"It's Friday!" Obito eagerly answered the question.
"Tomorrow is Thursday, and I don't think Yumi-sensei would be asking what day of the week it is," Rin corrected.
She didn't think Mutsuki would forget what day it was, let alone ask three people.
"Lately, we've been attending school with Shadow Clones, so I haven't been paying attention to the dates. Turns out today is still Wednesday," Obito chuckled, scratching his head as he explained.
"Is it discount day at the barbecue place? Or maybe it's a milestone for how many days you've been learning?" Obito continued guessing.
"Is it for teaching us a new super powerful forbidden jutsu?" Guy speculated.
"I don't think so. We haven't even mastered Breathing Techniques yet, and it seems like Shisui isn't here," Obito noticed a problem.
"Tomorrow is Shisui's birthday," Mutsuki said directly without prolonging the suspense.
"Shisui didn't come because I specifically didn't ask him to. We'll give him a surprise tomorrow," Mutsuki explained with a smile.
Being straightforward was good, but Mutsuki believed that a sudden surprise would yield greater rewards. Perhaps extreme emotions could trigger an unprecedented breakthrough, unleashing skills above Mastery level.
"So it's Shisui's birthday tomorrow," Obito exclaimed with sudden realization.
"It's tomorrow already? Why didn't he tell us in advance?" Obito scratched his head, puzzled.
He felt that starting preparations tonight might be a bit rushed.
"Maybe he didn't want to bother anyone," Rin speculated after giving it some thought.
She joined later on, not knowing Shisui for as long as Guy and Obito did, but it had been about two months since they met.
Shisui gave her the impression of someone who would quietly do everything on his own, not liking to trouble others.
During their daily training sessions, Shisui usually delved into his studies on his own. Only when he couldn't figure something out would he go to Mutsuki for help. This was quite different from Obito, who quickly sought Mutsuki's guidance when encountering problems.
"Why would it be troublesome? Celebrating a friend's birthday is a natural thing to do, isn't it?" Obito became even more puzzled.
"Let's not discuss that for now. Instead, let's talk about how to celebrate Shisui's birthday," Mutsuki suggested.
Obito's personality meant that he found it difficult to understand some of Shisui's actions.
"Let's buy a birthday cake," Obito proposed.
"I'll give him a practical sportswear," Guy enthusiastically suggested.
"Since it's supposed to be a surprise, we should let Shisui know at the last moment. We can decorate Shisui's room with some birthday decorations beforehand."
"After all, Shisui stays here with Yumi-sensei during the day and doesn't go back. It should work out well," Rin suggested.
Mutsuki nodded. In terms of daily affairs, Shisui and Rin were more reliable, while Obito and Guy were more mischievous.
"We just don't know where Shisui's house is," Rin continued.
"I know, I know," Obito volunteered eagerly.
He and Shisui both belonged to the Uchiha Clan and lived in the Uchiha territory. Their houses weren't very far apart.
"Alright then, tomorrow everyone should maintain their normal training routine, then find time to decorate the room. Finally, we'll wait for Shisui to come back home in the evening and surprise him," Mutsuki suggested after giving it some thought.
The disciples all nodded in agreement.
After the discussion, everyone went their separate ways.
...
The next day, Shisui got up as usual. After finishing his morning routine, he first used Shadow Clone to send one of his clones to school.
Then, Shisui went to Obito's house to call him out for training.
"Bye, Grandma," Obito said goodbye to his grandmother while quickly heading to the entrance to change shoes and leave.
"Take good care of Shisui, he's younger than you," Obito's grandmother reminded him.
After Shisui visited Obito several times, Obito's grandmother got to know him.
"I got it." Although Obito felt like Shisui didn't need his care at all, he still replied.
"What do you want for breakfast today? Shall we have the homemade pancakes from Uncle Teppan or go to the street for some Dango?" Obito asked.
"You can choose wherever you want to go, Obito," Shisui replied.
Unless given the choice between Mutsuki's cooking and non-Mutsuki cooking, Shisui always preferred to go where his companions wanted.
"Then let's go to Uncle Teppan's place. It's close by, and we haven't eaten there in days," Obito quickly decided.
Even in the Uchiha clan, a ninja family, there were ordinary people who didn't become ninjas. Uncle Teppan, as Obito referred to him, was one of them. His full name was Uchiha Teppan, and he ran a pancake shop.
As they ate pancakes, they walked towards the Southern Forest, helping an old lady who had fallen along the way.
"After you, Yumi-sensei," they greeted Mutsuki before beginning their training.
Obito continued to study the technique of single-handed seals, while Shisui continued to practice Total Concentration Breathing.
"Focus on the breath," Shisui said as he ran swiftly, controlling his breathing rhythm and chakra to increase his speed continuously.
Using both chakra and the breathing technique caused Shisui's stamina to deplete rapidly. After his stamina was almost completely drained, he had to stop and rest for a while.
"The explosive intensity is still not enough. I need to practice for a lot more time," Shisui reflected on his recent training during the rest.
His Total Concentration Breathing still wasn't focused enough to achieve the explosive effect Mutsuki had mentioned.
While Shisui rested, Obito came over to ask him about his insights on single-handed seals.
"As for gifts, Shisui, what kind of gift would you like?" Obito asked.
"Gift? Why are you suddenly asking about this?" Obito's sudden shift from ninjutsu to gifts puzzled Shisui.
Seeing Shisui looking puzzled, Obito was worried that Shisui might have noticed something, so he quickly added, "Haha, I've been a bit of a bother to you lately, Shisui, so I was thinking of getting you something, or is there anything you'd like to eat, like ramen?"
"Just helping each other out among comrades, no need for that," Shisui replied.
Due to Obito's usual eccentricity, Shisui didn't notice anything unusual for the time being.
Later, Obito's Shadow Clone was reprimanded by Mutsuki for not focusing on training.
At noon, guided by Obito's Shadow Clone, Mutsuki, Rin, and others were led to Shisui's house.
"Does Shisui live alone in such a big place?" Guy, upon entering, noticed that Shisui's house was quite large, about three times the size of their own.
"It should be a building from the village's founding period," Rin, with her good history grades, could recall similar structures from her textbooks.
"Never mind that, let's start decorating. Class time will be here soon," Obito said.
"When decorating, be careful not to damage anything in Shisui's house," Mutsuki reminded.
He tried to choose things that were easy to tidy up so that cleaning up after celebrating with Shisui would be quick.
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