Late at night, in the dimly lit room, Hatake Kakashi opened his eyes slowly and felt something moving under his arm. He tilted his head and looked down to see Hatake Kotoura’s butt facing him. He was lying beside him sleeping soundly.
A gentle smile played on Kakashi’s lips. He got up lightly and walked out of the room. He saw that the hall was lit up with the chandelier’s warm light. At this time, Tonan, who was wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen with a cooked meal.
“You’re finally awake, come and eat quickly. I made two side dishes.” Kakashi nodded blankly and walked over to the dining table to sit down. The four dishes and one soup were already placed on the table. The overflowing aroma greatly stimulated his appetite. He picked up the chopsticks and hesitated for a moment, “I… did I succeed…”
Tonan nodded, “You did.” Only then did Kakashi notice that Tonan’s face was deathly pale and he couldn’t help frowning, “What’s wrong with you…” Tonan was silent for a while hearing Kakashi’s question, then lightly replied, “This secret technique strips my life origin and injects it into your body, so…”
Kakashi instantly understood. Sure enough, such a secret technique that could stimulate one’s potential could not be without a price. “This life origin must be very important to the human body. Tonan mustn’t have mentioned it before because he might be afraid I’d not accept it.” Thinking of this, Kakashi said to Tonan with a moved look, “Tonan, thank you.”
A smile appeared on Tonan’s pale face as he said, “No need to thank me. This secret technique’s backlash is not particularly serious. I’ll be fine after some time.”
Wa wa…. Kotoura’s cries from the bedroom interrupted their conversation. Tonan hastily put down the chopsticks and wiped his hands on the apron. While taking off the apron and putting it aside, he walked toward the bedroom. Soon, Kotoura’s cries were replaced by a burst of cheerful laughter.
Tonan walked out of the bedroom with Kotoura in his hands going over to the dining table. He sat down and said to Kakashi, “You’ve to prepare for the chunin exam, leave Kotoura to me for these days. After some time, I have to go out on a mission. At that time, I’ll leave him to you.”
Kakashi nodded, “No problem. By the way, what’s the mission? Is it dangerous?” After using the secret technique, Tonan’s complexion was already very bad. His body must have suffered injuries. In this state, Kakashi was afraid that it would be too much for him to carry out a mission.
Tonan shook his head and said with a smile, “There is no danger. It’s just an Honorary Chunin Competition held by the Daimyo Residence.”
Kakashi was relieved to hear this. He moved his chopsticks and ate the food. “Wow!” Kakashi’s eyes widened and the expression on his face gradually became exaggerated. Too delicious…
Late at night, Tonan left the Hatake household with Kotoura in his hands and walked toward the Uchiha district. Because the New Year had just passed a few days ago, and the chunin exams were about to start, the shopping streets were still crowded and brightly lit. Tonan had just walked to the shopping street.
At the Ichiraku Ramen restaurant, Suna’s team’s jonin leader, Sakai Hiroto’s eyes, condensed. He emptied the bowl of ramen and got up to leave the restaurant. After walking out, he cast a side glance at Tonan.
“This is the Uchiha Tonan who’s going to participate in the Honorary Chunin Competition? He looks mediocre. Isn’t he just an ordinary youngster? But these ignorant Leaf villagers boasted his strength was beyond the Sannin.”
Hiroto recalled the information about Tonan, which he had learned from the villagers during the day. Kind, brave, fearless of authority, righteous… Strange-shaped eyes, can summon a huge Buddha, can chant sutras to save the souls of the dead… All of this was strange information. The villages should be under an illusion.
But the moment Tonan was about to arrive near him, Hiroto no longer stayed. He turned around and walked towards a distant place. This direction was exactly towards the Uchiha district. The residence that Konoha arranged for the participating team of the Suna was located there.
Hiroto’s pace was very slow as if he was waiting for Tonan to catch up. An Anbu team that was secretly observing Hiroto also spotted Tonan. But they didn’t do anything. Tonan was much stronger than them. If this Suna jonin wanted to harm him, then they could only say that he was courting death.
Hiroto had a pleased look on his face as if he was still relishing the ramen’s lingering taste. With his hands in his pockets, he walked slowly and even hummed a song. Gradually, Hiroto arrived at a fork.
One path led to his residence and the other to the Uchiha district. The stores near the fork were all breakfast stores, so their doors were closed at this time. Moreover, there were no pedestrians nearby. Hiroto didn’t take the path to his residence but kept walking straight toward the district. The Anbu members hiding in the dark became tense.
After Hiroto walked a few steps, he suddenly stopped and exclaimed, looking irritated, “Damn, I took the wrong way. I’ve to teach them battle tactics.” After saying this, he hastily turned around and pulled his hands out of his pockets, running towards the other path. The moment he did that, a metal necklace fell to the ground. But Hiroto didn’t seem to realize it. He left and passed Tonan.
After Hiroto passed by him, Tonan’s eyes flashed with a scarlet light and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. Then, while carrying Kotoura, he walked over to the metal necklace and stepped on it.
“What’s this?” Tonan pretended to be surprised and moved his foot away. Then he leaned over to pick up the necklace. The necklace’s workmanship was incomparably exquisite and it had a shiny metallic luster.
Tonan squeezed it slightly, and he could feel that the texture of this metal was a little soft. The most conspicuous thing about it was the sky-blue gemstone that looked valuable at a glance.
“Finders keepers… never thought I’d get a windfall while walking at night,” Tonan chuckled and put the necklace into his ninja bag. He continued to walk towards the district. After seeing him take the necklace, the Anbu team didn’t have any intention to stay here any longer and left quietly.
It could also be considered a lost item of Konoha’s foreign allies. If it hadn’t been picked up by a heavyweight like Tonan, the Anbu would have definitely given it to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
At this moment, Hiroto was running towards the residence under Anbu’s observation. He, however, was very proud of himself in his heart.
As expected of Kazekage-sama, he thought of such a powerful assassination method. Even if this Uchiha brat has the strength rivaling Sannin, I guess he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed after two months. Little brat, let Suna teach you a lesson and make you understand what a ninja is.
