After confirming it wasn't poisoned, Hideki took a satisfying sip as well.
No question about it, a mouthful of iced watermelon juice in the middle of summer was pretty refreshing.
As Hideki gulped it down, he secretly sized up Nonō.
She seemed very gentle, the kind of person who could run an orphanage.
But Hideki didn't dare let his guard down. After Nonō washed her hands of the business and opened an orphanage, he could always volunteer there if he had nothing better to do.
But for now, forget it...
While sipping the iced juice Nonō had given him, Hideki quietly became wary.
Nonō was still a Root spy, and one of the highest rank at that.
What is Danzo trying to pull this time?
Hideki's expression turned strange. Had Danzo switched to the family approach? Was he planning to make him the first something-or-other at Nonō's orphanage?
Wait...
Could she be here to find someone higher up...?
For some reason, that thought suddenly popped into Hideki's head.
What if—if, hypothetically, if that little girl really was Mei Terumi, here in Konoha for training or something...
Then this mission was about to get interesting!
Hideki grinned. Minato had casually found a mission for Team 7, and it had hooked this many fish?
Just then.
"Hideki, the client's coming down." Kakashi, who had been watching the staircase, suddenly spoke.
Hideki froze for a moment, then turned to look. Sure enough, it was the "father and daughter" who had claimed they were tired and needed an afternoon rest.
Thump, thump, thump. Hideki's heartbeat gradually accelerated.
Red team contestant: Nonō, Root's ace spy.
Blue team contestant: Hyuga Ze, suspected ace spy from Kirigakure—anyone capable of bringing Mei Terumi out for training had to be someone special.
If his guess was right, a grand