Konoha Hospital
On a bench in the corridor, Kakashi sat in silence along with a young boy by his side.
Kakashi's gaze was listless, his trademark nonchalant eyes duller than usual. Every few seconds, his attention drifted toward the ward beside him, as if the answers to his turmoil lied just beyond that door.
After an unknown amount of time, the sudden sound of approaching footsteps shattered the tense and quiet atmosphere. Kakashi immediately stood up, every muscle in his body tensed.
"Are they alright?"
Looking at the medical ninja walking out of the ward, he asked anxiously.
"Their condition is stable now." The medical ninja nodded and said.
But then, his face darkened into a frown amd he said, "Kakashi-senpai… your methods were far too extreme! I understand it's your first time supervising a Genin team, but you should still know that they're just children!"
"..."
Kakashi's breathing paused for a moment. His mouth slightly opened, and he was ready to provide an explanation but the words refused to come out of his mouth.
"It wasn't Kakashi-sensei's fault."
Just then, the boy beside him stood up abruptly, defending Kakashi.
The boy looked about thirteen—with raven-black hair and delicate features.
Lowering his head, he muttered softly, "If you have to blame someone… blame me."
"..."
Kakashi's face stiffened even more, and the medical ninja sighed upon hearing this.
"What a good kid… Even so, Kakashi-senpai, accident or not, you must shoulder the responsibility and guide this child properly."
With those parting words, the medical ninja offered a respectful nod and departed, leaving behind only the bewildered Jonin and his lone student.
"Kakashi-sensei, what do we do now?" The boy finally asked, his voice steady but concerned.
"Also… did I pass?"
"Pass...?"
Kakashi nearly laughed out of sheer frustration.
He shot a glare at the boy and angrily asked, "There were three members in your team. Now, only you remain conscious. How exactly is that 'passing'?"
He was beyond exasperated right now. He had never expected that his first time leading students after leaving Anbu would result in such a huge blunder.
Two of his three students are being hospitalized, and only one—this boy, Kitagawa Takemi—remained unscathed.
At this moment, he began to doubt whether stepping out of the ANBU was the right decision. Maybe he should have just stayed there.
"Kakashi-sensei, isn't it okay even with just one person?"
Takemi blinked and serioously added, "I heard Guy-sensei say that when you graduated, you were alone too. Can't we recruit teammates later? Besides… we got the bells, didn't we?"
Kakashi angrily interjected, "Stop right there. I gave those bells to you on purpose!"
The test had gone far worse than he had initially expected.
Truthfully, the three's performance was decent and their initial coordination was also quite good.
Among them, Takemi showed exceptional potential. Despite not having any prestigious lineage, he was far stronger than the other two in all aspects.
Kakashi had chosen to test them with a classic scenario: two bells, three Genin.
After a while, he "accidentally" lost the bells, making them face the final test.
There were only two bells, meaning only two people could pass. What would they do faced with this dilemma?
Let them face the dilemma—would they prioritize themselves, or trust their teammates?
Then, beyond his wildest expectations, chaos ensued.
"Forget it… it's all over now."
Sighing deeply, Kakashi rose to his feet and was about to leave. Seeing that Kakashi seemed to have the intention of 'returning' him, Takemi immediately became anxious
Takemi quickly said, "I know that you had deliberately given us the bells. Otherwise, no matter what, we Genins wouldn't have been able to snatch the bells from you, a Jonin."
"Besides... I even know the purpose of this test."
"Hmm?"
Kakashi didn't interrupt, though he raised a brow.
Takemi continued, "The purpose of this test was to evaluate our strategy when facing enemies, individual ability, and teamwork. I kept telling them to cooperate, and the facts prove that we performed well."
"Your cooperation was alright."
Recalling the previous battle, even though Kakashi was very displeased, he still nodded, but then quickly shook his head again.
"But after getting the bells, what did you all do?"
Kakashi had given them the bells, letting them choose for themselves. As a result, Takemi handed the bells to the other two and then just watched without saying a word.
If it was just like that, it would have been fine, but the problem was...
The other two kids suddenly started fighting each other, and it even looked like they were really going to kill each other.
Even Kakashi was stunned. He even suspected for a moment that he had encountered members of the Root. After all, the Root seemed to have this kind of tradition.
But for students from the academy to pull off such moves...It truly caught him off guard.
By the time he made his move, the two had already fallen to the ground and ended up in the hospital together.
"There were only two bells, wasn't the purpose to test 'trust and sacrifice' in teamwork?" Takemi seemed wronged and pouted.
He said in a low voice, "I already took the initiative to give the bells to the two of them. Didn't that show my determination? What else does Kakashi-sensei want from me?"
Kakashi was speechless for a moment. He didn't know what to say.
Takemi immediately pressed on, "I didn't expect something like this to happen either, and I also cherish them because Guy-sensei once told me something."
"What did he say?"
Kakashi rubbed his forehead, still seemingly annoyed, but he was also very curious about what Guy had told him.
"Guy-sensei told me that his best friend had told him this."
Takemi's expression became much more serious and he said with utmost sincerity,
"That friend once told him, 'Those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who don't cherish their comrades are even worse than trash!'"
"I strongly agree with this. That's why I kept advising Chiyuki and Daigo to cooperate with each other, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this in the end."
"It's also my fault for not explaining my thoughts, which led to this outcome. But I truly want to become a ninja. I want to protect Konoha and my comrades. I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei."
"..."
For a moment, Kakashi really wanted to slap himself hard.
Although he knew that Guy and Takemi had a good relationship, he had even seen him train with Guy.
But what bothered him even more was why Guy had told him everything?
However, at this moment, he had a new idea. Perhaps, teaching this kid alone wouldn't be a problem?
He couldn't possibly ruin this excellent talent just because of those two brats, could he?
He didn't want to suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, recall everything that had happened today, and then give himself a hard slap.
Kakashi said, You should go back first."
"Huh?" Takemi was stunned.
Kakashi pondered for a moment before speaking, which made Takemi pause, but Kakashi quickly added, "Go back and rest well first. I need to report the current situation to Lord Hokage, but you should be mentally prepared."
Saying this, Kakashi paused. He took out a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, lowered his head, and walked outside while reading.
"If nothing unexpected happens, your days ahead won't be as easy as they were at the academy."
"Understood!"
Watching Kakashi's retreating figure, Takemi's expression became somewhat excited.
Finally... finally...
After enduring for thirteen years, he finally received his beginner reward.
[Completed the first stage of the main mission: Become a Ninja]
[Reward: Beginner Package]
[Completed side mission: Become Kakashi's only student among the current graduates]
[Reward: Kakashi's Kenjutsu]