Gathering

After leaving the Hokage, Issui headed straight for the barbecue restaurant. He was furious about what had happened today. He wondered which villain had reported him to Tsunade. "Hmph, if I catch him, I'll give him a taste of the Ten Great Tortures of the Qing Dynasty."

When we arrived at the barbecue restaurant, it was already packed with people, all waiting for Issui.

"What are you all doing standing here? Boss, bring us the biggest private room, and some raw meat..." Issui hurriedly invited everyone into the private room.

"Haha, I'm definitely going to have a big meal this time. Issui is so grateful for my hospitality..." Choji was the most excited of them all; barbecue was his favorite.

"No problem, everyone please eat whatever you like, it's on me today..." Issui said generously.

After everyone was seated, Issui noticed that Team Kakashi hadn't arrived yet, so he asked Asuma, "Where are Kakashi-senpai, Naruto, and Sakura?"

"Oh, it's like this, Kakashi is back from a mission today, so he'll be a little late. Naruto and the others are with him..." Asuma said.

"Oh, then everyone, please wait a little while..." Issui nodded.

"Issui, who's that girl next to you?" Ya looked at the pretty girl to Issui's left, somewhat unfamiliar with her. Who was she?

"Oh, this is my long-lost sister, her name is Utau. I hope everyone will help her in the future..." Issui replied.

"Ah, so that's how it is..." Ya suddenly realized. He thought this girl had seduced Issui girl, but he didn't expect her to be his sister. The brother is handsome, and the sister is very beautiful too.

Just then, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Kakashi's team finally arrived, except that Sai and Yamato were also there.

"Oh, everyone's here. Looks like you're late. Sorry. Issui, I heard you're treating today? Well then, you'd better have a good meal..." Kakashi said, looking at everyone in the private room.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, look at that girl, isn't she the one in the photo at your house...?" Naruto, with his sharp eyes, immediately spotted Rin and pointed at her, shouting loudly.

Red and Asuma exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves, "They're here..."

Kakashi followed Naruto's finger and his eyes widened instantly, his body trembling violently. Rin... was that Rin? She was alive? Wasn't she dead? How could she be here?

"Kakashi-sensei... Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto called Kakashi twice, but there was no response. His body was just trembling. What's wrong with Kakashi-sensei? He has such a strange expression.

"Naruto..." Sakura noticed that Kakashi was acting differently than usual and instinctively felt that something was wrong. She grabbed Naruto's arm to stop him from shouting.

Rin looked at the now-adult Kakashi, her heart swaying. He was still the same, always putting on a cool demeanor, just not as cute as he was as a child. But now, he had even more charisma, still very handsome.

"Hello..." Rin smiled slightly at Kakashi, her sweet smile blooming like a flower.

"Rin..." Kakashi mumbled blankly, his right eye instantly filling with tears, glistening droplets welling up.

"..." Everyone stared at Kakashi in disbelief. The cool Kakashi-sensei was actually crying today. What was going on?

Only Asuma and Kurenai gave bitter smiles. Men don't easily shed tears, but Kakashi was showing his true feelings now.

"Why are you all standing here? Please sit down. And Kakashi-senpai, let's sit down and talk about it..." Issui hurriedly said, gesturing for everyone to sit down.

"Um..."

Naruto and Sakura were momentarily dizzy and didn't know what to say. Like puppets, they sat down at the dining table at Issui's prompting.

"Excuse me... who are you...?" Kakashi, after being reminded by Issui, finally calmed down, stopped crying, and asked Rin.

"My name is Utau, and I'm Issui's sister..." Although Rin really wanted to acknowledge Kakashi, she held back her emotions. She knew that now was not the time.

"Oh..." Kakashi's expression immediately fell when he heard Rin's words. It wasn't Rin, it wasn't her. Even if Rin were still alive, she wouldn't be this young. As expected.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on? Why are you crying...?" Naruto voiced his confusion.

Asuma, seeing the puzzled young people, explained, "You should know that after we graduate from the Ninja Academy and become Genin, we're divided into teams of three, each led and taught by a Jonin instructor..."

"Hmm, but what does that have to do with what's happening now..." Sakura asked, puzzled.

Kurenai continued, "When Kakashi graduated from the Ninja Academy, he was also in a team with two other people. Jonin instructor was the late Fourth Hokage, a Jonin. Team Kakashi's two teammates were Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara. Obito and Rin both died in the Third Shinobi World War, leaving Kakashi all alone. And today Utau looks exactly like Rin from back then..."

"Oh..."

"So that's how it is..."

The boys suddenly realized that Kakashi-sensei had such an experience. And today, a girl who looked exactly like Kakashi's companion Rin appeared. Anyone would be tempted in that situation. Moreover, judging from Kakashi-sensei's behavior, he must have a special relationship with Rin.

