Higashino Makoto followed the two little ones into a private room inside Yakiniku Q and saw his own parents.
At the table there were also a man and a woman, the four adults roughly the same age. They were holding drinks and chatting happily. The main dishes had not yet been served; there were only a few snacks meant to go with alcohol on the table.
As soon as Higashino Jirō saw the flushed red faces of Gekkō Hayate and Uzuki Yugao, he asked, "Makoto, did you bully them?"
"You're overthinking it, Father. How could I possibly do something so rude?"
Gekkō Hayate and Uzuki Yugao kept their heads lowered, not daring to look at the adults. The way they looked made it seem as if they really had been bullied.
The adults did not mind. Children roughhousing with each other was perfectly normal.
"As long as that's the case. Come, let me introduce them to you. These two are your Uncle Uzuki Yūya and Aunt Uzuki Sakura. They are old classmates of your mother and me. At the same time, your Uncle Yūya and I were teammates, and this time we came back together."
So it was a Sakura, just with purple hair.
Judging from the surname, they should be Uzuki Yugao's parents.
Higashino Makoto obediently raised a formal salute toward the two adults seated on the other side. "Hello, Uncle. Hello, Aunt. My name is Higashino Makoto. This is our first meeting. Please take care of me."
Uzuki Sakura said, "What a polite and pretty child. Megumi, he really looks just like you."
Higashino Megumi replied, "He really does look a lot like me."
Uzuki Yūya's hair color was quite similar to Higashino Makoto's. Within Konohagakure, dark brown hair was fairly common; black was the most common, while all kinds of flashy hair colors were the real minority.
He smiled in an easygoing manner, gestured for the three little ones to sit down, and at the same time examined Higashino Makoto with a look of curiosity. "Jirō, is this your and Megumi's child? He looks quite steady and reliable."
"Steady, yes—but far too un-cute."
Uzuki Yūya burst into laughter. "Isn't being steady a good thing? You don't need to worry so much. If you ever run into one who causes trouble outside all day long, you'll know what real headaches are like."
"This really does put his mother and me at ease. Makoto has never caused trouble, and he hardly ever even goes out. That's also why I asked you to bring Yugao and Hayate along today—I hope he can get to know some friends his own age."
Just then, the server began bringing out the dishes, and the grill on the table was put to work as well.
The food at Yakiniku Q was indeed quite good, so much so that Higashino Makoto could not stop eating. The adults took a few bites and then focused on drinking, while he ate vigorously off to the side.
Watching this made Gekkō Hayate beside him feel deeply envious. Because of his physical condition, his appetite had never been particularly strong.
Higashino Makoto had been fine in his previous life, but now he was completely a carnivore. After all, if one wanted a powerful body, meat, eggs, and milk were indispensable.
After several cups of alcohol, Uzuki Yūya glanced at Higashino Makoto again. "That calm and composed air of his really reminds me of a senior's child. It's just a pity that kid has become rather unlikable now."
Higashino Megumi said, "You mean that Kakashi kid, right? He's quite driven. He gets injured often when he goes on missions—I've seen him at the hospital several times this past year. His aura is just too cold."
Higashino Jirō added, "That kid, huh. He really is a genius. He became a chūnin at six, the same as I did. It was probably last year's incident that dealt him too heavy a blow."
Uzuki Yūya nodded in agreement. "Yes. It's such a pity about White Fang-sama. I used to follow him on missions. He took very good care of us juniors and even gave me guidance in swordsmanship. He was a senior worthy of respect."
As he said this, perhaps a bit affected by the alcohol, he slammed his cup heavily onto the tabletop. His voice grew noticeably louder. "I really don't know what the people above were thinking. If a mission fails, just punish it according to the rules. How could they let that kind of rumor spread through the village?"
"And that bastard who accused White Fang-senpai as well—clearly the mission failed because he was saving that man's life, yet he still turned around and bit back. Good that he killed himself. If he hadn't, I absolutely wouldn't have let him off."
Uzuki Sakura frowned slightly, raised her head to glance outside the private room, then glared at her husband and scolded him. "Yūya, watch what you say. This is not something we're allowed to talk about."
