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Since getting scolded by Ken, Kakashi had been in a foul mood.
Not because he resented Ken.
It was because he realized, over all these years, he hadn't really taken responsibility for taking care of his little junior, Uzumaki Naruto.
A pang of guilt stirred in his chest.
It was a day off.
The sun was shining bright.
Kakashi pulled off his mask, shed the standard ANBU uniform, and changed into ordinary clothes before stepping out.
The sunlight on his face felt different—warmer, somehow, to someone who had spent so long walking in darkness.
Over the years…
First, Hatake Sakumo sacrificed a mission to save a teammate, only to be slandered by villagers and ultimately take his own life.
Then, Uchiha Obito was "killed" by Iwa-nin while saving Kakashi.
Next, Rin Nohara gave her life to prevent the Three-Tails from rampaging through Konoha, dying at Kakashi's hands.
Finally, the Fourth Hokage and his wife met a tragic end under the claws of the Nine-Tails.
Ten years.
Everyone close to Kakashi was gone.
It left him shattered.
A once proud, temperamental young man gradually became an emotionless ANBU ninja.
Every day, besides routine missions, he would lie in his apartment, staring blankly into space. His only real interest: Paradise of Intimacy.
These tragedies had almost broken him, leaving him blind to Naruto's growth.
Following the familiar path, Kakashi headed to Naruto's apartment. He climbed the stairs and stopped outside the door.
He didn't knock. Peering through the window, he saw Naruto wasn't home.
After a moment's thought, Kakashi leapt through the window and entered.
The table was littered with empty instant noodle cups.
Cockroaches crawled beneath it.
The place was a mess.
"Eating instant noodles all the time isn't good. You need vegetables for a balanced diet. What a careless kid," Kakashi muttered, shaking his head with a faint sigh.
Yesterday, when Naruto was bullied and humiliated, Kakashi had thought of intervening. But now, with Naruto known as the "Demon Fox," he dared not defy the Hokage's rules. He could only watch silently.
After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen was Kakashi's direct superior, and orders had to be followed.
Kakashi approached the table, staring at the carton of milk.
"This milk's expired. This kid's going to have a stomachache," he said, shaking his head again before leaving.
He decided it might be time to report to the Hokage and make a suggestion: Naruto shouldn't be treated like this!
After all, he was the son of the Fourth Hokage and his wife…
"Time to head to Kanbunshō!" Kakashi thought. The latest season of Paradise of Intimacy had just released, and the story between the male and female leads had reached an extremely gripping point. Kakashi had been waiting for over two months, barely able to contain his anticipation.
Yesterday he'd been busy with missions and hadn't had time to buy it.
Ten minutes later, he was in front of Kanbunshō.
"What? The latest season is completely sold out? Didn't it just arrive yesterday?" Kakashi's eyes widened, his jaw slack. He couldn't believe it.
Though Paradise of Intimacy was hugely popular, the store always stocked hundreds of copies. How could they possibly sell out in a single day?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
"You don't know," the shopkeeper said, grinning, "the new season is incredibly engaging. Everyone loves it!"
Selling hundreds of copies had brought the shopkeeper a tidy profit, and he was in a great mood, happy to chat with Kakashi.
Hearing that, Kakashi's curiosity about the series spiked.
But as an ANBU squad leader, he sensed something suspicious.
Politely, he asked, "Excuse me, sir. I'm a regular customer. Could you tell me how it sold out so fast?"
The shopkeeper, pleased, answered without hesitation:
"You'll appreciate this since you're a regular! Yesterday, a young boy came in and bought over a hundred copies of Paradise of Intimacy in one go!"
Kakashi frowned. A bad feeling crept over him.
He asked, "Do you know who bought them?"
Kakashi only needed one copy. That was all. He hoped the buyer would allow him to purchase one, even at double or triple the price.
The latest plot had the male and female leads soaking together in a hot spring. The sizzling scenes and gripping storyline felt like tiny ants crawling all over Kakashi, making it impossible to resist; he had to know what happened next.
The shopkeeper hesitated. Slowly, he said:
"Don't look at our store as small. We have morals and a sense of dignity. We don't reveal customer info. Privacy is part of doing business!"
Kakashi pulled out 500 ryo and handed it over.
The shopkeeper's expression darkened.
"You think I'd betray a customer for a measly 500 ryo? Impossible!"
Kakashi raised it to 1,000.
The shopkeeper laughed dismissively.
"I've run Kanbunshō for over ten years. Our reputation is built on word of mouth. We've never leaked customer info!"
Kakashi pushed it to 1,500.
"Stop trying to bribe me. That's not who I am!"
Kakashi, now angry, made one final offer: "2,000 ryo. That's my limit."
He could have used ANBU connections to find out who bought the series, but having the squad leader of ANBU use the organization to track down who bought a romance comic? That would ruin his pride.
So he chose to pay a high price for the information instead.
"Done!" the shopkeeper said, hastily accepting the money, as if fearing Kakashi might change his mind.
"It was a young boy, maybe eight or nine years old, wearing the Uchiha clan's traditional outfit," he recalled clearly.
Hearing "Uchiha," Kakashi's bad feeling deepened.
"Right, he had a striking feature!"
Kakashi asked quickly, "What feature?"
The shopkeeper answered truthfully: "He's extremely handsome."
Kakashi shot him a glare, restraining the urge to strangle him. That counted as a 'feature'? Ridiculous.
Kakashi guessed with almost certainty: that Uchiha boy had bought all the copies of Paradise of Intimacy.
"To think he knew I liked this series… that Uchiha kid isn't ordinary," he thought, frustrated by Ken's cunning.
No, no. I have to resist. I can't let the Uchiha have the upper hand.
"Ah, I can't take it!" Kakashi roared in public, anger surging through him.
He immediately activated his Body Flicker Technique.
In the next instant, Kakashi vanished…
"....."