Chapter 9: Negotiating with the White Fang

"So that's how it is..."

Hatake Sakumo sighed. For a moment, he even felt a sense of irony in his heart; he never expected that after being a tool his whole life, he wouldn't even be able to rest in peace after death.

Seeing the dejection and decadence in Hatake Sakumo's mood, Uchiha Feiyu pondered for a moment before continuing to speak:

"Senior Sakumo, I know you might not be able to accept your soul being controlled, but look at it from another perspective—isn't this equivalent to living your life all over again?"

"You have already fulfilled all the obligations you owed to the Leaf, and from now on, you don't need to think about so many things anymore; you can live entirely for yourself!"

"Most importantly, don't you want to see the current situation of your child, Kakashi?"

Sure enough, the moment Kakashi was mentioned, Hatake Sakumo, who had been in a state of giving up, suddenly regained some vitality. He looked at Uchiha Feiyu with a hint of worry and asked softly:

"Kakashi... how is he doing now?"

"What do you think? The father he admired most suddenly died right in front of him, and in such a manner—by suicide—and he couldn't even be placed on the Memorial Stone after death. You can imagine the magnitude of the blow to him."

"In any case, he is currently in a lifeless state, and I feel like this guy could follow you to the grave at any moment!"

Uchiha Feiyu's face was full of worry, as if he were truly concerned for Kakashi:

"Even if he pulls through, because of such a vivid example as you, I'm afraid he will become that kind of tool who lives entirely for missions!"

"Perhaps he will join a dark organization like Root in the future, becoming a heartless ninja who has erased all emotions and executes missions coldly, only to be eventually abandoned by the higher-ups of the Leaf and die in some dark, unknown corner..."

The expression on Hatake Sakumo's face twitched. Even though he could hear the exaggeration in Uchiha Feiyu's words, he couldn't help but worry about poor Kakashi.

After having committed suicide once, Hatake Sakumo's mind had also emerged from the dead end he was stuck in. Recalling his son as he was now, he was suddenly filled with a sense of regret.

It was one thing for him to be dead, but no matter how mature Kakashi was, he was only an eight or nine-year-old boy. Without him, this father, what would Kakashi become in the future?

"How pitiful... His father died because he saved a comrade and disregarded the mission. I reckon that in the future, Kakashi will become a cold-blooded ninja who has no comrades other than his missions!"

Uchiha Feiyu deliberately added a few more words, which immediately made the expression on Hatake Sakumo's face even more worried. Even though he knew Uchiha Feiyu wanted to manipulate him through Kakashi, how could he not worry about his own son?

"Alright, say no more... I will cooperate with your Secret Technique! But you must also promise me that you will take good care of Kakashi."

Gnawed by a sense of guilt, Hatake Sakumo didn't hesitate much before agreeing to Uchiha Feiyu's conditions. A look of joy immediately appeared on Uchiha Feiyu's face:

"Rest assured, no problem, Senior Sakumo!"

"When the time comes, I can fully allow your soul to control my body so you can go see Kakashi's current situation yourself!"

After making the agreement with Hatake Sakumo, this White Fang of the Leaf couldn't wait to see the current situation of his son.

Uchiha Feiyu didn't say much more; he directly let the White Fang of the Leaf possess his body and then snuck into the Hatake Residence.

Even though he was using Uchiha Feiyu's body, for the White Fang of the Leaf, it was enough to exert the strength of an Elite Jonin, so his infiltration naturally wouldn't be discovered by Kakashi.

Watching his son's numb, indifferent, and withdrawn appearance, Hatake Sakumo once again regretted his act of suicide.

"Feiyu, do you have any way to help Kakashi? I am very worried about his current state!"

After leaving the Hatake Residence, Hatake Sakumo immediately looked at Uchiha Feiyu with an anxious face and asked.

Worried now, were you? What were you doing earlier?

Uchiha Feiyu muttered in his heart, but he also knew that if he could solve Kakashi's problem, that would be the true way to subdue Hatake Sakumo.

However, Kakashi's psychological problems were actually not easy to handle. The only way was to interact with him persistently like Obito and Guy. Not to mention whether Uchiha Feiyu could reach the level of those hot-blooded idiots, the time it would take alone was enough to give Uchiha Feiyu a headache.

"Speaking of which, Senior Sakumo, you are Kakashi's father. Logically speaking, you should be better at guiding Kakashi than I am, right?"

Unable to think of a solution, Uchiha Feiyu simply threw the problem back at Hatake Sakumo, and Hatake Sakumo immediately put on a bitter face.

Come to think of it, as a famous genius of the Leaf, Kakashi had been the "child of someone else" since he was young, and there had truly never been a time when he needed Hatake Sakumo's guidance. Furthermore, Hatake Sakumo hadn't played the role of an intimate father at home before, so how would he know how to comfort Kakashi?

Seeing Hatake Sakumo fall into silence, Uchiha Feiyu sighed and asked again:

"Senior, how did you and Kakashi get along in the past? What did you like to do most?"

"Uh... take him to train?"

"Alright... it seems there's no hope for you, Senior."

"If it were me... perhaps, I should become an opponent for Kakashi?"

In the Naruto World, rivals who are like enemies for life are often the strongest bonds, such as Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha, the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzo, Orochimaru and Jiraiya...

Kakashi's two best friends, Guy and Obito, also regarded him as a rival. In the end, Kakashi being able to climb out of his low point had everything to do with these two friends of his.

But to be honest, Uchiha Feiyu hadn't really challenged Kakashi much before; on the contrary, it was Kakashi who had intentionally or unintentionally caused him trouble a few times.

"It might be a bit troublesome, and I'm not the hot-blooded idiot type of character... but in the name of caring for Kakashi, finding a way to lead him out of his low point wouldn't arouse much suspicion."

"However... if I don't use Spirit-Binding and Soul-Commanding, I don't seem to be able to beat Kakashi right now!"

As Uchiha Feiyu spoke, his gaze turned toward Hatake Sakumo. Hatake Sakumo clearly understood what Uchiha Feiyu meant and said directly:

"I will teach you my own White Fang Sword Technique, as well as Lightning Release and Wind Release. With your foundation, as long as I provide a little guidance, beating Kakashi should be an easy matter!"

"It's a deal then! Senior Hatake!!"

Uchiha Feiyu immediately agreed. He had been looking forward to a high-level inheritance for a long time.

Although he was called an Uchiha, because he joined halfway, the truly high-level Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Sharingan techniques within the Uchiha clan were not truly open to Uchiha Feiyu.

And it was precisely because he bore the name Uchiha that it was difficult for Uchiha Feiyu to obtain high-level inheritances from elsewhere. Now that he had obtained the soul of Hatake Sakumo, he naturally set his sights on the inheritance of this White Fang of the Leaf.

Forcibly borrowing the power of Spirit-Binding and Soul-Commanding to explore slowly through possession was certainly possible, but if he could have Hatake Sakumo's personal guidance on top of the possession, his progress would naturally be much faster.

(End of chapter)