Three days later, at Hiromi's home.
Hiromi watched Rin hanging quilts to dry outside.
After being rejected on the basement stairs, she appeared half an hour later and said she chose to live in his house.
Hiromi didn't refuse. If he got annoyed, he'd just kill her. Getting killed by provoking a good-tempered person was also a type of experimental result.
But it didn't happen. She didn't pester him all day. Instead, she acted like a maid, thoughtfully taking care of Hiromi's daily life.
Except for asking every night before going to bed: Can you resurrect Yahiko?
Upon receiving Hiromi's answer of 'No,' she would smile gently and say, 'Okay, goodnight.'
Such a gentle and determined girl made Hiromi's home feel filled with a sweet atmosphere.
So, Hiromi chose...
—
The next day.
Kakashi arrived at the front of Hiromi's house under the smiling gazes of a group of Uchiha.
"Enter." Hiromi's voice rang out.
Kakashi walked in and immediately saw a young girl with short brown hair hanging clothes. That silhouette inexplicably reminded him of the past.
The girl turned around. That familiar face and curious gaze instantly made Kakashi freeze.
"Kakashi?"
"Rin?!"
Compared to Rin's surprise, Kakashi's was even greater. It was almost a fright, as if he might have a heart attack at any moment.
Before he could even recover, just as a look of immense joy appeared on his face, Rin put her hands on her hips and said crossly, "Why aren't you married yet?"
This immediately left Kakashi bewildered, a question mark slowly forming in his mind.
"You're already in your twenties and don't even have a girlfriend. You're the only one left in the Hatake clan, aren't you worried? Even if you're not, as your former teammate, I'm worried for you..."
Rin began nagging like an old woman, her words popping the immense joy in Kakashi's heart like a bubble.
...
Even after entering the house, Kakashi was still in a daze. However, upon seeing Hiromi, a bone-chilling cold welled up from the bottom of his heart, making him shiver and quickly regain his composure.
"Why did you call me here?" Kakashi asked.
"Now that you've discovered Rin is still alive, what do you want to do most?" Hiromi asked.
Kakashi was stunned. Then, with a hint of pleasant surprise, he asked cautiously, "Can you resurrect the dead?"
His father, Obito, his teacher, his teacher's wife...
Hiromi gave a smile. "Mention that again, and I'll kill you."
Kakashi: "..."
He thought the topic was over, but seeing that Hiromi seemed to be waiting for his answer, he thought seriously for a moment and said, "I want to be with Rin."
After saying that, as if afraid of something, he added, "Even half a day is enough."
"Oh."
Hiromi waved his hand, indicating that was all.
Kakashi walked out of the house with a strange expression, and then he was fed takoyaki by Rin.
"It's good, right? Hiromi likes eating them quite a bit. Although he doesn't say it, I can tell." Rin said somewhat proudly.
This little guy was still wrapped around her finger.
Kakashi: "..."
"Do you know..."
Kakashi glanced quietly at the house, and seeing no movement, he whispered into Rin's ear, "What kind of person he is?"
Rin nodded and looked at Kakashi with a somewhat strange expression.
Seeing no movement from the house, Kakashi lowered his voice even further and whispered to Rin, "He's very dangerous. Wait for a while, I'll try to get you out as soon as possible."
Rin's expression became even stranger. Then, as if she had realized something, her eyes widened, and she rushed into the house in a huff.
Kakashi watched blankly. Soon, he heard the conversation inside.
Rin: "How could you do this!"
Hiromi: "Hmm?"
Rin: "Didn't you say you wanted to see my choice yourself?"
Hiromi: "Mm."
Rin: "Then you proactively brought Kakashi over, that's interfering with my choice. Doing this is a violation. It's wrong."
Hiromi: "Hmm... (pondering)"
Rin: "Are you going back on your word? The great Konoha Tyrant actually can't afford to lose?"
Hiromi: "Hmm. (smiles)"
Rin: "..."
Hiromi: "Hmm? (go on)"
While Kakashi's heart was pounding with fear, Rin came out huffily, picked up the clothes, and snapped them loudly as she hung them, her movements full of resentment.
Then, remembering something, she rushed into the kitchen in a huff, stuffed all the takoyaki into Kakashi's hands, and then went back to continue hanging the clothes with a snap.
She, Rin, was determined to make a certain guy unable to eat a single bite of takoyaki today.
Hmph!
Kakashi: "..."
No, Rin, although I'm very grateful for the takoyaki, haven't you considered that if you do this, he might target me because of it?
...
Rin took good care of Hiromi, so much so that even though she asked Hiromi the same thing every day, Hiromi didn't feel annoyed but rather became somewhat accustomed to it.
And just like Hiromi, Sasuke had also grown accustomed. However, Naruto didn't take care of him. Instead, he clumsily caused him quite a lot of trouble. This made Sasuke very annoyed.
"How could a guy like you be the son of the Fourth Hokage!" This sentence was close to becoming Sasuke's catchphrase.
Naruto didn't remember Minato, so as long as Mama Mikoto and Papa Fugaku weren't mentioned, he would laughingly apologize to Sasuke and tell him not to be so narrow-minded.
This made Sasuke even more annoyed. How could someone be so bad at everything yet love to play around so much?
So frustrating!
Thus, one day, while Mikoto was preparing the lunchboxes, Sasuke immediately ran off with his own. Leaving home alone without the noisy Naruto by his side, he felt that even the air was sweet. For this reason, he even specifically changed locations to practice his Shurikenjutsu.
His older brother, Itachi, had gained a title during the Fourth Great Ninja War: "Surprise Attack." Although it wasn't as famous as "Wicked Eye Fugaku," "Shisui of the Body Flicker," or "Tyrant Hiromi," and not as formidable, he was still very proud.
This motivated him pick up his Shuriken practice again, throwing himself into it wholeheartedly.
One failure, two failures, three, four...
Time slowly passed, his face was covered in sweat, and he was focused without even realizing it.
Until...
Bang!
"I did it! Naruto..."
He turned his head, but no one was there, his excited expression instantly dimmed.
In silence, he lowered his head, retrieved his Shuriken, and continued practicing without a word, but he no longer had that enthusiastic focus from before.
As the sky grew dark, he returned home. Naruto ran over, complaining repeatedly that Sasuke hadn't waited for him, saying he had searched all day but couldn't find where he was, and vowed to himself that he would definitely find him tomorrow.
Seeing this confident look, Sasuke opened his mouth but ultimately didn't say a word.
Thus, he had no choice but to start a game of hide-and-seek with Naruto. But even though he didn't hide his presence or change his location, five days passed, and Naruto still couldn't find him.
Finally, on the sixth day, Sasuke casually mentioned to Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, that "there are quite a lot of mosquitoes behind the rock in the small woods at the eleven o'clock direction of the Uchiha Clan Compound," which finally allowed Naruto to find him in the evening.
The two of them practiced together again.
Although Sasuke was used to Naruto's presence, he still found him a bit annoying.
However, as Naruto's Chakra control improved, he gradually began to feel the pressure.
In the first month, Naruto went from being the dead last to being okay.
In the third month, Naruto entered the top ten and became a somewhat famous figure.
In the ninth month, Naruto rushed into second place, becoming the genius most likely to surpass the number one, Sasuke.
In the twelfth month, after three attempts, Naruto finally surpassed Sasuke for the first time and took first place. Even if Sasuke had a cold on the day of the exam, a win was a win.
From then on, Naruto became his arch-rival. The two competed and grew together, and time began to move faster.