Chapter 121: Past Promises

In the 42nd year of Konoha, Ye Shan swore in the ancestral hall of the Hatake clan that he would wash away the rumors left by that man during his lifetime. He never dared to forget it for a moment during these years, and even indirectly killed Yamashiro Tatsu for the sake of his oath.

At the Jonin Conference three months ago, Yeshan's desperate counterattack successfully forced the village to make concessions on the matter of Hatake Sakumo that year, acknowledging his achievements, publicizing his bravery, and reburying him with the highest standards for an ordinary ninja.

Yeshan was overjoyed and naively believed that Hatake Sakumo's reputation could be settled from then on, and he would be recorded in history books as a great ninja, leaving a role model for future generations to learn from.

But everything changed by the Nanga River. What Yeshan did didn't work at all. It was as if God was mocking him, prompting Kakashi to say the words that broke his heart.

"Those who do not follow the rules and abandon their missions are not worthy of being called ninjas."

This sentence not only denies the heroic and great life of Hatake Sakumo, but also denies Raihayama's efforts over the years and denies the life of Yamashiro Tatsuya.

The vows he made were still echoing in his ears, like slaps in the face, making Ye Shan dizzy and seeing stars.

Why would someone deny everything about another person with just one sentence? And why would a child slander his own father?

Ye Shan first felt boundless guilt, followed by a murderous aura.

Hatake Sakumo is already dead, but there are still people slandering him in secret. Does it mean that in the eyes of some people, only ninjas from the Hokage lineage are considered ninjas?

Ye Shan finally realized that he could destroy the enemy's body through force, and force the enemy to do things against his will through tactics, but the only thing he could not change was the opinions in people's hearts.

The prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain. This mountain is invisible and intangible, but it still makes it impossible for Hatake Sakumo to turn over and makes it difficult for Yeshan to breathe.

After a long time, Ye Shan sighed, suppressed the mixed emotions in his heart, and asked softly, "Where is the old servant at home?"

Logically speaking, with that loyal old servant around, Kakashi shouldn't blame his father.

"died."

The cold words came from a child's mouth without a trace of emotion.

Ye Shan suddenly realized that everything made sense, and asked again: "How have you been these past two years?"

After thinking for a while, he realized that this sentence might be difficult for the young Kakashi to understand, so he changed the question: "How is the food? How is the accommodation?"

“I don’t have enough money to eat well, and I live in a small house in the suburbs.”

Kakashi's voice fluctuated a little, then he raised his head and asked loudly: "Why did you ask me this today? Why? Aren't you the heir he chose?"

"Do you know how I've been living these past two years? You know nothing!"

"You haven't cared about me since he died!"

Ye Shan's face was full of guilt. He squatted down with pity, touched Kakashi's hair, and said softly: "It's my fault. I really didn't expect that the old servant would die. I will take care of you from now on."

Kakashi stubbornly opened Ye Shan's hand and said, "No, I am living well now and don't need anyone to take care of me anymore."

"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

After saying that, Kakashi looked at the fish covered in dirt and walked away with confusion in his eyes.

Ye Shan quickly picked up the fish, and followed without bothering to put on his clothes. No matter how bad Kakashi did, no matter how bad Hatake Sakumo was, Ye Shan would never really blame him.

Speaking of that incident, the victim was definitely the young Kakashi, who was left with an irreparable wound.

The two walked one after the other for a long time, crossed a large field, passed a shabby dirt street, and finally came to a small house.

Although the house is small, it looks clean and tidy from the outside. There is an old shoe rack outside the door. Ye Shan recognized it at a glance as an item that Hatake Sakumo had used.

Kakashi took off his shoes outside the door, put them neatly in place, opened the door and walked in, then closed the door again, without any intention of letting Ye Shan in.

Ye Shan smiled indifferently. Not only was he not angry, but he became happy instead. Kakashi's childish anger proved that he had not really matured yet, and there was still room for things to turn around.

After looking around, Ye Shan came to a small window, stood on tiptoe and looked inside, but unexpectedly Kakashi's face appeared in front of him.

