Chapter 175 Guan Hu
After all, there are many legends about this scroll. It is said that some people have wiped out entire families in order to appease or control the power contained in it, and some people have even sacrificed the lives of the entire village for this.
But this scroll is clearly satisfied with the blood that has been shed.
It felt warm to the touch, and Kakashi could feel it growling in satisfaction like a wild animal, while he himself was almost unharmed.
Although the volume has been reduced a lot, the scroll is still heavy.
It was now as polished as new, its shiny surface reflecting hypnotic patterns in the will-o'-the-wisp light.
Without the casing, the scroll feels strange and different in the hand.
The artifact felt incredibly familiar in his hands, just like his favorite sword, easy and comfortable, like it was a part of his body.
It felt familiar to him somehow, like an old friend whose name he had long forgotten, or the feel of his childhood bedroom.
A strange feeling welled up in Kakashi's heart, a feeling of symbiosis, both comforting and strange, like returning to a place he had never been to, but felt very familiar.
He knew the scroll well now, he could feel its will, or rather their will, stirring deep within him. This scroll, this power, was his now, or had always been.
It was something that Kakashi was born with, something that he had never lost, and it just waited for his call.
Kakashi gripped the scroll tightly and turned his attention back to the stone.
"Thank you," he whispered, and perhaps it wasn't necessary.
The buzzing sound of the Killing Stone had become so faint that it was almost inaudible.
[Take…it…away, the…sky…breaker.]
It hissed, the last words like a dying gasp.
[Never… step… into… this… place… again.]
"Even if I die, it's not okay?" Kakashi asked, with a hint of uncontrollable sarcasm in his tone.
The stone did not answer.
Kakashi thought it had served its purpose, gone forever, but as he turned to leave, he heard a faint voice deep within him.
[This…is…a…place…full…of…pain.]
It whispered, its voice like a whisper in a snowstorm.
[This…place…doesn’t…belong…to…you.]
---
Kakashi walked through the Torii gate and the door slowly closed behind him.
The vibrations in the air completely disappeared, and through the crack in the door, he could only see mottled dust on the wall.
It seems I have been disinherited, Kakashi thought as he was driven from the family cemetery by a stone and told never to return.
He wasn't sad about it.
However, he was exhausted.
He felt like a rag, being pulled and wrung out, aching all over and almost falling apart.
Kakashi pulled out the scroll, which glowed faintly even in the absence of light, casting silver starlight on the dark clothing.
I hope you're worth my effort.
The scroll seemed to respond to his thoughts, and the chakra fluctuations were full of satisfaction and challenge. Kakashi could almost hear it saying: Why not try it?
Kakashi stared at the scroll in silence for a moment, blinked, and shoved it into his pocket. He was too tired to deal with this now.
He had already got what he wanted, the Flagwood Scroll and the Sealing Key were both safe in his hands, and he could deal with them after he had rested for a few hours.
Kakashi dragged his heavy feet out of the tomb, and the stone wall behind him slowly closed.
He wondered if Parker had gone to see the kids yet.
As he walked around the corner of the vault, he noticed a small figure curled up against the wall at the entrance of the corridor.
Kakashi stopped and looked at the messy blond hair.
"Naruto? Why are you still awake?"
The boy's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he raised his head and looked at him tiredly.
"Oh, it's Kakashi-sensei." He said softly. "Parker asked me to wait for you here."
Kakashi immediately checked Naruto for any injuries, but he just seemed tired and maybe a little frustrated.
Kakashi crouched down in front of him, tilting his head slightly.
"what happened?"
Naruto shook his head hesitantly, biting his lip.
"It's okay. I just...seemed to have summoned something in my dream."
Kakashi was visibly relieved, and his shoulders relaxed.
"Is that all?" He sat down next to Naruto, forgetting his fatigue.
Although Naruto's eyes were tired, they were still bright, which made Kakashi feel a little relieved.
Naruto now looked to him for guidance and considered him a source of knowledge, which made him very proud.
"This happens all the time," Kakashi soothed, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about." He looked around but couldn't spot Naruto's shiny fox summoning beast.
"Have you dissolved it yet?"
Naruto shook his head, looking confused.
"I didn't summon Kurama or any other summoning beasts," he said, lifting the hem of his wrinkled shirt, and Kakashi noticed that there was a small black thing there, like a piece of ash.
It was a fox, Kakashi realized, with golden eyes, a white spot on its chest, and only as long as his pinky finger from nose to tail.
From the depths of Kakashi's mind emerged a memory from fifteen years ago, when there was also a pair of golden eyes peering at him from beside the pillow.
Tonight is an unusual night.
"It's a tube fox," Kakashi said, as if he had suddenly come to an epiphany.
Naruto blinked rapidly, his hands tightly around the small creature curled up in the fabric.
"what?"
Kakashi swallowed and calmed his breathing, trying to fight back the memories and emotions that were flooding his mind.
"A kind of pipe fox. They used to be..." Kakashi had to stop and swallow again, fatigue making it difficult to hide the sadness in his tone.
"They belong to your mother's summoning beasts." He said gently, trying to keep his voice steady. "Your mother, Kushina's."
Naruto's head snapped down and he looked at the small creature with awe in his eyes.
The fox also looked up at him, its golden eyes calm and deep.
Naruto was silent for a long time, just staring at it. His expression was rich, his eyes were filled with complex emotions, deeper than sadness, like warm sea water. When he finally spoke, his voice was intermittent, like gravel rolling down the hillside.
"But...but it's so small...where are you going to put it? What can it do when it's so small?" Naruto curled his fingers even tighter, forming a protective cage and pulling the summoned beast closer to his chest. "It could be easily hurt, or...or crushed..."
Kakashi reached out and placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders, squeezing them tightly.
"They are not combat-type summoning beasts, Naruto." He assured, with a hint of nostalgia and helpless smile under his mask. "Kushina never needs any help to kill on the battlefield."
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
This was odd. Kakashi noticed that the Kyuubi in him didn't usually calm down so easily, which made him think that Naruto might have something else on his mind that was more disturbing to him than summoning a strange creature in his sleep.
