Treating people to a meal has always been a necessary means to foster relationships in any era. With the wealthy Kakashi-sensei treating them, everyone ate heartily. Little Hinata still ate the grilled meat with that timid expression.
"Ino, I really can't eat anymore."
"Thank you, Teacher Kurenai, I'm truly full."
"Really full. I truly can't eat anymore."
Hinata's pace of eating grilled meat was always very consistent. If one wasn't paying attention, they wouldn't realize she was the biggest eater among everyone present.
Ino also didn't miss this opportunity. Asuma urged her to train her Taijutsu whenever he had time, and Inoichi, after hearing that she had been repeatedly attacked with Taijutsu by the Three Hidden Mist Ninja, also made her intensify this training. Her consumption was very high; if she didn't eat meat, she wouldn't have the strength to train.
Sakura's mind wasn't on eating.
She chatted with Ari about a lot of gossip. Wide Forehead clearly found these topics more interesting. As a spy who traveled extensively, Ari had perfected the art of speaking to people in their own language, and it was effortlessly easy for her to fool a naive child like Sakura. She seemed to speak profusely, but upon closer thought, she actually said nothing at all.
Yuhi and Asuma were whispering at another table.
There were a total of four girls in the main group. Ari sat on the far left, near the aisle. Sakura and Ino were in the middle, and Hinata, to conceal her Otsutsuki Clan identity, sat on the innermost side.
Sakura was chatting happily. When she turned her head, she saw that both Hinata and Ino were eating ravenously.
Her thought process was, after all, different from ordinary people; she often noticed things others couldn't.
She poked Ino with her elbow: "Ino, look at Kakashi-sensei."
"What is it?" Ino looked up, glanced twice: "Nothing? What's the problem?"
Sakura lowered her voice: "Kakashi-sensei didn't take off his mask while eating. Do you think beneath his mask…?"
Her gaze drifted, her expression peculiar: "Could it be buck teeth?! Or thick lips? Or…"
She guessed several possibilities in a row. Ino shivered from her words, Ari merely covered her mouth and chuckled, while Naruto stealthily observed Kakashi. His movements were a bit exaggerated, causing Sasuke to look over as well.
Only then, upon their collective observation, did they notice the problem.
Kakashi usually didn't eat in front of them. Whenever a waiter served food, or when someone nearby blocked his view, he would, with lightning speed, devour an entire plate of grilled meat! Afterward, both his cheeks would bulge, and he would slowly chew it in his mouth.
Apparently seeing them staring at him, Kakashi swallowed the meat in his mouth and explained self-righteously: "This is a bad habit left over from the war. I eat too fast; I can't change it. Hey, boss, bring another plate of grilled meat for Miss Hyuga!"
This trick to divert attention was too amateurish. They weren't children. Straightforward guys like Naruto and Sasuke didn't care at all how much Hinata ate; they were more interested in Kakashi's true face beneath his mask.
Say what you mean! That was Naruto's Ninja Way.
He directly asked, wanting to know Kakashi's true face beneath his mask.
"You're not eating, just staring at me, for this?" Kakashi's gaze swept across their faces, then he asked.
Several people, including Shino Aburame, whose presence was usually very low, nodded vigorously.
Asuma and Yuhi chuckled, not participating in this "activity."
"You kids are really too curious…" Kakashi grabbed his mask, pulling it down little by little with minimal movement.
At this moment, even Ino, who was five-tenths pondering Steam Impurities Explosion and four-tenths wondering how to stir up trouble, watched intently.
Naruto's forehead was sweating. He nervously swallowed a large gulp of saliva. The others stared intently at Kakashi's right hand, all feeling that his motion of pulling down the mask was too slow.
Just as they were about to protest, Kakashi swiftly yanked off his mask, and then they discovered that beneath his black mask was another blue mask.
"Pfft!" Naruto spat out all the grilled meat in his mouth, then coughed forcefully, bent at the waist, and didn't straighten up for a long time. Sasuke's face was very grim, feeling he had been played. Sakura was even more disappointed, "That's it?"
"Hahahahaha—" Asuma and Yuhi burst into laughter on the side. They had clearly been pranked by Kakashi before, and now tears were streaming from their eyes from laughing.
Kakashi, in the end, did not reveal his true face.
The dinner party atmosphere was good, so everyone didn't continue to dwell on this point and cause a fuss. Jokes should be kept in moderation; going too far wasn't good.
Ino seized the opportunity to liven the atmosphere. She began to pitch to Kakashi, "You have a girlfriend now, shouldn't you buy some flowers? Shouldn't you buy some jewelry? Some gold and silver ornaments? I have everything here, and free shipping too."
"No, no, Ari and I are just ordinary friends," Kakashi repeatedly waved his hands in explanation.
Ari smiled without speaking, appearing very gentle and ladylike, completely belying the fact that she was a master spy who traversed many Ninja Villages.
"Kakashi-sensei, how did you and Miss Ari meet?" Sakura, with her love-struck mind, eagerly asked this question.
The people around them perked up their ears, and even Asuma and Yuhi glanced over with their peripheral vision.
Kakashi scratched his head, a bit unsure how to explain.
Ari, however, was very forthright: "Let me tell you. I remember I was still young then, about your age now. I was very lost, and training was tough. I just wanted to find my way back to the Village, but I got lost."
She quickly glossed over the Village matters, then her cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at Kakashi: "When I was most helpless, I met him. He encouraged me. He said then that if I missed my family, I should look up at the white clouds in the sky and imagine them as my loved ones…"
Sakura occasionally glanced at Sasuke with her peripheral vision. She never expected Kakashi-sensei to say such sweet words. If only Sasuke would say something similar.
After the Yakiniku dinner, Kakashi called out to Ino. After everyone else had left, he asked seriously: "Inoichi-senpai said you want to become Lady Tsunade's disciple. Can you tell me why?"
Ino, with nine parts truth and one part fabrication, said: "Actually, before, the White Thorn injured my palm, and Chōjūrō's Hiramekarei heavily cut my back. It really hurt me terribly. I'm afraid of pain, afraid of dying, and even more afraid of my comrades dying in front of me while I can't do anything to help. I want to learn more advanced Medical Ninjutsu; I don't want to be powerless when regrets arise."
Kakashi said, "Your Ninjutsu is already very powerful. I believe among your peers, few Ninja are your match. Learning Medical Ninjutsu in addition to Water Release and Earth Release will greatly disperse your energy."
Ino shook her head: "But Ninja always get injured in battle, and once injured, their combat ability significantly decreases. I believe healing methods are still very necessary."
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