NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 36: At the Beginning
Chapter
36: At the Beginning
'Everyone's approval? Sure enough,
this child has inherited your will, Minato-sensei,' Kakashi thought as he
listened to Menma's words. Kakashi, unaware of what Menma was truly thinking,
felt relieved. To be honest, Kakashi still felt guilty about Menma. After all,
they were both Minato-sensei's children, but the treatment they received was
completely different.
If you say that in the past 12
years, Kakashi never thought of taking care of or visiting Menma, that's not
entirely true. Kakashi still had a little bit of conscience, but unfortunately,
it wasn't much. It was really just a pitiful little bit. The setting of Hatake
Kakashi is actually very complicated, and his life experience is indeed full of
ups and downs. Perhaps Kakashi himself has never seen himself clearly.
In his previous life, Menma
initially looked at Kakashi through the lens of the 'protagonist group', so he
saw only his strengths. Later, he gradually came to his senses. Now, after
experiencing these 12 years, Menma no longer had any strong feelings towards
Kakashi. Of course, he didn't harbor much bad feelings either. Because, to be
honest, Kakashi did not seem to have any obligation to take care of him. He was
just a subordinate of the Fourth Hokage. Is there any reason to take care of
him? Can't he protect himself?
Therefore, Menma's perception of
Kakashi was that of an 'ordinary person'. He would not pay too much attention
to Kakashi, and if Kakashi wanted to stop him in the future, Menma would not
hesitate to raise his weapon. Facing an ordinary person, there was no need for
any emotion or hesitation at all. Menma looked at Kakashi calmly.
"Well, next one!" Kakashi nodded
slightly, and then his eyes moved to Haruno Sakura. The moment he saw Kakashi's
gaze, Haruno Sakura suddenly perked up, her eyes filled with determination as
she recalled her days at the academy. "My name is Haruno Sakura. During my
time at the academy, I focused on my studies and tried my best to excel in all
subjects. My dream is to become a ninja. The things I like, well... rather than
saying things, it's more about people I like... that... Ah!!!!" She
pretended to be shy and glanced at Sasuke.
Menma didn't know how other people
felt, but at this moment, he really had goose bumps all over his body. In his
previous life, he felt an indescribable nausea when reading the original work
through the electronic screen. Now, experiencing it directly, the nausea was
doubled. No wonder Sakura Haruno had no popularity at all in the early part of
the original story. With this kind of attitude, personality, and excessive
performance later, it would be strange if anyone had a good impression of her
in the early stage!
Sakura Haruno began to change her
reputation later, but that had to be the story after Shippuden. From that time
on, especially as it went on, there was indeed a bit of Kushina's feeling in
it. Now? Just two words: Disgusting! Menma struggled to control his facial
expression, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.
'Do girls nowadays value feelings
more than anything else? Ah, ah, ah...' Kakashi couldn't help but shake his
head inwardly and directly interrupted Sakura's further self-directed and
self-acted performance.
"And what about something you
dislike?" Kakashi asked.
"Ino!" Haruno Sakura
blurted out without thinking. Given her rivalry with Yamanaka Ino, it was an
immediate response.
Kakashi's eyes flashed with an 'as
expected' look. "Well, then, the last one." Kakashi nodded and fixed
his gaze on Sasuke.
Sasuke also had a calm expression.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have anything I particularly like or
dislike. My dream is to revive the Uchiha clan and to kill that man!" At
the moment of saying the last sentence, Sasuke's aura became increasingly cold,
making Kakashi frown slightly.
'Uchiha Itachi,' Kakashi thought.
Menma also subconsciously glanced at
Sasuke's profile, and the name and appearance of the young man who was only
five or six years older than them emerged in his mind. This was a real ruthless
person! Killing his father and mother, was this something ordinary people could
do? In Menma's opinion, Uchiha Itachi's terrifying attributes were definitely
one of the best in this world! This was definitely not a normal person.
"Well, this is our initial
acquaintance. I am a casual person, so you don't need to be too restrained.
However, before we officially carry out missions, I need to conduct a small
test with you!" Kakashi said.
"Test?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes, it is a test. The time is
set at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning, and the location is at the second training
ground. Remember, don't be late. I am indeed a casual person, but I hate people
who are late!" Kakashi said with a smile.
"You are the one who is late
every day, and you dare to say this, Brother Kakashi. You won't fool us into
arriving at the scene at five o'clock tomorrow, only to be late for a few hours
yourself!" Naruto said, exposing Kakashi on the spot.
Unlike the original work where
Kakashi could easily fool the three members of Team 7, in this time and space,
Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage and was familiar with Kakashi's habits.
At this moment, Naruto ruthlessly exposed Kakashi. Looking at Naruto's very
"resentful" look and Sakura's obvious suspicious expression, Kakashi
didn't look embarrassed at all.
He said calmly, "These are two
different things, Naruto. Tomorrow, I will definitely not be late. After all,
this is likely to be both your first and last mission. And, Naruto, you have to
call me Kakashi-sensei!"
That obviously had a bit of bad
intentions. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were all shocked. Menma also raised his
eyebrows.
"Ah? The last mission?
Kakashi-sensei, why do you say that?" Haruno Sakura looked at Kakashi with
a hint of uneasiness.
"Hehe, you will know tomorrow.
So, let's stop here today. By the way, I will give you one last piece of
advice. Don't eat breakfast, otherwise, you will regret it!" Kakashi said
with a light smile.
"Poof!" Without waiting
for the four to react, he made a seal with both hands, his figure turning into
a puff of white mist and disappearing.