Chapter 288 : A Sudden Confession!!

[During the Third Great Ninja War, Minato assigned Kakashi, who had just become a jonin, to be the team leader.]

[During the mission, they encountered an attack from ninjas of an enemy village.]

[Kakashi got injured while fighting against Iwa Ninja, and Obito was so scared he cried. It was similar to the first time Naruto and Sasuke went on a mission outside the village and were scared by the Demon brothers.]

[Afterwards, Kakashi and Obito had an argument, and Minato once again emphasized the importance of teamwork.]

[That night, Obito found Minato and complained about how Kakashi was always picking on him.]

[At that moment, Minato told Obito about Kakashi's father, the White Fang of Konoha, who broke the ninja code to save his comrades and ultimately committed suicide due to the rumors.]

[At that moment, Obito began to understand Kakashi's stubbornness and the loneliness he felt after losing his father.]

"I'm really sorry, Kakashi. I didn't expect my death to affect you so much."

Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, solemnly apologized to him.

He had thought his death would only have a minor effect on Kakashi, but he didn't realize it would almost change Kakashi's entire life.

"Can you tell me what you were thinking before you committed suicide?"

The matter of his father's suicide had always been a thorn in Kakashi's heart.

Using this as an opening, he asked the question that had been hidden for years.

"What was I thinking?"

Sakumo Hatake sighed before speaking: "You know, the failure of that mission caused the village significant losses. I was already feeling bad about it, but at least I managed to save my teammates. Even though the mission failed, I accepted it because every ninja faces failure at some point."

"But what I didn't expect was that the teammate I saved wasn't grateful. Instead, he went around telling others that I shouldn't have saved him, that I shouldn't have risked the village's losses to save him."

"At that point, my mindset was already beginning to crumble, and the rumors in the village just kept getting worse. Eventually, it even started to affect the outside world's perception of the village and people's views of you."

"You should still remember, right? At that time, suddenly there were a lot of people your age looking for trouble with you."

Kakashi thought for a moment and indeed, that was the case.

"Yeah, the ones looking for trouble were all weaklings. I easily chased them off."

"So, in order to restore the village's reputation and not affect you, I had no choice but to commit suicide."

"...The village's reputation can be restored by completing missions. I won't be affected by those rotten eggs and tomatoes. In the end, it's your lack of resilience that's the problem."

Kakashi knew that what he said didn't really make sense.

If his father had truly not atoned by death, considering the significant drop in the number of missions for the village at that time, it would take a long time to restore the reputation.

And who would take responsibility for the losses during that time?

After a while, those who came to cause trouble for him might no longer just be his peers, but seniors and official ninjas.

He wasn't a child anymore, and he could still understand these things.

"Maybe."

Sakumo chuckled and ended the topic.

[The next day, Minato, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin split up to carry out missions.]

[Minato headed to the front line for support, while Obito and the others went to destroy the Kannabi Bridge.]

[On the way, the three were ambushed by Iwagakure ninjas. In the chaos, Rin was captured by them.]

At this moment, Kakashi and Obito had a disagreement.

Kakashi had become extremely stubborn because of his father's death, believing that even if it meant sacrificing his comrades, he must complete the mission.

When he heard that Kakashi was willing to abandon Rin, Obito punched him in the face.

Obito had tried to understand Kakashi, but he could never forgive him for abandoning his comrades.

The words that changed Kakashi's life were spoken by Obito at this very moment.

Obito: "I think your father, the White Fang, was a hero. You call those who don't follow the rules trash, but to me, those who don't cherish their comrades are even worse than trash."

Kakashi was stunned by Obito's words. He didn't expect this underachiever in front of him to speak so highly of his father.

How he longed to save his comrades too! He just couldn't get over the obstacle of his father's death, and Obito, in that moment, helped him with that.

That's right, the one who unlocked his heart and reached his soul was Obito.

"Heh heh, I didn't expect I was so important in Kakashi's heart."

Obito looked at the light screen and smiled the silly smile he used to have when he was a child.

That silly look strangely resembled Naruto.

"Ah~ you are indeed important."

"Uh."

Obito thought Kakashi would deny it, but instead, he directly admitted it.

Kakashi, who suddenly became more straightforward, completely caught Obito off guard.

"A video by Hayashi Sora said something very good. He said same-sex love is true love, while opposite-sex love is just for reproduction."

After receiving an apology from Sakumo, Kakashi's heart was fully unlocked, and he began to gradually let go of his inhibitions.

His gaze softened, and he theatrically continued speaking to Obito, "How about we…"

"Shut up!"

Obito immediately interrupted Kakashi, disgusted, and retorted, "Who said we're same-sex true love, Kakashi? Let me make it clear to you, I, Uchiha Obito, have only loved Rin, past, present, and future."

"…"

"…"

As soon as he said it, Obito felt like something was off.

In Kakashi's teasing gaze, Obito cautiously looked toward Rin, only to find her blushing furiously and staring at him.

"Uh… Rin, don't you think the moonlight tonight is beautiful?"

Maybe because she was too shy, Rin didn't respond.

For a moment, the harmonious atmosphere between Obito and Rin, which had been fine, became awkward due to his sudden confession.

[After parting with Kakashi, Obito went alone to save Rin.]

[At this time, Obito was just a rookie ninja, and he was quickly noticed by the stealthy Iwa ninja, Oishi.]

[At the critical moment, Kakashi suddenly appeared and drove the enemy away.]

[Obito's words earlier had helped Kakashi rediscover his true self, the one who cherished his comrades.]

[However, the two kids still lacked battle experience, and Kakashi was ambushed by Oishi, losing his left eye.]

[Seeing the genius Kakashi gravely wounded, Obito's tears once again flowed uncontrollably.]

[Desperation often brings out hidden potential, and next came Obito's shining moment.]

[When Oishi once again went into stealth to ambush, Obito swiftly threw a kunai, striking the enemy's heart.]

[It turns out that the moment Kakashi was blinded, Obito awakened his Sharingan, and it was the rare Two Tomoe.]

[With the Sharingan, Obito gained unparalleled insight.]

[Stealth was nothing to him, as it couldn't escape his eyes.]

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