Want Me to Eat Dirt? No Way!

Even the usually aloof Orochimaru was no longer aloof. The world had become a wondrous place.

Hiko's mouth twitched. Barbecue again?!

It was not that Hiko was reluctant to spend the money; he simply did not have much left. Now that he had technically graduated, he could forget about subsidies from the village and clan. From now on, he could only rely on himself.

Before he started taking missions, Hiko would have no income at all.

If he treated them to barbecue now, would that not mean he would be starving for a while afterward?

"Cough, cough! The weather is nice today."

Hiko raised his head blankly and looked at the sun in the sky, then nodded with certainty. "Yeah, the weather really is nice."

With that, Hiko turned around and left, leaving Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru staring in stunned disbelief.

"Uchiha Hiko! Get back here!!!"

It took Tsunade and the other two a while to come to their senses. Hiko had plainly been messing with them. What nice weather? With a shout from Tsunade, Hiko immediately took off running!!

As he ran, Hiko muttered helplessly, "Bunch of bastards. Don't you know I'm poor right now? I have no income, and I haven't even started taking missions yet. You want me to eat dirt for a while afterward, huh? No way."

"Hiko, why did you think of hiding it?"

Inside the barbecue restaurant, Hiko, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya sat together eating barbecue. Tsunade and Orochimaru, in particular, kept their eyes mostly on Hiko.

Tsunade barely touched her chopsticks, while Hiko and Jiraiya ate quite a lot.

After all the fuss, the four of them still ended up at the barbecue restaurant. However, the person treating them was a huge surprise: it was actually Orochimaru!!!

Hiko was completely broke, while Jiraiya and Tsunade could not save money at all. In the end, the usually quiet Orochimaru stepped forward and offered to treat them, so the four of them headed to the barbecue restaurant together.

At that moment, Orochimaru felt that Hiko was hiding countless secrets. He wanted to uncover every one of them. Only then could he set his goal—surpassing Hiko.

At this point, Orochimaru was not yet as evil and gloomy as he would become in the future. He was still a pretty little boy!!

As for pretty, with Orochimaru's face and skin even fairer than Tsunade's, handsome simply did not suit him. Pretty was the best word to describe him.

Today's assessment had thoroughly stimulated Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. None of them had expected the gap between themselves and Hiko to be so enormous. Especially after Hiko used the Sharingan, they had been utterly crushed.

Though they had been caught off guard, could anyone else have done the same?

Would Orochimaru, Tsunade, or Jiraiya dare face the other three alone?

Although Orochimaru was very confident, he did not want to do something so foolish. Otherwise, he would be the unlucky one in less than two exchanges.

"Because I'm from the Uchiha."

It was not a question that was easy to answer, so Hiko could only give Tsunade a brief reply, and even that was rather vague. Walls had ears; certain things absolutely could not be discussed carelessly in a place like a barbecue restaurant, or they would cause serious trouble.

When that time came, even with the Third Hokage protecting him, the Uchiha would still cause Hiko plenty of trouble.

"?!!" Tsunade's eyes widened, unable to understand. Orochimaru gave her a calm glance and said, "Some things are better left unsaid. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe."

Tsunade did not understand, but Orochimaru saw through it more clearly than she did. Hiko smiled and nodded, glancing at Orochimaru. Sure enough, you're still the one I can least afford to let my guard down around.

However, judging by this, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya had not spread the news that Hiko had awakened the Sharingan. Even Jiraiya, who had the biggest mouth, showed no intention of doing so.

As for this news, Hiko could only hope that it would be best if it did not spread. If it did, he could only accept it. With the Third Hokage standing in front of him, that was his greatest support.

"Jiraiya!!!!"

Suddenly, a shriek rang out inside the barbecue restaurant, nearly blowing its roof off.

After Tsunade's attention shifted away from Hiko, she discovered that all the cooked meat had gone into Jiraiya's stomach. The guy's mouth was slick with grease from eating, while Orochimaru and Tsunade had barely eaten anything. Hiko had at least managed to grab some.

"Help! Cough, cough! Help!!!"

In the end, Jiraiya, who had kept hogging the food, received a beating from Tsunade. Orochimaru did not seem angry in the slightest. Delicious food held limited appeal for him; as far as he was concerned, as long as he did not go hungry, that was enough.

Hiko, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, on the other hand, were rather fond of food.

The thing Hiko had worried about did not happen. Neither the Third Hokage nor Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru spread the news of Hiko awakening the Sharingan. The Anbu members naturally kept their mouths shut; if they could not even manage that, they might as well be removed from the Anbu.

The news had not spread, which suited Hiko perfectly. The fewer people who knew, the better.

However, Hiko's troubles began. First, he had gained three little followers.

Back when I told you to come train, one of you was busy reading, one was busy sleeping and peeping at beautiful women bathing, and one was busy gambling. Now you can't leave my side for even a step. Is that really necessary?

Watching the three working hard nearby, Hiko grumbled inwardly in exasperation. They really were three people who did not know how to work hard unless they were provoked.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were one thing, but Orochimaru, why were you joining in too?

Complaints aside, Hiko still hoped the three of them could keep it up. After all, they would be on the same team in the future. If anyone was too weak and held the others back, that would not be good.

This was only a minor issue. Training alone was training, and training as a group of four was still training. They did not interfere with one another except during sparring sessions. The real trouble was still waiting for Hiko.

Because the four had applied to graduate early, they could not receive their forehead protectors directly from a teacher like the Advanced Class students. They had to collect them from the Hokage Office Building themselves.

Hiko brought Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya to the Hokage Office Building and entered the Hokage's Office.

"Teacher."

"Old Man Third!!" x3

"..."

Both Hiko, who had called out "Teacher," and the Third Hokage, who had been about to speak, were left speechless. Those three were far too in sync—opening their mouths and immediately calling him Old Man Third!!!