boxes of collaboration instant noodles!
And Kakashi-sensei had so evilly stolen his raffle tickets?!
"Kakashi-sensei, give them back! Don't force me!"
Naruto stretched out his hand, demanding them back from Kakashi.
(End of this chapter)