The next day, on the school's high platform, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was delivering a passionate speech.
"Where the leaves dance, the fire will also burn unceasingly. The firelight will continue to illuminate the Village and allow the newborn leaves to sprout..."
Konoha-exclusive Super S-rank Genjutsu—Will of Fire, activated!
Kakashi looked at the students on the playground, who were worked up into an excited state by the influence of the Will of Fire, and couldn't help but yawn.
He did believe that the Third's words came from the heart.
After all, in the original work, the Third had restored his demeanor as a ninja hero before his death, practicing the Will of Fire with his life.
But having received nine years of compulsory education and possessing mature dialectical thinking skills...
Even after staying in Konoha for a year, it was hard for him to feel a sense of belonging.
After all, the ideological core of the Will of Fire—protecting comrades and sacrificing for the Village—
could not hide the fact that Ninjas were essentially war machines and mercenary organizations!
Regardless of whether the target was innocent, as long as the employer paid and it didn't violate the Village's interests,
a Ninja would take a life without hesitation to complete the mission!
Discarding human emotions at will and beautifying it as a Ninja's basic quality!
Not to mention that under Hiruzen's leadership, Konoha would continuously send six or seven-year-old children to the battlefield while he himself never left the Village to fight.
This had long since violated the First Hokage's original intention when founding the Village!
As for the Hokage dream that almost everyone in Konoha Village shared, it held no attraction for him at all.
"Kakashi, what are you thinking about?"
Rin asked quietly in his ear.
A soft, warm breath brushed past, making his ear turn slightly red and itchy, yet it felt quite comfortable.
"Oh, I was just wondering why that guy Obito hasn't arrived yet."
Kakashi turned to look at Rin.
During this past year, Kakashi had been living alone.
Training alone, fishing alone, buying groceries and cooking alone, and cleaning the room alone.
Only Rin and Obito would come over to help when they were free—well, mostly to help with taste-testing.
Oh right, and then there was Guy, who was always elusive and constantly initiating challenges of youth.
Speaking of which, last time Guy suddenly appeared while Kakashi was changing clothes.
After staring at him in silence for a moment, Guy looked deeply shocked and simply turned away and left.
Since then, Guy hadn't initiated a duel for a long time, which saved Kakashi a lot of trouble.
"That's right, why is Obito late again? Today is the start of the new semester!"
Rin frowned slightly, looking a bit worried.
"Well~, who knows. He's probably helping some old lady cross the street again."
"Forget about him. It looks like the ceremony is about to end; let's get ready to head back."
As the Third Hokage finished his speech, the students in attendance left the venue in an orderly manner under the supervision of the teachers.
Most students were still excitedly discussing the Will of Fire mentioned by Hiruzen.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! I absolutely cannot be late today!"
A young boy wearing goggles and a tracksuit was sprinting this way from ahead!
When he saw the dispersing crowd, he gradually slowed down and sighed in disappointment.
Kakashi walked past the boy, hesitated for a moment, then stopped and turned back to say, "Late even for the entrance ceremony... maybe you should stop thinking about being a Ninja. You definitely won't make it."
As he spoke, he raised his hands and shrugged, expressing his speechlessness.
"Hmph!"
The boy suddenly turned his head, his eyes under the goggles glaring fiercely at Kakashi.
"It's okay~," the girl from before handed a document bag to the boy, smiling gently. "I've already picked this up for you."
"M-Mine?"
Obito pointed to himself, blushing, a bit embarrassed to look directly at the girl's sweet smile.
"Yes, as long as you write a reflection on the Will of Fire based on the materials, it won't affect your normal start of school, just like last year."
"I'm saved! Rin is the best!"
The boy pressed his hands together, looking grateful.
"Tch, if you keep spoiling Obito like this, he'll never get rid of his bad habit of being late for the rest of his life."
Kakashi said disdainfully.
"Cut the crap! You want to fight, bastard?!"
"What about it?"
"What do you mean by that!"
"You're the one in the wrong."
"What did you say, idiot Kakashi!"
Beside them, Rin watched Kakashi and Obito bickering, her face full of smiles.
Reaching the intersection, Kakashi parted ways with the two and walked home.
Honestly, what am I, an adult, doing arguing with a kid like Obito...
Rubbing his brow, the now-calm Kakashi seemed a bit depressed.
Is this perhaps an aftereffect of the soul fusion?
After walking for a while, Kakashi stopped and looked at a storefront not far ahead on the street.
The words 'Ichiraku Ramen' were particularly eye-catching.
"Good evening, Kakashi. What would you like to eat?"
Just as he walked into the shop and before he could even sit down, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man greeted him very warmly.
Kakashi raised a hand to the owner: "Good evening, Uncle Teuchi. A large bowl of Miso Ramen with extra Chashu and an egg, please. Thank you."
"Sure thing! Take a seat, it'll be ready in a moment."
Uncle Teuchi replied with a smile.
"Kakashi!"
A little girl who looked even younger than Kakashi poked her head out from behind Uncle Teuchi.
Her big eyes twinkled as she looked at him excitedly.
"Yo, it's Ayame."
Kakashi affectionately patted the little girl's head.
Being a regular at the shop, Kakashi had always been kind to this cute little girl. He had even shown her what he looked like under his mask.
The little girl, Ayame, playfully stuck her tongue out at Kakashi, her small face blushing slightly.
With a bright smile, she had always had a crush on this older brother who liked to wear a mask.
After all, the face under the mask was truly handsome!
About four or five minutes later, a steaming bowl of Miso Ramen was served.
Kakashi looked at the ramen in front of him and pressed his hands together.
"I'm digging in."
It had to be said that the Chashu, after low-temperature slow cooking, was tender and flavorful, while the richness and deliciousness of the soul-satisfying Tonkotsu Broth were incomparable!
Even though a lot of fatty meats were added, the resulting taste was not greasy.
The miso paste mixed in emitted a special bean aroma, taking the layers of flavor to another level.
The handmade ramen, the main ingredient, was even more chewy and firm!
He remembered that the first time he came to eat, he had asked Uncle Ichiraku out of curiosity.
Only then did he learn that this single bowl contained over thirty kinds of ingredients; no wonder Naruto loved it so much.
In less than five minutes, the large bowl of ramen was completely finished by Kakashi.
Patting his stomach with his hand, he left the ramen shop with a satisfied look after paying.
Eh?
Just as he was about to head home, Kakashi accidentally caught a glimpse of three familiar figures sitting in an Izakaya to his front left.
Among them, the female Ninja in the middle had long, pale yellow hair cascading down her back.
With short, thin eyebrows and bright brown eyes, her exceptionally fair exposed skin combined with a proud figure was very eye-catching.
And the prominent breasts under that white short-sleeved shirt further confirmed her identity to Kakashi!
The granddaughter of the First Hokage, the legendary Legendary Sucker, the Princess of Konoha, the pinnacle of Medical Ninjas, and one of the Legendary Sannin—it was Lady Tsunade!
As for the other two, they were naturally the Pervy Sage and the Science Madman among the Sannin.
Strange?
At this point in time, Tsunade should have already left the Village due to the shock of her brother dying in battle and her lover dying from severe injuries.
But then again, the timeline in Naruto is notoriously chaotic, and some parts are even self-contradictory.
Combined with himself as a variable, future events probably cannot be entirely based on the development of the original work.
Shaking his head slightly, Kakashi lifted his foot to continue walking forward.
Suddenly, a bold idea flashed through his mind!
After thinking for a moment, Kakashi withdrew his left foot suspended in mid-air, took a deep breath, and then walked toward the location of the Sannin.