A week before the graduation exam, in the afternoon, Obito, Kakashi, and the others, having finished their training, didn't go home. Instead, they gathered at the dango shop.
"None of you don't eat these, right?" Obito asked before ordering.
Seeing everyone nod, Obito ordered five servings of dango from the owner and then casually found a spot inside the shop to sit down.
"You all know what we're here for, right?" Obito looked around before whispering seriously.
"Yeah, we know. It's for that thing," Nohara Rin nodded, responding softly.
"Oh, it's for that," Might Guy whispered along.
"Aren't we just discussing how to organize a thank-you celebration for Teacher Mokgetsu? Is it necessary to act like we're on some secret mission?" Kakashi couldn't help but make fun.
Because Obito and the others were about to graduate, they would soon have less time to meet Mokgetsu. Although Kakashi had already graduated, the team would disband, and he would join a new team, making it impossible for him to see Mokgetsu as often.
So, after some discussion, they decided to organize a thank-you celebration for Mokgetsu to express their gratitude for her teaching and help.
Even though Shisui wasn't graduating or in the practice team, he definitely wanted to be a part of this.
"Seeing Obito so serious, I just wanted to go along," Nohara Rin said with an apologetic smile.
"I thought you guys were trying to incorporate secrecy into daily life as training," Might Guy realized he had misunderstood.
"Isn't it about avoiding people who know Teacher Mokgetsu and accidentally letting her find out in advance?" Obito thought staying vigilant was important.
"How could it be so coincidental to run into someone at the dango shop who would overhear us?" Kakashi looked exasperated. He felt Obito was serious in the wrong context; if only he had this level of vigilance during missions.
Obito wanted to say something more, but Shisui, who was a bit exasperated, spoke up:
"None of that matters. Let's quickly discuss the specifics instead."
He understood Obito and Kakashi; once they started arguing, it wouldn't stop easily.
With Shisui mediating as a middleman, both gave him face and didn't continue arguing.
Though Shisui was two years younger than them, his outstanding performance in all respects meant Kakashi and Obito couldn't treat him as just another grade-level student.
"How about choosing the day of graduation exams as the time?" Obito asked for everyone's opinion.
"I think that sounds good. Once we pass, the teacher will immediately give us the headbands, and we can wear them to thank Teacher Mokgetsu for her guidance," Nohara Rin smiled with her hands together.
"That was my thinking," Obito nodded with a grin.
Originally at the bottom of the class, he was graduating with excellent results under Mokgetsu's guidance, and then he'd thank Mokgetsu wearing the headband.
"I have no problem with that," Kakashi nodded slightly in agreement.
For him, the choice of time wasn't particularly crucial as there wasn't any special significance.
"It feels great! Just thinking about it is exciting," Might Guy was so moved he almost cried just imagining it.
"Sounds good," Shisui agreed, without a better timing option, so he readily consented.
After finalizing the time, they moved on to discussing the specifics of the thank-you celebration.
"Gifts are a must; but do you think it's better for everyone to chip in for one big gift, or for each person to give one?" Obito asked.
Kakashi looked thoughtful, but Shisui quickly offered a perfect solution.
"Why choose? Can't everyone give an individual gift, and then also one collectively?" Shisui suggested that both could be done since they weren't mutually exclusive.
"Shisui makes a good point," Obito thought about it and realized he'd been stuck in a blind spot, and it indeed wasn't necessary to choose, they could have both.
Personal gifts are private matters and need not be discussed, but deciding on a collective gift for the five of them was indeed a problem.
"We could consider Teacher Mokgetsu's preferences. You all have known Teacher Mokgetsu longer, so why don't you start?" Kakashi suggested, then quietly watched the group.
Although he had a favorable view of Mokgetsu, Kakashi had only interacted with him for a little over three months. He thought Obito and the others might know Mokgetsu better.
As the one who first met Mokgetsu, Shisui fell into thought. Mokgetsu liked watching them grow stronger and develop, but clearly, that couldn't be a tangible gift.
He recalled details of his interactions with Mokgetsu, trying to discover something from them.
The most apparent hobby was calligraphy, naturally. Shisui once overheard that, at noon in the office, Mokgetsu was almost always practicing calligraphy, and occasionally, Mokgetsu would give his calligraphy works to them.
But Shisui wanted to unearth something more profound, so he worked harder to recall and analyze to figure out what Mokgetsu might like.
However, after his analytical efforts, he was shocked to find that he just couldn't figure it out at all.
In his memory, Teacher Mokgetsu always taught them with a gentle smile, not only in ninjutsu and taijutsu, but also resolving their negative emotions promptly.
