Shindai and Hikaku Uchiha had already left the barbecue restaurant.
Rin Nohara had to help out at the ninja hospital in the afternoon, and of course, the tagalong Obito insisted on going with her.
Shindai was picking his teeth while grumbling, "Sheesh. I treat them, and not even a thank you in return."
He then glanced around suspiciously before pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and happily lighting it up.
"One cigarette after a meal brings joy like a heavenly breeze~"
Hikaku Uchiha said with a strange expression, "Aren't you afraid of getting punched?"
Shindai scoffed disdainfully, "Heh, do I look scared? That'd be shocking if I were! I'm just letting them win. If I got serious, even then... no one can say who'd come out on top!"
Suddenly, Shindai changed tone and warned Hikaku, "You'd better not switch sides now. You're with me, right? No snitching behind my back!"
Hikaku's gaze was now laced with mild disdain, "So you're not scared now either, huh?"
Shindai stubbornly replied, "Of course I'm not scared of them—I just don't want trouble. I hate being bothered, you get it?"
"I don't get it, but Kushina and Pakura already put me on watch duty. So… guess I can't play nice anymore."
*Cough cough...*
Shindai suddenly started coughing violently.
Shindai exclaimed, "You can't pull something like this! That's totally against the code of honor!"
Hikaku's earlier slight contempt turned into full-blown mockery, "Oh please, Mr. Moral High Ground. Two days ago at dawn, before the sun was up, you used your Iron Sand Body to sneak me onto the couch and hogged the bed all night long. Real noble of you!"
Shindai flushed with embarrassment. "But didn't Pakura whack me on the head that day too? And I did apologize! I just really missed my own bed, okay? I wanted to sleep in my comfy spot!"
Hikaku gave a cold laugh. "I won't stop you either. Put it out now, and I'll pretend I saw nothing."
Shindai took one last puff, then reluctantly tossed the barely-touched cigarette to the ground and stomped on it hard.
Muttering to himself, "Ugh, since when did you turn into another Pakura?"
At that moment, Hikaku finally understood what Minato Namikaze meant by "you'll get used to it" back then. There was a real chance she might end up joining them.
Living under the same roof with Shindai for half a month—sometimes he really was unbearable.
Whenever he did something wrong and couldn't hide it, he'd try to shift the blame onto her. Of course, Pakura and Kushina never bought it, which only led to Shindai getting beaten up.
The worst part was when Shindai wore the same pair of socks for almost a whole week, then shoved them under the sofa afterward. When Pakura caught the smell and tracked them down, the socks had gone rock hard from neglect. When confronted, Shindai had the nerve to claim they were *her* socks!
Seriously, back then Hikaku almost couldn't hold back.
And honestly, Hikaku felt certain that, unless something unexpected happened, there would definitely come a time when she wouldn't be able to hold back anymore.
Shindai asked, "By the way, I'm heading back to the lab tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?"
Hikaku Uchiha nodded. "Yeah, I don't know anyone in Konoha, so I'll just follow you."
Shindai replied in disbelief, "What do you mean you don't know anyone? There's Pakura, Sister Kushina, Minato, and just now Obito and Rin too. You really are too aloof. You're still so young—you shouldn't always wear such a serious expression. It makes you seem unapproachable."
Hikaku gave Shindai a strange look and said, "I'm still young? You actually said that?"
Shindai stood in front of Hikaku, placed her hand on top of her head, then slid it forward until it reached her own chin.
Shindai mocked, "Heh, shorty!"
A vein twitched on Hikaku's forehead—she had never been called that before!
Her right hand was already clenching into a fist when a familiar voice interrupted from the side.
"What a coincidence indeed."
Shindai and Hikaku turned around simultaneously—it was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Yo, Third Hokage! Are you taking a stroll?"
Sarutobi smiled kindly. "Yes, what about you two?"
Shindai answered, "Asu Natsuka and I just finished eating. We were going to take a walk to help digestion, and also go see Pakura."
"I see. Then let's walk together."
Shindai, Hikaku Uchiha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi strolled down the street.
Shindai introduced to Hikaku, "This is our former Hokage of Konoha. He's retired now."
Hiruzen kindly asked, "Asu Natsuka, how have you been living in Konoha? Is everything comfortable for you?"
Hikaku replied rather coldly, "Fine enough."
Shindai whispered to her, "Be more enthusiastic! The Third is my benefactor after all. I need to ask him for something later. Smile—just crack a smile!"
Hikaku forced herself into an awkward grin and said stiffly, "It's very nice here. I live comfortably and like it a lot."
Shindai secretly gave Hikaku a thumbs-up.
Hiruzen could barely contain his grin—he was overjoyed internally.
Minato Namikaze wasn't kidding at all. Indeed, Hikaku Uchiha really listens to Shindai.
One single Shindai had brought Konoha a Kekkei Genkai bearer with the Scorch Release; now, she had brought another powerful former Uchiha member.
This truly was a windfall.
Hiruzen instructed Hikaku, "If you have any needs in daily life, feel free to bring them up to Minato. He will try his best to accommodate you."
"Really?!"
Before Hikaku could say anything, Shindai's eyes had already lit up.
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately coughed, knowing very well that Shindai was currently short on money. Based on his understanding of how shameless Shindai could be, there was a good chance he'd use Hikaku Uchiha's name to borrow money from Minato Namikaze under false pretenses and then claim it was with Sarutobi's approval.
Thus, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly emphasized, "It's for Asu Natsuka, not for you! Don't get confused, Shindai!"
Shindai caught the implication in Sarutobi's words and muttered with a frown, "So cheap."
Then he flashed an ingratiating smile at Sarutobi and said, "The Third-sama, can I ask you a favor?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly became cautious. "What is it? I swear I have no money left—I gave you my last two hundred thousand last time already!"
Shindai replied seriously, "Ah, what's with all this talk about money? Talking about money really hurts feelings, don't you think? Do I look like that kind of person to you?"
A twitch appeared at the corner of Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth; he really wanted to say yes.
"Then just say it straightforwardly."
Rubbing his hands together, Shindai said, "Well, I've been kinda broke lately. Could I delay paying the rent for a while? Let me open up the shop first, and then pay once I start earning?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Shindai wordlessly. So in the end, it was still about money?
"I'll agree to it," Sarutobi replied, "but only for one year."
"That's more than enough! You truly are The Third—so generous! A true role model among men! Unlike Minato, whose money is all controlled by Sister Kushina. He doesn't even have any cash on him anymore!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Shindai a tight-lipped stare. Somehow, Shindai's praise made things worse because his own finances were also entirely under Biwako Sarutobi's control. In reality, they were all pretty much the same.
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