The sun was setting in the west, and by the time school let out, it was nearly evening. Ōshima-sensei didn't head straight home but went directly to the Hokage's office.
While giving his final comments, Ōshima had clearly received a message from the Anbu: "Lord Hokage summons you." Thus, as soon as class ended, he hurried to meet with the Hokage.
Entering the Hokage Residence and walking down the corridor to the office, Ōshima could clearly sense faint movements in the shadows, which immediately returned to stillness.
It was the hidden Anbu, silently confirming the visitor's identity.
Pushing open the door to the Hokage's office, Ōshima saw the Hokage engrossed in his official duties. Lord Hokage was focused, so Ōshima quietly knelt on one knee, awaiting his orders.
"Ah, Ōshima, you're here. Stand up. You are no longer Anbu. You are just a regular Academy teacher now." The Third Hokage smiled faintly and had Ōshima rise.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Third Hokage got straight to the point.
"This new batch of students, how are they?"
Ōshima replied seriously, "They are excellent. A few even have the potential to become jonin. Hatake Kakashi is very strong; he's already close to meeting the graduation standard."
"But the one who surprised me the most was Uchiha Rikka. That boy's strength is by no means inferior to Kakashi's. Though, considering he's from the Uchiha clan, perhaps it's not so strange."
"Of course, Sarutobi Asuma is also quite good. His ninjutsu and taijutsu are exceptional... (Eight hundred words of praise omitted here)."
"Alright, alright, that's enough praise for Asuma. I know full well what he's like," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, but he couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.
"Uchiha Rikka... he is indeed a promising individual. Keep a close eye on him in the future."
Ōshima readily agreed.
After Ōshima left, the Hokage fell into deep thought.
*"Inner Decapitation Technique, Shadow Clone Jutsu, hand seals so fast even I can barely follow them, and rapidly improving taijutsu... Uchiha Rikka, are you a genius, or...?"*
At this thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned his personal Anbu guard.
"Bring me Orochimaru. Have him investigate Uchiha Rikka."
The story splits here. We now turn our attention back to Rikka.
When they arrived at the dango shop, Kakashi knew the food had to be good. The place was packed with customers, and the line stretched out the door.
"With this many people, will we even have time to train after we buy something?"
Hearing this, Rikka didn't answer Kakashi. Instead, he shouted into the shop.
"Uncle Asahi! Three sticks of three-color dango, the sweet kind!"
"One stick is enough for me."
"Oh, right, forgot about you. Uncle, make that four sticks!"
Hearing Rikka's voice, the bustling middle-aged man inside the shop immediately broke into a smile.
"You got it, little Rikka!"
Before long, a little girl about Rikka's age ran out.
"Big Brother Rikka, here's your dango."
"Hehe, thanks, little manager," Rikka said with a grin.
Seeing Rikka's cheerful expression, Kakashi found it a bit strange. In all his previous interactions with Rikka, he had only seen his fierce, battle-ready demeanor, never such a friendly side.
As if sensing Kakashi's question, Rikka handed him a stick of dango and explained, "Not long ago, the owner's beloved cat went missing. The whole family was worried and about to post a mission at the Mission Assignment Desk. I happened to be buying dango, so I helped them find it."
"How did you find it?"
Rikka took a bite of dango, a look of enjoyment on his face. "Silly. The Uchiha clan is the closest to the ninja cats. I know everything that goes on in the cat world, big or small."
"After I found the cat, the owner gave me a 'free food ticket' as thanks. I thought the name sounded bad, so I changed it to a 'buy dango without waiting in line' ticket."
Suddenly, Rikka and Kakashi heard a series of passionate shouts.
"I'll walk all over Konoha on my hands before Rikka arrives! If I can't, I'll do 1,000 push-ups!"
The owner of the voice was, of course, the very person Rikka and Kakashi had come to meet--Might Guy.
"Guy, over here!" Rikka called out happily upon seeing his friend.
Seeing Rikka, Guy instantly dashed over and gave him a big, unceremonious bear hug.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. *So fast!*
"My good friend, you're finally here! Training is so boring without you!"
"You're just in time. I haven't touched this stick of dango. It's for you."
"My training buddy suddenly appears and offers a gift of friendship under the early autumn sunset! This is youth!"
Rikka quickly stuffed the dango into Guy's mouth to stop him before things got any more awkward.
"Kakashi, this is my training partner, Might Guy."
"We've met."
"Right. I'm sure you two will become great friends, and great ninja in the future."
"But he can't even use ninjutsu."
Suddenly, a clear girl's voice interjected, as pleasant as a singing oriole.
"Look at his hands and feet. They're all covered in marks from training, right? He must train incredibly hard. With his perseverance, he'll likely become an outstanding ninja in the future."
"If you don't believe me, the Academy's supplementary enrollment list is coming out soon. You can check it. The old man Hokage won't let a talented person be overlooked."
The three of them looked toward the source of the voice. It was a girl dressed in the attire of the Nara clan. Her hair was tied up high, revealing a pale neck. Her face was cute and beautiful, with locks of black hair falling down on both sides, giving her a vibrant look.
The girl was currently waiting in line, holding an empty three-color dango stick.
Rikka recognized her at a glance. It was the "ticker timer" from that morning, the girl who had been dozing off in class. Out of courtesy, Rikka introduced himself.
"Hello, my name is-"
"Uchiha Rikka, I know. I saw your match with Hatake Kakashi."
"Right. This is Might Guy, a good friend of mine."
The girl before them smiled faintly, her large eyes curving into crescents. It was very cute.
"It's nice to meet you all. My name is Nara Mio."
Rikka saw the finished dango stick in her hand and casually asked.
"Are you still in line?"
"Yeah. I bought one and it was so good I'm getting another."
"I have another stick here, I haven't touched it. If you don't mind..."
Before Rikka could finish, Mio snatched the three-color dango from his hand and began to eat it with gusto.
"Thanks," Mio said, her mouth full.
And just like that, all four of Rikka's dango sticks were gone, but he had only eaten a single bite himself. He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
*"Looks like not everyone in the Nara clan is a genius. They even have foodies,"* Rikka grumbled to himself.
But who would have thought Mio's next words would make Rikka break out in a cold sweat.
"Back then, when your shadow clone's attack failed, why didn't you have it retreat? Why did you risk it being dispelled just to pat Kakashi on the head?"
This was a crucial question.
"I understood the rest of the fight, but why did you touch his head?"
"And after you touched his head, you used the Lion Combo shortly after. You clearly had that kind of speed, so why didn't you use it from the beginning?"
Rikka's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Mio, only to see a bit of dango syrup stuck to the corner of her mouth, her big eyes filled with curiosity.
But to Rikka, it felt like he was a culprit watching Conan uncover clues one by one. A sense of crisis welled up inside him. His eyes darted around as he came up with a desperate, half-baked idea.
"Just a weird hobby of mine, I guess," Rikka said dryly. As he spoke, he lightly tapped Mio on the head. "You could say it's my special quirk."
The moment he confirmed the system notification sound, he quickly pulled his hand back, afraid of upsetting her.
Mio froze for a second, then smiled. "Not just anyone can touch my head, you know. But since you gave me dango, I'll let it slide this time."
With that, she walked off toward the Nara clan compound, eating her dango.
Rikka breathed a sigh of relief and checked his reward.
*DING!* You have patted C-Rank Ninja: Nara Mio. Please select one of the following rewards.
50,000 Ryō
Basic Chakra Control
Yin Style Chakra Amplification
When Rikka saw the last option, his eyes widened instantly.
"The gamble paid off!"
*Choose "Yin Style Chakra Amplification"!*