Chapter 21: Sasuke's Heartfelt Onigiri, Kakashi's Helplessness
"I brought a bit extra today…"
Sasuke quietly placed his bento box on his lap, opened it, and took out one onigiri.
He made sure no one else could see. After whispering softly, he slipped the rice ball into Naruto's hand.
The other day, when he got home and told his mother he was still hungry, she had asked why. Sasuke ended up mentioning that Naruto had eaten two of his onigiri.
His mother's expression had looked a little sad that day. Ever since then, she had started packing two extra onigiri for him every morning.
The past few days Naruto hadn't come to school, so Sasuke had brought the extras back home. But every day after that, his mother still added two more.
"Sasuke…"
Naruto looked down at the onigiri in his palm. His eyes flickered as he glanced at Sasuke, but he didn't say anything else.
He didn't need to ask why Sasuke was bringing extra onigiri — and he couldn't ask.
"Thank you…"
Naruto lowered his head and ate the rice ball. His muffled voice was so quiet that Sasuke, sitting right beside him, could only catch a vague sound.
Sasuke didn't respond or make any special expression. He simply continued staring out the window, waiting for the teacher as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, on a tree with a clear view of the classroom window, Kakashi leaned against the trunk and let out a long, heavy sigh.
That child…
This morning he had run into Yamato in the Anbu. The man had told him that Naruto's appetite was several times that of an adult.
Now, just one onigiri was enough to make the boy tear up with gratitude. Thinking back to the tiny amount of food Naruto usually ate, Kakashi felt a deep wave of sadness spread through his chest.
Even eating until full was a luxury. Just how had Naruto survived all these years? If his teacher knew…
He didn't dare imagine how heartbroken Minato and Kushina would be if they found out.
The children in the classroom had settled down as the teacher arrived.
All morning, Kakashi quietly watched Naruto. He saw how the boy kept rubbing his stomach every few minutes, his eyes full of pitiful hunger, his belly clearly starving…
But the Hokage's orders were absolute. Kakashi had no choice but to obey.
He could only hope that Iruka would take better care of Naruto, and that…
The Nine-Tails wouldn't cause any problems. As long as the tailed beast didn't go on a rampage, Naruto would at least remain safe.
The day's classes ended. The morning theory lessons had, as expected, left Naruto looking drowsy — though in reality, he was only pretending.
At lunch, Naruto ate the three onigiri from his own bento, plus the extra "heartfelt" one Sasuke secretly passed to him.
However, during the afternoon kunai throwing practice, Naruto was genuinely terrible. One of his kunai even flew straight toward Iruka's position.
Hidden in the shadows, Kakashi watched Iruka jump in place and point at Naruto while roaring angrily. He helplessly rubbed his mask with one finger and thought:
This kid really knows how to cause trouble.
When the school day finally ended, Iruka handed Naruto a new bento box as he was leaving.
From now on, as long as Naruto was attending school, Iruka would personally provide all three of his daily meals.
Even on days without school, Iruka didn't mind going to Naruto's apartment to deliver food. Once he got used to it, it wouldn't be any different.
Kakashi, who had observed the entire day, continued watching. After Naruto went home with the bento box, Kakashi swapped shifts with Yamato. Even when he returned home to rest, he couldn't stop thinking about Naruto.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he could not disobey the orders of the Third Hokage and Danzo. He could only watch everything continue as it was.
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