At the end of December, winter comes.
Snowflakes were falling in the sky in Konoha, and ice formed on the water of the river.
After completing the last task of the year, Liuli stayed at home.
If nothing special happens, this situation will probably last until mid-January next year before I will consider taking on the task.
Opening the door, you can see that there is also a thick layer of snow on the ground in the courtyard outside.
Shiraishi sat opposite Liuli, with a table placed between them.
After Shadow Dancer put the tea and cakes on the table, she stepped aside without saying a word, secretly staring at the two of them with curious eyes from time to time.
For her who is less than half a year old, sometimes she really feels that the relationship between human beings is too complicated.
Take her family as an example. When she observed others, she found that they were just a father and a mother.
And she does have only one father, but there are two 'mothers'.
Moreover, her brother General Tu's body was really strange. She often used the shadow blade to take off its head and observe it, trying to find out why it was always alive and kicking.
But after observing for a long time, I couldn't find any mechanism inside.
There is no difference between the outside and the inside of its body. They are all made of soft soil. Other than that, there seems to be no special substance.
Not only is the body shape different from normal humans, but even the words coming out of the mouth are gibbering, making it impossible for people to understand the meaning and even normal communication.
These things are indeed difficult for her to understand when she is less than half a year old.
"I heard something about Kakashi in the village recently. He seems to have conflicts with many teams."
Liuli picked up the teacup and took a sip of hot tea.
"Isn't this a matter of course? Ignoring the safety of his companions and only focusing on the task to be completed will definitely make his companions in the team dissatisfied and exclude him."
Shiraishi shrugged his shoulders and said.
"Sometimes, I really can't understand what the people at the top are thinking. They themselves are also to blame for Kakashi becoming like this."
Liuli snorted coldly.
In her opinion, Kakashi's idea was indeed a bit extreme.
But what pushed Kakashi to this point, if you think about it carefully, wasn't it the inaction of those high-level officials that caused it?
"In order to maintain the balance of the various forces in the village, our Lord Hokage cannot take the initiative to assume these responsibilities. Therefore, the existence of the root will become meaningful."
Shiraishi looked at the snowflakes flying in the air in the yard and falling towards the ground. He said this with a smile while admiring the beautiful snow scene.
In order to better manage Konoha, as Hokage, he must maintain his glorious and righteous side at many times and become a model and role model in the eyes of all Konoha ninjas and villagers.
But in such a huge Konoha, it is impossible to be completely free of filth. Where there is light, darkness will inevitably breed.
Therefore, with a glorious and righteous Hokage, someone must bear the opposite of light - darkness, so that the interests and order of the village can be better maintained.
As a result, the root organization, which was responsible for all the darkness and sins of Konoha, was successfully born at the right time with the unanimous promotion of the senior officials.
As soon as this organization was born, it enjoyed the worst reputation and did the dirtiest work. Its leader, Danzo Shimura, was a ninja known as the "Dark Shinobi".
It's because he has a cruel and ruthless behavior and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.
Such an extremely dangerous person has ninjas with the same extreme ideas under his command. He has secretly handled many dirty deeds over the years. The name "Ninja's Darkness" is worthy of his name.
To be honest, for this reason alone, Shiraishi still admires the political vision of the third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.
From a strategic point of view, there is no major fault with this arrangement.
But the problem is that the series of measures taken by the Third Hokage can be regarded as a typical failure——
Too much indulgence in the growth of the roots, insufficient restraint of the roots when necessary, and lack of a strong hand to control this huge darkness are all problems.
The senior officials at the root who made major mistakes could not immediately impose any actual punishment, and at the same time they failed to appease the subordinates who had been harmed by their interests, which directly led to a serious lack of distinction between their personal affairs and the official affairs of the village, and the loss of credibility.
Therefore, a balance can only be maintained based on the premise of indulging the roots. This strategy will not only bring no benefits to Konoha, but in many cases will continue to consume the vitality inside Konoha, causing Konoha's future to fall into a state of reverse growth. Awkward situation.
Once a war breaks out in the ninja world, Konoha is likely to have a very difficult time and may even be in danger of being destroyed.
