Kakashi was even more bewildered than Teuchi, the owner of the ramen shop. The book he had been reading dropped onto the table unnoticed.
His exposed eye was fixed on Naruto. He couldn't help but glance at the absurdly tall Whitebeard.
For a moment, he wondered if he was under a genjutsu.
Kakashi quickly disrupted his chakra flow.
The scene remained unchanged.
It wasn't a genjutsu...
This giant was real, and his teacher's child was confirmed. It meant that the child left by his teacher had recognized this strange giant as his father.
What...
What on earth was going on?
Where was the Anbu ninja protecting Naruto? Where was the Third Hokage? Were they allowing this to happen without intervention?
No, are they stopping it?
"Hey, old man, why are you staring at me?" Naruto, sitting on a stool, curiously turned to look at Kakashi. He was momentarily stunned when he noticed the mask hanging from Kakashi's waist: "That mask... Hey, old man, are you a ninja too?"
Naruto wasn't unfamiliar with the Anbu masks. He remembered the people who always accompanied the Hokage wearing these masks.
The stranger ninja, who Whitebeard's Dad swatted away, also wore such a mask.
Naruto didn't understand the existence of the Anbu.
He just thought it was a unique costume for some special ninjas.
"Old man..." Kakashi wanted to emphasize that he was only 19, but his teacher's son was only...
Hmm, how old was he again?
"I am a ninja." Kakashi nodded and then asked, "I know you. You are Naruto Uzumaki, quite famous in the village. You recognized this giant as your father?"
Naruto nodded vigorously and then corrected seriously: "Dad is just a bit taller, he is not a giant!"
Kakashi: "..."
He's already calling him Dad, so naturally? If I remember correctly, Minato-sensei's child has never been called Minato-sensei's Father, right?
What is the Third Hokage doing?
Sensei's son is about to be lost!
"Naruto Uzumaki, you may not realize what you are doing." Kakashi couldn't help but say: "You are a special child, you shouldn't recognize someone like him as your father."
Naruto's face scrunched up: "Why are you so rude? Who I recognize as my father is none of your business! You're not my guardian!"
Kakashi was about to retort, but his words got stuck in his throat as a sudden sense of danger spiked.
A few drops of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
He quickly looked at Whitebeard.
Whitebeard was also looking at him!
"Gurararara! White-haired kid, why do you ninjas all act so shady?" Whitebeard said: "Naruto knows what he wants... He's my son, Whitebeard's son! What? White-haired kid! You seem quite discontent?"
Whitebeard sneered: "Who in this whole village is qualified to be Naruto's guardian? This village, from top to bottom, bullies a five-year-old child. Even the worst pirates on the sea aren't this bad!"
"A child with no parents, instead of receiving care, is shunned everywhere. This broken village, its mentality is twisted from top to bottom!"
Next to him, little Naruto weakly raised his hand: "Dad, I think Uncle Teuchi and Grandpa Hokage are good people."
Whitebeard scoffed: "The ramen shop owner might be a good guy, but this village's Hokage? He's the least deserving of that title; the word 'good' doesn't suit him!"
Whitebeard didn't consider himself a good person because he was a pirate and a wanted criminal on the seas.
Many on the sea saw him as a villain.
But that didn't stop him from judging if someone was good or bad.
Anyway, from his current perspective...
The high-ups in Konoha were trash! No different from the world nobles!
Especially after taking Naruto as his son.
Whitebeard despised them even more.
—This giant guy calls himself "Whitebeard," which sounds more like a nickname than a name.
—He's not from Konoha.
—He mentioned pirates, likely from a coastal area, possibly the Land of Water.
—He is very dangerous!
From Whitebeard's words, Kakashi keenly captured these four most valuable pieces of information.
"Gurararara! I'm badmouthing your Hokage right here in Konoha, and you, a ninja, aren't angry?" Whitebeard looked at Kakashi with interest.
Kakashi felt no killing intent from Whitebeard, but his pressure was immense.
Even during the Third Shinobi World War, Kakashi hadn't encountered anyone who brought him this much pressure.
He remained vigilant, ready to act at any moment.
Kakashi casually replied: "Some of the things the Third Hokage does are indeed biased. There are things you're not wrong about."
"Gurararara! You, white-haired kid, are quite interesting." Whitebeard grinned, inviting: "I plan to rebuild the Whitebeard Pirates in this shinobi world! I want to gather more sons here to be my family."
"White-haired kid, be my son!"
"What????" Kakashi had never been this confused in his life. His exposed eye widened in disbelief.
The renowned "Copy Ninja" Kakashi.
She almost had his brain short-circuit!
"Hey hey hey... Old man, you can't joke like this!" Kakashi said with a dark expression: "You don't even know my name, and I don't know yours. Saying such things to a stranger is quite offensive, don't you think?"
Whitebeard laughed heartily: "Gurararara! My name is Edward Newgate, Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates! Now you know, so... Do you want to be my son?"
This guy!
Does he not understand people?
Kakashi nearly had a stress mark on his forehead. Was this guy emotionally challenged or overly confident in his strength?
At this moment, there was noise nearby.
"Hey! Did you call in a false alarm? Where's the giant? Do you know the consequences of messing with the Uchiha Clan?"
"We didn't call in a false alarm! There really is a giant in the village, a terrifying giant with the demon fox!"
"Yeah! I saw them heading towards Ichiraku Ramen. This must be trouble brought by the demon fox!"
"Ichiraku Ramen? Hmph! They better be there. Otherwise, the Uchiha won't be happy!"
"..."
Inside Ichiraku Ramen.
Naruto was a bit panicked: "Dad! They actually called the Uchiha Clan. I've heard they are very scary, and Grandpa Hokage always told me to stay away from them."
Whitebeard shrugged: "Uchiha? Never heard of them, gurararara, don't worry, Naruto!"
He continued: "Dad said, no one can hurt my family!"
This sentence.
Was resolute!
...
...