Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Upon hearing Sakumo Hatake's words, Masato spat out the sake he had just drunk, which rained down on Sakumo Hatake. However, Sakumo dodged it all with his incredibly skillful footwork. If Kakashi were there, he would be absolutely astonished. His father was so old, yet he could still show off such amazing footwork. He had wasted his life on all that.

However, Shinto had no interest in appreciating Hatake Sakumo's flamboyant footwork. Perhaps the younger generation of Konoha didn't know, but as an old rival, he was well aware of Hatake Sakumo's contributions to the Konoha Anbu. Although the Konoha Anbu was said to have been established by Senju Niji, it was just a small, cone-shaped organization when Senju Niji died. It was Hatake Sakumo who truly made it flourish in the ninja world.

Just like how the Anbu of Sunagakure was established by Shamon plagiarism of Senju Niji, and the first Anbu leader was not Rasa's grandfather, but his old leader, Rashin, the Anbu of Sunagakure did grow stronger and more complete step by step after Rashin took over. Many years have passed, and his old leader has been dead for many years, but Rashin has always been the spiritual leader of the Anbu of Sunagakure.

The same applies to Sakumo Hatake, and even more so to the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu. After all, it wasn't just Ryouma who brought the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu to its peak; Shiki the Golden Lion also deserves a lot of credit. After all, it was he who led the fight against Sakumo Hatake back then, while Ryouma only talked from the sidelines.

The Konoha Anbu was built by Sakumo Hatake in real battles over decades, making him even more significant to the Konoha Anbu.

Since the incident that year, Sakumo Hatake left the Konoha Anbu, and the Konoha Anbu has never had a successor in the decades since, as evidenced by the fact that the position has always been held by the current Hokage.

Sakumo Hatake, the spiritual leader who brought the Anbu to its peak, is still alive. Before Kakashi matured, no one would dare to take the position of Anbu leader.

In this respect, Sakumo Hatake's influence on Konoha's Anbu was much greater than that of Ryougi Shinobi's Anbu. At least after Ryougi Shinobi retired, Sasori's father could still hold the title of Anbu leader, while in Konoha, only the Hokage held the title.

Nowadays, many people in the ninja world know that the reason why Konoha's Anbu doesn't have an actual leader is because Hiruzen Sarutobi is waiting for Kakashi Hatake, the son of White Fang, to grow up.

He thought so too. Although Kakashi was indeed the mentor of the male protagonist and the second male lead in the original work, the situation was completely different now. Sakumo Hatake was not dead. Kakashi had experienced the deaths of his teacher, best friend and buddy. However, his father, who was the guiding light in his life, was still alive. It was impossible for his life to still be so bleak.

"...The Anbu isn't my family's, and Kakashi's strength... sigh!"

It's only because the two have known each other since they were nine years old that Sakumo Hatake, a straightforward man who keeps everything to himself, would have this expression. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sighed like that even if his own son were in front of him.

To be honest, he still doesn't know whether it was right or wrong to support his son in accepting the Sharingan to help him hold the Uchiha clan together. He knew his boss's thoughts all too well, but he had no objection. After all, his father had been the head of the Konoha Anbu since his generation. Although he had made some mistakes and left the Anbu, he still hoped that his son could inherit the family business.

Although his son's talent wasn't in swordsmanship, his ninjutsu talent was still quite impressive. At the age of three, he was able to learn a C-rank Lightning Release technique in a single day, making him a truly remarkable talent. Although the Hatake clan is known for its low rank, his son might not be able to reach his level in the future, but he would still be a top-ranking ninja.

But it's that Sharingan that's caused his son's progress to be so slow over the years. When he was in his twenties, he was already a top-tier figure in the ninja world, while his son is only at the Red Stick level now, and who knows when he'll be able to reach Double Flower.