As for whether a great hero will appear in Konoha to turn the tide, Shiraishi cannot predict it.
Things like this in the future are really unpredictable.
Shiraishi himself is obviously not very interested in this kind of thing.
At that time, he had already left Konoha. Whether Konoha will be destroyed or ushered in new life, we can just wait and see.
"By the way, you can take this thing. I have already made it. It really took a lot of time."
Shiraishi remembered something at this moment, took out two black metal rings from his pocket, and placed them in front of Liuli.
"This is?"
"It's similar to the chakra limiter you used to train the genin in your team. But the difference is that this is a specially enhanced chakra limiter that only jounin can adapt to."
Shiraishi reminded this emphatically.
Even though a genin chuunin would not be life-threatening if he wore a chakra limiter of this level, he could not expect to successfully perform ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
These three types of fighting methods must rely on the circulation of chakra in the body to achieve release.
Especially for taijutsu, the faster the chakra flows in the body, the stronger the power of the taijutsu. On the contrary, the slower the flow of chakra, the harder it will be for Taijutsu to perform as it should.
Liuli put one of the black metal rings on her left hand.
On the surface, no changes have occurred in his body, but only Liuli himself knows that although the chakra flow speed in his body is not in a static state, it is not much faster than the crawling speed of a turtle.
Based on this terrible state where the chakra flow speed is severely restricted, it is by no means an easy task to train the chakra flow speed in the body to be the same as normal.
Afterwards, Liuli looked at the second metal ring, wondering what would happen if she wore the second one.
One of them has already made the chakra flow in her body so slow. After wearing the second one, it may really make the chakra in her body fall into a 'static' state.
Shiraishi seemed to see through Liuli's thoughts, took a sip of tea, and said slowly: "It's better to stick to the steps. Even for you, wearing a chakra limiter now is the limit. After you are familiar with the first one, you can wear it again It’s not too late to train with the second chakra limiter. You have to rest in the village anyway. With your ability, it shouldn’t be difficult to completely overcome the first chakra limiter within a month.”
"A month? Does it take that long?"
Liuli doesn't agree with the time period of a month.
She expected to complete the training in about half a month.
"This is a conservative estimate, because the more powerful a ninja's chakra is, the more chakra he needs to control, and the more difficult it is to overcome the limiter."
Shiraishi explained a little bit.
"Then I'll go try it out now. How about it? Do you want to come together?"
Liuli stood up from her seat and extended an invitation to Shiraishi to go to the training ground to test how much strength she could retain under the restricted conditions at the moment.
"I'll forget it, I still have work to do later."
Shiraishi shook his head and refused.
"You are really getting lazy. If this continues, I'm really worried that your strength will deteriorate. Last time, your physical skills were already a lot rusty."
Liuli frowned, a little dissatisfied with Baishi's current lazy attitude towards training.
"It doesn't matter. Don't worry. Shadow Dancer can protect me."
Shiraishi said with a smile.
Although he is proficient in the changes in chakra properties of many attributes, it is all for his own research.
Specializing in practicing various escape techniques and becoming proficient in them will distract one's energy, which is not worth the gain.
Because whether it is a native general or a shadow dancer, they are all 'parts' of themselves. Strictly speaking, they are also manifestations of their own strength.
Shiraishi believes that this is his own unique way to become stronger.
Since your own strength is insufficient, just create a 'clone' that can adapt to any environment and fight the enemy.
As long as this power is in your own hands.
Seeing that Shiraishi was still unmoved, Liuli snorted and went to the training ground alone.
Watching Liuli leave, Shiraishi just continued to drink the hot tea in his hand and admire the snow scene outside.
"Okay, let's get back to work."
After Bai Shi finished speaking, he slowly stood up.
The moment his body stood up, the shadow dancer turned into a black shadow and moved like lightning on the floor. He actively blended into the shadow of the white stone and disappeared.
As Shiraishi's only personal bodyguard at the moment, Shadow Dancer follows Shiraishi inseparably most of the time, protecting the life of Shiraishi, the creator.
◎
Konoha 42nd year, February.
