"Qingming, over here!"
In Konoha Village, on a street, Ryosuke waved to Qingming from afar, with Mizutani Shizuko standing beside him.
Hearing this, Qingming walked over unhurriedly.
As Qingming approached, Ryosuke said with dissatisfaction, "Qingming, you're too slow! We agreed to go shopping together, couldn't you have come sooner?"
Qingming knew Ryosuke wasn't truly dissatisfied, just habitually complaining, so he didn't explain anything, only asking, "Where should we go first?"
Normally, given Qingming's personality, he wouldn't waste time shopping.
There wasn't much to see in Konoha.
But considering how tense things had been lately, after some hesitation, he accepted Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko's invitation to relax.
At this time, half a month had passed since the 'Heart Reflection Technique's' effects diminished.
During this half-month, Furukawa had led them on another C-rank mission.
However, it wasn't bandit suppression, but rather escorting a caravan.
Although they encountered some trouble during this time, it was all within the scope of the mission, and they didn't encounter any real danger.
This made Qingming sigh again, "It's so much better not to have the protagonist's halo."
"Let's go over there, there's a new dango shop there, it's really good,"
Ryosuke pointed and said.
Hearing this, Qingming looked in the direction Ryosuke was pointing, and sure enough, there was a newly opened shop with a long line in front; the food must be delicious.
Just as he was thinking this, Qingming suddenly heard a few 'familiar' names.
"Kakashi, hurry up, we need to make up for Rin's missed birthday today."
"Ah, Obito, maybe we shouldn't?"
"No, we have to make it up to her! I know a new dango shop up ahead, it's really good, I'll treat her later, Kakashi, don't try to take it from me!"
'Kakashi, Obito, Rin.'
Qingming murmured to himself, looking towards the direction the voice came from.
At the other end of the street, three small figures walked together, one in front and two behind.
The one in front had his back to him, and like him, his clothes bore the Uchiha clan crest; if he wasn't mistaken, it was Uchiha Obito.
He was excitedly talking, seemingly oblivious to the stares of those around him.
The two behind, a man and a woman, faced him, allowing him to easily see their faces.
Uh...
no, there was one person he couldn't see clearly.
He was about eleven or twelve years old, with silver hair, carrying a short sword, wearing a mask, and a cold expression—it was Hatake Kakashi, still haunted by his father's death.
The mask obscured his features, so even face-to-face, Qingming couldn't see his full face.
Just as Qingming was observing him, the other person looked over.
'Such keen senses!'
Qingming was still marveling when, the instant their eyes met, a chill ran through him.
It was a strange feeling, as if he were being watched by some ferocious beast, making his heart tremble.
Qingming quickly looked away.
"Qingming, what's wrong?"
Seeing Qingming suddenly stop and his face turn pale, Mizutani Shizuko asked with concern.
Huff—
Qingming exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly said, "Nothing."
After speaking, he moved his feet and continued walking forward, his gaze inevitably meeting Kakashi's again.
However, this time, he no longer felt the fear he had felt before.
That's right, he had felt fear when their eyes met just now.
It was true that he had killed people, but those were just some 'weak and powerless' bandits and robbers. Kakashi was different.
The other party had truly been on the battlefield, crawling through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The two were simply not on the same level.
Therefore, feeling fear was not a big deal, as long as he could overcome it.
On the other side.
Obito Uchiha noticed Kakashi looking behind him and asked疑惑地问道, "What's wrong?"
As he spoke, he turned around as well.
In just one glance, he recognized Qingming.
There was no way around it; that 'ping-pong paddle' was too conspicuous.
'A junior member of the clan,'
Obito thought to himself, and withdrew his gaze, asking Kakashi, "What's wrong with him?"
Judging from Qingming's attire and age, he was most likely a graduate this year.
Obito couldn't understand what Kakashi would notice about such a person.
Hearing Obito's question, Kakashi simply shook his head, saying nothing more.
Soon, both sides arrived at the dumpling shop.
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin lined up first, while Qingming and his two companions lined up behind.
In the queue, Obito and Ryosuke kept talking, with Rin and Shizuko Mizutani chiming in, while Kakashi and Qingming remained silent.
A few minutes later, Kakashi and the others bought their dumplings and left together.
Standing in the group, Qingming watched the three figures depart, muttering to himself, "They're probably back for the Chunin Exams."
Indeed, after some thought, he had a rough idea of why Kakashi and the others were in the village.
Konoha holds the Chunin Exams twice a year, once in early January and once in early July.
It's late November now, and the next Chunin Exams are just around the corner. Considering their ages, it's not hard to guess their purpose in returning.
A month is a long time, but also a short time.
In peacetime, it's fine; a month is more than enough to get back. But in wartime, it's a bit short.
While most genin are cannon fodder on the battlefield, this doesn't include those recommended by their jonin to participate in the Chunin Exams.
These genin usually have specific tasks on the battlefield.
Gathering these people can't be done like transferring cannon fodder genin with a simple order; at the very least, someone needs to be arranged to take over their duties.
Furthermore, for their safety, they need to be escorted.
To some extent, these genin are the future of the village. If something happens to them on the way, the village might face extinction.
Therefore, for safety's sake, they certainly won't return at the same time.
That makes it unsurprising to see them a month early.
If he's not mistaken, these three are likely the first batch of genin to return to the village, and more will probably return in the following month.
Whether his guess is accurate or not, he only needs to look at the number of young genin in the village in the following month.
However, Qingming has a hunch that after the Chunin
Exams
, this batch of rookies might be sent to the battlefield.
In other words, he doesn't have much time left.
Thinking of this, Qingming desperately wants to go home and train immediately.
But looking at his two teammates ahead, he ultimately suppresses his restlessness.
Since he's decided to relax, he can't give up halfway.
As the saying goes, sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work.
This short rest is for more arduous training later.
"Qingming, what flavor do you want?"
Just as Qingming was pondering, Ryosuke turned around and asked.
"Spicy,"
Qingming replied casually.
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