Chapitre 205: Chapter 205: Visiting Friends
In the Uchiha compound, past their own commercial street, lay a residential area, albeit not bustling. Many houses here were vacant.
Inside one house, a short-haired old lady with graying hair was washing somewhat stale fruits. In the undivided living room, Uchiha Tenko, holding a small boy, had a melancholic look in his eyes.
In front of him were Sakamoto Tatsuma and Minato Namikaze, who had come to visit as agreed upon, along with Hyuga Sento, holding a gift labeled "For Hyuga Sento".
Tatsuma and Minato's visit was planned, but Sento had tagged along. The catch was, he hadn't prepared a gift at all. So, being clever, he just brought along the gifts Tatsuma and Minato had brought for their visit.
Since he started training with Duy and Nawaki, his brain capacity had seemingly diminished. Moreover, Hyuga Fuzi wasn't around today, or else he wouldn't have done something so rude.
At this moment, the four youths plus one young boy remained silent. After all, when visiting peers of the same age, the most feared thing was overly enthusiastic parents.
And that was exactly Tenko's grandmother.
In fact, their arrival hadn't been smooth. They had been questioned before entering the Uchiha compound, and along the way, many people had cast scrutinizing glances due to Sento's Byakugan.
If it hadn't been for the fortunate encounter with Fugaku, who had come to console the clan members, perhaps none of them would have had the chance to visit Tenko's home.
But once inside Tenko's home, the atmosphere changed entirely. Tenko and Obito's grandmother was exceptionally warm, devoid of any Uchiha pride. From the moment they entered until now, they had been treated with extreme hospitality, from tea and biscuits to dried fruits, and even the fruits currently being washed, making the three guests feel extremely embarrassed.
"Come, have some fruit," Tenko's grandmother said, setting down several plates of freshly washed fruit. Before she could say anything more, Tenko raised Obito in his arms, saying, "Grandma, it's time for Obito to sleep."
Hearing this, Tenko's grandmother seemed to realize as well. She took the lively and excited Obito, who wriggled like a fat worm, and said, "Alright, you guys have fun. Grandma will go and put Obito to sleep."
"Okay, Grandma, I'll take care of my classmates."
Seeing his grandmother go upstairs, Tenko breathed a sigh of relief. Tatsuma and the others, who had been sitting up straight, relaxed slightly. Tenko looked at Tatsuma with a resentful gaze and said, "You promised you would come find me."
Tatsuma scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Well, I did come, didn't I?"
"It's been three months. Besides, we can't spar during the New Year."
Tenko's tone became even more resentful. Since making the agreement with Tatsuma at the cemetery, he had been preparing every day for Tatsuma's visit and the sparring that would accompany it. But Tatsuma seemed to have disappeared completely.
Tenko, who had started working in the security department, even considered reporting Tatsuma's disappearance. It was only when he encountered Nawaki on the way that he learned Tatsuma had been training and on missions all along. He resisted the urge to report or confront Tatsuma upon hearing this.
But this jerk had made him wait for three whole months. If Tatsuma had come alone today, Tenko would have wanted to grab him by the collar and demand to know what he had been doing for those three months.
At this moment, hearing the peculiar conversation between the two, Sento curiously poked his head out and asked, "Did you two agree to spar? Tenko, you can't even beat me, and you want to challenge Tatsuma?"
Upon hearing this, Tenko narrowed his eyes, unconsciously straightened his back, and said, "Hyuga Sento, I'm not the same person I used to be. You don't stand a chance against me anymore!"
"Tenko!"
From the stairway came his grandmother's reprimand. Tenko immediately bent his waist, turned back with a grin, and said, "Grandma, I was just joking with my classmates."
Tenko didn't expect her to eavesdrop. He had already prepared a comeback to refute Sento's words, but instantly lost it.
Sento wasn't in a better situation either. He scratched his newly trimmed head of hair and grinned, saying, "Yeah, grandma, we were just joking."
"That's my grandma!"
"Tenko!"
"I won't dare, Grandma."
Minato watched as Tenko's demeanor fluctuated and felt somewhat curious. He turned to Tatsuma, who gestured towards his own eyes. Minato nodded in understanding and didn't inquire further.
"Let's go find a beverage shop outside."
Tenko, unsure if his grandmother could still hear, said to the group. Tatsuma nodded, and Sento stood up, loudly declaring, "Grandma, we're going out to play!"
"You!"
Seeing Sento address his grandmother as "Grandma" again, Tenko gritted his teeth in frustration. But as he thought about being able to leave soon and discipline Sento without his grandmother's knowledge, he endured the annoyance.
"Going out?"
Upon hearing this, his grandmother hurried downstairs, holding a small purse. She tugged at Tenko's arm, and he quickly said, "Grandma, I'm a ninja now, I have money!"
"Save your money for when you're grown up."
Grandma didn't hesitate and took out some money, stuffing it into Tenko's pocket. Tenko felt a bit uncomfortable but still nodded in acceptance.
