Upon hearing these words, the hot-tempered boy could no longer hold back. He reached for the ninja pouch behind him and shouted, "Ninja life lessons, huh? Fine! I'll show you right now what ninja life is all about!"
He then pulled out a kunai from his ninja pouch, ready to teach his comrade a lesson right in front of everyone.
The girl beside him, seeing the situation, quickly put aside her sadness and used both hands to hold the boy's arm, attempting to stop his impulsive behavior.
Kakashi, however, was not one to back down easily.
He glanced at his opponent and placed his right hand on the hilt of the ninja sword strapped to his back.
The situation was about to escalate into a brawl within the team.
"Enough!"
The green-vested Jonin, who had been walking silently at the front, finally noticed the situation behind him and called out to stop it.
"That's it for today. Dismissed!"
"But, Sensei!"
The boy was clearly unable to contain his anger. Ignoring his teacher's stance and the girl's attempts to hold him back, he continued to speak.
"What, are you going to disobey my order? Dismiss now. I will inform you if there are any further tasks!" With a dark expression, the green-vested Jonin stared fixedly at the boy, awaiting his response.
"I understand!" The boy responded reluctantly, taking the girl beside him and heading in one direction.
Kakashi, who had also received the dismissal order, nodded and walked in the opposite direction from the boy and girl.
It turned out this task team was the first Team Kakashi joined after graduating from the Ninja School, the team also included Hatake Kakashi himself, son of Konoha's White Fang.
The argument's origin was simple. The team had been given a task to collect rare medicinal herbs, the only trouble being that the herbs grew on steep cliffs. They had to use their chakra control 'tree-walking' skills to scale the cliffs and find the herbs.
Reiko, the girl in their team, had insufficient chakra. After hanging on for a while, her foot slipped due to a moment's distraction, causing her to fall off the cliff.
Kakashi, nearby and focused on conserving chakra to complete the task, ignored her and continued toward the task's target he had just discovered.
If it wasn't for the Jonin at the bottom who noticed something was off and helped in time, the girl named Reiko might have plummeted to her death.
This enraged the boy who had feelings for the girl, leading to the argument with Kakashi on their way back to the village once the task was completed.
The argument escalated to the point of the hot-tempered boy drawing a kunai, nearly resulting in an internal team fight.
The leading Jonin, who had silently endured enough, finally had to intervene, ordering them to dismiss and cool off at home.
Watching his team scatter in different directions, the green-vested Jonin sighed inwardly, feeling that team cooperation was becoming impossible.
With the situation just calming down, he refrained from making any comments.
He could not reproach Kakashi, considering what had recently happened to his father. Kakashi's current attitude of task-first was hardly surprising.
Nor could he blame the impulsive boy, whose actions were just an attempt to teach Kakashi the importance of teammates.
He also couldn't fault the village or the Hokage, as their decisions were for the sake of protecting everyone.
Sometimes, both sides are not wrong; when aiming for a goal, some sacrifices are inevitable.
Now, however, he found himself in a difficult position and felt it might be time to request a team member change from the Hokage.
At the same moment, wandering the streets of Konoha, Toshirou spotted Kakashi and greeted him, "Yo! Kakashi! Long time no see!"
"..."
"You're as cold as ever!" Not receiving any response, Toshirou saw Kakashi's expressionless face and quipped.
Kakashi's unruly white hair grew freely, with his forehead protector bearing the leaf symbol, and a fringe that made his expression seem a bit cute.
With lifeless, emotionless eyes, Kakashi stared back at Toshirou with a face saying, "you're annoying, go away".
His mouth was covered by a black mask, and he wore a black short-sleeved shirt, with an iconic white-toothed short sword strapped to his back. Iron arm guards covered his wrists and he wore black ninja capris, with leg guards and high ninja sandals.
Seeing Kakashi's reluctance to converse and his imposing "keep away" aura, Toshirou wasn't surprised. Instead, he reached out to put an arm around Kakashi's shoulders, feigning camaraderie.
"Don't be so cold! We did graduate in the same year, but I entered ninja school earlier. At least call me senpai!"
With a crisp sound, Kakashi blocked Toshirou's arm and stepped back two paces, putting distance between them.
Toshirou, unfazed by Kakashi's rejection, sympathized with him rather than being angry, knowing his backstory.
"Kakashi, don't lock your heart away in a dark room. Don't drown in past sorrow and pain. Look at the vibrant streets and gentle sunlight. One day, you'll meet someone like a rainbow, brightening your life."
Despite being brushed off, Toshirou earnestly tried to offer Kakashi some supportive 'chicken soup,' hoping it someday helps.
Whether it works, only time will tell.
(End of Chapter)