"Really? You’ve changed a lot, Obito."

Kakashi glanced at Obito.

"How so?"

"I thought you’d just punch me immediately."

"Is it about that incident back then? Speaking of which, I did have the urge to hit you. But at that time, you were just following orders, weren’t you? If we’re blaming someone, it’s that contemptible guy for being so devious and treating us like puppets."

Talking about this, Obito’s face was full of resentment.

He did complain to Kakashi for a while back then, but as time passed, those complaints probably faded away.

Besides, compared to Kakashi, it was Hakushi and Madara who were the real masterminds behind the scenes.

He, Lin, and Kakashi were merely chess pieces in the hands of Hakushi and Madara back then.

Recalling this, it still made him feel terribly annoyed.

Kakashi didn’t say anything. He knew about Hakushi’s vile nature even earlier than Obito did; he’d gotten used to it and didn’t find him as detestable anymore.

Guess he’s become bad himself.

At this moment, Obito pulled out a letter from his pocket and handed it over, turning his head slightly to the side to deliberately avoid Kakashi’s inquiring gaze.

Obito said to Kakashi, "This is a letter from Lin for you. She wanted me to deliver it personally to you."

Kakashi sensed a strong whiff of jealousy.

Taking the letter from Obito’s hand, Kakashi cast a suspicious glance at Obito, questioning, "You didn’t open it on the way, did you?"

"How could I do something so tasteless?"

Obito glared at Kakashi.

"Really? I remember you secretly taking Lin’s headband and keeping it..."

"T-that was all in the past, why bring that up?"

Obito blushed as he defended himself, but his tone was not as confident as before.

"Seems pretty suspicious... Oh well, let’s see what Lin wrote in the letter."

Kakashi closed Icha Icha Paradise and placed it back in the Ninja Tool Bag, then opened the envelope and took out Lin’s handwritten letter.

Obito stood on tiptoe, stretching his neck long, clearly curious about what Lin wrote to Kakashi.

However, Kakashi skillfully adjusted the letter to a spot where Obito could seemingly see but not really, clicking his tongue while nodding repeatedly, as if agreeing with something, leaving Obito itching to know.

This damn Kakashi, what on earth did he read? Obito was desperate to find out.

"Um, Kakashi, what did Lin write to you in the letter?"

Obito couldn’t help asking.

"Oh, are you interested, Obito?"

Kakashi glanced at Obito.

"No, not really, just a bit curious."

Obito’s eyes shifted around.

"It’s nothing confidential or anything, well, it’s just some grown-up stuff."

"G-grown-up stuff!?"

Unlike Kakashi’s indifference, Obito was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place with a stupefied face.

Seeing Obito looking as if facing the end of the world, Kakashi squinted, his face seemingly full of joy.

"Oh dear, just kidding, it’s actually just a normal greeting. Didn’t expect you to take it seriously."

"Huh?"

"Go ahead, wasn’t that what you wanted to see?"

Kakashi handed the letter generously to Obito.

Anxious to take the letter, Obito quickly scanned through it.

Just as Kakashi said, it was simply a friendly gesture among friends, lacking any of the ambiguous content Kakashi had mentioned.

"You’re really sneaky, Kakashi, almost got fooled by you."

After breathing a sigh of relief, Obito glared angrily at Kakashi.

"But you did get fooled, didn’t you?"

Kakashi blinked innocently.

"That was just my momentary lapse."

"I’ll take back saying you’ve grown. You’re still the same as before, whenever it’s about Lin, your thinking ability drops to zero. For ninjas, that’s a deadly flaw."

"None of your business. I’ve delivered the letter, next I’m going to pay respects to Minato-sensei and relocate grandmother’s ashes. Who knows when we’ll meet next time, just be careful in Konoha. I don’t want to hear someday that you’ve died."

Though annoyed by Kakashi’s teasing, Obito still reminded Kakashi to be cautious in Konoha.

He’s never been a spy, but he knows that spy life isn’t easy, far from being carefree as it seems. The slightest mistake can leave one in an irreparable situation.

Having explained these, Obito’s body was instantly engulfed in vortex-like spatial ripples, swallowing him and making him vanish from the room.

◎

It’s been over half a month since joining Konoha Ninja School.

Ichihime gradually got used to the learning rhythm at Konoha Ninja School and appeared to be doing well.

In just half a month, there has been a written exam and a practical class.

Results were top of the class.

While this seemed extremely gratifying to others, in Ichihime’s view, it was just an inevitable result without anything to be proud of.

As for social interactions, this was also no big deal; she didn’t act superior as an excellent student, so even as a transfer student, she easily blended with classmates and had her own group.

Regarding teachers, one thing particularly caught Ichihime’s attention.

That was her homeroom teacher for second year class A, who seemed to be paying too much attention to her.

During class, several times she noticed him secretly observing her, making Ichihime suspect he might have some strange hobby.