Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

Late at night, the lights of Konoha Hospital still glowed brightly.

Hinata sat quietly beside Kakashi's bed, taking care of her teacher.

"Hinata, I'm here to take you home!"

A head of bright blond hair poked through the doorway.

"Yo, Kakashi-sensei! Feeling any better today?"

Naruto grinned.

"Much better."

"I'll probably recover completely by tomorrow."

"Oh, right. Why don't you take some fruit home?"

"Sasuke brought it earlier."

Kakashi smiled and pointed toward the fruit basket beside his bed.

Naturally, Naruto showed no restraint.

He immediately grabbed two bananas.

Hinata, on the other hand, remained polite as always.

After waiting for Naruto and Kakashi to exchange a few words, she quietly bid her teacher goodnight.

The two left hand in hand.

Watching their backs disappear through the doorway gave Kakashi a strangely warm feeling.

"They're all good kids."

"They know I'm all alone, so they keep coming to check on me."

Kakashi muttered to himself.

Of course, he had also noticed the secret signal Naruto gave him with his eyes.

"I've been lying around so long I'm starting to rust."

"Can't really sleep either."

"I'll go see him tomorrow."

Just as Kakashi prepared to get up and stretch a little, the door that Naruto had casually closed suddenly opened again.

"Yo."

"Almost forgot to come see you."

Asuma strolled into the room with a grin.

"You forgot to visit me?"

"Or you finally managed to leave Kurenai's room?"

"That sounds weird coming from you."

"I've just been helping Kurenai check on her students."

"She's been worried sick about them."

"I've been running between several rooms all day helping out."

"Their families already arrived."

"Do they really need your help?"

"And yesterday it was our adorable Hinata doing all the work."

Asuma was completely exposed.

Still, he showed no embarrassment.

Pulling over a stool, he immediately took out a cigarette, lit it, inhaled deeply, and slowly exhaled.

His expression instantly relaxed.

Hopeless.

Kakashi sighed.

"Ahh... that hits the spot."

"Anyway, Kakashi, how did you guys even manage it?"

"We only received the reinforcement mission a short while ago, and by the time we arrived everything was already over."

"You even brought everyone back safely."

"That's seriously impressive."

Kakashi stared helplessly at his friend smoking in a hospital room.

"So are you here to visit me or make my condition worse?"

"You know patients aren't supposed to be around cigarette smoke, right?"

"Of course I know."

"That's why I didn't smoke in Kurenai's room."

"But I've been holding back all day."

"The craving finally got to me."

"So I came out to relax and see you."

"And what about the patient?"

"You hardly count as a patient."

"You just overused your chakra."

"Even chakra exhaustion requires rest."

"Yesterday it was Guy."

"Tonight it's you."

Asuma laughed loudly before finally crushing the cigarette.

"Well, Guy and I are different."

"You ask something of me, I cooperate."

"Guy?"

"He spent the entire afternoon exercising in the hospital hallway."

"The doctors blacklisted him."

"He's not even allowed through the front gate anymore."

Coincidentally, Guy's team had returned to Konoha that very day.

After hearing that both Kurenai and Kakashi were hospitalized, Asuma headed directly to Kurenai.

Guy headed directly to Kakashi.

The difference was obvious.

One came to care for people.

The other came to cause problems.

"Kakashi!"

"Do you know why you're lying in bed?"

"My chakra ran out..."

"No!"

"Because you don't train enough!"

"..."

"Do you understand human language?"

"It's not too late!"

"Youth waits for no one!"

"Get out of bed and train with me!"

"If you trained harder, you wouldn't be lying there!"

"That's a fascinating theory."

"But unfortunately I currently can't stand up."

"Do you know why?"

"Because you don't train enough!"

"...Hinata."

"Could you please get a doctor?"

Unable to endure Guy's endless brainwashing any longer, Kakashi had finally called for help.

The doctors arrived.

Guy was promptly removed from the premises.

Technically speaking, for disturbing a patient.

It was also worth mentioning that Sasuke had stopped by earlier.

Though "visited" might be too generous a word.

He looked at Kakashi.

Left some fruit.

Then walked away.

However, for some reason, Kakashi felt a trace of sympathy in Sasuke's eyes.

The look resembled someone staring at a pitiful man whose wife had run away while he was bedridden and unable to chase after her.

Why was Sasuke looking at him like that?

Kakashi genuinely had no idea.

"Honestly, I only came because Kurenai wanted to make sure you were alright."

Asuma shrugged.

"You got hospitalized saving her team."

"She feels really guilty."

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"So you really came because of Kurenai."

"Now that you've confirmed I'm alive?"

"Yep."

"Then please cooperate."

"This patient would like to rest."

"Alright, alright."

"Got it."

Understanding the dismissal, Asuma stood and headed toward the door.

"Seriously though."

"Thanks for this mission."

"When you're healthy again, drinks are on me."

Asuma thoughtfully turned off the lights before leaving.

Listening to the footsteps gradually fade away, Kakashi suddenly heard another sound.

A rustling noise.

Not from the hallway.

From outside the window.

He turned his head.

Under the faint moonlight, a silhouette with a watermelon-shaped haircut flashed past.

"?"

Kakashi was immediately confused.

This room was on the third floor.

What exactly was that idiot doing?

Forcing himself upright, he walked over and opened the window.

Leaning outside, he discovered a suspicious figure in a green jumpsuit crawling across the hospital wall like a giant gecko.

The figure also heard the window opening.

Turning around, he immediately flashed an incredibly bright smile.

His dazzling white teeth practically glowed under the moonlight.

"Yo!"

"My eternal rival, Kakashi!"

"I never realized your room was here!"

"What are you doing?"

Kakashi asked blankly.

"This morning I came to visit you."

"Then I got kicked out."

"Later my adorable students scolded me."

"That's when I realized I forgot to visit Kurenai!"

Guy proudly produced a fruit basket from behind his back.

"So now I'm looking for her room!"

Kakashi stared at the perfectly intact fruit.

Then at Guy's position on the wall.

One question instantly came to mind.

Where had he been carrying the basket?

"Why didn't you use the front entrance?"

"The doctors kicked me out."

"So I figured I shouldn't cause trouble."

"Besides, the doctors are off duty now."

"This way I don't disturb anyone."

"And most importantly!"

"It doubles as climbing training!"

"Truly two birds with one stone!"

Kakashi glanced at Guy's hand.

The man was hanging onto the wall with raw finger strength alone.

No chakra.

His fingers had nearly sunk into the concrete.

"I wonder how much that wall repair will cost."

Kakashi muttered.

"Hm?"

"What was that, Kakashi?"

"Nothing."

"Take your time looking."

"Hey, at least tell me where Kurenai's—"

Kakashi calmly pulled his head back inside.

Closed the window.

Returned to bed.

And completely ignored the muffled shouting coming from outside.

A short while later, a furious roar echoed throughout the hospital.

"WHO GOES THERE?! TAKE THIS KICK!"

The entire building descended into chaos.

Listening to the commotion outside, Kakashi scratched his head.

Even hospitalization wasn't peaceful.

At this point, he decided the best solution was probably to just sleep through everything.

Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> [email protected]/AiraTales7 (replace @ with a)