928. The Hatake family doesn't have the troubles of teenagers.

In other villages, a Red Stick might barely qualify as a Double Flower Red Stick, but not in Konoha. Even though Konoha is somewhat declining now, since Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, Konoha hasn't had any outstanding geniuses in recent years. Including Jiraiya and himself who are away, the village's lineup is barely two and a half. His old leader is already over sixty years old, and his looks have faded, so he can only barely be considered half a person.

Even though Konoha's roster is weak now, it's still the number one village in the ninja world, and it can't afford to lose face. More importantly, he was the previous head of the Anbu, and he led the Anbu to its peak. Kakashi is his son, and if he doesn't become a Double Flower Red Staff member, the pressure on him will be much greater. Although Kakashi has been in the Anbu for more than ten years and is also the captain of the action team, the status of "Konoha Technician" and "Copy Ninja" is still not enough!

"See? I told you back then, what's the use of a pair of Sharingan with tomoe? If he wanted it, I'd get him a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan. At least he'd be able to go toe-to-toe with anyone, how impressive would that be? Now look at you, you're a legendary ninja on par with me, you were already a teenager. Look at Kakashi, he's already in his mid-twenties and still stuck in the sewers. I reckon if no one gives him a power-up, he'll be stuck like this for the rest of his life."

Masato shrugged and said.

Although almost every generation of the Hatake clan is filled with exceptionally talented individuals, while they may not be as dazzling as White Fang, they still start with double-flowered red staffs. Otherwise, how could a family like the Hatake clan, where every generation has only one son, possibly survive in a chaotic era, especially during Madara's time? Not to mention the Land of Fire, Madara wiped out many families from other countries as well.

It's important to remember that Madara was the man who truly led the Uchiha clan from the Land of Fire to the Land of Water. No one could rival Hashirama in that regard.

If a small family like the Hatake clan didn't have some valuable assets, Madara would have taken them down long ago.

Kakashi is considered a unique talent in the history of the Hatake clan, with all his talent points focused on ninjutsu. He has a low chakra level, but it's not impossible for him to reach the level of a double-flowered red stick. Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on him. He developed the Lightning Blade, which he couldn't use himself. To make matters worse, he needed to use it with the Sharingan, otherwise he might accidentally cut his own people.

To make matters worse, his best friend is also an oddball from the Uchiha clan. All these coincidences combined to turn Kakashi, whose chakra reserves are already low, into a "five-minute wonder"—he can unleash his ultimate attack for five minutes, then rest for thirty years, meaning either the opponent dies or he dies...

Furthermore, because these Sharingan eyes are constantly consuming chakra, Kakashi's growth rate over the years has become incredibly slow. It's estimated that if Hiruzen Sarutobi, that good-for-nothing son, could withstand Kakashi's initial onslaught, he could easily defeat him.

"...In the end, it was he who inherited the will of his deceased friend."

Sakumo Hatake shook his head speechlessly as he watched his son haphazardly slapping the Sharingan again. The Mangekyou Sharingan wasn't that easy to obtain. The only known examples of the Mangekyou Sharingan were the wild Uchiha from the Land of Water and Itachi Uchiha, who had only glimpsed it briefly back then. Besides, although his son was affected by that Sharingan, it was still a form of growth, and he had no reason not to support his son. More importantly, even with a Sharingan, his son's lifespan was shorter than his own. If he got the Mangekyou Sharingan, that would be incredible! He wouldn't need to do anything else; he could just focus on catching hoops every day…

"I'm back...."

Just as the two were chatting away for a while, a voice even more indifferent than his came from outside the door.

"Hey! Nephew, you're back so early. Shouldn't you young people be out on dates with your girlfriends at this hour? Your dad is in his thirties and he's lucky to have met his mother traveling alone for thousands of miles. You're not so lucky."

Looking at the tattered cloth covering half his face, revealing only one eye, if it weren't for his white hair and the same dead fish eyes, you really wouldn't be able to tell that this decadent young man holding a book by Jiraiya is the son of White Fang.

