"I never expected you had this talent, Teacher. If Obito could learn just a third of your cooking skills, I wouldn't worry about him not finding a wife in the future." Grandma was astonished after tasting Mokgetsu's cooking.
She wasn't sure about Mokgetsu's ninja abilities, but his cooking was the most impressive she had ever encountered in her life.
"Grandma, this is delicious, please have more." Obito was overwhelmed and quickly added some of Mokgetsu's dishes to Grandma's bowl, hoping she would enjoy the food and he could safely go through his birthday.
"Having a partner like Teacher Mokgetsu would indeed be nice; every meal would be filled with happiness." Nohara Rin took a bite and smiled blissfully.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, I want to learn this!" Obito shouted in his heart.
Upon hearing Nohara Rin's words, Obito very much wanted Mokgetsu to add cooking to their training plan.
"Eating Teacher Mokgetsu's cooking makes my youthful spirit burn even more vigorously." Might Guy gave a thumbs-up as he spoke.
With some culinary skills of his own, Kakashi nodded in agreement, Mokgetsu's cooking was so good he suspected there might be some special culinary Ninjutsu involved.
"Teacher Mokgetsu's cooking allows one to truly appreciate the essence of the ingredients." Shisui commented, each time he tasted Mokgetsu's cooking, it was an absolute delight for him.
"I'm just glad everyone enjoyed it." Mokgetsu replied with a warm smile.
The culinary skill had proven much more beneficial than some of the Master Level Skills; it was truly a charm enhancing magic.
After the meal, they tidied up the table, placed the cake on it, and began the gift-giving session.
"Custom-made tight-fitting outfit, specially tailored for you, wearing this for training will surely yield twice the result with half the effort!" Might Guy introduced as he took out a green tight suit slightly different from the one he was wearing, presenting it to Obito.
"Thanks, Guy, I truly appreciate the sentiment, I'll treasure it." Obito said with a smile as he accepted the gift.
He could tell Might Guy genuinely wanted him to wear the suit for training, but the suit's deadly green color was daunting for him.
"Here, happy birthday." Nohara Rin handed a piece of paper to Obito with a smile.
"It's a sketch!" Obito curiously brought it up to his eyes to take a good look, discovering it depicted the scene when they played together a few days ago.
There was him and Kakashi competing while fishing, and them fiercely contesting in shuriken throwing.
"Hey Rin, why didn't you draw yourself in here?" Obito looked left and right, but couldn't find Nohara Rin anywhere, only seeing himself and Kakashi, so he asked, puzzled.
With only him and Kakashi in the sketch, he thought it might as well just be him alone.
"Because that day you and Kakashi were so engrossed in playing together, you forgot about me, so I'm not in it." Nohara Rin's small face puffed up slightly as she spoke, seemingly a bit miffed.
"Huh? Rin, don't be mad, actually, it's because..." Obito was flabbergasted and gestured clumsily, unable to figure out how to explain.
Then he noticed Nohara Rin smiling.
With her left hand gently placed in front of her mouth, Nohara Rin took out a palm-sized sculpture with her right hand, handing it to Obito with a smile:
"I'm not mad at all, just joking; this is the real birthday present. Didn't you say you wanted to become the Hokage, Obito? I believe in you, so I've made you a preemptive rock sculpture."
Obito gazed upon Rin's hand, seeing a small, yet vividly lifelike sculpture perfectly capturing his smiling face.
Obito's mood instantly shifted from bewilderment to elation, as though the earthen sculpture in Rin's hand had turned slightly pink.
"Rin, thank you so much, I'll treasure it!" Obito nodded heavily as he accepted the sculpture.
Obito carefully stashed away the sculpture and the sketch; though the sketch didn't have Nohara Rin in it, it was nonetheless hand-drawn by her and deserved to be well kept.
"Obito, happy birthday, here's my gift." Shisui handed over a silver kunai to Obito.
"Isn't this the one I previously gave to you, Shisui? There's no need for this, although this kunai holds sentimental value for me, having given it to you, it has taken on a new significance." Obito waved his hand to refuse.
When he initially gifted the kunai to Shisui, he indeed felt a bit reluctant, as it was his first weapon for winning first place, especially under Kakashi's participation and Nohara Rin's watchful gaze.
