Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Yagura knew that his request was abrupt, even ridiculous.

But it has to be done.

His time in Konoha, especially today's bizarre experience of turning a battle into a banquet, completely shattered the perceptions he had built up over the years.

He realized that what Kirigakure lacked was never power.

He saw a clue on Kakashi Hatake and on that sword.

"Please teach me."

Yagura spoke again, his voice even more resolute than before. He bowed deeply, almost burying his head in his knees. "How can I use weapons to protect what I want to protect!"

These words were clearly heard by everyone present.

Obito's shouting stopped.

Lin's face showed a look of surprise and emotion.

Hozuki Kaigetsu and Terumi Mei exchanged a glance from afar, both seeing the same shock in each other's eyes.

They watched as Yagura, who always presented himself as mature and collected in Kirigakure, protecting the village with cold words and political maneuvering, now bowed his proud head like the most devout student to a boy from an enemy village.

Kakashi fell silent.

He looked up at Yagura's head, and another figure involuntarily appeared in his mind.

That was his father, Hatake Sakumo.

Kakashi suddenly felt that he might understand Yagura's thoughts a little better.

He exhaled, and that breath turned into a small wisp of white mist in the cool night.

"I can't teach you."

Kakashi spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Yagura froze.

Obito was stunned. He was about to say, "Why are you being so disrespectful?" but Kakashi's next words shut him up.

"Because I haven't fully mastered my father's swordsmanship yet."

Kakashi's voice was calm, as if stating a simple fact: "All I can teach you is what's mine."

Yagura suddenly raised his head, and the light in his purple eyes rekindled.

"My own knife is different from my father's."

Kakashi reached out and drew his short sword halfway from its sheath, revealing a section of the blade that gleamed coldly. "My sword is fast."

He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

"Its purpose is to eliminate the enemy before he or she poses a threat to my comrades. Clean and efficient, leaving no future trouble."

He looked at Yagura. "This is my guardian. Is this what you want to learn?"

Yagura stared at the blade, feeling the sharp aura emanating from it that almost stung his skin.

He was silent.

This wasn't the answer he wanted. Or rather, not entirely.

Seeing the confusion on Yagura's face, Kakashi sheathed his sword.

"However..." he changed the subject.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats again.

"Before you learn how to use a knife, you must at least learn how to hold it." Kakashi glanced at the kitchen counter not far away, where an Akimichi clan ninja was cleaning kitchen utensils.

It was a burly man who held a boning knife that was much larger than an ordinary short knife.

He didn't use any fancy techniques; he simply took a clean linen cloth, dampened it with water, and carefully wiped the knife from the handle to the blade, inch by inch.

His movements were slow and focused, as if he were holding not a kitchen knife, but a rare treasure.

After wiping it clean, he took a whetstone, dipped it in water, and slowly and steadily polished the blade at a fixed angle, making a rustling, rhythmic sound.

"A knife is half a ninja's life. Whether it's used to kill or to cut vegetables."

Kakashi's voice was exceptionally clear in the night: "The most basic respect you can show it is to keep it sharp and clean at all times. Anyone who can't even take care of their own weapon has no right to talk about protecting it."

He looked at Yagura, and for the first time, his dead fish eyes revealed a stern expression.

"So, before you ask me how to use a knife, go and clean all the kitchen utensils over there, and then sharpen them. When you can make that boning knife reflect your own face as clearly as a mirror, then come back to me."

"..."

Why would you send a powerful elder from Kirigakure to... wash dishes, scrub pots, and sharpen knives?

Yagura was also stunned.

He had imagined countless possibilities: being rejected, being tested, or even being asked to make some harsh vow.

But he never expected that his first "study" would result in this kind of "assignment".

In his mind, Isobu also stopped muttering about food and made a confused sound.

"Kid, is he playing a trick on you? Making you do the cook's work?"

However, when Yagura looked into Kakashi's calm, unwavering eyes, he suddenly understood something.

This is not a disgrace.

This is an attitude.

It is a way of abandoning all fancy techniques and grand ideas, returning to the most original and basic Tao.

Kakashi Hatake taught him by starting with cleaning a knife.

"I see."

Under the incredulous gaze of everyone, Yagura once again bowed deeply and solemnly to Kakashi.

Then, without saying a word, he turned around and walked steadily toward the Akimichi clansman who was still sharpening his knife.

The Akimichi clansman was startled by the sudden approach of Elder Kirigakure, and stopped what he was doing.

"Hello there."

Yagura looked up at the man who was two heads taller than her and said in a calm tone, "Could you let me handle those kitchen utensils over there?"

……

From the ship's side in the distance, Hiruzen Sarutobi took in everything.

He picked up the barley tea beside him, took a small sip, and the warm tea slid down his throat, carrying a roasted aroma.

In the shadows behind him, a figure wearing a white porcelain mask stood silently, seemingly blending into the night.

"Still water".

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't turn around, but asked softly, "What did you understand?"

Uchiha Shisui's voice, like his personality, was gentle and calm: "Kakashi is teaching him the mind."

"Oh?"

Shisui analyzed, "Kakashi didn't directly teach him how to kill, but instead had him start with the most basic knife maintenance. This was to hone his character, to teach him focus, patience, and reverence. Only when he could see his own reflection in an ordinary kitchen knife could he truly see his own heart."

"Well said."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded approvingly, a satisfied smile on his face.