Chapter 20
[System Notification: Uchiha Kenji's favorability +13]
[System Notification: Uchiha Kenji's favorability +27]
...
[System Notification: Uchiha Fugaku's favorability +39]
[System Notification: Host's favorability with Uchiha Kenji has reached 76, gaining 0.2 units of chakra and partial Sharingan visual power.]
[System Notification: Host's favorability with Uchiha Fugaku has reached 86, gaining 0.3 units of chakra and partial Sharingan visual power.]
[Congratulations! Host's Sharingan visual power has reached the standard for the Three Tomoe Sharingan. Next level: Mangekyou Sharingan (9/100).]
A continuous stream of system notifications rang in Haneda's ears. For a moment, he paused in his tracks.
"What's wrong, Haneda?" Kakashi noticed Haneda's sudden change in expression and asked with concern.
"Nothing." Haneda smiled, the surging chakra within him calming down.
He looked up at the sky. The setting sun's glow cast a warm light across his face. Haneda instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes and asked with a smile, "Shall we go to your place first or head to Yakiniku Q?"
"Let's go to my house. My father really wants to meet you," Kakashi replied.
"Is that so?"
...
Outside of Konoha, buried deep beneath the roots of the forest, lay a hidden base.
A masked Root ninja wearing a fox mask hurried down the tunnel until he arrived at an office, where his steps finally slowed.
"Report, Lord Danzo! Uchiha Haneda and Kakashi Hatake skipped class this morning. Around 9 a.m., they were seen heading toward the Uchiha clan grounds."
The man in the fox mask knelt on one knee, emotionlessly delivering his report.
Danzo glanced at the clock on the wall and asked in a deep voice, "Why are you only reporting this now?"
"Lord Danzo, I was captured by an Uchiha jounin and detained by the police force. I was released at 5:32 p.m. this afternoon."
"Useless! How dare they?!" Danzo slammed his fist on the stone table, his voice cold.
He paused for a moment before asking, "Where did Uchiha Haneda and Kakashi go next? Don't tell me you don't know."
The fox-masked ninja quickly responded, "They headed in the direction of Lord Sakumo's home. It seems Kakashi intends to take Uchiha Haneda there."
*Bang!*
Danzo struck the table again, shouting angrily, "How dare Sakumo have contact with the Uchiha clan?!"
Seeing Danzo's outburst, the fox-masked man held his breath, afraid to make a sound.
After a few tense seconds, Danzo calmed down and said coldly, "You, Ghost Mask, and Demon Cat, follow Murasame. Go immediately to Sakumo's residence. Monitor every interaction between him and Uchiha Haneda. Do not miss a single detail!"
"Yes, Lord Danzo!"
In an instant, the jounin Murasame led three elite chuunin and vanished from the office.
...
In the Hatake clan grounds, at Kakashi's house.
Haneda and Kakashi entered, one after the other.
"I'm back, Father," Kakashi called softly into the house.
"I heard you skipped class today, Kakashi. Is that true?" Sakumo's voice drifted from the study.
Kakashi fell silent at the question.
To be honest, this was his first time skipping class, his first time breaking the rules. He wasn't sure how to face his father.
"I was the one who made him do it, Uncle Sakumo," Haneda said.
As he spoke, Sakumo appeared. His silver-white hair was just like Kakashi's, and he wore the Konoha forehead protector. His sharp eyes seemed to pierce into one's soul.
Haneda quickly averted his gaze after just a glance. The pressure of meeting Sakumo's eyes was too intense.
There seemed to be an invisible aura surrounding Sakumo, one that carried a faint sense of killing intent.
Haneda found it hard to believe that such a formidable man would later choose to end his own life due to criticism from villagers and comrades.
Similarly, Sakumo was sizing up Haneda. Based on Haneda's words and the Uchiha crest on his clothes, he instantly deduced his identity.
"You must be Uchiha Haneda?" Sakumo asked, smiling.
At that moment, the invisible pressure dissipated, and Sakumo's presence became as warm as a spring breeze.
Haneda let out a quiet sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "Yes, I'm the one who defeated Kakashi—the new number one genius of Konoha, Uchiha Haneda."
Kakashi rolled his eyes at Haneda's boast.
Sakumo, however, could see that Haneda was trying to ease the tension with some playful words, as he had felt too much pressure earlier.
"Skipping class isn't good. If needed, you can always ask your teacher for leave," Sakumo said with a smile.
Haneda didn't take the skipping seriously, and he had already made up his mind that once he mastered the Shadow Clone technique, he'd rarely attend school in person.
Kakashi, on the other hand, hurriedly explained, "Father, Haneda and I skipped class to seek out Fugaku-senpai for some training."
"Fugaku-senpai is an Uchiha jounin skilled in fire jutsu and genjutsu."
"Haneda and I learned two C-rank jutsu from him—Phoenix Flower Jutsu and Demonic Illusion: Fox Mind Jutsu."
"I can demonstrate them for you, Father."
Sakumo looked at Kakashi, waved his hand dismissively, and smiled. "There's no need to explain these things to me, Kakashi."
"You're already grown up. You don't need to tell me everything you do."
"Of course, if you're sharing something, I'd be happy to listen."
"Really, Father?" Kakashi looked up at Sakumo, seeing the sincere smile on his face.
In that moment, Kakashi felt a wave of relief, though at the same time, there was an odd emptiness inside, as if he'd lost something.
"Don't just stand there. Come sit and chat," Sakumo said, leading Haneda to a table. He added, "I'm sorry, I don't have any drinks prepared."
"It's fine. Only kids drink soda," Haneda said, sitting up straight in his chair.
"You don't need to be so tense, Haneda. Treat this like your own home," Sakumo said, noticing Haneda's stiff posture and wondering if he had unintentionally exerted too much pressure again.
Since neither Sakumo nor Kakashi were very talkative, the room fell silent, making the atmosphere a bit awkward.
Eventually, Haneda took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Uncle Sakumo, I've heard you've completed over twenty S-rank missions. Is that true?"
"Are S-rank missions as difficult as they say? I know that regular genin are only assigned D or C-rank missions," Haneda asked, with a hint of admiration and curiosity in his tone.
"S-rank missions..." Sakumo stroked his chin and smiled, "They're not too bad. Most don't involve much life-threatening danger, but you do face powerful opponents sometimes."
"The really tough ones are the infiltration and intelligence-gathering missions. There's so much to consider with those."
"But if it's just about taking lives, that's easy."
For someone like Sakumo, killing was simple—just a swift strike and a head would fall.
'Emmm... That was quite humble!' Haneda thought to himself, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"I've heard that your legendary Hatake swordsmanship, which strikes fear into anyone who sees it, is what allowed you to dominate the ninja world for over a decade, Uncle Sakumo."
"Even many experts in Uchiha-style kenjutsu admit they are no match for you."
***
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