Since they were the ones receiving help, their understanding of Mokgetsu was actually limited, only knowing his personality while remaining unclear about many other things.
"Maybe after growing a bit stronger with some more days, I'll be able to discover more," Shisui thought to himself.
If Mokgetsu faced difficulties at his level, Shisui was sure he wouldn't be able to help right now.
"Teacher Mokgetsu likes calligraphy and enjoys teaching students," Shisui finally said.
At present, he could only mention these two things; the rest he didn't know.
"Those are indeed Teacher Mokgetsu's preferences, but didn't anyone think of something subtler?" Obito scratched his head and asked.
Many people in the Ninja Academy knew that Mokgetsu liked calligraphy, which was a rather apparent hobby of his, and Obito had even given him a brush before.
But Obito felt that a gift prepared together by the five of them should require more effort; buying just a single brush seemed a bit perfunctory.
"I seem to remember Teacher Mokgetsu mentioning he liked egg dishes; how about we work together to make an egg dish for him?" Might Guy thoughtfully stroked his chin and said earnestly.
He might not remember names of unfamiliar people, but he generally remembered what Mokgetsu said quite clearly.
"Can you guys cook?" Obito felt the idea seemed plausible, so he asked.
Shisui and Kakashi nodded; although Shisui was young, he had mastered the skill of preparing his meals early due to special circumstances.
Might Guy shook his head; he was only suggesting the idea, as he was not currently skilled in cooking.
Nohara Rin also shook her head, saying no; her parents were still around and she was still in school, so there was no need for her to learn to cook just yet, and she hadn't mastered the skill.
"I can't either, so it would just be Shisui and Kakashi, but it's probably best to forget about it; we can't let just the two of them do all the work," Obito decided to abandon the seemingly good proposal.
Then, Obito kept recalling various moments with Mokgetsu, trying to draw some inspiration for a gift.
And he found that it was truly difficult, and after thinking it over, he realized that calligraphy still seemed the most reliable.
"Actually, I think there's no need to overthink it; maybe Teacher Mokgetsu doesn't have any other hobbies," Nohara Rin pondered for a moment and said.
"As long as we convey our gratitude to Teacher Mokgetsu, that's enough."
"And there's still a week left; we can also ask other teachers or Teacher Mokgetsu's friends," Nohara Rin softly smiled and added.
"That's true," listening to Nohara Rin's words, Obito's previous anxiety settled down.
There were still seven days left; they could ask teachers familiar with Mokgetsu, and if that didn't work, they would just do their best, making sure to convey their heartfelt intentions.
While chatting and discussing, the owner also brought their five servings of dango to the table one by one.
"Shisui, you're really lucky to have met Teacher Mokgetsu right when you started school," seeing the always composed Shisui, Obito picked up a skewer of dango and said with some envy.
If he had met Mokgetsu earlier, maybe he would be much stronger now, and he could have spent more time with Mokgetsu too.
Shisui's lips slightly curved up, and he smiled comfortingly, "Even though you've graduated, we're all still Teacher Mokgetsu's disciples, and you can still come to him for cultivation as well."
Obito naturally knew this; if graduation meant not seeing Mokgetsu again, he might as well intentionally fail and take a few more years to graduate.
"Kakashi, is a newly graduated Genin busy?" Obito looked at the only official ninja present and asked.
He wanted to compare life as an official ninja with an internship.
"It's similar to when you guys first started interning; constant cultivation, and unable to undertake missions above D-rank," Kakashi answered.
In Kakashi's impression, that's what being a ninja was all about – either cultivating every day or executing missions.
"Of course, it ultimately depends on the teacher's arrangement," Kakashi added.
"I hope we get a teacher who doesn't mind much, so I can just find Teacher Mokgetsu for cultivation like before," Obito clasped his hands together in hope.
In Obito's heart, having Mokgetsu as his instructor was the best solution; however, Mokgetsu had already told him that he wasn't planning to take the role of an instructor for now.
"That's not going to happen; if that were the case, they wouldn't be qualified to be an instructor, and Teacher Mokgetsu also has his classes to teach," Kakashi dashed Obito's hopes.
"Anything is possible; you really have no dreams, and I feel sorry for your future teammates, having to cultivate and complete tasks with someone as uninteresting as you," Obito said indignantly.
Even if Mokgetsu himself was busy, couldn't he still split off a shadow clone to teach him?
"I actually feel sorry for your future teammates, having to complete tasks with someone who's daydreaming all day," Kakashi retorted.