Shindai and Uchiha Hikari had already left the barbecue restaurant.
Rin Nohara still had to help out at the Ninja Hospital in the afternoon, and the tag-along Obito naturally followed Rin Nohara.
Shindai picked his teeth, complaining, "Seriously, I treated them and didn't even get a single good word."
Then Shindai furtively looked around, and feeling assured, took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with satisfaction.
"A cigarette after a meal, as happy as a god!"
Uchiha Hikari said with a strange expression, "Aren't you afraid of getting beaten?"
Shindai scoffed, "Heh, me, afraid? It'd be weird if I was afraid. I'm just humoring them. If I got serious, it's not certain who'd be the ace!"
However, Shindai suddenly changed the subject, cautioning Uchiha Hikari, "You can't be turned! You're on my side, no snitching!"
Uchiha Hikari's eyes already held a hint of disdain, "Aren't you not afraid?"
Shindai retorted stubbornly, "Yes, I'm not afraid of them, but it's troublesome. I'm afraid of trouble, understand?"
"I don't understand. Pakura and Kushina have already told me to watch you, so... I'm sorry."
"Cough, cough..."
Shindai suddenly started coughing violently.
Shindai said anxiously, "You can't do this! This is immoral!"
Uchiha Hikari's eyes, which had only held a hint of disdain, were now full of it: "Yes, you're so moral. The day before yesterday, before dawn, you secretly used Sand Iron to move me to the sofa and slept on the bed yourself. You're truly moral!"
Shindai was instantly extremely embarrassed: "But I also got a slap on the head from Pakura that day, and I apologized to you. I just missed my bed, so I wanted to sleep in it."
Uchiha Hikari sneered, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance. Put it out now, and I'll pretend I didn't see it."
Shindai took a deep drag, reluctantly threw the cigarette, which he had only smoked two puffs of, onto the ground, and stomped it out as if to vent his frustration.
Shindai was still muttering, "What the hell, why is she just like Pakura now?"
Uchiha Hikari finally understood why Minato Namikaze said 'you'll get used to it' that day. Perhaps she would join them.
Living under the same roof with Shindai for half a month, sometimes Shindai was truly despicable.
When he did something bad, and couldn't hide it, he'd push the blame onto her. Pakura and Uzumaki Kushina naturally didn't believe him, and then Shindai would get beaten.
The most outrageous thing was when Shindai threw socks he'd worn for almost a week under the sofa. Pakura smelled them and found them. When she found them, the socks were stiff. After questioning Shindai, he actually said the socks were hers.
Truly, that time Uchiha Hikari almost couldn't hold back.
And Uchiha Hikari felt that, without any surprises, there would definitely be times in the future when she couldn't hold back.
Shindai asked, "Oh, right, I'm going back to the lab tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?"
Uchiha Hikari nodded, "Yes, I don't know anyone in Konoha, so I'll just follow you."
Shindai said speechlessly, "What do you mean you don't know anyone? Pakura, Sister Kushina, Lord Minato, and just now Obito and Rin, don't you know them all? You're just too cold. At your young age, it's not good to have that cold expression all day. You don't seem very approachable."
Uchiha Hikari looked at Shindai with a subtle expression, "I'm young? You really can say anything."
Shindai stood in front of Uchiha Hikari, placed his hand on top of Uchiha Hikari's head, then horizontally retracted his hand to Shindai's chin.
Shindai mocked, "Heh, shorty!"
A vein popped up on Uchiha Hikari's forehead. She had never been mocked as a'shorty' before!
Uchiha Hikari's right hand was already clenched into a fist. Just as Shindai was about to continue mocking, a familiar voice came from the side.
"What a coincidence."
Shindai and Uchiha Hikari looked over simultaneously. It was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Yo, Lord Sandaime, are you out for a stroll?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled kindly, "Yes, and you two?"
Shindai replied, "Ashita Natsu and I just finished eating and are about to walk around to digest, then go see Pakura."
"Is that so? That's perfect, let's walk together."
Shindai, Uchiha Hikari, and Hiruzen Sarutobi walked down the street.
Shindai introduced to Uchiha Hikari, "This is our previous Hokage-sama of Konoha, who has now retired."
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked kindly, "Ashita Natsu, how is life in Konoha? Are you used to it?"
Uchiha Hikari said in a somewhat cold tone, "It's alright."
Shindai whispered a reminder, "Be enthusiastic! Lord Sandaime is my patron. I still have something to ask him later. Smile, give a smile!"
Uchiha Hikari forced out a rather awkward smile: "It's very good here, I'm very used to living here, and I like it very much."
Shindai secretly gave Uchiha Hikari a thumbs up.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could barely suppress the corners of his mouth; he was overjoyed inside.
Minato Namikaze was absolutely right; indeed, Uchiha Hikari really listened to Shindai.
One Shindai brought Konoha a Ninja with the Scorch Release Bloodline Limit, and now he has brought a former Uchiha powerhouse.
It was like a huge pie falling from the sky.
Hiruzen Sarutobi instructed Uchiha Hikari, "If you need anything in life, you can tell Minato. Minato will try his best to satisfy you."
"Really?!"
Uchiha Hikari hadn't said anything yet, but Shindai's eyes had already lit up.
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately coughed. He knew that Shindai was very short on money right now. Given his understanding of Shindai's shamelessness, it was very likely that Shindai would use Uchiha Hikari's name to extort money from Minato Namikaze, then claim he had agreed.
So Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately emphasized, "It's what Ashita Natsu needs, not what you need, Shindai, don't get it wrong!"
Shindai also understood the meaning in Hiruzen Sarutobi's words and pouted, "How stingy."
Then Shindai showed a fawning smile and said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Lord Sandaime, can I ask you for something?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately became wary: "What is it? I really have no money left. The 200,000 from last time was all my money!"
Shindai said seriously, "Hey, what's with money? Talking about money hurts feelings too much. Do I look like that kind of person?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth twitched. He really wanted to say that Shindai was exactly that kind of person.
"Then just say it directly."
Shindai rubbed his hands and said, "I'm a bit poor recently. Can I owe the rent for a while? Let me open the shop first, and I'll pay the rent when I start making money?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Shindai speechlessly. After all that, wasn't it still about money?
Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed, "Alright, I can agree, but you can only owe it for one year."
"That's enough, that's enough! As expected of Lord Sandaime, truly generous! A role model among men! Unlike Lord Minato, whose money is all managed by Sister Kushina, he doesn't have a single penny on him!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi pursed his lips as he looked at Shindai. Shindai might as well not have praised him, because his money was also in Sarutobi Biwako's hands. In truth, they were all in the same boat.
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