"..."

Seeing this blond old man at his house, Kakashi rolled his dead fish eyes and pretended not to hear, continuing to appreciate Jiraiya's literary masterpiece.

You should worry about yourself first. You've been flirting with Tsunade for decades. My dad is the same age as you, and I'm already in my mid-twenties, while you're still single. And you have the nerve to talk about me.

However, he only thought these things in his mind; if he said them aloud, even if he were here, this old guy would definitely beat him up...

"No wonder I said that as the heir to the powerful Hatake clan, you're still single. What's the point of reading all this nonsense that Jiraiya writes? What can you possibly learn from it?"

Seeing Kakashi staring intently at Jiraiya's masterpiece "Make-Out Paradise" in his hand, Shinto also became curious. Over the years, Jiraiya had published several books, and finally one of them became a hit, turning him from a nobody into a great writer. However, this great writer should be put in quotes because his fame was not quite legitimate.

However, it also solved the problems of many teenagers in the ninja world, reduced the crime rate in the ninja world, and made outstanding contributions to the peaceful development of the ninja world. Although Jiraiya was semi-illiterate, he had studied human body art for many years. He could not write serious literary works, but he was more than qualified to write such a small book.

However, Shinto was quite curious. The Hatake clan is known for its straightforward men, so they shouldn't have the troubles of teenagers. Kakashi is even more than him, so he certainly wouldn't have such troubles. You guessed it.

It's hard to imagine a straightforward guy doing manual work while looking at a notebook... This character is completely at odds with Kakashi!

So he wanted to see if Kakashi's angle of looking at the notebook was different from others...

"...The story is fairly original and the plot is captivating, but there are typos and many plot points are not described well enough. Also, Jiraiya-sama's descriptions of the human body are too detailed, making it difficult to leave room for the reader's imagination. Overall, the story is not bad..."

Shinto originally just wanted to make a joke, but Kakashi actually analyzed it seriously, as if he were appreciating such a vulgar book as a work of literature.

"...Have you ever considered that the inadequate plot description is related to his level of education? His not-so-developed brain and his level of education can't find enough words to express it. As for the description of the human body...if it's not detailed enough, I doubt anyone will read this book."

Shinto remained silent for a long while.

Now I've finally seen it; they're really treating a little notebook like a high-brow literary work...

929. Savior or Underdeveloped?

"No way? Jiraiya-sama is one of the Legendary Sannin, after all..."

When Kakashi heard Masato say that Jiraiya was uncultured, he looked at him with some surprise. His father was a double-flower red stick of Konoha, and he had met the Sannin a few times when he was young. Although he didn't know much about them, both Orochimaru and Tsunade seemed to be very high-class. Although Jiraiya was a bit lecherous, it was just a hobby. After all, he was the Hokage's disciple. Orochimaru was a scientist, and Tsunade was a medical genius. Jiraiya's level of education should not be low, right?

"...That's because the other two elevated his prestige. Sometimes, a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung not only highlights its beauty but also emphasizes the cow dung's function. Wasn't that how your weird Uchiha teammate was back then? Wearing the Uchiha's clothes and having you, his white-toothed teammate, anyone who didn't know better would really think he was a genius. Anyway, the first time I saw him, I felt he was incredibly prestige..."

Shinto patted Kakashi on the shoulder, surprised that Kakashi had such a naive side.

That makes sense, though. Look at Jiraiya's two teammates: one is Tsunade, the renowned medical genius of the ninja world, and the other is even more prestigious, a super scientist following in the footsteps of Senju. With such outstanding teammates, even an illiterate person would see him as a highly educated intellectual...

"...You guys talk."

It's unclear whether Shinto's words reminded Kakashi of his best friend, but his expression darkened, and after speaking, he left, seemingly going somewhere to touch his eyes and mourn the loss of their bromance.

"That brat really caused a lot of trouble..."