"What do you want to do?"

Ye Shan smiled awkwardly, raised the fish in his hand and said, "I'll bring you the fish."

Kakashi swallowed, but pretended to be indifferent and said, "No, I don't like fish."

"You are not welcome here, please leave."

Ye Shan put the fish on the window, took a few steps back, and said softly: "Put less condiments and drink more soup. I will come to you tomorrow morning."

After saying that, Ye Shan turned and left.

More haste, less speed, especially when it comes to resolving a mental problem. Ye Shan's previous idea was to find an opportunity to give the ninjutsu scroll to Kakashi, so that he could practice on his own. After all, Kakashi was now nominally Minato Namikaze's apprentice, and it was not easy for him to interfere in his training. But now it seems that Kakashi's problem is not about training, but a psychological problem.

Psychological problems are very tricky, and Ye Shan has no experience in dealing with them, so he has to think carefully.

As he was walking back, the sound of several children playing around reached his ears. Ye Shan's eyes lit up, and an idea came to his mind.

.......

That night, at the banquet at Uchiha Keiji's house, Uchiha Fugaku was naturally among them.

The banquet dishes were very rich, but Ye Shan had no intention of tasting them. After taking a few bites, he grabbed the corner of Uchiha Fugaku's clothes and asked in a low voice, "You wanted me to teach a kid named Obito how to practice before. Does that still count?"

Uchiha Fugaku was stunned, not knowing what Ye Shan meant by this, and said, "It counts naturally."

"Then call him here now, and I will take this opportunity to acknowledge this child."

As he said this, Ye Shan smiled apologetically at Uchiha Keiji who was sitting not far away.

Uchiha Keiji understood what Ye Shan meant immediately, and immediately picked up his wine glass, stood up and said: "Everyone, I'm really sorry, I suddenly have something to deal with. How about this, we will have fun again at this time tomorrow."

Although everyone didn't know what was going on, seeing Uchiha Fugaku's serious expression, they naturally didn't dare to say anything dissatisfied. After drinking a glass of wine, they dispersed.

After everyone left, Uchiha Fugaku took Hayama and Keiji to his living room, and the three of them drank tea but didn't say anything.

After a while, it was Uchiha Keiji who lost his temper first and asked, "What happened?"

Uchiha Fugaku smiled, dispelling the solemnity in the living room, and said: "Don't worry, it's a good thing."

"Tonight, Ye Shan will accept a child from a family as his apprentice."

Uchiha Keiji was shocked. He quickly thought about the talented children in the family this year, but he couldn't come up with an accurate answer. He couldn't help but ask, "Which child is so lucky to be favored by Ye Shan?"

Uchiha Fugaku chuckled and said mysteriously: "Can you guess?"

Uchiha Keiji frowned and asked softly, "Shisui?"

Uchiha Shisui's talent is one of the best in the clan, but due to his status, no one has been willing to accept him as a disciple, so Keiji has reason to guess so.

Uchiha Shisui has a close relationship with the deceased Uchiha Kagami. Uchiha Kagami is one of the few ninjas in the clan who is close to the Hokage. He has always been criticized by the clan members, which has caused Uchiha Shisui to be unwelcome in the clan.

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head and said, "Shisui is naturally gifted. Although he is young, he already has the ability to stand on his own. However, there are some problems with his thinking. He can never become Ye Shan's apprentice."

"There is a child in the Sixth House, named Obito, who is the disciple I found for Yeshan before."

"Obito?"

Uchiha Keiji frowned. He had never heard of this name before, but one thing was certain, this child was definitely not a gifted person.

As if he noticed Keiji's confusion, Fugaku looked around and when he saw that there was no fourth person present, he leaned close to Keiji's ear and whispered something.

"what?"

Uchiha Keiji exclaimed, then covered his mouth, his wide eyes filled with shock.

"Only five people know about this matter now. It must not be leaked. Do you know what to do?"

Uchiha Keiji nodded hurriedly, knowing the importance of it, and looked at Yeshan with deep envy in his eyes.