At this time, the Ninja School will be on vacation for about ten days, so there is no need to go to school.
In late last month, not long after the New Year Festival, Liuli had resumed his functions as a Jonin and went to the Hokage Building to accept the mission.
Shiraishi seemed to be the only one around him who was doing nothing.
Occasionally, the cute little girl Nohara Lin would come to him and ask for some knowledge on medical ninjutsu.
Of course, behind this cute little girl, there will always be a guy named Uchiha Obito, a guy who can be called a goddess licker.
This guy seems to be in the same class as Kakashi, and Shiraishi can often hear words from him about wanting to surpass Kakashi.
But Shiraishi feels that this kind of thing is a bit unrealistic.
Kakashi graduated from the ninja school at the age of five and became a chuunin at the age of six. The word 'genius' is not enough to describe Kakashi's outstanding talent.
As for Obito, this kid said that he would work hard to practice today, but because he often met old ladies who were in trouble on the road, the practice matter was dropped.
Shiraishi didn't know how to complain about Obito's physique, saying that he was destined to commit suicide... But why were all the old ladies attracted to him?
In other words, it was those old ladies who attracted him?
100% experience with granny physique?
No matter which way you look at it, he is a very strange little devil.
"Hey, Obito, it's already so late, do you really don't need to go back?"
Shiraishi raised his head and shouted to Obito, who was standing upside down on a tree branch covered with fine snow and doing some physical exercise.
Shiraishi, who has nothing to do these days, sometimes trains with Obito.
Going out to relax once in a while is good for your physical and mental health.
He didn't want to go bald so young.
"Don't be nagging, I've only been practicing for less than an hour."
Looking at the sky, it should be some time before dark, but Obito did not give up exercising.
"It's not because of the many indescribable things that happened between you and three old ladies in the afternoon."
"It's up to you to take care of it! You can go back alone first. Anyway, you are just a freeloader. Why are you so arrogant?"
Obito gasped for breath while standing on his head and doing pull-ups.
Looking at him sweating profusely even in the cold weather, it can be seen that he is indeed training seriously.
"One hundred and ninety-one...one hundred and ninety-two...one hundred...ah!"
With a panicked shout, Obito's chakra attached to the soles of his feet had an accident, separated directly from the branch, and fell headfirst to the ground.
His head sank into the snow, and his body was twitching slightly.
Shiraishi gently blew a breath of white air between his palms, then rubbed them and stood there watching without going up to help.
This kind of idiot has always had very strong vitality and energy.
"Ahem!"
Sure enough, Obito struggled out of the snow, spitting out all the snow in his mouth, coughing violently, and his face was red.
"Damn! It's only eight short of two hundred!"
Obito said with a look of reluctance.
"Give up, Kakashi was able to do better than you two years ago. Now the gap between you will be even wider."
Shiraishi said.
"I'm just a chuunin. I will definitely graduate from the ninja school next year!"
Obito made such bold words.
Although Shiraishi doesn't think Obito has such a talent, his belief in not admitting defeat and working hard to catch up is worthy of approval.
"Then work hard. If you open the Sharingan in the future, you might actually be able to do it."
Shiraishi also didn't want to hurt Obito's self-confidence.
This guy is positive and optimistic, but because of this, there is always a missing string in his head. For such things as cultivation, it is useless to just rely on slogans.
Because Kakashi trained himself harder than Obito.
Geniuses are not terrible. What is terrible is that geniuses work harder than ordinary people.
Therefore, according to the normal trajectory, Shiraishi does not think that Obito can catch up with Kakashi.
When Obito heard Shiraishi say this, he was about to smile when Shiraishi said suddenly: "But I think with your talent, you won't be able to open the Sharingan in your life. After all, you are the most popular person in the school. Sharingan That eye is a pupil technique that only elite Uchiha ninjas can activate."
"You bastard! How dare you underestimate me! Taste the angry iron fist of our Uchiha clan!"
Obito jumped up from the snow and launched a vicious punch at Shiraishi.
It's really troublesome to deal with such a weak-minded kid.
However, as a playmate when bored, it can bring a lot of joy.