Higashino Megumi also tried to dissuade him. "Yūya, that matter is already in the past, and the village has issued a ban. Don't invite trouble upon yourself.
"Besides, the children are all here. Don't let them come into contact with these things too early."
The two men suddenly fell silent. Then each let out a sigh, clinked cups with each other, and downed the alcohol in one gulp, no longer continuing the topic.
Higashino Makoto ate the grilled meat while at the same time paying attention to the adults' conversation.
He knew about Kakashi's experience. It was something that had happened in August of last year. During that period, rumors had spread throughout the village, triggering a great deal of debate.
The discussion went from the initial mission failure, which had brought enormous losses to the Land of Fire and Konohagakure, to arguing over which was more important: completing the mission or the lives of one's companions.
Both sides had their supporters, and for a time the arguments were endless, growing ever more intense.
As for who had started the rumors, no one cared anymore. But allowing the debate to continue was clearly shaking the ideological foundation upon which Konohagakure existed.
After all, the core philosophy of Konohagakure was the Will of Fire. Abandoning a companion's life for the sake of a mission was obviously a violation of the Will of Fire.
Yet ninjas were born for missions, and the ideology of mission-first had also taken deep root in people's hearts.
The two were completely contradictory existences.
Which one was more important? Without changing the overall prevailing mindset of the ninja world, this was an unsolvable question—one with no answer.
In the end, the result was White Fang's suicide, and the village issued a ban forbidding anyone from discussing the matter.
The affair was brought to a hasty close just like that.
The ninjas who were still alive, aside from burying their thoughts in their hearts, continued with their lives as they had to for the sake of living. Only Kakashi seemed to have become a completely different person from then on—putting everything in service of the mission, cold and ruthless, indifferent to whether his companions lived or died, and from that point forward becoming someone who was not well liked.
After a few cups of alcohol, once the earlier indignation had dissipated, Uzuki Yūya suddenly said, "Speaking of this, Makoto and our Yugao will both be five years old next year. Do you think they should enroll together with Hayate when the time comes?"
Higashino Megumi and Uzuki Sakura fell into thought upon hearing this. Both of them had confidence in their children's talent, and enrolling a year earlier was not entirely out of the question.
However, Higashino Jirō clearly expressed his opposition. "Brother Yūya, the two of us have just returned from the border. Don't you know what the current situation is like? Who knows when war might break out?
"Enrolling a year earlier means being drawn in a year earlier. They're still far too young. Let them grow properly. It's enough for us to stand at the front."
"That's true as well. Hahaha. Having the reputation of a genius shine too brightly, and coming into contact with killing too early, isn't a good thing either. Drink, drink."
After that, the two of them began telling everyone some interesting stories from the border, no longer touching on sensitive topics, all the way until the gathering ended.
At the street corner, everyone waved goodbye and went home to sleep.
Uzuki Yugao suddenly asked, "Brother Makoto, where do you usually go to play?"
"I train and study at home. I rarely go out."
"Then can Hayate and I go to your place to play sometime?"
Higashino Makoto looked at the expectant expressions on his parents' faces and nodded. "Yes."
After receiving a satisfactory answer, the adults from both families smiled and took their children home. It seemed they very much hoped that the friendship of their generation could continue and be passed on to the children.
On the way back, Higashino Makoto asked, "Were you also classmates with Hayate's parents?"
Higashino Jirō smiled and rubbed his son's head. "No, it's just a friendship. Senior Kumomi was two years ahead of us. But the Gekkō family and the Uzuki family are old family friends. Both are skilled in the Konoha-style swordsmanship, and their relationship is extremely good. The younger generation of the two families is also trained together."
"Oh. But Hayate looks like he's not very healthy."
Higashino Megumi said, "It's congenital, inherited from his mother, who has already passed away. What a pity. I've heard that child has very good talent in swordsmanship, but it's completely held back by his body."
Higashino Jirō said, "That's why, Makoto—remember this well. A strong body is the foundation of everything."
"Yes, Father."
There was no need to remind him of something like that.
After all, the body was a ninja's true capital.