Looking at Kakashi's somewhat gloomy figure, Masato shook his head speechlessly.

If we're talking about who was most deeply harmed by Obito, it has to be Kakashi. For so long, everyone thought his best friend was dead, and then his teacher was killed by his best friend. For all these years, he's lived a life of utter misfortune. Thankfully, thanks to Shinto's butterfly effect, his father didn't die. Otherwise, like in the original story, his father would have perished, his friends would have died, and his teacher would have kicked the bucket. The fact that he didn't turn evil is just for the sake of the plot...

"Why.....!"

Watching his son's retreating figure, Hatake Sakumo sighed. He didn't know how to comfort his son, since he seemed to have never experienced what his son had gone through. Firstly, he debuted too early and his talent was too amazing; no one in his generation could keep up with him. Therefore, he didn't have any real friends. Apart from the early part of his career when his father died, his career had been smooth sailing for decades. Even that incident back then was nothing compared to what his son had gone through.

In addition, he wasn't a very eloquent person, so there were many things he didn't know how to talk to his son about.

Just like how he was very worried about his son's growth, but he couldn't say it out loud. The Hatake clan's personality was not suited to opening their hearts. They would only open their hearts to their son when they were about to die, just like their father when he was about to die. But now he was only in his fifties and had not suffered any serious injuries in his career. Compared to his bosses and three generations of masters, he should be able to survive for another twenty or thirty years without any problems. By then, Kakashi would be the same age as him now, and entrusting his son to someone else would be ineffective.

"...Take it easy. There's no hope for this main account. For the sake of your Hatake clan's future, I think you should create a new account while you're still young. Anyway, your Hatake clan has plenty of money to support another one...Hey, hey, hey, just kidding, don't draw your sword..."

Shinto spoke as if he were considering his feelings, but when he saw that Hatake Sakumo's ancestral short blade had appeared in his hand at some point, he quickly shut up.

.......

"Quickly, catch that brat!"

"Inform the Hokage, that brat Naruto has graffitied on the Hokage Rock again!"

"Stop right there, you brat..."

"......"

Early in the morning, a group of ninjas were seen playing parkour with a blond kid on the streets of Konoha. The people on the street seemed to have gotten used to it and did nothing as they watched the group running around on the rooftops.

"Is this blond brat Minato Namikaze's son? Hiruzen Sarutobi is really dishonest. He was once a prince, but this kid looks like he's starving and freezing."

On a distant rooftop, Masato watched a group of people playing parkour ahead. The pale, malnourished blond kid in front of him was none other than the savior.

Last night, I heard from Sakumo Hatake that Kakashi is going to be a team leader, and then Masato remembered that Karin is also about to graduate. The savior and the second male lead are the same age as Karin, so isn't Kakashi the savior's team leader?

Having come all the way to Konoha, how could they not go and see the savior? They came out early in the morning to sneak around, thinking of taking a look at the Konoha Ninja Academy. Hatake Sakumo, based on the rule that nothing good ever comes to Konoha when Golden Lion comes, carried his ancestral short sword and hid it in his sleeve and followed him out. As a result, the two of them had not walked far when they saw this scene.

Although his memories were hazy, it was still an anime from his youth, and the influence of the savior was quite profound. Even if it didn't have much of an impact, he could still sense the unusual six fox hairs on his face and the astonishing chakra he possessed.

He had initially thought that when Hiruzen Sarutobi entrusted the savior to Sakumo Hatake, it was so that Sakumo would raise the child. After all, the Hatake clan was a powerful family, and the savior shouldn't be malnourished and shorter than his peers like in the original story; he should be well-fed and healthy. Now it seemed that Hiruzen Sarutobi was still as ruthless as ever, considering the child was, after all, the son of his perfect grand-disciple...

"...This child's identity is too special. He is not only Minato's son, but only in this way can he be better protected."

