Hatake Kakashi Absolutely Will Not Be a Chakra Unit!

Chapter 93: The War of Hearts

In the scroll Kakashi had given Obito, every step of how to make the Hokage suspect the Uchiha clan was recorded in detail. Since it was written on the way here, the plan was originally aimed at the Third Hokage, not the Fourth.

Overall, however, it made no difference. As long as the reigning Hokage grew suspicious of the Uchiha clan, the first step was a success. If he didn't become suspicious, but instead grew suspicious of Obito, that was even better, because Obito was also an Uchiha.

Having an Uchiha member inform on the Uchiha would, no matter what, lower the clan's credibility in Minato's eyes. Even if it was just a little, it would be infinitely magnified in the actions to come.

The most difficult part of this entire plan was actually getting Obito to agree with Kakashi's perspective and support the Uchiha leaving Konoha.

Two days of living in the Forest of Death had left Kakashi quite annoyed. The root of it all was the system's sudden price hike, which had inexplicably raised the cost of the mask to 20 K-points, preventing him from entering Konoha proper. After his encounter with Kushina, he understood one thing: what you don't want to happen, always happens.

To that end, over the past two days, the silver-haired boy had devised a way to temporarily increase his total chakra. He would wrap the Ryumyaku chakra around his body like a cloak, just as Naruto had done during the Fourth Great Ninja War, providing the Nine-Tails' chakra to others to temporarily boost their overall chakra levels.

This method was indeed effective, allowing him to double his total chakra for a short period without any side effects. The drawback was its limited use. Based on the remaining Ryumyaku energy in the scroll, he could only use it two more times before it was gone.

To replenish it, he would have to make a trip back to Rouran, which was far too troublesome.

Opening the system, the silver-haired boy's heart remained calm as he saw his total chakra in the bottom-left corner change to 36 K-points.

In two hours, it would be back to 18.

Confirm Exchange: Disguise Mask

Exchange Successful

Suddenly appearing in his hand was a fox mask that looked remarkably like the standard-issue Anbu mask. There were no instructions. Even though he had exchanged for the lowest-grade mask, this was a bit too shabby.

Putting on the mask, Kakashi felt no change in his body. He went to a small stream in the Forest of Death. After killing a three-meter-long centipede and finishing off a python lurking in the water, he finally saw his current appearance in the water's reflection.

If he hadn't known he was wearing the Disguise Mask, he definitely wouldn't have recognized the reflection as himself.

The mask was non-existent in the reflection. His facial features were very close to his original ones, nearly identical in detail, but there was a sense of ordinariness about him—so ordinary that if he were thrown into a crowd, he would be like a grain of sand on a beach, impossible to find again.

If that was how he saw himself, others would surely be even less likely to recognize him.

Just as he was about to take the mask off, he suddenly noticed it had vanished from his face. He opened the system and saw a 72-hour countdown next to the item, along with a "Pause Use" button.

He pressed it, and his reflection in the water returned to normal.

Overall, it was a loss. A huge loss. Twenty K-points for a one-time-use toy. If it weren't for the ability to pause the countdown, he might as well have thrown that chakra into the river.

From this, Kakashi learned another lesson: even the system had items with extremely low cost-effectiveness.

Like Browse Taobao, the boy temporarily turned off the disguise effect and scrolled his finger up and down, searching through the various categories for anything that could improve his strength or had value. Unfortunately, most of it didn't interest him, and the things that did interest him—the ones that could significantly boost his power—were ridiculously expensive.

Toggling the disguise button on and closing the system, the boy navigated through the towering, ancient trees and walked out of the Forest of Death, heading straight for the old Hatake residence.

For Kakashi, this was a special place. For over a decade, he had called this place "home." Now, approaching the building, a sense of the vast changes over time made the boy pause, hesitating whether to step into this dwelling.

It's just a place to live. What am I thinking?

With a hint of self-mockery, the silver-haired boy crossed the threshold and stepped into the Hatake family home. Everything inside was neatly arranged; from a distance, it didn't look like it had been uninhabited for a long time. But up close, the dust on the tables and chairs, the cobwebs in the corners, and the overgrown weeds in the backyard all confirmed that no one had entered this house for a very long time.

Confirming he hadn't been followed, Kakashi closed the main door, picked up a broom, and began to clean the floor. He planned to stay here for a while to stabilize his recently surged chakra, familiarize himself with the new functions of the Ryumyaku energy, and... to remember Sakumo Hatake.

The bodies of the White Fang and his mother had been recovered by the medical corps. This was the fate of many powerful individuals; the village would study the secrets of their strength. Even the bodies of deceased Uchiha clan members were sent to this place to be studied before burial. Of course, the Sharingan would be kept by the Uchiha.

They were ultimately buried in Konoha's public cemetery, their names engraved on the Memorial Stone. As the White Fang of Konoha, who wore the Hokage's half-sleeve, he was undoubtedly qualified. Yet, the way he died was too tragic, condemned by the very people he had saved. Even in death, he was nearly branded with the title of one who committed suicide out of guilt.

This world is never short of such people: those who envy the outstanding. When the excellent one makes a mistake that cannot even be called a mistake, they swarm in, spewing the most insulting words, reveling in the pleasure of kicking someone when they're down. They don't need to know the cause or the reason; they just need a leader, a victim, and they can unleash all their violent emotions to send this so-called "wrongdoer" to hell.

They can even be so cold-blooded as to watch him die in agony.

A person's will can decay, rust, and age. Once it passes a certain tipping point, with a crisp "ding," it can never be rebooted, updated, or returned to the past.

Over time, these people become slaves to rumors, unable to extricate themselves.

Perhaps it was because the villagers of Konoha had been protected by ninja for too long, forgetting how cruel this world truly is, that they would slander the hero who protected them.

Mulling over these things, Kakashi finished cleaning the house, walked out the door, and when he looked up again, he was standing by the Memorial Stone.

He found his own name on it. The higher-ups must not have erased it yet.

And above his name was Sakumo Hatake.

Kakashi wouldn't be foolish enough to blame the Konoha villagers for all of this. The elders and Danzo bore most of the responsibility, but the ultimate cause was war.

And war... refers to the war of hearts.

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