Chapter 75: Chicken Soup

His kind advice was not accepted by the other party; instead, they lectured him about his recent actions.

Upon hearing this, the hot-tempered boy could no longer bear it; he reached one hand toward his ninja tool pouch at his back and shouted, "Ninja wisdom! Good! I'll now let you know what ninja wisdom is!"

Saying that, he pulled out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, assuming a posture to properly discipline his companion in public.

The girl beside him, seeing this, also forgot her sorrow and quickly grabbed the boy's arm with both hands to stop his companion's impulsive action.

Kakashi also showed no weakness.

After glancing at the opponent, he placed his right hand on the hilt of his ninja sword behind his back.

Seeing that the situation was about to escalate further into an internal brawl within the team,

"Enough!"

The green-vested team leader Jonin, who had been silently walking ahead, finally noticed the escalation behind him and spoke up to interrupt.

"That's enough for today; now disperse!"

"But teacher!"

The boy beside him obviously could not suppress his inner fire.

Ignoring the teacher's attitude and the girl beside him trying to stop him, he continued to speak.

"How so, you want to defy my order? Dismiss now. If there's another mission, I'll notify you separately!" The green-vested Jonin with a dark face stared fixedly at the boy, awaiting his reply.

"I understand!" he replied unwillingly; the boy, accompanied by the girl beside him, walked off in a direction.

Kakashi Hatake, who had also received the dismissal order, nodded and went his separate way from the boy and girl.

Actually, this task force was the first ninja team that the son of Leaf Village's White Fang, Kakashi Hatake, joined after graduating from ninja school.

And the origin of their recent argument was very simple.

Their team received a mission to gather precious medicinal herbs; the only trouble was that the herbs grew on cliffs and precipices.

To complete the mission, they had to employ the chakra-controlled tree-climbing technique.

Walking on the cliff, they searched bit by bit for the herbs.

And the teammate in the team.

The girl Lingzi, as a girl, had slightly insufficient chakra. After persisting for a while, she became distracted, failed to control her footing, and fell from the cliff.

Meanwhile, Kakashi Hatake nearby, in order to conserve chakra and better complete the mission, ignored her and walked toward the mission target he had just discovered.

If it weren't for the team leader Jonin below, who promptly noticed the situation and lent a hand, the girl named Lingzi would likely have met her doom on the cliff, losing her life.

This made the companion who harbored affection for the girl and had been watching everything unable to accept it; after the mission was completed, he and Kakashi, who could no longer tolerate it, broke out in an argument on the way back to town.

As the verbal exchange intensified, the hot-tempered boy even pulled out a kunai; a dispute between companions seemed about to erupt into an internal civil war within the team.

The Jonin leading the way, who had been watching everything ahead, could no longer bear it; he spoke up to interrupt them and ordered them to disperse, telling them to go back and clear their heads properly.

Watching his subordinates go their separate ways, the green-vested Jonin couldn't help but sigh, thinking that teamwork was utterly impossible to continue.

He glanced at Kakashi Hatake and silently shook his head. Not long ago, the White Fang incident had just passed; as an active Jonin of Leaf Village, he also had some understanding of its deeper meaning.

The situation had just calmed down not long ago; he also felt it inappropriate to comment on it.

He could not blame Kakashi, after all, the latter's father had just ended himself in that disgraceful manner; moreover, Kakashi's present attitude of putting the mission first was not surprising.

He also did not blame the impulsive boy; the boy's recent actions were merely meant to make Kakashi understand the importance of companions.

At the same time, he could not blame the village and the Hokage, for that choice was also made to protect the village and everyone.

But often, things are like this; neither side is at fault, yet to achieve a goal, some sacrifice is inevitably required.

But now this puts him in a dilemma; it seems time to apply to the Hokage to replace a team member.

Meanwhile, Dong Shilang, who was strolling down the streets of Leaf Village, saw Kakashi Hatake approaching from the opposite direction and greeted him: "Yo! Kakashi! Long time no see!"

"..."

"You really are, as always, cold!" Receiving no response, Dong Shilang looked at the expressionless white-haired face staring back at him and muttered.

At this moment, Kakashi Hatake's head of white, unkempt hair grew wildly; he wore a forehead protector bearing leaf patterns, and pressed down a strand of bangs, giving his expression a slightly cute, dazed look.

Staring with a pair of dead-fish eyes devoid of emotion, he fixed his gaze on Dong Shilang, conveying the look of "You're annoying, go away."

He wore his usual black mask over his mouth, a black short-sleeve shirt of the same color, and a cross-shaped strap across his back.

On that strap he carried the infamous White Fang Blade.

Both arms bore iron arm guards; his lower body was clad in black ninja three-quarter pants, with leg wraps, and on his feet were a pair of high-top ninja sandals.

Seeing that Kakashi had no desire to talk to him and even gave off an unapproachable aura, Dong Shilang was not surprised.

Instead, he extended his right hand to sling over Kakashi's shoulder.

In a brotherly manner, he also said, "Come on, don't be so cold! Although we graduated the same year, I am actually your senior who entered school earlier. No matter what, you should address me as your senior!"

With a crisp "pop!", Kakashi Hatake raised his right hand to block Dong Shilang's arm, then stepped back two steps, putting distance between them.

He pursed his lips; not surprised that his affectionate gesture was rejected.

Having read the original work, he felt no anger at Kakashi Hatake's current reaction, only a slight sympathy for his plight.

"Kakashi, don't lock your heart away in a little dark room, nor overly immerse yourself in past sorrow and pain."

"Look, the streets are still blooming like flowers, the sunshine remains bright and gentle. One day you will meet a rainbow-like person, after which your life can also be filled with sunshine."

His own slightly affectionate gesture having been thwarted, Dong Shilang felt a bit embarrassed; nevertheless, his intention to change the other's closed heart remained unchanged, and in fact he proceeded to pour a bowl of poisonous chicken soup down his throat.

As for whether it works, only heaven knows.