"Huh?" Obito squinted exaggeratedly. "Why is this violent woman coming along too?" This was supposed to be a gathering between bros. Why did they have to invite her?
"Idiot, Obito. That's really rude," Kakashi said calmly. He did not think it was strange at all to bring Ruri along. Back at the Ninja Academy, he and Ruri had sparred plenty of times and were fairly familiar with each other. Besides, his real goal was just to buy novels. If anything, although Ruri had been cold during school and rarely spoke to anyone except Mitsuki, that also meant she had never really had bad blood with anyone.
"Hmph." Ruri snorted softly and turned her head away, not bothering to argue with this idiot. She was in a very good mood today and was willing to let it slide for Mitsuki's sake.
Mitsuki nodded in agreement. "Kakashi's right. Obito, you should learn more from Kakashi."
"Ah, what…" Obito stared at Kakashi with wide eyes. Bro, I treat you like my own heart and soul, and you play mind games with me? Am I the one who doesn't fit in now?
"So many people." Kakashi frowned as he looked at the lively scene inside Yugakure's Hidden Hot Water Village. With this crowd, how was he supposed to find a novel stall? Ruri, on the other hand, had her attention drawn to a nearby mask stall.
"Hey kid, want an apple?" A burly middle aged man with a small twig in his mouth called out to Mitsuki while holding up an apple.
"Uh, no thanks." The scene felt oddly familiar to Mitsuki. Thankfully, the surrounding architecture was clearly from the shinobi world, otherwise he would have thought he had transmigrated again.
Suddenly, Obito's inexplicably excited voice rang out. "Mitsuki, Mitsuki! Let's have the four of us compete at that goldfish scooping game!"
Mitsuki thought it was too childish. They had already done this once in Konoha during the New Year celebration. "I'm not interested. That's boring."
Obito immediately turned his hopeful gaze toward Kakashi. Kakashi felt uncomfortable under Obito's intense stare, then suddenly came up with a good idea. "I abstain. That makes it one vote for Obito and one for Mitsuki."
Just like that, the final decision landed in Ruri's hands. With subtle looks from Kakashi and Mitsuki, Ruri unexpectedly agreed to Obito's suggestion and let out a light laugh. "Heh. Then let's compete. Whoever scoops the fewest goldfish has to carry everyone's stuff."
"Deal. I'll show you the true power of Goldfish Scooping Sage Obito sama." Faced with Ruri's challenge, Obito accepted without hesitation. He grabbed Kakashi, who was still scanning the crowd for book stalls, and marched straight toward the goldfish scooping booth. Ruri copied him and grabbed Mitsuki's left hand, pulling him along as well.
The stall owner was an elderly man who looked quite old. He spoke in a slow, leisurely tone. "Oh, quite a few kids have come. Here are the paper scoops. Be careful when using them. Once it breaks, your game is over."
To avoid drawing attention, Mitsuki and the others had kept their forehead protectors hidden. Obito was the first to take a paper scoop and a bowl, grinning confidently. "Haha, old man, I'm a veteran at this. Don't be surprised when I scoop up all your goldfish."
The stall owner laughed heartily at Obito's words, then skillfully handed out the remaining scoops and bowls to the others. "Alright, the competition begins now."
At Ruri's request, Mitsuki temporarily took on the role of referee, making sure no one used chakra to reinforce the paper scoops and ensuring absolute fairness. Mitsuki could only feel helpless. Why were all his companions so competitive? While sighing internally, he fully activated the Six Eyes. In an instant, every goldfish's swimming trajectory in the pool was completely clear to him.
Talk about a thief yelling "thief." Mitsuki moved repeatedly, his success rate nearing one hundred percent. As for why it was only near... it was because Ruri beside him was even more outrageous.
"Bastard, that's cheating!" Obito glanced over and saw that Ruri had actually activated her Sharingan to scoop fish.
"The rules only said we can't interfere with the paper scoop. They never said I couldn't do this. If you've got the ability, activate your Sharingan too," Ruri replied smugly.
"Well, that's true. We did only say no chakra reinforcement on the scoop," Mitsuki admitted, feeling a bit unwilling. Several goldfish he had practically secured were all snatched away by Ruri. Damn it. When it came to dynamic vision, the Six Eyes really did not beat the Sharingan.
Was he really about to lose first place? Wait. A thought struck him. Mitsuki suddenly turned his head to look at Ruri, his heart jumping. Could it be that her goal was never to compete with Obito at all, but to use this opportunity to beat him once? Thinking back to how unusually quick she had been to agree to Obito's proposal, Mitsuki felt a chill run down his spine. Was this all part of your calculation too, Ruri?
Noticing Mitsuki's gaze, Ruri's lips curled into a triumphant smile. So you finally realized. Unfortunately, it was already too late. This victory belonged to Ruri.
Human joy and beast joy were not the same. Shukaku, who had been resting on Mitsuki's shoulder the entire time, only felt that humans were strange creatures. His partner was usually reliable, but could be oddly childish at times. To prevent any mishaps, Shukaku leaned closer to Mitsuki's ear and whispered. "Partner, you noticed it too, right?"
Hearing Shukaku's reminder, Mitsuki gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
"Good."
With that confirmation, Shukaku relaxed and continued lying on Mitsuki's shoulder, watching the battle situation between Kakashi and the others. This was not some roleplay or silent guessing game between Mitsuki and Shukaku. Before the game started, when the old stall owner handed the fishing tools to Mitsuki, Mitsuki had keenly sensed something unusual.
This old man carried a chakra fluctuation similar to a curse mark. It was extremely faint. Only someone with Mitsuki's sharp perception could detect even a trace. Shukaku had also smelled something off. Compared to a curse mark, it felt more like the stench of a curse, very similar to the foul aura emitted by the yokai and evil beings the Sage of Six Paths used to deal with during his travels.
No matter what, Mitsuki had not come today to investigate curse marks or curses. He was here to enjoy the fireworks festival. As long as it did not cross his line, he had no intention of doing anything to this seemingly kind old stall owner.
As the number of goldfish in the pool dwindled, the four of them began to openly scheme against one another to seize the remaining fish. For example, Ruri had just cornered a goldfish, her paper scoop perfectly positioned beneath it, only for Mitsuki to slap the water's surface and drive it away, leaving her empty handed.
Ruri, of course, was not about to take that lying down and retaliated with the same underhanded tactics. After all, her real objective was to beat Mitsuki. As for Obito, who cared about him? He was just a necessary step to lure Mitsuki into the trap.