A Meal

Konoha, Akimichi BBQ Restaurant.

Kakashi sat opposite Obito with a look of utter despair, his aura even gloomier than it had been before the exam.

"That guy Suifeng is really something else. To think he could actually pull off something like that—it's just too much!"

Regarding the feat Suifeng accomplished during the Chunin Exams, he was actually envious. Although he was unreliable, he still possessed the basic pride and sense of belonging inherent to the Uchiha. Suifeng's stunt at the Chunin Exams had resonated deeply with him; he wished he could have been the one standing at the exit of the Forest of Death, pointing at those genin and uttering, "You mortals!"

That aloof posture, that dashing demeanor—the way he showed off was truly unmatched.

The only flaw was that he had kicked Kakashi out of the running, which made him feel like he was losing face. After all, this was Kakashi; if you weren't going to give him face, you should at least give some to him. Kicking him out like that—what was that supposed to mean?

"Suifeng must have had his own reasons!" Rin, sitting to the side, said softly. "It wasn't just Kakashi this time; others didn't pass either. I heard there were unknown attackers. Maybe Suifeng was trying to protect everyone!"

"Rin, you are truly too kind!" The indignant expression on Obito's face vanished instantly.

They were only genin. While they knew the results of the Chunin Exams and had a rough idea of the process, they were unclear on the specific details.

Kakashi, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. "He defeated three attackers, kicked all the other candidates out, snatched every single scroll, and burned them to a crisp."

"Uh...!"

The atmosphere turned awkward instantly. That wasn't about protecting everyone; that was intentionally preventing everyone from passing the exam!

Just as this awkward silence settled in, Suifeng's voice reached the ears of the three.

"Yo, Kakashi, Obito, you guys are here too? Perfect, there's no room left—let's share a table!"

"Suifeng, you...!" Obito jumped up. The word "bastard" didn't make it out of his mouth because he saw Hideki and Haku standing beside Suifeng.

Although they weren't very close, they were all Uchiha and on the same team as Suifeng, so Obito recognized them.

"Brother Hideki, Sister Haku, you're here too!"

"That's right, Obito. We're here to celebrate Suifeng becoming a chunin!" Haku said with a smile. As Suifeng's teammate, she naturally knew these three were among the few "friends" Suifeng had in Konoha. Of course, thinking of Kakashi's encounter, she put the word "friends" in mental quotation marks.

Grilling meat with Obito and the others felt both novel and awkward for Uchiha Hideki and Uchiha Haku.

In Konoha, the Uchiha were an extremely insular clan. Although most of the clan's youth entered the Ninja Academy, the Uchiha's typical attitude made it hard to make friends. Someone like Obito was a rarity that only appeared once in a blue moon. Suifeng used to be the same way. Most of the time, Uchiha stuck with Uchiha, and after graduation, they went straight into the Military Police Force, remaining among their own kin. Unless it was wartime, they rarely performed missions with other village ninja, which only deepened the rift between the Uchiha and the village.

Hideki and Haku were the same. Although Haku had a pleasant temperament, she hadn't made any close friends outside the clan during her school days. This was a rare occasion for them to eat with outsiders, which made them both feel a bit uneasy.

Fortunately, Kakashi and Rin didn't talk much, and since they were young, the most boisterous one—Obito—was also Uchiha. Whenever he said something unpleasant, Suifeng would immediately shut him down, making the meal quite enjoyable.

However, Obito remained hung up on Suifeng kicking Kakashi out of the exam, bringing it up from time to time. Suifeng just smiled without answering, while Kakashi felt incredibly awkward.

On this matter, he had nothing to complain about. If you couldn't win, you couldn't win. No matter how you looked at it, he couldn't keep up with Suifeng's speed, and he had rejected the suggestion to team up with him. Wasn't being eliminated normal? Was there any need to keep bringing it up over and over again?

I'm not even bothered by it anymore, so why are you wasting your breath? You're just trying to stir up drama for attention!

"My strength was insufficient, so it's normal that I didn't pass the Chunin Exams. This has nothing to do with Suifeng!" Finally, Kakashi spoke up, putting an end to Obito's incessant chatter.

In the end, Suifeng paid the bill, claiming it was to comfort Kakashi's wounded heart, though in reality, he was playing the good guy using Fushan's wallet.

"Suifeng, this Kakashi is actually quite decent. Even though he's in a bad mood because of what happened, he's still very polite. He's a bit different from the rumors!"

On the way back, Haku couldn't help but bring up Kakashi.

"We Uchiha are also different from the rumors," Suifeng said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but when I was in school, I always felt like my classmates were ostracizing me."

"Hmph, that's because they're jealous of our Uchiha clan!" Uchiha Hideki said. "They know that once we awaken the Sharingan, we will surpass them, so they avoid us and fear us. Why, Suifeng, do you care about that?!"

"That's not it, but it just feels wrong. We're all in the same village, yet we act like strangers, and our relationships with each other aren't very good. It feels strange."

At this moment, he naturally wouldn't say anything profound; he was just raising a reasonable question from his own perspective, one that fit his age.

"Who knows? It's been like this for a long time. Who told us to have the Sharingan?" Uchiha Hideki said helplessly.

For two teenagers and one young boy, this topic was a bit too heavy.

"By the way, Suifeng, you're a chunin now and have set a record in the ninja world. I heard the clan wants to make you a squad leader. Don't forget about us when that happens!"

Haku suddenly spoke up. "I really envy you geniuses. To have such strength at such a young age."

"Me, a squad leader?!" Suifeng narrowed his eyes slightly. He had spent this entire time training and hadn't paid much attention to clan affairs, rarely even leaving the house, so he was naturally unaware of these developments.

However, a Military Police Force squad leader was no simple position; usually, only jonin could hold such a rank. He was only eight years old and had just passed the Chunin Exams—how could he possibly be a squad leader? Even if this were proposed, it likely wouldn't pass the clan's jonin meeting.

The clan's jonin meeting was much like Konoha's jonin meeting. In this world where strength was respected, having power meant having a certain degree of influence.

"Yeah, I heard the Great Elder proposed it, and the Third Elder agreed. They're planning to push it through at the next jonin meeting." Uchiha Haku's father was a jonin in the clan, so she was well-informed.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Suifeng said casually. "I'm only eight; what kind of leader would I be? Isn't that playing with the lives of the clan members? No way, I have to go find the Great Elder and make him retract this decision!"