The four quickly left the house, not lingering in the Uchiha compound for too long. After all, with a pair of Byakugan around, they were bound to attract attention from the Uchiha clan.
Arriving at the tea street, they found a beverage shop with small private rooms. The group entered and just ordered their drinks when Tenko couldn't wait any longer and asked, "Tatsuma, what missions have you been doing lately?"
Tatsuma shook his head and replied, "Can't say."
"Damn, is it another classified mission? Why am I always stuck doing D-Rank missions and can't even get C-Rank missions?" Sento complained. Recently, with the reopening of bounty missions, he and his new teammates had taken on quite a few tasks. However, because they were a new team, the village wouldn't allow them to take on C-Rank missions.
They had to complete 8 D-Rank missions and gain the approval of a leading Jonin before they could undertake C-Rank missions and even be eligible to sign up for the Chunin Exams.
Tenko didn't have as much resentment. He didn't reassemble his team but instead joined the security department directly. Day in and day out, he wore a uniform with the emblem of the folding fan, intimidating merchants from outside who came to Konoha for trade.
However, he still asked eagerly, "So are you on vacation now?"
Tatsuma nodded and replied, "I have three days off, but I have plans for tomorrow. I'm free the day after tomorrow and the day after that though."
Upon hearing this, Tenko thought for a moment and said, "The Hokage Building resumes work tomorrow. I can submit the departure application then. I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow afternoon or the morning after that. Shall we depart the day after tomorrow?"
After several months of calming down, Tenko had also understood many things. He knew that sparring with Tatsuma couldn't be done within the village. During the New Year period, there were too many ninjas in Konoha, and they might be discovered.
"In that case, let's apply together tomorrow!" Sento said with a bright smile. Tenko looked conflicted at this moment because Tatsuma had previously said not to let anyone know about his eyes.
As he hesitated, Tatsuma said, "Alright, Minato, you probably don't have any plans either, right?"
Minato wanted to say he did, as he had originally planned to ask Kushina out the day after tomorrow, but he hadn't made the arrangements yet. After a quick thought, Minato forced a smile and said, "No, let's apply together tomorrow. Tatsuma, remember to give me your ninja ID card, I'll help you with the application."
Tatsuma nodded. He had two ninja ID cards, one as Konoha Chunin Sakamoto Tatsuma and the other as Konoha ANBU member Yaksha. He gave the first one to Minato so he could apply for the exit permit on his behalf.
Moreover, with both him and Minato applying together, the administrative ninjas in the Konoha building shouldn't give them a hard time or delay the process.
Afterward, the group talked about what they had been doing individually in the past few months since returning from the front lines. It mostly involved carrying out various mundane tasks, such as cleaning the sewer that hadn't been cleared for two years, searching for pets that had been missing for months, or dealing with petty disputes within Konoha. Only Minato had some combat missions to talk about.
As for Tatsuma's confidential matters, they couldn't be discussed openly, so they exchanged a few cryptic words here and there. ANBU ninjas weren't allowed to reveal their ANBU identities, but they didn't need to conceal all traces. As they chatted, Sento and Tenko both guessed it, looking at Tatsuma with envy.
The four didn't linger long at the beverage shop, instead buying some gifts and accompanying Tatsuma to visit the three Ino-Shika-Cho families they hadn't visited yet. Tatsuma emphasized not buying anything too valuable, as Ino-Shika-Cho had deep ties with Konoha's administration. Moreover, Tenko and Sento's identities were too awkward. Therefore, they only brought a few snacks and dried fruits when they went visiting.
Then Shikaku got scolded by his mother again. While other kids knew to visit their classmates, Shikaku slept until the afternoon every day, and it was always like this. Shikaku, brimming with resentment, also brought gifts and took Tatsuma and the others to visit the two other families, gleefully watching his two companions also get scolded, feeling better and better.
In the evening, they parted ways. Minato followed Tatsuma back to the Senju territory, partly to get his ninja ID card, but mostly out of habit. Whether Minato came or not, Mito would always prepare his meals.
After dinner, Tatsuma was pulled aside by Tsunade, who asked, "What are your plans for tomorrow? I don't even know them all."
Tatsuma took out the strategy he had prepared in advance and said, "I've already inquired about it. Here are the addresses and family members we need to visit. I've also planned the order. Tomorrow, you just need to give out the New Year's money. By the way, sensei, you didn't go to the casino today, did you? The banks are closed now. I guess you won't be able to withdraw money."
Seeing that her disciple didn't trust her willpower so much, Tsunade glared at him and said, "I've been preparing lessons all day today! And why do you assume I went to the casino? Just because of that, you want to withdraw money again?!"
"Tsunade, have you ever won?"
"You just wait and see!"
Noticing that Mito was watching them, even though she was angry, Tsunade dared not act out. She turned around to leave, and Tatsuma quickly said, "Sensei, take the list with you, or you won't even know who you're meeting tomorrow."
"Hmph! Give it to me!"
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