Hatake Sakumo, gazing at the blond-haired brat ahead, was briefly lost in memories. The image of that stunning, decisive, wealthy, and even more talented young man from years ago overlapped with the image of the fleeing blond-haired brat before him...

But no matter how you look at it, they don't overlap. If Minato is a super genius, then his son is a complete idiot.

Sometimes he wondered, Kushina, though as fiery as Tsunade, was still a genius. She was adept at the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques, which were more complex than ninjutsu. Minato, needless to say, was even more skilled, having mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique on his own and was said to be faster than the Second Hokage. How could their child be such a complete idiot?

Although he debuted relatively early, he was also a top student. Shouldn't he be considered "correct" in this regard?

930. A Legend in the Teaching Profession

He couldn't bear to see the Fourth Hokage's son like this, but he also understood his old leader's predicament. Not to mention that Konoha was not what it used to be, and Jiraiya was no longer around. Over the years, he and his old leader had been protecting the village. Exposing the Jinchuriki was a risky thing. He could protect the old leader, but he might not be able to. Even if it wasn't a problem with the Jinchuriki, the fact that he was the Fourth Hokage's son could easily attract the enemy's focus of attention. During the Third Shinobi World War, Minato practically swept across the entire map and attracted countless enemies. Just Onoki's kick to the kidney on the Iwagakure battlefield was something that many Iwagakure ninja could never forget.

Not to mention Onoki's filial son, Koto. Put yourself in his shoes, if his father had been kicked in the kidney, he would probably hold a grudge for life. Even if he couldn't beat the old man, he would still try to kill the young man.

Rather than causing unnecessary trouble by giving Naruto special attention, it's better to let him grow up like a normal child, which at least avoids any danger.

Furthermore, this child's talent is indeed far inferior to Kushina's and the Fourth Hokage's. Although this is partly due to the presence of the Nine-Tails in her womb, the biggest issue is her intelligence...

So, the fact that Kakashi and the Anbu have protected his safety over the years, and that the child has grown up healthy without any major accidents, is the best proof of that.

"Tch... Only you would believe Hiruzen Sarutobi's nonsense. If this blond brat's talent were as sharp as Minato Namikaze's, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have treasured him long ago."

Shindou curled his lip in disdain, but these were all Konoha's family matters and had nothing to do with him. After all, he wasn't very familiar with Minato Namikaze, and strictly speaking, he and the savior's mother were enemies.

In the end, before the savior got a power-up, his talent was really terrible. Even with the power-up, all he could do was create magic balls and summon cannon fodder minions. And he hasn't even gotten a power-up yet. If it were his mother, a sealing technique genius from the Uzumaki clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have let him run wild like this.

It's not surprising, though. This world is just that unfair. Often, the one percent talent of a genius is far greater than the ninety-nine percent effort of others. Hiruzen Sarutobi, who has been in the ninja world for decades, couldn't possibly be unaware of this. Just like Nawaki, an ordinary person might work hard their whole life and still not be able to become a Jonin. But Nawaki's talent was a mixed bag, yet he could easily become a Jonin just by relying on one-quarter of Senju's genes. This is a gap that many people can never cross in their entire lives.

Although the Savior is the son of the perfect grand-disciple, his talent is so great that even he would be stumped. He has no ability to protect himself, so it would be better for him to live a life of seclusion in the city.

Moreover, this kid is better off than in the original story. At least he hasn't been affected by the rumors about the demon fox like in the original story. After all, Hatake Sakumo, Hiruzen Sarutobi's right-hand man, is still alive and well. Hiruzen Sarutobi still has the will and strength. The savior is now treated like an ordinary orphan in Konoha. At most, he's just a bit mischievous.

"..."

This time, Hatake Sakumo didn't say anything. After all, it was a fact that the child wasn't very talented, and giving him special attention would only harm him.

.......

Just as the two were chatting, the parkour team led by the Savior came to an end when the Savior was caught by a Chunin underling with a scar on his nose.