Once again, the two little brats had wronged Kakashi.
Usually, he either showed up right on the dot or casually rolled in one or two hours late, spinning some outrageous excuse without so much as blinking. That was just how he operated.
But today was different.
Kakashi was still late, yes—but not because he was dragging his feet as usual.
In fact, he'd gotten up earlier than ever.
Bright and early, he headed straight for the Hokage Tower, fully alert and serious.
He didn't hesitate for a second before knocking on the door of the top-floor office.
"Come in," came a hoarse yet commanding voice from inside.
Kakashi pushed the door open and stepped in.
Sunlight poured through the windows, illuminating the room in a soft golden hue. From here, one could clearly see the towering stone faces of the Hokage Monument and the lively streets of the Hidden Leaf Village below.
Behind the desk sat an old man with a kindly appearance, puffing slowly on a traditional wooden pipe—like some gentle grandfather from next door.
He was none other than Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, the reigning leader of Konoha, famed as the "Professor of Ninjutsu" and master of all known jutsu.
Hiruzen's eyes flickered in surprise at the sight of Kakashi.
Setting down the document he had been reading, he looked through the drifting tendrils of smoke toward one of his most capable subordinates and asked in a gentle tone, "Oh? Kakashi. You're here early. What brings you in at this hour?"
There was a hint of confusion in his voice.
By all accounts, Kakashi should have been out with Team 7 right now, taking on a low-rank mission suitable for new genin. Why had he come here instead?
Kakashi didn't bother with pleasantries. His expression was grim—unusually so.
He walked to the desk and said solemnly, "Lord Third, forgive the interruption. I've encountered something… strange. Something I can't explain. I believe it requires your immediate attention."
Hiruzen's expression grew serious.
He knew Kakashi well.
Despite his usual laid-back demeanor, the boy had always been sharp, observant, and incredibly level-headed. He would never appear this rattled without good reason.
If Kakashi was calling it "strange," then it must be something truly extraordinary.
"Sit down and take your time," Hiruzen said calmly, gesturing to the chair across from his desk. He set his pipe aside and leaned forward, eyes focused. "Tell me everything. Don't rush."
"Yes, sir."
Kakashi obeyed, taking the seat. He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, then recounted the surreal events of the past two nights in exact detail.
"...And that's everything that happened."
His voice was low and steady, but his tone was heavy with unease.
"Starting the night before last, myself and my two subordinates—Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno—have experienced the same bizarre phenomenon. Every night, after we fall asleep, our consciousnesses are forcibly drawn into a strange, theater-like space. Once there, we can't move or perform jutsu. All we can do is sit and watch what appears on a massive screen in front of us: the dreams of Naruto Uzumaki."
"Watching… Naruto's dreams?" Hiruzen frowned deeply, disbelief flickering in his gaze. "Is that even possible?"
"Yes." Kakashi nodded gravely. "And the contents of those dreams are identical for all three of us. After waking up, we compared notes to confirm it. This isn't a hallucination. It's a real, shared experience. Yet oddly, Naruto himself has no awareness of it. When asked, he only recalls having some, well… very Naruto-like dreams."
Hiruzen fell silent.
He took a long draw from his pipe, brow furrowing even further as he tried to digest this outlandish information.
To forcibly draw multiple individuals into a shared dream space… to project a specific person's dreams onto a screen… and for that person to remain completely unaware?
It sounded like fantasy.
But the man reporting this was Kakashi Hatake—a prodigy, a decorated shinobi, and someone Hiruzen deeply trusted.
Kakashi wasn't the type to make up stories. He wouldn't joke about something like this, especially when it involved his team.
Which meant... everything he was saying was true.
"What exactly were the contents of Naruto's dreams?" Hiruzen asked, his voice now sharper, his eyes narrowing.
His greatest concern was whether this mysterious phenomenon posed a threat to Naruto—or more precisely, to the Nine-Tails sealed within him.
Kakashi tensed slightly.
Here it was—the critical question.
Scenes from the dream flashed through his mind: Kushina's warm smile, Minato's gentle gaze, that impossibly perfect family life… Naruto's face twisted with joy and tears… and Sakura's innocent, childlike commentary.
His throat tightened.
How am I supposed to say this? Do I just tell the Third straight out that we saw the Fourth Hokage and Kushina, alive and well, in Naruto's dream? That Minato was teaching him the Rasengan… like a father would?
After a moment of deliberation, Kakashi took a deep breath. Meeting Hiruzen's piercing gaze, he chose his words carefully—deliberately omitting the most sensitive details.
"The dream itself… was strange, yes, but it mostly consisted of harmless wish-fulfillment. Naruto sees himself defeating Sasuke, becoming the strongest in Team 7, getting confessed to by Sakura, adored by the villagers... In short, childish fantasies. Silly, even."
He paused before adding, "But regardless of how harmless the dream may appear, the ability to forcibly pull others into a shared dream space is extremely dangerous. And clearly, the target is Naruto. That worries me."
Hiruzen remained silent.
He had noticed the flicker of hesitation in Kakashi's eyes when he described the dream. There was something he wasn't saying.
But Hiruzen didn't press. Not yet.
He picked up his pipe again, took two slow puffs, and exhaled a swirl of smoke. Behind that cloud, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, sharp and calculating.
After a long pause, he asked, "Not even your Sharingan could detect anything unusual about this dream space?"
Kakashi shook his head firmly. "No. I activated it the moment we entered that space, but there were no chakra traces, no signs of genjutsu on our surroundings or the screen. I tried using Substitution and Body Flicker techniques—both failed. It's as if that space operates under its own set of rules, completely locking down our abilities."
He added, "Last night, after finishing our mission, I went to the ANBU archives and combed through every record on genjutsu, mental jutsu, space-time barriers—even ancient forbidden arts related to dreams and souls. Nothing matched. There is no known technique that could account for what we experienced."
"That's why I came straight to you, Lord Third. As the Professor of Ninjutsu… if anyone could shed light on this, it would be you."
Hiruzen sat in contemplative silence, pipe in hand, his brow creased with thought.
The phenomenon Kakashi described was unlike anything he had encountered in his long life.
To forcibly draw multiple minds into a shared dream… to broadcast one individual's subconscious… and even the Sharingan couldn't see through it?
Even he—renowned for his mastery of every jutsu in the village—couldn't make sense of it.
"Could it be… some previously unknown kekkei genkai? Or a spiritual jutsu far more sophisticated than genjutsu? Or… perhaps some ancient, forgotten power dating back to the era of the Sage of Six Paths?"
Possibility after possibility flashed through Hiruzen's mind, only to be discarded one by one.
Even the "Professor" felt powerless in the face of this enigma.
At last, he spoke, his voice low and grave: "...It is indeed most peculiar. I have never encountered a jutsu like this before."
He exhaled a thick plume of smoke, and his gaze suddenly turned sharp.
"What about Naruto himself? You said he's unaware of the dreams. But has he exhibited any changes? Mental fatigue? Chakra imbalance? Or perhaps emotional shifts caused by the content of the dream?"
That was what concerned him most.
Whatever the mysterious force behind this was, as long as Naruto remained physically and mentally unharmed, there was still room to maneuver.
Kakashi answered immediately, "None whatsoever. Naruto's perfectly fine."
He thought for a second and added, "Actually, if anything, he's been in a better mood than usual—probably because of the dreams. But no abnormalities in chakra or mental state."
That was what troubled Kakashi the most.
What exactly was this unknown force trying to accomplish?
"I see…" Hiruzen leaned back slightly, his expression softening just a little.
As long as Naruto was safe… that was something.
But still, the mystery lingered, thick as the smoke in the room.