"I see. Do I look a lot like Kakashi's... senpai's companion Rin?" Rin asked, feigning surprise.

"Um, I'm sorry, I startled you a bit..." Kakashi said apologetically to Rin.

"It's alright, I have a pretty good impression of Kakashi... senpai..." Rin said teasingly, sticking out her tongue.

Kakashi was stunned again. It was too similar; her mannerisms and demeanor were exactly the same as Rin's back then. Sigh, it was all his fault for not protecting Rin and for breaking his promise to Obito...

"Alright everyone, let's eat! The meat's almost burnt..." Issui interjected.

"Okay, I'm starting..." Choji the first to pick up his chopsticks, grab a few pieces of grilled meat, and put them in his mouth to chew. What a glutton!

"Hmph, I can't let you eat it all..." Naruto said, and started snatching it from Choji.

"!!!"

Ino and Sakura blushed with embarrassment. These two idiots were so presumptuous in front of so many people; it was outrageous! They would definitely teach them a lesson when they got back.

"Oh, right, Issui, let me introduce you to two people. This is Sai, a new member of Team 7, and this is Yamato, the vice-captain of Team 7, who assists me..." Kakashi introduced Sai and Yamato to Issui.

"Hello, my name is Issui Kanna. Since we're all sitting here, we're companions. Please let me know if you ever need my help..." Issui said with a smile.

"Please take good care of me..." Sai stood up and bowed to Issui. Was this the boy who gave Danzo a headache and made him afraid? He had often heard his name in Root before. Danzo had even ordered that he should never provoke him. If he was an enemy, the first thing to do was to run away.

"Hello..." Yamato had only heard Issui's voice but never seen him. He had often heard stories of Yishui's deeds circulating in the village, but he never expected him to be so young. What a heroic young man...

"Alright, everyone, let's eat. Don't be shy, it's my treat today. Eat whatever you like, otherwise you'll be disrespecting me..." Issui said.

"Sure, no problem, we won't skimp on your money..." Kiba laughed, joining Naruto and Choji's team.

"Don't worry about it, leave it to me. I'll definitely finish 200 pieces of grilled meat today. If I can't finish them, I'll walk upside down around Konoha 500 times..." Rock Lee said enthusiastically.

"Ah, Li, you really are the best. I'm so proud of you. Just like you, even if I can't finish eating 200 pieces of grilled meat, I'll still walk around Konoha handstand 500 times..." Kai said excitedly, tears streaming down his face.

"Guy-sensei..." Li and Kai hugged each other and cried.

"???"

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat; this pair of utterly ridiculous characters.

Lin was also somewhat ashamed. She hadn't expected Kai to still be the same as him. Now, the disciple he taught was exactly like him. Really, he didn't act like a teacher at all, teaching his disciple like this.

"!!!"

Issui's head suddenly felt a little dizzy. 200 yuan per person, that's 400 yuan for two people! How much are they going to spend today...? Ugh, why did I have to be so talkative? Didn't I see there are two clowns here? Not to mention Choji and Naruto, those two bottomless gluttons! Ugh, this is tragic. I hope Hinata won't scold me for being a spendthrift when we get back...

"Ugh..." Hong, who was eating barbecue, suddenly made a vomiting sound.

"What's wrong, Red? Are you alright...?" Asuma asked with concern.

"It's nothing, everyone don't need to worry about me..." Hong waved her hand, indicating that she was alright.

"Oh, it's good that you're alright..." Asuma was relieved.

"Ugh..." Hong made a vomiting motion again, but nothing came out.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell, Kurenai-sensei? Should I take you home to rest?" Hinata asked anxiously.

"Okay..." Hong nodded helplessly. She didn't know what was wrong with her. Lately, she felt nauseous and craved sour foods.

"Then I'll take Kurenai-sensei to rest first. Issui, you treat everyone to dinner..." Hinata helped Kurenai up and walked out.

"Then Hinata, I'm entrusting Kurenai to you..." Asuma said nervously.

"Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll definitely take good care of Kurenai-sensei..." Hinata nodded.

"Everyone, please continue eating. Kurenai-sensei isn't feeling well, so she should go home and rest. Let's keep eating..." Issui urged everyone to continue eating, his face beaming with smiles, but his heart was racing. Was Hong pregnant? If so, whose child was it? His own or Asuma's? He remembered that after he'd been with Hong last time, he'd discovered it was indeed her first time. If she hadn't been with Asuma, it meant it was his...

"Hey, Asuma, your relationship with Kurenai is getting better and better..." Might Guy teased.

Asuma blushed upon hearing this and waved his hand, saying, "No, no, I was just concerned about my companion..."

Lin was somewhat surprised by the news about Hong and Asuma. She hadn't expected the two of them to get together. She hadn't seen them so close back then. Things had really changed. So many years had passed, and everyone had changed a lot.