Konoha was brightly lit beneath the night sky.
Gu Qi had just escaped from the hospital. He strolled down the bustling street, looking around as if searching for something.
"Ha, Yakiniku Q! I finally found you."
At last, he spotted his target, and his eyes lit up.
"I want this, this, and this."
Finding a seat, Gu Qi picked up the menu and started ordering everything in sight.
He'd been stuck eating bland food at the hospital every day for a month. His stomach had been craving a good meal for ages.
Although it was the dinner rush, it didn't take long for the food Gu Qi had ordered to arrive.
"Damn Kakashi. This time, I'm not stopping until I eat you into bankruptcy," Gu Qi muttered as he carefully grilled the meat.
If Kakashi hadn't been keeping such a close eye on him, Gu Qi wouldn't have spent the entire month cooped up in the hospital.
If he'd been able to go home and drink some Secret Brew, he'd have been back on his feet and causing trouble around Konoha by now.
"Hey, when did little Gu Qi get discharged?"
Just as Gu Qi was happily stuffing himself, a familiar voice startled him.
He stiffly turned his head and saw a familiar figure. His heart gave a nervous thump.
"Big Sister Kurenai, Asuma...brother." He'd originally meant to call Asuma "uncle," but after seeing the amused look in his eyes, Gu Qi quickly changed his mind.
Kurenai Yuhi looked at Gu Qi in surprise. "Little Gu Qi, weren't you injured and staying in the hospital? Why are you here eating barbecue? Are you alone? Where's Kakashi?"
Gu Qi's eyes darted around as he bluffed, "Haha, I've been discharged! So Kakashi brought me here to celebrate with some barbecue!"
"Where's Kakashi?" Asuma asked, narrowing his eyes.
Gu Qi's eye twitched. He spun another lie. "You know how unreliable Kakashi can be. We were eating just fine when he suddenly said he wanted to read the latest edition of Icha Icha Paradise, then left."
"I ran into Kakashi not long ago. I heard he was looking for you." Asuma smiled faintly, exposing Gu Qi's lie.
"..." Gu Qi rolled his eyes. Why was he so unlucky?
"Little Gu Qi, did you sneak out? You shouldn't have. You were badly injured, and if you don't get proper treatment, you could suffer lasting complications," Kurenai Yuhi said with concern.
As one of Kakashi's friends from the same year, Kurenai Yuhi cared a great deal about Gu Qi, Kakashi's only family.
Gu Qi immediately felt put out. He'd gone to all that trouble to escape, and now Kurenai was lecturing him too.
"Big Sister Kurenai, can you let me finish eating first? I promise I'll go home as soon as I'm done." With no other choice, Gu Qi tried to work his cuteness with his tiny frame.
"Well...all right!" Seeing Gu Qi's pitiful expression, Kurenai Yuhi's heart melted on the spot.
Asuma's eyelid twitched. He'd been sore about Gu Qi calling him "uncle" earlier. Now that Kurenai had been won over so quickly, he decided to stir up some trouble.
"In that case, Kurenai, you stay here with little Gu Qi while I go look for Kakashi. He must be frantic by now, not knowing where Gu Qi is." Asuma gave Gu Qi a smug look through narrowed eyes.
Gu Qi was speechless. How long would this cycle of revenge go on? He'd remember this.
Realizing he wouldn't be able to get away, Gu Qi could only continue eating and drinking in a foul mood.
He had no idea when he'd get another meal like this.
Watching Gu Qi turn his frustration into an appetite, Kurenai Yuhi shook her head with an amused smile.
"You've got some nerve, drugging Bru!"
By the time Gu Qi had eaten his fill, Kakashi had finally arrived with Asuma.
"Hic! Enough talk. Pay up!" Gu Qi said imperiously.
Kakashi's eyelid twitched. If Gu Qi weren't still injured, Kakashi would probably have already laid into him.
"...Ma'am, the bill, please." Kakashi had no choice. He couldn't hit Gu Qi or scold him, so he could only pay up.
"Thank you for dining with us. Your total comes to one hundred thousand and one hundred. I'll waive the extra hundred," the proprietress said with a pleasant smile, materializing behind Kakashi.
"Gasp..."
Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi couldn't help drawing in sharp breaths. How much did you have to hold a grudge to eat this much?
"H-how much?" A bead of cold sweat ran down Kakashi's forehead.
