Late at night.
Kakashi Hatake exited the barbecue restaurant with tears welling up in his eyes.
Looking at Mirai Uchiha, who was rubbing his belly and smiling with a toothpick in his mouth, Kakashi could only think one thing.
What a monster!
This guy had actually led his entire team and literally eaten the barbecue restaurant out of stock!
From childhood to adulthood, he had never seen anyone who could eat this much!
Even the shinobi of the Akimichi clan couldn't consume so much food!
And what puzzled Kakashi most was that Hinata Hyuga, the little girl known as Hinata, had eaten no less than Mirai Uchiha.
He really wanted to know how someone so slim managed to pack all that food into her tiny frame!
"Kakashi, today I was only half full—it wasn't satisfying at all. This only covers half of your gambling debt."
"You'll have to treat me again some other time."
Mirai Uchiha patted Kakashi's shoulder and left with his disciple.
Kakashi was on the verge of tears, helpless.
Half of the gambling debt?
Seriously, since when does treating someone to a meal get split into halves?
One dinner alone had already cost him most of his savings!
Kakashi's face turned livid with shock.
Deep down, he made a resolution—he might not be able to beat him, but surely he could avoid him.
For the next few months, he absolutely would not meet Mirai Uchiha again.
There's never anything good about hanging out with that guy!
---
In Konoha Village.
Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, and Kurotsuchi wore earpieces. With serious expressions, they formed a circle and slowly advanced toward its center.
Hinata spoke first: "Observation complete. The target is still unaware and remains in place."
Upon hearing this, Ino quickly performed hand seals: [Mind Body Switch Technique]
"I've got it!" Ino called out immediately. "Kurotsuchi!"
"On it!"
Kurotsuchi responded, charging toward the immobilized target with powerful strides.
The next moment, a fat orange cat was caught tightly in her hands.
"Meowww!!!"
The orange cat, which had been soaking up the sun peacefully, let out a pitiful cry, completely bewildered about what crime it had committed to suffer this kind of treatment so often.
"Mission accomplished!"
At the sound of Mirai Uchiha's voice, Hinata, Ino, and Kurotsuchi simultaneously removed their earpieces.
They handed the orange cat over to Mirai Uchiha, their faces showing looks of frustration.
"Mirai Sensei, do we really have to do these boring missions?"
"In the illusion world, our teamwork has already been solid enough, right?"
Hearing the three girls' complaints, Mirai Uchiha replied calmly, "Ninjas who cannot keep a level head in every situation will never truly shine with their own inner light."
"Even I had to endure similar struggles when I was your age."
After saying this, Mirai reached out and patted the head of the orange cat curled up in his arms. "My old friend, it's been too long."
As Mirai finished speaking, Ino Yamanaka and the others lit up with understanding.
Ah, now it made sense. They realized they had been too hasty.
Seeing Hinata Hyuga and the others accept his explanation, Mirai quietly exhaled in relief.
Since the establishment of the Shen Nation, the ninja world had entered a period of rapid development.
The number of ninja missions had also dropped drastically.
Forget about killing bandits—tasks like driving away wild animals were now uncommon.
Even he couldn't do much under these circumstances; a capable woman can't cook without rice.
He could only assign his three disciples D-ranked tasks for a full year.
Fortunately, he could still help Hinata and the others strengthen their abilities using [Tsukiyo-himuka] and [Five-Sense Manipulation], so their progress wasn't greatly hindered.
Thus, another year and a half quickly passed.
One day, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, and Kurotsuchi jointly approached Mirai Uchiha.
They had graduated from the Ninja Academy two and a half years ago, yet they were still stuck doing nothing but D-ranked tasks.
Even for building mental resilience, two and a half years should have been more than enough, right?
Looking at the three approaching him aggressively, Mirai secretly felt a headache coming on.
It seems that too much peace in the ninja world isn't always a good thing.
Looking at the three young women standing before him, Mirai wondered whether it was time to take them on a mission outside Konoha.
As Mirai frowned in thought, an Anbu agent wearing a mask appeared before him.
"Lord Mirai, Lord Hokage wishes to speak with you."
Understood.
Mirai nodded in agreement. Just then, he could also ask Minato Namikaze if there were any suitable missions available.
Leading Hinata and the other two to the Hokage's Office, Minato Namikaze, who had been sitting there spacing out, immediately showed a warm smile.
"Mirai, am I interrupting? I hope not."
Mirai shook his head and asked, "Minato, why did you suddenly call me here? Is something up?"
Minato picked up a document from the table and said softly, "This is a classified letter from the Land of Demons. Read it."
"The Land of Demons?"
Mirai accepted the document and took one glance before his expression turned slightly odd.
According to the letter, he would soon suffer a violent death, plunging the ninja world into chaos that would continue until its collapse.
"According to the intelligence report, the witches of the land of Demons possess the power of Prophecy."
"Mirai, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
Minato Namikaze said gravely.
Mirai Uchiha didn't respond immediately. She simply stared at the name "Shion" at the bottom of the letter, memories flashing through her mind.
After a long pause, Mirai let out a soft snort. "Just another witch. She's not qualified enough to foresee anything related to me."
"But I just happen to be taking my disciples out for training. We might as well stop by the Land of Demons along the way."
Seeing that Mirai appeared unfazed, Minato felt his own concerns might have been excessive.
He said accordingly, "Alright then. Be careful."
"Hmm."
Once they exited the Hokage Tower, Hinata Hyuga and the others couldn't hold back their curiosity any longer.
They all turned to Mirai and asked, "Sensei Mirai, what exactly did that secret letter from the Land of Demons say?"
"What kind of mission do you have planned for us?"
Upon hearing this, Mirai's expression turned grave.
She replied gravely, "This mission concerns the very survival of the ninja world. Read it yourselves."
At such a response, Hinata and the others' expressions changed instantly, all directing their gazes toward the secret letter.
The next instant, they all gaped in shock.
Master Mirai is going to die?
The ninja world will face destruction?
Are you kidding?!
Ino Yamanaka couldn't help but exclaim, "Sensei Mirai, isn't this witch from the Land of Demons just trying to play mystic charlatan?"
"Who in the entire ninja world could possibly defeat you?"
Hinata Hyuga and Kurotsuchi nodded in agreement.
Yet Mirai said calmly, "Based on intelligence reports, they've had Prophetic Abilities across successive generations—never once issuing a wrong prediction."
"That's why this time, I'll be investigating in person—with all of you."
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