Shindai brought Hikaku Uchiha to Ōmaki Village.
Ōmaki Village was about the same size as Tachibana Street.
"This is my first time coming to Ōmaki Village," said Hikaku. "I didn't expect it to be so crowded."
She turned around curiously toward Shindai behind her. "Why are you hiding behind me?"
"Hiding? I just prefer standing behind people!"
Hikaku found this very strange. Before arriving in Ōmaki, Shindai had been walking ahead of her. But once they arrived and saw all the people, he started walking behind her instead, peeking around nervously like a guilty thief.
Suddenly realization struck her. "Wait—you're not scared of crowds, are you?"
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Shindai scoffed. "Do you know what they call me back in Konoha? The Social Prodigy! Scared of crowds? That's ridiculous! What a laughingstock!" He forced out a dry laugh.
Hikaku raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because I won't make fun of you, you know."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Shindai pushed forward ahead of Hikaku. "Follow me!"
As she watched him walk with his back hunched over, arms stiff at his sides, and hands awkwardly swinging—Hikaku really wanted to laugh.
They reached a ramen shop together. After finishing their meal, Shindai walked outside picking his teeth. "Tch, this ramen can't even compare to Ichiraku Ramen. It's barely passable. When we get to Konoha, Nameless, I'll treat you to some real Ichiraku Ramen. Then you'll understand what truly delicious ramen tastes like!"
Hikaku suddenly felt a little sentimental.
This was the first time since childhood that someone actually offered to buy her food.
When she was treated as a weapon, she only ate leftovers—because weapons weren't meant to eat.
Shindai waved his hand in front of Hikaku's face. "Hey, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing much… Just wondering what's going on over there."
"Over where?"
He followed her gaze to see a goldfish-catching booth ahead—a traditional game where players use paper nets to scoop up fish.
"You've never seen one before?" he asked. "That's a goldfish catching game—but instead of regular nets, they use paper ones."
Hikaku looked surprised. "Paper nets? Won't they break when dipped in water?"
"That's exactly why," Shindai grinned. "If it was easy to catch 'em, how do you think the guy'd make money? Listen, I'm not bragging, but back in Konoha they call me the Goldfish Scooping Prodigy. Come on, watch me show you how it's done!"
He rolled up his sleeves like he was about to take on a big challenge.
Hikaku hesitated. "But aren't we supposed to go to Konoha now?"
Shindai checked. "You in a hurry?"
"Not really …"
"Then that's perfect, right? Don't rush. Let's play awhile before leaving. Come on, I'm eager to show you my skills!"
Shindai grabbed Hikaku Uchiha's wrist and jogged toward the goldfish scooping booth.
Shindai asked the vendor, "How much for one try?"
"Ten silver coins per try, eighty for ten tries."
Shindai handed over the money. "I'll take ten tries. Watch closely, Nameless. I'm going to catch a hundred goldfish in just ten rounds!"
The smiling vendor accepted the payment. "Wishing you luck catching a hundred then."
When Hikaku didn't respond, Shindai turned around only to find Hikaku staring at his own wrist.
"What's wrong? Did I hurt you? That shouldn't be possible. My nails aren't long, and your sleeves are thick; I grabbed you through your clothes."
Shindai grabbed Hikaku's wrist again for inspection. "No injury here, not even a red mark. Doesn't look like any damage at all."
Hikaku abruptly pulled back his hand. "I'm fine, just thinking about something."
Shindai retorted, "You really have too much time to think. You should focus on what's happening right in front of you. I was talking to you just now, you know."
Hikaku murmured, "Focus on what's right in front of me..."
With utmost 'professionalism,' Shindai began explaining to Hikaku, "When scooping goldfish, try choosing areas where they're gathered together. This increases success rate. Move the paper net slowly and accurately, avoiding startling the fish."
Shindai slowly brought the paper net close to the school of goldfish without disturbing them.
"When actually scooping," he continued, "once the net gets close to the fish, you need to act fast and precise. Scoop from the tail end and swiftly transfer them into the bucket to prevent the fish from jumping out. At the same time, apply proper force—ensuring the fish get scooped while avoiding excessive force that might tear the paper net... Watch this!"
Suddenly thrusting the net into the water, Shindai greedily tried scooping up three goldfish at once.
As expected (and unexpectedly), the paper net broke before it even surfaced.
Smiling cheerfully, the vendor handed another paper net to Shindai. "Too bad! Almost had it. Please keep trying, sir."
Hikaku gave the vendor an awkward expression. Almost had it? Wasn't the difference a bit too much?
"It was just an accident," Shindai forced a laugh.
Taking the second paper net, Shindai declared, "This time won't go wrong. Watch closely!"
This time Shindai wasn't greedy—he only went for one single fish.
Just as he lifted it out of the water—
"Snap!"
The paper net tore apart and the goldfish returned to the water.
A throbbing vein appeared on Shindai's forehead.
"One more try!"
"Hurry up, give me another!"
"Hey! I damn well won't let this beat me!"
"This paper net has issues!"
In an instant, Shindai had already burned through all ten tries.
Hikaku Uchiha was clearly enjoying himself as Shindai's face turned red with fury, several bulging veins visible on his forehead. "Goldfish Scooping Prodigy?"
Provoked into action, Shindai snapped impatiently. "One more try!"
"One more try!"
"One more try!"
"One more try!"
Shindai had long since lost count of how many sets of ten he'd gone through; his eyes had turned completely bloodshot.
Even the shop owner couldn't bear to watch anymore. "Maybe I should just give you one on the house?"
Shindai was furious by now, glaring at the shop owner with bloodshot eyes. "No way! Do you think I can't catch one? I'm definitely catching one today—just you watch! One more try!"
The shop owner shrugged. If someone wanted to throw away money, why stop them? "Alright then, eighty coins."
"Let me try."
Hikaku Uchiha took the paper net from the shop owner's hand.
Shindai eyed Hikaku skeptically. "Hmm? You sure you can do this? It's seriously hard. I suspect this boss rigged it somehow."
The shop owner protested, "What are you talking about? I didn't touch a thing! I'm the most honest vendor on this street. It's clearly you goofing off—you seemed pretty knowledgeable at first, but it turns out you're all talk."
Shindai shot the owner a fierce glare. "See this Konoha Forehead Protector on my forehead? I'm Kakashi Hatake, a Jonin of Konoha! You think I won't tip over your stand?!"
Meanwhile, Kakashi—out on a solo mission—sneezed nonstop.
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