Chapter 27: See You Again, Naruto
"Your words of comfort are truly not pleasant to hear." Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Since you've learned it, let's go down the mountain. If you don't understand anything in the future, just come back and ask me. This ghastly weather, if we stay any longer, we'll be sun-dried like jerky."
"Perfect, it's not past lunchtime yet. Let's have lunch together as my treat to you, senior. What would you like to eat? How about Ichiraku Ramen?" Qianye said.
"Haven't you already decided for me?" Kakashi said weakly.
Perhaps it was because Qianye frequently entered and exited the Uchiha Clan, and like him, had an Uchiha close friend.
He didn't have much aversion to Qianye.
He just thought he was a somewhat devious junior.
Soon, the two arrived at the Ichiraku Ramen shop.
There, they met an unexpected person, Uzumaki Naruto.
"Senya Ni-san." After a year since last winter, Naruto was particularly excited to see Qianye again.
Perhaps even Qianye himself didn't know that by simply treating Naruto to ramen twice, both times while intercepting Hinata, he had made Naruto feel the warmth of family affection.
Replacing Iruka, he became the first person to enter his heart.
"Yo, it's you. A year has passed, why are you still so short? Have you been eating instant noodles again instead of proper meals?" Qianye stepped forward, gently rubbing Naruto's spiky yellow hair as if petting a dog.
And when Kakashi saw the orphan of his teacher, his expression suddenly changed, his face beneath the mask appearing extremely unnatural.
"Hehe." Naruto chuckled, clearly enjoying his time with Qianye.
Then, with an excited and adoring tone, he said:
"That, Senya Ni-san... I've already heard, you know, Senya Ni-san, that you were promoted to Jonin less than a year after graduating from the Ninja Academy. In the future, I also want to become an excellent Ninja like Senya Ni-san, and then become Hokage."
"Is that so? Then work hard. If it's you, I believe you can definitely do it." Qianye casually responded and sat down. "Boss, three bowls of tonkotsu ramen, and as for the toppings, add whatever tastes good. My treat today."
"Alright, little brother Qianye." Ichiraku happily responded and began preparing the ramen.
When Naruto heard Qianye's encouraging words, he instantly froze. Unbeknownst to Qianye, he had added another label to Naruto's heart, becoming the first person to acknowledge him.
Kakashi observed Naruto's change in expression, remaining silent throughout.
It wasn't until after the meal, when Naruto had to return to school and quickly finished eating, that he left early.
Only then did Kakashi speak, asking hesitantly, "Qianye... Are you very familiar with that kid?"
Qianye pretended to be stunned for a moment, then replied, "Not really familiar. Including today, I've only met him three times in total. I just saw him all alone and treated him to ramen a few times, that's all."
"Is that so?" Kakashi repeated, then continued to ask, "Then you should know his identity, right? If I remember correctly, your parents died during the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident. Can you tell me why you don't resent that kid?"
"Why should I resent him? The Nine-Tailed is the Nine-Tailed, and Naruto is Naruto. That little guy was just a newborn baby at the time, what could he have done?"
Qianye first retorted, then began to criticize indirectly.
"I don't know which bastard spread the rumor that Naruto is the Nine-Tailed, causing a perfectly good child, already an orphan, to live his childhood amidst the villagers' hatred and animosity."
"Drinking expired milk, eating instant noodles, and no one willing to sell him anything he wanted to buy. He went hungry every day."
"That he's managed to survive until now is nothing short of a miracle."
At this point, he didn't forget to add, "If I find out who it was, I'll report it to Hokage-sama immediately."
"Rumors?" Kakashi recalled his father, Konoha White Fang, who was killed by rumors. Then he thought of Naruto's current situation, and couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
Although Third Hokage had ordered no one to approach the Jinchuriki, he, as the disciple of Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze, had never shown any care for his teacher's orphan all these years.
What had he been doing all these years?
As evening approached, the sun set.
The evening glow in the west reflected off Konoha's various buildings, creating a uniquely beautiful and prosperous scene.
And at this moment, on the rooftop of the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his hands behind his back. Behind him was Kakashi Hatake, now dressed in Anbu Ninja attire, kneeling on one knee.
"How was it, Kakashi? What impression did that child, Qianye, leave on you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, facing away from Kakashi Hatake, his eyes half-closed.
He naturally wouldn't be so kind as to specifically have Kakashi teach Qianye Ninjutsu.
It was more of a test for Qianye.
Although Kurenai Yuhi had already reported 'everything' about Qianye to him, and he trusted Kurenai Yuhi implicitly.
But ultimately, Kurenai Yuhi and Qianye had a teacher-student relationship.
Given his own past experience with Orochimaru, it was possible that Kurenai Yuhi might conceal some trivial details from him, the Hokage.
And these details often reveal a person's true character.
This was also why he assigned Kakashi to test Qianye before sending him to infiltrate the Uchiha Clan.
Kakashi lowered his head, thought for a moment, and then spoke his mind respectfully: "Excluding his Bloodline Limit, he is undoubtedly a genius no less than Uchiha Itachi. He learned the B-rank Earth Release Ninjutsu Earth Release Wall and the A-rank Ninjutsu Chidori in less than half an hour."
"As a person, he is not some great villain; on the contrary, he possesses a strong sense of justice. He can view problems rationally."
"Perhaps because he is also an orphan, he has sympathy for the weak."
"Is that so?" Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long breath. Overall, Kakashi's evaluation did not differ much from the information he had.
But the ability to view problems rationally was somewhat tricky.
He needed a blindly loyal pawn to infiltrate the Uchiha Clan.
He did not need a Fujiwara Chiye with independent thinking skills. If not handled well, it was possible that Qianye might, as Danzo said, do something against his Hokage-sama's will for that little girl from the Uchiha Clan.
This was something Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to see.
"It seems I'll have to expend some effort to guide him. That kid's fire will isn't pure enough," Hiruzen Sarutobi lamented inwardly.
"Hokage-sama." Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking about how to instill the 'fire will' in Qianye, Kakashi's voice interrupted his thoughts.
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