The restaurant was busy, and sharing tables was commonplace.
The middle-aged man thanked him, sat down opposite Makoto, and ordered mapo tofu over rice.
While waiting for his food, he casually glanced over the downright "spectacular" pile of empty bowls and plates in front of Makoto, then at his still-flat stomach.
That was one of the benefits of Life Return: no matter how much he ate, his belly never bulged. A nearly imperceptible flicker of surprise crossed the man's eyes.
Uchiha Makoto seemed to be engrossed in wolfing down his food, but inwardly, a warning bell rang, putting him slightly on edge.
Something's off.
This guy across from me is using the Transformation Technique.
His technique was exceptionally refined. His chakra fluctuations were so faint they were almost undetectable, and his disguise was flawless. Even the other Uchiha in the restaurant with decent sensory abilities hadn't noticed anything amiss.
But Uchiha Makoto was different. Between his eyes and the sensitivity to chakra and life force he had developed from hanging around Orochimaru-and getting screwed over by him-he still caught a trace of inconsistency.
Beneath that skin lay the outline of someone older, whose life force carried far more pressure.
And that faint, tightly contained presence was as vast and unfathomable as the sea... Despite his efforts to conceal it, it was anything but ordinary.
An expert.
And an incredibly powerful one at that.
Uchiha Makoto reached his conclusion immediately.
Someone in Konoha with this level of skill, playing at incognito visits...
He already had a pretty good idea who it was, but showed nothing on his face. He merely slowed his eating a little, freeing up more of his attention.
Soon, the middle-aged man's mapo tofu and rice arrived.
He took a bite, nodded, and struck up a casual conversation.