Atop the tall water tower, a slightly chilly spring breeze blew. Logan sat cross-legged on it, squinting his eyes as his sleeves fluttered in the wind.
"Kid, aren't you cold?" Aida leaned against the base of the water tower, glancing up at Logan. His expression showed he had become accustomed to Logan's antics.
"Uncle Aida, the physique of young people like me is indeed superior to that of middle-aged and elderly people like you." Logan replied without mincing words, gazing at the scenery of Konoha below.
After hearing this, Aita replied coldly, "Hehe."
He learned this from Logan. Logan had spread many modern phrases to the people around him, but Aida had particularly mastered the use of 'hehe'.
"I'm not stupid enough to use Chakra to protect myself from the cold wind just to look cool."
While Aida appeared serious on the surface, he is actually quite meticulous inside and easy to get along with. After partnering for a long time, there was a tendency for their relationship to develop into a bond beyond age. Just now, under Logan's influence, the way they conversed had become quite familiar.
"I told you I'm not pretending to be cool, I'm training my Chakra all the time!" Logan frowned and corrected the other person.
"Hehe."
A black line appeared on Logan's forehead, 'Can you not be so shameless? Always responding with 'hehe'. If you have the guts, you should face me head-on!'
Ninjas have a strong physique and have Chakra, so their adaptability to climate is much better than ordinary people. In his free time, there is nothing wrong with Logan using this method to hone his chakra. However, there was a time when Logan committed suicide and mocked the elder, Aida. After becoming closer, the two often used this joke to complain to each other.
"Forget it, let's not talk about it." Logan waved his hand, deciding not to engage in banter with the middle-aged man and changed the subject, "Uncle Aida, you're about to retire, right?"
At this moment, the two were on duty within the village, performing what could be considered a relatively easy mission.
Over the past half year, Logan had spent his time continuously completing missions and training to improve himself. In his spare time, he continued to study the use of the Railgun. However, because he did not have much free time and the difficulty of experimenting with the Railgun was high, Logan had not perfected this new technique yet.
However, his control over Lightning Release Chakra had become completely flexible since his last breakthrough.
Upon hearing the word 'retire', Aida paused for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, Commander has confirmed it and the process is being completed. I'll officially retire in a few days."
Aida tried to sound casual, but Logan could still sense a tinge of melancholy in his tone. Many years of service in the ANBU was not something most people could complete unscathed.
At the beginning of autumn last year, Logan had learned the news that Aida was retiring. It seemed just like yesterday. But now, half a year later, at the beginning of spring, the middle-aged man who had accompanied Logan through the boring times of missions was about to leave ANBU.
Logan felt reluctant, but he also understood that Aida has a wife and two children. As one grew older, even if they are powerful, it was not suitable to continue working in such a high-risk profession.
'Anyway, it's good that you don't trigger the flag of 'I'll go back to my hometown to get married after this battle'...' Logan muttered in his heart.
People are not grass or trees, and farewells tend to quiet the atmosphere. The wind blew inconsistently, and Logan and Aida continued to stay on the water tower for a while before wandering to other high places. They did not encounter anything that disturbed the public order during their patrol. As evening approached, the dim light of the sky lowered the brightness of the houses, and it was almost time to change shift with their companions.
"Wow, time flies so fast." Logan exclaimed as they walked back to the ANBU's Headquarters. Maybe after today, Aida will no longer come to ANBU to work.
"Yes, time flies very quickly." Aida nodded. The streets were slightly quiet in the evening, with smoke rising from many chimneys. He understood the significance of this walk and patted Logan on the shoulder. "Come by to play in the future."
"Wow, forget it." It was just retirement, there was no need to be sentimental. The faint feeling of emotion was washed away, and Logan said with a smile, "I don't dare to enter the Hyuga Clan's settlement again. The last time I attended your daughter's birthday, I felt uncomfortable from all the old men's stares..."
"You kid!" Aida's hand, raised casually as if to pat Logan's shoulder, ended up playfully hitting Logan's head. However, his words carried both amusement and helplessness, as Logan had spoken the truth.
Large clans always made people feel constrained, whether it was the Hyuga or the Uchiha. Speaking of which, Logan and Itachi had once promised to visit each other, but they had yet to fulfill that promise. Busy schedules were one reason, but more importantly, the Uchiha has become an increasingly sensitive issue in the Konoha Village.
"By the way, there is still no notice for your new partner, right?" Aida remembered something and mentioned, "It seems like you have a good chance in this round of ANBU's captain assessment, Hattori."
When Logan heard this, his expression suddenly dropped. The ANBU's captain assessment would be conducted soon. This is news that Logan had been troubled by recently.
The ANBU had its own system, and fresh blood was always needed. Logan wasn't interested in promotions or anything like that, but unfortunately, his name was unexpectedly on the list for captain candidates this time.
'Ah, could it be that having too good of a relationship with colleagues was a mistake...'
"Your outstanding performance over the past half year is beyond doubt. Keep it up, young man. I have high hopes for you." Aida's expression seemed to say, 'The future belongs to you young people. Go conquer the world', which made Logan feel a bit annoyed.
But he couldn't say something like 'I don't care about this kind of thing at all', otherwise, Aida would definitely be displeased. After all, except for a few exceptions, the worldviews of Konoha's Ninjas are still very upright.
After completing their duty exchange at the ANBU's Headquarters, the receptionist Ninja greeted Aida with a friendly smile, obviously aware that this ANBU veteran was retiring.
After leaving the ANBU's Headquarters, Aida seemed to have put down all the burdens he had carried for many years, and his figure was light and brisk, as if he was several years younger.
"Uncle Aida, what will you do in the future?" Logan couldn't help but ask.
Aida thought for a while and said with a slight smile: "I haven't thought about it yet. I want to spend some time at home first. After being a Ninja for so many years, I can't just change my mindset overnight. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll still become a Jonin leading a team."
"As Jonin Instructor?" Logan nodded in understanding. Aida's retirement from the ANBU didn't mean the end of his Ninja career, so this is indeed a good choice.
In times of peace, in order to take care of the new generation of Genin, in addition to teaching, most of the missions are E-Rank and D-Rank, which are to train Genin. Even C-Rank missions were usually assigned to the Genin who had grown for a period of time. As for B-Rank mission, it is basically not something that Genin can solve.
"Well then, goodbye." At the fork in the road, Logan bid farewell without hesitation.
Aida stopped and said seriously: "Good luck."
"Mm."
Under the night light, Aida went home, while Logan continued to move forward, walking on the road that belonged to him.