Without thinking, he turned sideways and let the aggressive Obito lie on the snow in a dog-eating manner.
"I've said it many times, if you can't control your body, don't punch in such an exaggerated way. It was the same when you dealt with me for the first time. In battle, this is undoubtedly a fatal behavior, and it is easy to be caught by the enemy. Focus on the weak point and kill with one strike."
"It's not like you said that I can't open the Sharingan in this life!"
Obito sat on the snow like a normal person, with his hands folded in front of his chest and his mouth turned away, as if he didn't want to pay attention to Shiraishi.
Thinking about it carefully, it seems to be the case.
For those who work as ninjas in the Uchiha clan, not being able to open the Sharingan means that they are the real losers.
Obito has always wanted to work hard to prove his strength, and the Sharingan is the embodiment of the strength of their Uchiha clan.
After being said like that, no wonder he got angry.
"I mean, because not opening the Sharingan is actually a good thing for you."
Shiraishi came over, pulled Obito up from the snow, and said this.
"Huh? Why?"
Obito looked confused.
"Because you are an idiot. Once an idiot opens the Sharingan, wouldn't it be the end of the world? Think about it, isn't that true?"
Shiraishi said seriously.
"You soft-fed bastard, take another angry iron fist from me!"
Obito's angry roar came from the snow.
…
"Don't think that if you treat me to meatballs, I will forgive you! Let me tell you, after I open the Sharingan, it will be your death! Be prepared!"
On the way back, Obito viciously ate the meatballs Shiraishi bought for him while threatening him fiercely.
"It doesn't matter, Ruri will protect me, your Sharingan is ineffective against me."
Shiraishi brought out his most powerful shield at present-Uchiha Ruri.
"..."
Obito didn't know why, but there was an indescribable bitter taste in his mouth, a bit astringent.
"Hey, can't you accept my challenge like a man?"
Obito was really at a loss for the man in front of him.
In terms of being thick-skinned, Obito Uchiha would like to call him the strongest.
"I am a medical ninja, and I don't need to focus on training in strength. Of course, if you want to compete with me in medical ninjutsu, I can accompany you at any time."
Shiraishi smiled indifferently.
"..."
Obito took a deep breath.
Calm down.
calm.
Can't be angry.
If you think about it, there's nothing crazy about this.
I should learn from this man and have a calm and calm attitude in the face of any difficulties.
Think like a mature adult.
But... I'm still really angry.
Just when Obito was about to say something, two chuunin were suddenly talking to each other on the side of the road. One of them said loudly with uncontrollable anger: "Let the captain remove Kakashi from the team! I have already told him He has endured it to the limit!"
"Although I agree, I heard that Hokage-sama values Kakashi very much."
"But if this continues, we will have to be on tenterhooks every time we carry out a mission. This guy is not suitable to be a ninja at all. Every time we send a support signal, he ignores it and says that we are slowing down the progress of the mission."
The chuunin's face was very ugly, and his eyes were full of anger, which had been accumulated to a critical point and needed to be released.
"To be honest, I've almost reached my limit. Let's go find the captain and explain it together. I thought he would change his temper after the year, but it seems that we really can't have any expectations for him. That guy only has a mission in mind. There is no such thing as our companions.”
Another chuunin also made up his mind.
If this continues, the task will really become impossible to complete.
A guy who is always indifferent to his companions really cannot give him a reliable sense of trust.
One day they die, maybe the other person won't shed a tear.
"Um, let me ask you, were you talking about Kakashi just now?"
When Obito heard them mention the name 'Kakashi', he stepped forward with curiosity and asked the two chuunin seniors.
"Yeah, what's wrong? Do you know him?"
The chuunin who spoke first stared at Obito with an ugly expression, and his attitude was very unfriendly.
"Uh... no, I don't know."
He wanted to say that he knew him, but if he admitted it, Obito was really afraid that this guy would beat him up.
"Then why are you asking these questions?"
The chuunin was even more dissatisfied.
Obito's head felt heavy for a moment, cold sweat broke out on his face, and he stammered: "Well, I just think it's not a good influence for two seniors to talk about the same person like this on the street."
