Chapter 0039: Kakashi's Inquiry

Chapter 0039: Kakashi's Inquiry

Damn, this is toxic! At this moment, my face turned green with anxiety.

All three options were extremely poisonous! Especially the first and third options—if I actually said them out loud… Even Minato, with his good temperament, might end up wanting to beat me up on the street.

And if, hypothetically, Minato didn’t take action, if these words reached his fiery-tempered wife, I’d probably get torn apart! That hot-tempered lady was no less fiery than my beautiful teacher!

So, the only choice left was to pick the “least harmful” option. After all, it’s human nature to go after the soft targets.

Comforting myself with that thought, I took a deep breath and said, “Minato-senpai, actually… Kakashi is, uh… a perverted guy. Be careful when you’re in the bath with him!”

[Congratulations, host. You have completed the option and received the advanced sealing technique talent reward.]

Minato’s smile froze on his face, and he said in disbelief, “Hiroto-kun, are you joking?”

“You can just treat it as a joke!” I couldn’t bear to look him in the eye anymore, so I hurriedly threw out the words and turned to leave.

But my reaction only made Minato more suspicious.

‘Is my proud disciple really a pervert? No, that can’t be! But then again, Hiroto-kun wouldn’t say such things without a reason. And come to think of it, Kakashi does seem pretty indifferent to girls. Rin has dropped hints so many times, but he doesn’t even blink. This is interesting!’

As Minato turned to leave, I noticed his steps seemed heavier. Looks like he’s really going to give it some thought.

I had no idea the impact my words had on Minato’s mind. Even if I did, there was no way to retract them now. The more I explained, the worse it would get.

Back at the barbecue shop, I slumped down in my seat, feeling dejected.

What I had just done was terrible—slandering someone like that. It wasn’t something a man of integrity should do. Even if the system pressured me, wrong is wrong.

Across from me, Tsunade noticed my mood and said, “Did you go after him to return the scroll?”

“Yes,” I nodded, although things hadn’t exactly gone as planned.

“He didn’t take it?” Tsunade took a sip of her drink and added, “Since he gave it to you, just keep it. No need to be so polite.”

To Tsunade, Minato and I were both from the same lineage under the Third Hokage, like brothers. So there was no need for formality. But she didn’t know I was more concerned about the damage I’d done to a good guy’s reputation than about the scroll.

Before I could dwell on it, though, Kakashi—the very person I had wronged—suddenly got up from his table and walked over to me. “Um, Hiroto-kun?”

“Ah? Sorry, I didn’t mean it!” I blurted out the moment I saw him, startled and instinctively apologizing.

“Uh, what was that about?” Kakashi looked at me, confused.

“No, nothing.” I quickly caught myself. There was no way Kakashi could have known what I’d said about him. “Kakashi-senpai… is there something you need?”

“Just call me Kakashi,” he said, scratching his head. “Actually, I wanted to ask you about the Lightning Release technique, Chidori. I was wondering…”

“You want to learn Chidori?” I immediately understood where he was going with this. Trying to make up for what I’d done, I didn’t hesitate to say, “Sure, I’ll lend you the scroll right now.”

Kakashi looked surprised at first, then bowed deeply. “Thank you so much.”

He clearly hadn’t expected me to be so generous. He probably thought I’d be arrogant or something because of the talent I had.

“No problem, haha.” I chuckled awkwardly and handed him the scroll from my ninja tool pouch. If Kakashi ever found out I’d tricked him earlier, I doubted he’d be this polite.

After Kakashi left, Tsunade gave me a playful look and said, “You’re really generous. Giving away an A-rank technique just like that?”

I scratched my head and said, “It’s nothing special. Not a big deal.”

Nothing special?!

Tsunade looked at me, a black line forming on her forehead. “Do you think advanced techniques grow on trees? And it’s something you created yourself, a unique technique.”

“Uh, just consider it a thank-you gift for the scroll from Minato-senpai,” I said, trying to explain it away.

“You…” Tsunade shook her head, not wanting to argue further. She had already figured we were from the same lineage, so if I gave it away, I gave it away. She could only grumble about it.

The atmosphere grew quiet again as we all continued to enjoy the barbecue.

After we’d eaten and drank our fill, Kurenai suddenly turned to me and asked, “Hey, Hiroto. I’m going shopping for clothes with Tsunade-sensei and Shizune later. Want to come with us?”

I immediately shook my head, rejecting the offer. I had zero interest in being a pack mule for a shopping trip.

“Alright then,” Kurenai said, not seeming too surprised by my refusal. “But since we’re officially ninjas now, we should update our clothes. What kind of clothes do you like? I can bring something back for you.”

And I could see it coming… a weird option to choose.