Interlude: Kuro's birthday 1

Nineteen years ago, Konoha's Kakashi family

The room was dimly lit, with twilight seeping in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a faint glow.

Obito sat cross-legged at the table, his face bearing a serious expression that was completely different from his usual demeanor.

That expression looked somewhat out of place on his still slightly chubby face.

Let's talk about the preparations everyone has made.

Anyone want to be the first?

"Me! Me!!"

In the dimly lit room, a green bodysuit swayed incessantly.

"Okay, you can start first, Kai!"

"Ouch!"

Kai responded enthusiastically, then suddenly stood up, his eyes shining as he looked at the crowd before him:

"If I had to choose a birthday gift for Kou, it definitely needs to be something that fits a youthful style!"

A gift that ignites the passionate flame of youth within him, allowing him to feel the warmth and power of life every morning he wakes up!

Everyone looked at him speechlessly.

Anko rolled her eyes, Lin smiled awkwardly, Asuma turned her face to the side, and Red lowered her head, pretending to look at her nails.

Kakashi leaned against the corner of the wall, his eyes half-open and half-closed, as if he were about to fall asleep at any moment.

Obito slammed his hand on the table and nodded in agreement.

"Great theme! Tell me, what birthday present did you prepare?"

Kai smiled confidently and suddenly pulled a pair of huge dumbbells from under the table.

He held the dumbbells to his chest, his voice filled with burning sincerity:

What could be a better gift to express the sweat and toil of youth?!

Every morning and every evening, Kota uses these dumbbells to exercise his body and hone his will!

As he holds them up, drenched in sweat, he will surely feel the burning passion of youth emanating from this gift, and live an unforgettable life filled with the sweat of youth—"

"Pass!"

Obito slammed his hand on the table again, ruthlessly interrupting Guy.

"Huh? Why?"

Kai turned his head blankly, the dumbbells still held in front of his chest, his face full of confusion.

"Do you even need to ask? Who's the kind person who gave dumbbells as a birthday gift?"

"Kou already works hard enough studying every day; birthdays are for resting and relaxing."

Obito rolled his eyes and muttered speechlessly:

"Besides, he already has dumbbells of various sizes at home, so this gift you gave him is basically useless, isn't it?"

So pass!

"How... how could this be...?"

Kaden turned ashen-faced, and the dumbbells slipped from his hands, hitting the floor with two dull thuds.

He silently walked to a corner of the room, squatted down, and started drawing circles on the floor.

"Youth..."

Everyone tacitly turned their gaze away, ignoring Kai.

Anko shrugged and shook her head with a look of disgust:

"Seriously, who gives dumbbells as a birthday gift to a friend?"

"That guy Kai is just doing it all according to his own preferences, without considering Koko's interests at all. What a big idiot."

Hearing Anko's words, Obito an eyebrow:

"From what you're saying, you seem very confident about your gift."

"Hmph, of course!"

Anko removed her hand from the table, which had been supporting her chin, and pulled a coupon from her ninja tool pouch, slapping it on the table.

"When it comes to understanding the hobby of knocking, who here knows it better than me, this fellow shop-exploring buddy?"

She put her hands on her hips and said confidently:

"This is a limited-edition free voucher from the best dango shop in Konoha. I redeemed it after making 500 purchases in the past six months, so it's super precious."

With this, he can eat as many expensive dumplings as he wants without worrying about money!

At this point, Anko proudly raised her head:

"This is absolutely the best birthday gift I could give you!"

"Pass!"

"Huh? Why?!"

The smugness on Anko's face froze instantly, her bright eyes widened in disbelief as she questioned Obito.

Obito looked at her and said speechlessly:

"Is that even a question? Don't forget, Kou goes to the dumpling shop almost every day, and he's already stockpiled a ton of coupons."

I've seen plenty of the same thing you sent him at his house already.

He paused, looking at Anko's increasingly stiff little face, and then delivered the final and most fatal blow:

"Besides, if I remember correctly, most of the restaurant visits you two made in the past six months were at your request, right?"

Is this really an inappropriate birthday gift?

"Uh, this, that..."

The dissatisfaction on Anko's face instantly melted away like cream, and her ears turned red, the color spreading down to her cheeks.

She stammered a few words, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, and finally wisely Earth Flow to a corner, squatted down next to Kai, and silently began to draw circles on the floor.

Obito looked at the seemingly silent crowd before him and sighed helplessly.

"Hey everyone, does anyone else want to share their thoughts?"

The rest of the people looked at each other, and no one took the initiative to stand up.

Lin lowered her head, her fingers twirling a strand of short brown hair, as if she was hesitating about something.

Asuma and Red exchanged a glance, clearly neither of them had made up their minds.

Obito, Obito's gaze swept around the room and finally landed on Kakashi was sitting in the corner looking like it was none of his business.

At that moment, Kakashi was sitting at the table, his head turned away, looking as if to say, "This has nothing to do with me."

Obito looked at him, pursed his lips in annoyance, then, as if he had thought of something, a wicked smile appeared on his lips:

"You're the one, Kakashi! Tell us about the gift you've prepared!"

"Ah, why me?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"It's your turn to speak, why are you talking so much!"

"Tsk."

Kakashi clicked his tongue in annoyance, reluctantly stood up, and lazily said under the curious gazes of everyone:

"The gift I prepared isn't anything particularly useful, it's just—"

"Pass!!"

"Hey, I haven't finished yet, Obito, what are you doing?!"

Seeing Kakashi's displeased expression, Obito waved his hand and said confidently:

"Come on, I know even if you don't say it. I saw it when I came into your house. The birthday present you're giving is a cookbook, right?"

Is this all the gift you gave your friend? And you call yourself Konoha's number one genius? What a disappointment.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and said angrily:

"Ultimately, your purpose in giving this gift is to teach Kou how to cook, so you'll have an excuse not to come to your house for meals, right? What a despicable guy!"

"You freeloader, you have the nerve to call me that?!"

Seemingly having his thoughts exposed by Obito, Kakashi was momentarily speechless, then glared at Obito in a fit of anger and embarrassment.

"You're putting on quite the airs here, tell me what gift you've prepared?"

"Well... it's better than yours anyway!"

"Then tell me! I think you haven't thought it through!"

After saying that, Kakashi walked up to Obito, grabbed him by the Obito, and dragged him towards the door.

"Why are you talking about such pointless things in my house? Get out of here right now, I need to focus on my spiritual practice!"

"Hey, Kakashi, wait! The meeting isn't over yet! Rin and the others haven't spoken!"

"Don't pull my collar, it hurts!!"

"Who cares about you? Get out of my house right now!!"

Lin watched the two arguing again and shook her head helplessly.

She first glanced at Red and Asuma, who were looking at each other in bewilderment, then lowered her head and silently put the gift box she hadn't had time to take out back under the table.

It was a square box tied with a light purple ribbon, which was tied into an exquisite bow, showing that a lot of thought had been put into it.

"Looks like I'll have to wait until Kou's birthday to bring out the gift."