Chapter 11: Communication with Kakashi

Returning to the Hatake Residence, the place had suddenly become much more desolate; whether they were ordinary people or ninjas, almost everyone walked around it.

In reality, this was of course not because of any disgust or fear, but rather because of shame.

Regarding the death of Hatake Sakumo, everyone who had once gossiped about it could be said to be a behind-the-scenes pusher; everyone bore a share of the responsibility.

Under this mindset, whether they were ninjas or ordinary civilians, they naturally did not want to pass by here again, as that would only remind them of their past mistakes.

After knocking on the door with a bang-bang-bang, seeing that no one paid any attention, Uchiha Feiyu frowned and simply jumped into the courtyard.

Aside from its core abilities, the Spirit-Controlling Command also had some other minor functions, such as the ability to perceive souls, which allowed Uchiha Feiyu to also be called a sensory ninja, though the range of perception was not large, only a few dozen meters.

In Uchiha Feiyu's perception, Kakashi's soul fluctuation had been right in the center of the house the whole time, never moving; it was not that no one was home, but rather that he was ignoring him.

"Kakashi, you guy, are you molding away inside your house?!"

While shouting loudly, Uchiha Feiyu jumped in through the window, looked at Kakashi lying on the bed with a numb expression, and pulled him straight up.

"Is there something? If there's nothing, don't come bother me; this is my house."

Kakashi glanced at Uchiha Feiyu and said in a low voice; Uchiha Feiyu couldn't help but frown, and without a word, he took the scroll from his back and smashed it toward Kakashi.

"You think I want to come here? This is the scroll left behind by Senior Hatake Sakumo; I'm returning it to you now!"

Catching the scroll, Kakashi was slightly stunned. A scroll left by his father? Why would it be given to Uchiha Feiyu?

However, this doubt only flashed through his mind; although the current Kakashi was in a low period, only matters concerning his father were an exception, and with almost no hesitation, Kakashi opened the scroll in his hand.

The content in the scroll was indeed written by his father's own hand; not only the handwriting, writing style, and tone were identical, but there were even some secret codes his father habitually left—Hatake Sakumo had also taught Kakashi knowledge regarding ninjas, and certain secret codes were things only they, father and son, knew.

When he saw the content, Kakashi was even more astonished; the content inside the scroll was actually the inheritance of his father's White Fang Sword Technique!

Ninjutsu inheritance was a matter of paramount importance to a clan; for those clans with Secret Techniques, if the clan's Secret Technique inheritance leaked out, they would have to retrieve the inheritance at all costs and kill every ninja who obtained it.

Among these, besides ensuring the uniqueness of their own clan's Secret Technique, there was another important reason: the fear that their clan's ninjutsu would have some flaw discovered, leading to being targeted by opponents.

Such a thing was not impossible; ninjas themselves were the profession that valued intelligence the most. Even intelligence in a rough range was enough to influence the outcome of a battle between ninjas whose strength gap was within a certain range. If all the intelligence on Secret Techniques leaked out, it would be an absolute catastrophe for the clan.

Having said so much, it was to illustrate the importance of the inheritance. In Kakashi's view, that his father would actually entrust the inheritance to Uchiha Feiyu was truly an unimaginable thing.

Of course, if one insisted on explaining it, it was not impossible to explain:

Hatake Sakumo's inheritance did not belong to the category of Secret Techniques, so even if it leaked, it would be basically very difficult to target.

Plus, their family was not originally any kind of ninja clan, but rather ninjas who rose from the commoners, so there was no need to consider the issues of other clan members at all.

Hatake Sakumo did not know many ninjas to begin with, and the only one who still associated with him after the incident was Uchiha Feiyu.

Not leaving the inheritance to himself, but having Uchiha Feiyu hand it to him, might have been out of fear of an Anbu search after his suicide.

In short, out of trust in the scroll, Kakashi did not doubt Uchiha Feiyu at all. Even if he knew there must be other things involved, he just filled in the blanks in his own mind and did not ask Uchiha Feiyu any questions.

After finishing the scroll in his hand, Kakashi Hatake looked up at Uchiha Feiyu:

"When Father gave you the scroll, did he say anything else?"

"Senior Hatake Sakumo didn't say anything; he added a seal to the scroll, and it was only recently that I managed to break it!"

These were all things Uchiha Feiyu and Hatake Sakumo had agreed upon, and the scroll did indeed have a seal applied, so it would not arouse Kakashi's suspicion.

Hatake Sakumo's matter was both sensitive and not easy to explain, so Uchiha Feiyu simply didn't explain it, leaving everything for Kakashi to imagine.

Not getting any news from Uchiha Feiyu, Kakashi sighed, and his expression became low again.

However, compared to the deathly stillness and near-numb appearance at the beginning, the current Kakashi already had a trace of vitality.

"Alright, Kakashi, come out and train with me! How long have you been molding away at home?"

"Perhaps Senior Hatake Sakumo's matter is a huge blow to you, but no matter what, you lying at home will never find the answer!"

"The answer... do you know what answer I am looking for?"

Kakashi Hatake looked up at Uchiha Feiyu, only to see him curl his lips:

"Isn't it which is more important, the mission or the companion? Hatake Sakumo died because of this question, right? Aren't you thinking about this?"

Kakashi pursed his lips, and after a moment, he gritted his teeth lightly:

"Then what do you think? Should a ninja prioritize the mission, or should they value companions more?"

"If you ask me..."

Uchiha Feiyu's expression was serious and cautious; after looking left and right, he whispered:

"Then of course I think... I am the most important!"

"First, calculate the danger of the mission, and then the relationship between the companion and me. For missions with relatively low danger, I can help pull a normal companion along; if the danger is relatively high, then they can find their own way to survive!"

"In short, first consider your own safety; second, consider your own ability. Put your own life in first place, put companions with good relationships in second place, and missions or whatever in third place. As for guys you're only vaguely familiar with, they can only be put last!"

"Are you really a ninja? This feels too... too..."

Having been fed a bowl of "poisonous chicken soup" full of human reality by Uchiha Feiyu, Kakashi Hatake's eyes widened; he was dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

On the contrary, Hatake Sakumo, who had been floating beside Uchiha Feiyu the whole time, had a thoughtful look on his face after hearing this, as if he had been greatly inspired.

Having died once, Hatake Sakumo, even if he did not entirely agree with Uchiha Feiyu's words, felt they made a lot of sense.

(End of chapter)