A cloud of white summoning smoke billowed within the dim, damp confines of Ryuchi Cave.
Cobra's voice rang out piteously from the depths of her den.
"My chakra can only maintain your summoning for one hour."
"Any longer and I'll be in grave danger."
"My neighbors aren't exactly the friendly type."
'Is that so?'
Running out of chakra was indeed a dangerous prospect in a place where only the strong survived.
Motomu understood Cobra's desire to preserve her strength.
"Give me the locations."
"Eh? Huh?"
Motomu rode Right Eye out of the cave, flipping through a small map marked with the locations of everyone who had ever crossed Cobra.
After some 'friendly' persuasion, Motomu and Cobra had successfully reached an agreement.
Cobra agreed to extend the summoning time to one hour each in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
In exchange, Motomu had to protect her by clearing out all threats in her immediate vicinity.
*Boom!*
Inside a cavern, a black giant python as thick as a water barrel had just raised its head when it was slammed into the earth by Psychokinesis.
Stalactites from the ceiling accelerated downward, pinning the thrashing snake's head to the floor.
[ARBOK (LEVEL 22) HAS DIED]
[RIGHT EYE (LEVEL 26) EXP +3]
'The experience is a bit low.'
Ever since gaining 20 points from the defeat against Garaga, Motomu didn't care much for these small fry anymore.
Right Eye's level 26 experience bar was now halfway full.
Motomu calculated that if he cleared out all the large snakes in the surrounding grid, reaching level 30 shouldn't be a problem.
He would have to work a bit harder these days and push Right Eye to put in more effort.
The hour passed quickly.
Once Motomu was teleported away, sounds of swallowing echoed through the dark, eerie Ryuchi Cave.
Amidst the gulping, a muffled, distorted whimper could be heard.
"Can't let it go to waste..."
Time flew by.
Over the course of a month, while Right Eye's experience bar edged closer to level 30, Motomu's custom-made ninja sword also arrived at the shop today.
*Knock, knock!*
After two knocks, Motomu swung the door open.
Outside, little Anko, Obito, and Rin were waiting.
Since it was Saturday and the Academy was out, they seemed to have agreed to visit him.
Guy didn't come, according to the three of them.
He was recently busy learning a secret technique called the Eight Inner Gates from his father.
Motomu had little interest in a technique like the Eight Gates, which required a long rest after a single burst of raw power.
On the other hand, he actually wanted to check in on Kakashi and see how his missions were going.
After all, it had been many days, and there was still no news about the team.
If worst came to worst, he could just grab Kakashi and find someone else to form a team.
Chatting about village happenings, the four of them, led by Anko, strolled to Konoha's newly opened food street.
They came out after taking a full lap.
Little Anko's hands were full of sweets and snacks.
Motomu watched her cheeks bulge as she ate, looking completely blissful.
He felt a sense of impending doom.
With that kind of appetite, it was fine during a child's growth spurt, but once she grew up...
He had certainly seen the round version of Anko in the anime.
Little Anko seemed to notice Motomu's gaze and stepped back warily.
"What are you looking at? Don't even think about stealing these."
Motomu shook his head and laughed.
"It's nothing. I just thought of some Akimichi ninja."
Standing nearby, Obito swallowed the oden in his mouth and added, "My brother means you're going to get fat."
"No, I won't!"
Anko glared at Motomu and took another aggressive bite of a dango.
Rin giggled, covering her mouth. Holding a snack box, she suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh right, I heard Kakashi is back from his mission. Should we go see him?"
"That arrogant jerk?"
"Forget it."
Obito curled his lip and turned his head away.
Suddenly, he vaguely heard others talking about Kakashi as well.
"Kakashi? You mean that guy?"
"Yeah, how can someone be like that?"
"It's impossible to do missions with him!"
In Obito's line of sight, two shinobi were leaning against a roadside tree, chatting.
Obito's ears perked up instantly.
"Hey! Who are you talking about?"
He rushed over in a few strides, startling the two chatting shinobi.
Seeing it was just a kid with goggles, they were about to shoo him away, but after seeing Motomu following behind with a headband, the older shinobi sighed.
"Little kid, you're students from the Academy, right? Do you know Hatake Kakashi?"
"That guy!" Obito nodded, speaking stubbornly. "What's up with him?"
The older shinobi continued, "I don't know how that kid even graduated. He has absolutely no teamwork during missions..."
"Exactly. It's supposed to be a team effort, but he always tries to do everything by himself."
"Alright, thanks, mister! I get it now!"
After hearing the man's assessment, a hint of worry appeared in Obito's eyes.
"Let's go check on Kakashi."
Rin nodded, her gentle face clouded with concern. "Obito actually cares a lot about Kakashi."
"Hmph, the brat is just stubborn."
Anko took a bite of a dango and followed, her cheeks bulging.
After letting the three know, Motomu went alone to the ninja tool shop to pay and pick up his sword case.
Carrying the heavy wooden case, Motomu arrived at the Hatake residence before his friends.
The four of them gathered at the gate.
Obito knocked on the front door.
With a creak, the door opened.
Carrying his trademark sword and wearing iron arm guards, Kakashi appeared, his dead-fish eyes looking out over his black mask.
"What do you want?"
"If you're here to play, I don't have time. If you're here to eat, all I have is the saury I just caught."
"Who's here to play with you!?"
Obito immediately flared up at the words. "We came here to—"
He suddenly choked on his words.
He couldn't exactly say they came because they heard people badmouthing him.
Seeing Obito struggle, the observant Rin stepped forward and gently offered the snack box in her hand.
"Kakashi-kun, we bought too much at the food street. Since we heard you just got back, we thought we'd bring you some."
Kakashi glanced at the three-colored dango in the box.
He then looked up past Rin at Anko and Motomu.
Kakashi fell silent for two seconds before stepping aside to make a gap.
"...Come in."
The Hatake courtyard had changed significantly since Motomu's last visit.
The many decorative flowers that used to be in the center of the yard were gone, replaced by several wooden training dummies covered in dense sword gashes.
Despite the large size of the estate, the window panes were spotless; it was obvious Kakashi cleaned regularly.
The four followed Kakashi into the living room.
In the quiet space, Obito couldn't keep his thoughts to himself any longer.
"Kakashi! I heard people are complaining about you on missions lately."
"Oh, them? I don't need teammates to complete a mission."
Kakashi shot a dead-fish stare at Obito, continuing in a tone that suggested this was simply the natural order of things.
"The mission was completed. That's all that matters."
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