Not only Shiki, but everyone present—even Mikoto's close friend, Kushina Uzumaki—looked at her speechlessly.
"Mikoto… that really does make it sound like you were thinking something bad about him in your heart. But you don't have to be that straightforward, you know?"
If you were being mischievous, you could have just kept it to yourself. Why did you have to say it out loud, idiot?
"Ugh!"
Only after being reminded did Mikoto realize what she had just said.
Fortunately, Shiki did not seem to think too much about it. He simply waved his hand casually.
"Alright, alright. I already get what you mean. You should head back first. Once this mission is over, I'll go."
"Mm!"
Mikoto nodded quickly.
It was hard to tell whether she was afraid Shiki might change his mind, or whether she was worried she might say something even more embarrassing if she stayed any longer.
After nodding, she did not say another word. She turned around and ran off directly.
"The head lady of the Uchiha Clan is actually pretty cute."
That comment came from Tsunade.
The Senju and the Uchiha had never gotten along, so even Tsunade, as a member of the Senju Clan, had always thought the Uchiha were a bunch of proud and difficult people.
But after seeing Mikoto, Tsunade had to admit that there were still decent people among the Uchiha.
"Hehe! That's exactly why she's my best friend!"
Kushina smiled proudly.
Looking at her expression, anyone who did not know better might have thought Tsunade had just praised Kushina herself.
Tsunade only rolled her eyes and said nothing more.
After greeting them, she left. After all, now that she had become Hokage, there were still plenty of things waiting for her.
For a while, only Kushina remained in the yard, along with Kurenai Yuhi, Rin Nohara, and Kakashi Hatake, who were now part of a three-man team.
"When are you leaving?"
Shiki looked toward Kushina.
After all, the real purpose of this trip was to help distract her. As for Shiki, he could leave at any time.
"Tomorrow. I'm going back to get everything ready first, but I specifically asked Lady Tsunade to assign me a mission that would take longer."
This trip to the Land of Demons was obviously not the kind of mission that could be completed in just a day or two.
Otherwise, it would not really serve the purpose of distracting her.
"Mm."
Shiki did not say much. He simply nodded.
At the same time, Kushina also turned and left, obviously planning to go back and pack.
Now, only the other three remained in the courtyard.
"I didn't expect you to actually join this team."
After watching Kurenai for a moment, Shiki turned to Rin Nohara and Kakashi Hatake at her side, sounding a little surprised.
But after thinking about it, it did not seem that strange.
Now that the war was over, the ninja world naturally had to return to taking on missions.
Kurenai herself was already a chūnin.
And Kakashi's team had lost Obito Uchiha, so Kurenai's presence was enough to fill that gap.
"It's just a pity…"
When it came to that grinning Obito Uchiha, Shiki actually thought fairly highly of him.
The moment those words left his mouth, both Rin Nohara and Kakashi Hatake looked a little sad.
"Obito…"
Kakashi clenched his fists tightly.
He still could not forgive himself for being the one Obito had saved back then.
As for Shiki, his reaction was rather normal.
After all, Shiki knew very well that Obito Uchiha was not dead.
Right now, he was probably still being deceived by that man from the Uchiha Clan.
"Alright, the past is the past. You two should go back and get ready."
Shiki waved a hand, not explaining anything further.
In any case, as long as Obito Uchiha was still alive, Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara would definitely meet him again someday.
"Kakashi, you stay. I'll take a look at your foundation in swordsmanship. As for Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara, you two should go back and prepare first. Come to me tomorrow to gather, and then we'll head to the Land of Demons together."
"Yes!"
Kurenai and Rin both nodded obediently before turning and leaving.
As for Kakashi, who had been left behind alone, he looked at Shiki with a serious expression.
At this point, Kakashi Hatake had already begun to emerge from the confusion caused by his father's suicide, and there was now a firm determination in him to become stronger.
"I'll study hard, Shiki-sensei!"
"Mm."
Shiki nodded and did not reject the way Kakashi addressed him.
"Ah-choo!"
Meanwhile, on the other side, inside the underground base of the Uchiha…
Obito Uchiha, who was doing squat training as part of his recovery, suddenly sneezed.
"It has to be Rin and that bastard Kakashi thinking about me!"
Even over something this small, Obito still found himself thinking about his old teammates.
He really missed them too much.
At that moment, there was still a White Zetsu clone sitting on Obito's shoulders.
Hearing Obito's words, the White Zetsu clone looked completely bored and chopped him lightly on the head.
"Stop dreaming and focus on your recovery training. Otherwise, just walking properly is going to be a problem."
The White Zetsu clone sat on Obito's shoulders to increase the weight he had to bear during training.
"Yeah!"
Obito nodded with a serious face.
This kind of recovery training was undeniably boring, but as long as he imagined the day he could reunite with the beloved Rin and that annoying Kakashi, he felt full of motivation.
Probably the one thing that bothered Obito the most right now was that his lower body still had not fully recovered.
Still, Obito had heard that once he recovered enough, that old man who looked like dead wood would treat him.
Of course, that was just Madara Uchiha fooling him.
The cells of Hashirama Senju were precious enough as they were. The fact that Obito Uchiha had been restored to this extent was already impressive.
And after that, to deliberately waste more of those cells just to restore Obito's "dick-kun"?
Sorry, but Madara Uchiha was not that generous.
But Obito did not know any of this.
He was still immersed in the fantasy of reuniting with his friends.
He did not notice anything strange at all, and instead happily continued doing squat training so he could recover as quickly as possible.
Just wait, Kakashi. When the time comes, I'll show you how amazing I am now!
These past few days, Madara Uchiha had also started teaching Obito ninjutsu.
Although Obito did not understand why the other side would teach him ninjutsu for no reason, he did not ask too many questions and simply learned everything seriously.
Obito Uchiha was full of anticipation.
When they met again, Kakashi would definitely be stunned speechless after seeing how strong he had become.
The moment he thought of that, Obito felt his motivation surge even more.
"What are you giggling for? Train properly."
The White Zetsu clone sitting on Obito's shoulders noticed the silly grin on his face and immediately smacked him on the head without hesitation.
"Haaah!"
After spending so many days here, Obito had already become familiar with this place, and he was used to the existence of the White Zetsu clone.
But every single time he got hit, it still—
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