"It seems that I have underestimated Ye Shan's status in the clan before. I should get closer to him in the future." Uchiha Keiji thought to himself.

After a while, Uchiha Nagayasu came into the living room with a child and then left.

The child was about seven or eight years old, and his clothes were covered in dust. Without asking, you could tell that it was got there from playing.

Although still young, the child comes from a large family and has all the necessary etiquette. He immediately bowed and greeted respectfully, but he could not hide the liveliness in his eyes.

Uchiha Fugaku smiled warmly and said in a gentle voice: "Don't be nervous. I called you here today for a great reason."

Then, he pointed at Ye Shan who was sitting on the chair and asked, "Do you know him?"

Uchiha Obito looked at Ye Shan with his clear black and white eyes and said, "The story of Ye Shan's defeat of the Mist Ninja and the killing of Yagura has been circulating in the clan for a long time, so of course I know him."

"It's good to know."

Uchiha Fugaku first chuckled and said, "Ye Shan wants to take you as his apprentice, are you willing?"

Uchiha Obito's eyes widened, and an ecstatic look emerged. Without any hesitation, he came directly to Ye Shan's side, picked up the teacup with both hands, and said respectfully: "Master, please have some tea."

The most basic etiquette of becoming a disciple is to serve tea. Uchiha Obito was quick-witted and started the procedure of becoming a disciple directly in one step.

For Uchiha Obito, this was a godsend, and there was no reason to refuse. Having a master with outstanding strength has only advantages and no disadvantages, and only a fool would refuse.

Ye Shan nodded with satisfaction, took the teacup and drank it all, thus accepting Uchiha Obito.

"Starting tomorrow, can you practice with me every day?"

But Uchiha Obito was stunned for a moment, and said stupidly: "I still have to go to school."

Uchiha Keiji laughed out loud, quickly got down from his seat, took Obito's hand and said, "You don't have to go to the Ninja School often from now on, but you have to keep a close eye on this master, otherwise you will never be able to learn his superb ninjutsu again."

Ye Shan chuckled and said, "You have to go to the Ninja School. You won't be late for school after the daily morning exercises. Don't worry."

Uchiha Obito was relieved and left happily.

Seeing that Obito disappeared from his sight, Uchiha Fugaku took out a scroll from his arms and handed it to Yeshan.

"These are some basic fire ninjutsu. Ye Shan, you can teach this first, and we can talk about the others later."

Ye Shan nodded, and then left the living room and walked towards the hospital.

Ye Shan knew Uchiha Fugaku's thoughts very well. He didn't want Uchiha Obito to learn truly powerful ninjutsu, at least not from Ye Shan.

Although Uchiha Fugaku did have the intention of asking Ye Shan to teach him everything he knew, everything changed with the birth of Uchiha Itachi. Otherwise, he would not have waited for Ye Shan to take the initiative before agreeing to accept him as a disciple.

Everyone has selfish desires, and Uchiha Fugaku is a vulgar man with even stronger selfishness. He wishes to put all the good things in the world in his son's arms and make his son the happiest person in the world.

It was fine to teach Uchiha Obito other ninjutsu, as the Uchiha clan was rich and didn't care about passing down one or two ninjutsu. But Hayama's unique secret technique could not be taught, as it was what Fugaku left for his son.

Ye Shan knew Fugaku's selfishness very well, but he did not feel the slightest bit of disgust, on the contrary he agreed with it. No matter how outstanding Uchiha Obito was, he was still someone else's child, and it was not as comfortable to look after one's own child.

Originally, Hayama didn't want to accept Obito, but in order to resolve Kakashi's knot, he changed his mind.

Hayama and Kakashi are more than ten years apart in age, so some of his words can only have a counterproductive effect. But Uchiha Obito is different. He and Kakashi are of the same age, so they must have more topics in common, and it is very likely that he will change Kakashi's mind.

After all, a naughty child and a taciturn child get along day and night, and the changes brought about are huge.

What Yeshan didn't know was that his one momentary change in thought would bring about earth-shaking changes in the ninja world in the future.