"One hundred thousand ryo, sir!" the proprietress replied, still smiling.
Kakashi looked at Gu Qi's innocent face. His gaze slowly grew terrifying.
"Sir, you can pay, can't you? We're a small business, and we don't offer credit!" The proprietress kept smiling, but Kakashi felt a hint of menace in the air.
Kakashi swallowed nervously and stiffly pulled out his wallet.
"That's not enough, sir!" The proprietress glanced at Kakashi's wallet, still smiling, while the menace in the air grew stronger.
"Asuma, lend me some!" With no other choice, Kakashi had to ask Asuma for help.
Asuma was speechless too, but he could only pull out his own wallet.
"Still not enough!" the proprietress said, her smile never wavering.
Kakashi and the others had money, of course. It was just that nobody carried such a large amount as one hundred thousand ryo around with them.
In the world of Naruto, one ryo was equivalent to ten yen, or roughly one yuan in Gu Qi's previous life. In other words, one hundred thousand ryo was about the same as one hundred thousand yuan.
Even in Gu Qi's previous life, not many people carried a hundred thousand yuan around with them.
"Thank you for your business! Please come again!"
Outside Yakiniku Q, the proprietress cheerfully saw Gu Qi and the others off.
In the end, Kakashi managed to scrape together enough money to pay Gu Qi's bill.
"Thanks for the help, Guy. I'll pay you back tomorrow," Kakashi said to everyone.
If Might Guy hadn't happened to pass by after turning in a mission, Kakashi would have nearly dropped to his knees and begged them to let him pay later.
"Haha, it was nothing," Might Guy said nonchalantly.
Might Guy looked at Gu Qi and gave him a thumbs-up. "Little Gu Qi, you're amazing! I never thought you'd achieve so much at such a young age. That's the power of youth!"
As he spoke, tears of youth streamed down Might Guy's face.
"..." Gu Qi was speechless. He felt like staying here any longer would make him lose IQ points.
"No! Little Gu Qi is working so hard, so I can't slack off either. I've decided—I'm going to run five hundred laps around the village. My lifelong rival, let's chase after the footsteps of youth together!"
"Ah?" Kakashi looked around in confusion. "Was someone just talking?"
"Truly worthy of being my lifelong rival! I have to keep working hard!"
After Might Guy finished clutching his head and wailing, he ran off with tears in his eyes.
As he ran, Gu Qi could still hear Guy sighing about youth.
"..." For some reason, Gu Qi felt as if a whole mouthful of complaints were stuck in his throat with nowhere to go.
"Let's go!" Seeing that Guy had gone far off, Kakashi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Qi had no choice but to obediently follow Kakashi toward the hospital.
"Tell me, what were you really trying to do by sneaking out this time?" Kakashi asked.
Kakashi knew Gu Qi very well.
Gu Qi was restless and always on the move, sure, but he wouldn't go to all that trouble to escape from the hospital without some secret reason.
"What? Look at my innocent eyes." Gu Qi put on an utterly guileless expression.
"..." Kakashi was now certain Gu Qi was hiding something.
"Fine!"
Seeing Kakashi continue to stare at him, Gu Qi could only give in. "I did have something to do while I was out!"
"Spit it out!" Kakashi was a man of few words.
Gu Qi glanced around, then leaned in and spoke in a hushed, furtive voice. "Well, I was planning to go back and use Dad's scrolls to research a medicine that could heal injuries quickly without any side effects."
"Hm?" Kakashi's gaze sharpened. "Is that true?"
Gu Qi nodded. "Of course!"
"Do you understand what that would mean?" Kakashi stared solemnly at Gu Qi.
Gu Qi remained composed. "Of course I do. It would mean a new revolution. And it would also mean endless danger."
"If you understand that, why research it? You should know that without enough power, any change will cost lives," Kakashi said sternly.
Gu Qi shrugged. "That's what I have you for."
"Haah." Kakashi sighed. "My strength is limited, and the village isn't as simple as you think. Give up on it, at least until you have absolute power."
"What do you think?" Gu Qi asked in return.
Kakashi stared at Gu Qi for a long time before finally giving in. "All right, you can keep researching it. But..."
For the first time, Kakashi spoke in a stern tone. "You absolutely cannot reveal it outside the house without my permission. Remember, that's my one and only condition."
"Okay!"
Before you continue