But since it had been given away as a gift, the kunai became a testament to his friendship with Shisui, taking it back would not be nice.
"It's not the one you gave me, this is the one I got for placing first in a competition." Shisui explained.
"Isn't the Junior Ninjutsu Tournament held once a year?" Obito was a bit puzzled as it seemed Shisui was definitely eligible to participate with his age.
"Maybe the last competition was quite successful, now it's held twice a year, I remember you quite liked this kind of kunai, so when I spotted it, I entered and claimed another first place." Shisui replied with a relaxed smile.
Listening to Shisui, Obito felt like he wasn't competing for first place but doing some casual shopping.
"You were thoughtful, I really do like it. Thank you very much." Obito expressed his gratitude.
With Shisui's prowess, indeed there was no flaw in his story, as his participation in a Junior Ninjutsu Tournament would be akin to replenishing stock, casually using a Fire Release could dominate the competition.
"Now we both have first-place reward kunai, symbolizing the bond between the two Uchiha geniuses!" Obito grinned, clenching his fist.
Kakashi suppressed his urge to verbally spar with Obito and proceeded to present his gift.
"Happy Birthday." Kakashi said coolly, then handed a camera to Obito.
Obito's eyes lit up upon seeing Kakashi's gift, he'd always wanted a camera to capture the views they encounter on missions and daily life.
"Didn't know what to get, just saw the camera on sale at the shop, so I bought one." Kakashi appeared worried Obito might misunderstand, so he explained a bit.
For a moment, Obito couldn't tell if Kakashi's words were genuine or not. During the last mission, he mentioned wanting a camera, and Kakashi ended up gifting him a camera.
If it were Nohara Rin, he'd assume it was out of shyness, but with Kakashi, he couldn't be sure.
"My gift is also a kunai, but it's one I crafted personally, after gaining some experience from last time, this one looks much better." Mokgetsu smiled as he presented his gift, a white kunai etched with a dragon design.
Obito accepted the kunai, and even before inspecting it closely, he could feel the care Mokgetsu took in preparing this gift.
The kunai's shape was mainly similar to the standard ones, but its aesthetic far surpassed any regular kunai, with intricate stylish dragon engravings on both sides, detailed enough to animate the dragon's expression vividly.
After examining it carefully, Obito also noticed his name engraved on both sides of the kunai, with the Uchiha Clan Emblem carved on the grip.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, you've truly gone out of your way; spending so much time training us and meticulously preparing such gifts, this complex kunai must've taken a long time." Obito expressed his sincere gratitude to Mokgetsu.
Actually, when Shisui received his gift, Obito wished he could receive a similar one too. Last time, when Mokgetsu asked what gift he wanted, he actually wanted to say he desired something crafted personally by Teacher Mokgetsu.
But realizing the amount Mokgetsu had already sacrificed for him, Obito couldn't bring himself to say it, so he just mentioned he'd be happy with anything Mokgetsu gave.
"It wasn't too bad; I actually had a Shadow Clone make it. After all, there are indeed plenty of things to be busy with." Mokgetsu nonchalantly explained with a smile.
Following Mokgetsu's explanation, Obito felt even more touched, being capable of using Shadow Clone himself, he understood what it entailed.
Crafting with a Shadow Clone was just as exhausting as doing it himself, as the fatigue would eventually return to the body, and since the body was still busy with other stuff, it was setting exhaustion upon exhaustion.
Then Mokgetsu took out four photographs and handed them to Obito with a smile:
"Remember during the last mission how you regretted not bringing a camera, I managed to get some photos of the place, so you can record whatever you wish from here on."
These were photographs Mokgetsu took when he bought a camera back in Konoha and had his Shadow Clone go to the Land of Rivers to capture, the location was the same, just without people.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, thank you so much! I absolutely adore your birthday gifts!" Unable to contain his emotions, Obito hugged Mokgetsu tightly, with a mistiness appearing in his eyes.
To think Mokgetsu remembered about the desert scenery showed how unpredictable it was to Obito, as it was merely an offhand comment.
A splendid hand-forged kunai and four pictures allowed Obito to deeply feel Mokgetsu's care for him.