"What insights did you gain from today's lesson? What did you learn?" As one of the Three Great Sages, Orochimaru naturally received a relatively quiet private room, and Amemiya Kenichi was fortunate enough to join him.
But this happiness was fleeting. Once Orochimaru defected, Kenichi would need to plan his next move. Staying in the ninja village wasn't out of the question, but he'd risk drawing Danzo's attention.
Leaving with Orochimaru also had its drawbacks. Once you defect, returning to Konoha wouldn't be easy. Though Konoha might seem weak now, its foundations remained strong.
"Teacher, I think the key points we need to focus on in this experiment are..." Kenichi honestly shared his thoughts, his eyes never straying to the sizzling grilled meat Orochimaru was flipping with his chopsticks.
Orochimaru listened calmly, his expression unchanging. This made Kenichi unsure if his words aligned with Orochimaru's intentions, but he continued speaking earnestly.
By the time Kenichi finished, Orochimaru had finished grilling the meat. He set down his chopsticks.
"Let's eat first. We can discuss it on the way back," Orochimaru said. Amemiya Kenichi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he'd passed this test smoothly. Thank goodness he'd studied so diligently.
Moreover, he'd proposed some new theories based on scientific knowledge from his previous life, which he hoped would satisfy Orochimaru.
Now at ease, Amemiya Kenichi began to enjoy the Akimichi family's delicious grilled meat. The Akimichi family truly excelled at food preparation, and their dishes tasted wonderful.
Their barbecue sauce was particularly exceptional. Amemiya Kenichi thought it was probably the best grilled meat he'd ever had, even surpassing the finest he'd tasted in his past life.
After finishing the meal, Amemiya Kenichi followed Orochimaru out of the restaurant.
As they left, Amemiya Kenichi noticed Namikaze Minato, his face beaming, entering with Kushina Uzumaki, her red hair vibrant, and the silent, white-haired boy, Kakashi.
Namikaze Minato greeted Orochimaru politely, while Amemiya Kenichi glanced at Kakashi, who was keeping his head down.
That poor kid Kakashi was probably still reeling from Obito's "death" and Rin dying by his own hand. His grim expression made it clear he was in a terrible mood.
"What a tragedy," Amemiya Kenichi thought to himself. "His best friend was manipulated into becoming someone else's pawn, and the girl he might have had feelings for was also targeted. To top it off, his friend had to watch him kill her with his own hands. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Kakashi was truly an unlucky genius ninja.
As a child, he was the son of Konoha's White Fang, but his father died.
He finally became a prodigy and joined Namikaze Minato's team, becoming part of the Hokage's inner circle. Then one teammate faked his death, and the other died for real, leaving Kakashi consumed by guilt for years.
Later, he learned his best friend hadn't died after all, but had become the mastermind behind the deaths of his mentor and his wife.
He'd apparently remained single for ages, spending lonely nights reading *Make-Out Paradise*, the infamous work of Jiraiya, the ninja world's greatest pervert. But Amemiya Kenichi couldn't really help with that.
After all, how could he tell Kakashi that Obito wasn't dead, but had become a major villain?
"Oh my, is this little Amemiya?" Just as Amemiya Kenichi was pondering his thoughts, he suddenly found himself embraced. The warmth made him slightly uncomfortable, and the sweet fragrance wafting into his nostrils made his face flush crimson.
It was Uzumaki Kushina. This woman truly had no sense of boundaries. Still, being hugged by her gave Amemiya Kenichi some new ideas.
"Yes, this is my disciple, Amemiya Kenichi. He's a promising student," Orochimaru said, pulling Kenichi out of Kushina's embrace.
This woman seemed to adore children. Orochimaru wondered if she was planning to have one herself. He glanced at Kushina's stomach.
"Any student of Orochimaru-sama must be an exceptional ninja. This is my disciple, Hatake Kakashi," Namikaze Minato said with a warm smile, enthusiastically introducing his student. He even nudged Kakashi closer to Amemiya Kenichi, leaving Kenichi speechless.
No wonder his Teacher had said he and Namikaze Minato didn't get along well. Minato was just too enthusiastic—so much so that even Orochimaru seemed overwhelmed.
Hatake Kakashi stared at Amemiya Kenichi with dead fish eyes, his face expressionless. Kenichi glanced at Kakashi's eyes—the Sharingan Obito had given him, still bearing three tomoe.
The Uchiha Clan was said to be quite upset about this.
Kenichi desperately wanted to leave. He couldn't stand chatting with Kakashi, who was always gloomy.
But there was no escape. For some reason, Namikaze Minato kept pushing Kakashi toward Kenichi, even enthusiastically inviting Orochimaru—whom they'd only had one meal with—to join them again.
Orochimaru clearly couldn't handle such excessive enthusiasm from the pair. In the end, Kenichi was pushed forward as the scapegoat to accompany Minato and the others to dinner.
Kenichi didn't really mind. He was in the middle of a growth spurt, and the saying "a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home" wasn't just a joke.
The only problem was Kakashi's unchanging expression. During the meal, his occasional utterances consisted of "hmm," "ah," and "oh." He was just one "I'm going to take a bath now" away from completing the standard repertoire of a stereotypical goddess.
"Kenichi, do you have any friends in Konoha?" Kushina Uzumaki, ever the caring big sister, asked with genuine concern. Amemiya Kenichi's lips twitched, and he shook his head.
He'd had some friends at the orphanage, but Orochimaru had taken an interest in them, and they'd lost contact.
Suddenly, he had a bad feeling.
"If you don't mind, would you like to be friends with Kakashi?" Kushina whispered, leaning closer to Kenichi so Kakashi wouldn't hear.
Namikaze Minato overheard, but Kenichi could tell from his smile that he was thinking the same thing.
*Here it comes. My bad feeling was right. Does Murphy's Law even exist in this world?*
Honestly, Kenichi had planned to refuse.
*Just because you tell me to be friends with Kakashi doesn't mean I actually have to be friends with Kakashi.* But considering his teacher's future betrayal and his need to plan an escape route, he reluctantly agreed.
*Well, it's just Kakashi. He'll be joining the Anbu soon anyway, and we won't see each other for years. It doesn't really matter.*