"So, you got the three of them to do all the dirty, tiring work for you, and in the end, they felt bad because they couldn't stay for dinner after you asked them to, so they all apologized? And then, for the whole afternoon, you barely did any work?"
Gently setting down the teacup in his hand, Hirohiko, who had finished bathing after Chiba, slowly sat down beside Chiba on the tatami outside the door of the newly repaired inner room and spoke.
"No way."
In response, Chiba picked up the teacup Hirohiko had set down, took a light sip, shook his head, and denied Hirohiko's conclusion.
"I noticed that you kept disappearing during the afternoon. The atmosphere was lively and everyone worked efficiently, but for some reason, you became harder and harder to spot. By the end, everyone was drenched in sweat, even Kakashi, but you seemed like you hadn't sweated at all."
Hearing this, Hirohiko also picked up his teacup. After taking a sip, he looked in the same direction as Chiba and spoke in an even tone.
Tch! Hearing that, Chiba clicked his tongue, but said nothing more. He simply sat with Hirohiko, looking at the old residence of the Uzumaki Clan and silently drinking tea.
"What do you think Teacher Kushina is trying to do by suddenly arranging all this?"
At that moment, Hirohiko set down his tea, glanced at the darkening overcast sky, and spoke.
He had finally asked the question he had most wanted to ask all day.
"Who knows..."
In response, Chiba also raised his head and looked at the sky. A cool breeze brushed past, stirring both their hair and carrying away Chiba's soft words.
"Who are you trying to fool?"
However, Hirohiko refuted Chiba's words—which practically screamed that he had no