"If we weren't intolerable, we wouldn't be so irrational. In short, this has nothing to do with you, don't meddle in other people's business, Uchiha brat."
He knew that Obito and Kakashi knew each other, but the chuunin had no intention of doing anything to Obito.
He didn't want to vent his anger on innocent people.
What's more, this is a student of a ninja school.
Watching the two chuunin leave, Obito's face suddenly became heavy, as if he was thinking about something.
"What's wrong?"
Shiraishi came over and asked.
"I was thinking about Kakashi."
"do not you know?"
Shiraishi asked back.
"what do you know?"
Obito felt strange now.
"I heard that Kakashi has changed many teams since June and July of last year because he didn't get along with his teammates. Now many jounin teams in the village don't want to accept him."
Shiraishi put his hands in his pockets and said.
"What's going on? Isn't Kakashi a genius? He became a chuunin last year, right?"
Obito couldn't understand.
There should be many jounin teams vying for such a talented person.
"The reason is that he did not choose to save his teammates during the mission, but chose to continue completing the mission because his teammates were too injured to fight or even caused a drag."
Shiraishi said this calmly.
Obito was stunned for a moment.
Thinking of the various unfavorable words the two chuunin said against Kakashi just now, he suddenly understood.
"No, Kakashi is not such a person!"
Obito firmly thinks so.
In his impression, Kakashi was definitely not such a cold-blooded person who would not save his companions until death.
There must be something wrong.
"Then do you want to go visit him?"
Shiraishi asked Obito.
"Is this okay? Will it disturb him too much?"
Obito hesitated.
"It doesn't matter, that kid has nothing to do at home."
"Damn it, do you know Kakashi very well?"
Obito asked politely.
"Who are you familiar with? His father was Liuli and I's former boss."
Shiraishi smiled calmly.
"Eh? Your and Ruri-senpai's former boss? Is Kakashi's father such a powerful person?"
Now it was Obito's turn to be surprised.
Leaving aside the humble medical ninja like Shiraishi, Uchiha Ruri is the most proud genius jounin of the Uchiha clan.
To be able to become her mentoring Jonin, Obito believed that Kakashi's father must also be a great ninja in the village.
"Okay, don't be in a daze. After watching that brat Kakashi, I still have work to do when I get back."
"Oh okay, I know."
Obito immediately caught up with Shiraishi and followed him towards Kakashi's house.
It was an independent Japanese style courtyard, with the word 'Hatake' printed on the door number.
Obito knew that this was where Kakashi lived.
"Why are you here?"
Kakashi looked at the two people who appeared at his door with a puzzled expression.
"How about I bring your friend to visit you and have dinner by the way? Aren't you welcome?"
Shiraishi touched Obito's head and smiled at Kakashi.
"If you want to eat takeout with me, that's fine with me."
Kakashi's tone did not fluctuate at all, and his attitude was lukewarm.
Shiraishi didn't think anything of it. After all, Kakashi with this attitude was already quite friendly.
"Kakashi, I..."
"Now that you're here, come in."
Kakashi shook his head and walked away, not giving Obito a chance to speak.
Obito's smile froze on his face, his hands were in the air, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
"What happened to this guy?"
Obito put down his hands and muttered a little depressed.
Compared with the Kakashi in his impression, the current Kakashi is almost like a different person.
Following Shiraishi, he walked into the living room of Kakashi's house. After sitting down there, Kakashi brought up the tea set and a pot of hot water.
He said to Shiraishi and Obito: "If you want to drink tea, you can make it yourself."
"..."
"I haven't finished my practice today. I will order takeout for dinner, so please help yourself."
"..."
Obito watched Kakashi simply leave without exchanging too many thoughts, with a look of astonishment on his face.
Shiraishi picked up the tea set calmly, not dissatisfied because of Kakashi's indifferent attitude, so he made himself a cup of hot tea and drank it.
"I'll go upstairs and take a look."
After leaving these words, Shiraishi also left here.
Obito's face suddenly darkened, enough of you two bastards! Don't leave me here alone!
