Chapter 65
A few days later, in Konoha Village.
"Finally back in the village!" Asuma exclaimed as he ran towards the village gate.
For the first time, he felt that everything in the village was so wonderful.
Seeing Asuma running, Haneda smiled slightly.
He looked at the gates of Konoha and thought to himself that he could finally meet Obito, Kakashi, and the others.
'Team 7 should still be doing D-rank missions, right?
I wonder how Obito feels knowing that I've already completed an A-rank mission...'
"Uncle Sakumo, are we going to disperse after returning to the village, or should we go eat first?" Haneda said softly to Sakumo.
"Let's eat first; it's almost noon." Sakumo glanced up at the sky, the sun hanging directly overhead.
Thinking about the delicious food in the village, Haneda unconsciously swallowed.
They had been busy traveling these past few days, and the food on the way was hardly worth mentioning.
Now that they were back in the village, it would be a shame not to treat themselves to a good meal.
"Then let's go, Uncle Sakumo."
"I heard a new ramen shop has opened in the village called Ichiraku; the taste is quite good. How about we go there?" Haneda tilted his head and smiled.
"Sure. Ask Kurenai and Asuma how they feel about it, and if they agree, we'll go there," Sakumo nodded.
Upon hearing this, Kurenai immediately chimed in, "Sounds good, Haneda. Asuma should have no reason to refuse, so let's eat there."
As they chatted, Haneda and the others entered the village.
Just as they turned a corner on a street, a cat sprinted past and darted between Haneda's legs.
At that moment, a familiar figure collided with him.
"Kakashi, don't mind me, go catch the cat!" The person who bumped into Haneda was Obito, who turned back to Kakashi and shouted.
However, Kakashi stood still, his expression one of surprise, as was Rin's.
At this moment, Obito realized something and looked up—wasn't it Haneda?!
"You're back, Haneda?!"
Obito rushed to embrace Haneda, excitedly saying, "I didn't expect you to return so early! I thought you wouldn't be back for a month!"
Haneda ruffled Obito's hair and smiled, "Aren't you going to catch the cat?"
Just after he finished, Obito quickly backed away and shouted, "Damn it, Haneda! Who told you to mess with my hair?!"
"By the way, Kakashi, where's the cat?"
"The cat's right here."
Kurenai walked over holding the cat, "Did you guys take a mission to catch it?"
"Yeah, thanks," Obito nodded, catching the cat in his arms. However, the cat was trying to escape, seeming to dislike Obito.
At this point, Rin and Kakashi also stepped in front of Haneda.
Rin gently took the cat from Obito's hands and began to stroke its head, causing the cat to quickly calm down.
Kakashi looked at Haneda and suddenly felt a bit emotional.
"It's been a long time, Haneda."
"It's only been about a week; it hasn't been long," Haneda replied as he walked up to Kakashi and raised his right fist.
Seeing this, Kakashi smiled and raised his left fist to bump with Haneda's right fist.
"You're right; it's just been a few days."
Kakashi retracted his left hand and asked, "I heard you took on a C-rank mission. How did it go?"
"Well... nothing dangerous; we just ran into a Mist Village ninja halfway, and the C-rank mission turned into an A-rank." Haneda replied casually.
Though this mission made him realize a lot, he wasn't willing to share those sordid details with his friends.
"What? An A-rank mission! Haneda, your team actually did an A-rank mission!!"
Upon hearing that Haneda had completed an A-rank mission, Obito felt a pang of imbalance.
His Team 7 had been doing D-rank missions this whole time.
Not to mention Team 3, even Haneda's Team 9 had started doing high-rank missions.
Suddenly, Obito realized something.
An A-rank mission is quite dangerous; it seems to involve Jonin!
"Haneda, you weren't injured, were you?" Obito asked with concern.
"Just one Mist Jonin; do you think he could hurt me?" Haneda dismissed.
At this moment, Asuma grew excited.
"You have no idea how awesome Haneda is!"
"A Mist Jonin, and Haneda only needed a look and a genjutsu to pin him in place!"
"The fight started and ended in just a minute!!"
"Keep in mind that he's a Jonin who came out of the Bloody Mist!"
"But even that wasn't enough to withstand just one glance from my brother Haneda!!"
Hearing Asuma brag about Haneda, Obito felt a bit skeptical.
Asuma was Haneda's number one fan, and out of ten statements, Obito felt that eight of them were problematic.
"Is that true?" Obito looked at Haneda.
"Not really," Haneda shook his head; if he admitted it, Obito would definitely pester him with questions.
Kakashi, standing beside them, could tell it was true. He quietly whispered to Obito, "No surprise you're a bottom feeder, getting fooled without realizing it."
"What did you say, dumbass Kakashi? I'm so smart, I definitely know that Asuma is just bragging!" Obito shot back.
"Alright, Obito, Kakashi, we're all companions, so let's be a bit more tolerant of each other."
A young man with blond hair wearing a Jonin vest approached them.
He had a warm smile that made people feel comfortable, and he said softly, "Sensei Minato."
Hearing how Team 7 greeted him, Haneda immediately knew who he was.
The gentle yet powerful, nearly perfect ninja—the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!
Haneda observed Minato, who was also looking back at him, smiling as he asked, "You must be Uchiha Haneda, right? I've heard Obito and Kakashi mention you often."
Haneda nodded and introduced himself, "I'm Uchiha Haneda from Team 9, a friend of Obito and Kakashi."
"Even Kakashi speaks highly of you; you're quite impressive, Haneda."
Minato said with a smile and then turned his gaze to Sakumo behind Haneda, "It's been a long time, Sakumo-senpai. How about we go get some food together? It's just about noon."
Sakumo glanced at Rin and Kurenai playing with the cat and then looked at the group of Haneda, Obito, and Kakashi gathered together, agreeing.
"Alright, how about we go to a ramen shop called Ichiraku?"
"Ichiraku Ramen? That place is really good; my wife Kushina and I enjoy going there." Minato nodded gently.
Upon hearing Sakumo and Minato's conversation, Haneda immediately grabbed Obito and Kakashi, saying, "Let's go eat at Ichiraku Ramen."
"Yeah."
Kakashi nodded slightly, while Obito was still pondering the earlier issue.
"Hey, hey, hey, Haneda! You need to tell me if you really defeated a Jonin from the Mist!"
"You guess," Haneda replied, neither confirming nor denying, deliberately keeping it vague. This prompted Asuma to speak in a disdainful tone.
"Is there even a need to guess, Obito?"
"With Haneda's strength, it's no surprise that a single genjutsu could easily take down a Jonin."
"Ah~ I don't believe it! Damn it, Haneda! Who's lying to me?!!"
"Heh—bottom feeder."
***
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