Sigh...
It seemed Chiba had a whole pile of problems too. No wonder he couldn't devote so much time and energy to the expansion plan.
During this time, he hadn't just been conducting research.
For the sake of his close friend, he had probably put in quite a bit of effort as well.
Watching Chiba slowly lower his hand, worry written across his face, Kakashi pressed his lips together and suddenly understood something.
What came to mind was what he had happened to hear about the Uchiha Clan genius before him, and the reasons why he had been locked in the confinement room.
And Hirohiko... was it because of Nao?
At that thought, a flash of melancholy passed through Kakashi's heart.
Still, this was Chiba after all. To think he had managed to persuade the Uchiha Clan—Minato-sensei truly hadn't misjudged him.
Choosing Chiba as the Hokage Assistant had truly been the right choice!
After that moment of melancholy, Kakashi could not help but sigh inwardly.
"Kakashi, can I ask you to do something?"
Just as Kakashi was sighing to himself, Chiba suddenly turned to him and gave a slight bow, actually assuming a posture of request.
"What are you doing?"
Kakashi frowned and hurriedly spoke.
To be honest, he was a little unhappy. Chiba's formal manner of asking felt too distant. No matter what, they lived together and saw each other all the time. In Kakashi's heart, Chiba was a comrade and friend as close to him as Obito and Rin, as were Hirohiko and Yukina beside them.
Obito had taught him the meaning of comrades and made him begin to dislike such distant, formal gestures between companions.
Yet at the same time, he knew that if Chiba was making such a request, it had to be something important and