"Kakashi? Why are you here? Hah—miss me already, didn't you?"
Obito looked smug beyond belief.
Kakashi held a book in his hand, glanced up at him with half-lidded eyes, and replied flatly, "I'm not that bored. I was just worried you might not be adapting well here. Rin asked me to check on you while I was passing through."
"Hehehe—come on, I'll treat you to something!"
Scratching the back of his head, Obito slung an arm around Kakashi's shoulder and dragged him toward the street.
After they sat down at a shop, Obito asked curiously, "So how's the village lately? Nothing going on with the Uchiha, right? I remember there was supposed to be a clan gathering a while back…"
"The Uchiha… had a bit of an incident."
Kakashi was silent for a moment before answering honestly.
Obito froze.
"A bit? How 'little' are we talking?"
"Not that little. Just… some of the clan's hardliners were completely wiped out. Uh—Shisui did it."
Kakashi coughed lightly and lowered his voice.
Obito shot up from his seat, staring at Kakashi in disbelief. It took him a long while before he finally sat back down, speechless for several seconds.
After a while—
"T-that ruthless? I mean, sure, those guys were annoying, but killing them all… isn't that a bit extreme?"
Obito's feelings were complicated.
Kakashi, fully absorbed in his book, didn't answer.
Obito leaned over, squinted at the title, and immediately made a face.
"You're actually reading that kind of book?!"
"…" Kakashi raised his head, gave Obito a deadpan look, then silently lowered it again.
"Gross. Absolutely disgusting!"
"Hey, I'm an adult now. What's wrong with reading this? And don't talk nonsense if you don't understand—these books aren't something just anyone can write."
Kakashi clicked his tongue, clearly uninterested in continuing the argument.
Explaining this to an idiot like Obito would only lower his own IQ. Besides, Obito had never read the Icha Icha series anyway—anything Kakashi said would just be filtered through prejudice.
"Someone as dense as you wouldn't understand Jiraiya-sama's brilliance. Even if he didn't write these books, he'd still be a great author."
Kakashi looked positively reverent.
Putting the book away, he added seriously, "Weren't you really asking about the Uchiha? Honestly, things reaching this point was inevitable. Those old-timers clung to their so-called glory, but when battles came, they never charged ahead. They were parasites."
"You can't say that either…"
"Oh? Then tell me—what use did they have?"
Kakashi sneered.
He'd seen plenty of clan elders before, but the Uchiha's were especially notorious.
"Uh…"
Obito was completely shut down.
The meal tasted like cardboard to him. Even after parting ways with Kakashi, he still hadn't processed it all.
The Uchiha hardliners were just… gone.
But thinking it over carefully, Kakashi wasn't wrong. Some people disappearing really did seem better for both the clan and the village.
He couldn't make sense of it.
---
Out at sea…
Kyoichi and Tsunade sat aboard a ship piloted by a Wood Clone. On the other side, Yūhi Kurenai was fishing, looking utterly relaxed.
"Kurenai, how do you manage to catch fish that small even out at sea?" Kyoichi asked.
"I—I have no idea!" Kurenai shot back, speechless.
If she knew how, she wouldn't be catching these.
Kyoichi glanced over and yawned. "By the way, Shisui's done something big recently."
"Oh?" Tsunade stepped out from the cabin. "What, don't tell me your disciple's gotten hooked on the Icha Icha series too and become a hardcore fan?"
"Hey, no slander. My disciple and Minato's disciple are not the same. No way he'd obsess over Jiraiya's lowbrow trash."
Kyoichi chuckled.
Honestly, Jiraiya's books were popular mostly because no one better ever bothered to compete with him. If Kyoichi really wanted to, he could crank out something even trashier and still make a fortune.
Unfortunately…
If he tried that, the two women around him would probably dislocate his arms.
Both were medical experts too—stab him through the heart and they'd still save him afterward.
Unbeatable.
Sigh…
Women—only holding me back…
"If you're so confident, why don't you write something yourself?" Tsunade scoffed. "Stop bragging and prove it."
"Hmph. Novels are low-level. If I really did it, I'd make a manga. Jiraiya has The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja—I'd do The Tale of Naruto!"
"The Tale of Naruto?"
The name sounded familiar. Tsunade thought for a moment.
Isn't that Minato's kid?
"Come to think of it, Naruto's seven now, right? Wonder how he's doing at the Academy. Has Minato mentioned him?"
"What else—bratty, decent talent. Probably inherited Minato's traits. Bit straightforward in the head though. Kinda like Obito."
Kyoichi didn't mince words.
Tsunade stretched lazily, her figure anything but subtle. She shot him a glare and went back inside.
"The kid's probably waking up. I'll check on him. When are we reaching land anyway? Floating around is driving me crazy."
"Soon," Kurenai replied. "We detoured a bit, but we should be near the Land of Tea now."
"If it's that close, just Flying Thunder God me back," Tsunade sighed. "I'm done wandering. Getting old—can't deny it anymore."
Kyoichi didn't know what to say.
Kurenai had spent over a year searching the seas to find them—something Kyoichi never expected. Luckily, his terrible sense of direction meant he hadn't gone straight west.
Otherwise, she might never have found them.
And now…
He and Kurenai had been "wandering" together for years.
Honestly… it was complicated.
He already had a child with Tsunade. Nothing had happened with Kurenai—but years of companionship made it impossible not to feel something.
Still…
He believed in first come, first served. He was committed to Tsunade—but whenever he brought up marriage, she kept dodging the topic, subtly pushing him toward Kurenai instead.
Same age. Feelings were there.
And so…
Years passed in a blur.
Tsunade clearly wanted him to end up with Kurenai and leave—but Kyoichi felt that would be irresponsible.
His emotions churned. He sensed the distance.
The Land of Tea wasn't far.
As a man, he needed to do something.
"I've decided!"
"Huh?"
Kurenai looked over mid-cast.
"I'm not the only man in the world who's fallen for two women, right? Only kids make choices. I don't do multiple-choice questions—I want everything!"
"Pah! Dream on!"
Tsunade and Kurenai snapped in unison.
Amid rolling waves, the ship sailed toward the Land of Tea—and beyond that, the road home.
A wanderer was finally returning.