Hearing the knock on the door, Kabuto quickly scrambled onto his bed. He was afraid it was Izumi returning. If she saw him wasn't resting in bed, she would lecture him again.
"Come in," Kabuto said, after getting ready.
As the visitor pushed open the door, the first thing that caught his eye was a large bouquet of flowers.
Just as Kabuto was wondering who was coming to see him, the person holding the flowers walked in.
The visitor had a deadpan expression and a white, spiky hairstyle. It was Kakashi, who was worried about Kabuto's safety.
"I heard you were injured. It won't affect the treatment of the Teacher, cough, cough, are you alright?" Kakashi said.
Kabuto took the flowers from Kakashi's hands and smiled, "Thank you for the gift."
"My injuries are almost healed. Don't worry, it won't affect the Fourth Hokage's treatment."
Hearing Kabuto's words, Kakashi felt relieved.
Then, Kakashi and Kabuto talked about the Fourth Hokage's injuries. Not wanting to disturb him further, Kakashi prepared to take his leave.
As he was leaving Kabuto's room, Kakashi, as if by fate, suddenly thought of something and returned to Kabuto's room.
Kabuto was puzzled. He saw Kakashi furtively take a book with a pink cover out of his pocket and hand it to Kabuto, "I'm sure you're bored resting at home. Take this book to pass the time."
"To tell you the truth, this was written by Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin. It's a must-read for every man!"
This book was, of course, "Make Out Paradise"!
Originally, seeing the cover with a scantily clad woman and a man kissing passionately, Kabuto thought it was some kind of indecent book.
But hearing Kakashi's words, Kabuto suddenly became serious.
He couldn't help but think of a phrase his teacher, Yusuke, had once said, "Don't judge a book by its cover, and don't underestimate the ocean!"
"It seems that not only people, but books can also be deceiving!" Kabuto sighed and then thanked Kakashi sincerely.
After Kakashi left, Kabuto started to seriously read the contents of "Make Out Paradise."
A few minutes later, Kabuto, blushing, gently closed the "Make Out Paradise" in his hand and sighed, "I never imagined that Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-senpai were such indecent people!"
He shook his head and was about to return the book to Kakashi when he suddenly noticed a chaotic sound of footsteps coming from outside. It sounded like there was more than one person.
"No good!"
Kabuto quickly stuffed "Make Out Paradise" under his blanket. Just as he finished stuffing it, the door opened.
Three girls then walked in: Izumi, Anko, and Yūgao Uzuki.
Anko and Yūgao Uzuki were originally teammates of Itachi's during the Chunin Exams. They later met Izumi and became good friends.
When Anko and Yūgao Uzuki met Izumi on the street while she was shopping, they learned from her that Kabuto was injured. They decided to come visit him together.
The three girls chatted with Kabuto for a while. Then, Izumi noticed that Kabuto's face was flushed and he was sweating a lot. She asked with concern, "Kabuto, why is your face so red, and you're sweating so much? Did your injuries worsen?"
Hearing Izumi's words, Kabuto quickly shook his head in denial.
At this time, Anko, who had sharp eyes, noticed a pink object sticking out from under Kabuto's blanket. It looked like the corner of a book.
Anko was quick and agile. She snatched the "Make Out Paradise" from under Kabuto's blanket and looked at it.
It was fine not to look, but once she looked, Anko's face really turned red. The passionate kiss between the man and woman on the cover instantly made Red Bean blush.
"Kabuto, you're actually reading this kind of indecent stuff!" Anko's face was flushed as she looked at Kabuto with a disdainful gaze. At the same time, she raised the "Make Out Paradise" in her hand.
Izumi and Yūgao Uzuki saw the cover of the book in Anko's hand and instantly blushed as well.
"Humph, I was wrong about you!" Anko threw the book onto Kabuto's bed and turned to leave the ward.
Yūgao Uzuki was a shy girl to begin with. Seeing this book made her even more uncomfortable. She immediately followed Anko out.
Izumi looked at Kabuto with a strange expression and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell your brother. You should just rest and recover!"
Then, Izumi left as well, closing the door to Kabuto's room.
"Wait, wait, let me explain! You guys, listen to me..."
Kabuto tried to stop them, but before he could finish, the girls had disappeared without a trace.
He looked at "Make Out Paradise" and sighed.
For the first time in his life, he had a feeling of "blaming" someone. The object of his blame was, of course, Kakashi.
Kakashi, oblivious to this, was walking down the streets of Konoha.
"Achoo!"
Who's thinking about me? Kakashi thought to himself.
That night, the Uchiha clan meeting.
The number of clan members attending the meeting was noticeably lower than usual. Many clan members had been killed in the Root attack.
The clan leader, Fugaku, usually presided over the meetings, but now that he was dead, the three elders of the Uchiha clan were presiding.
Yusuke also rarely participated in the clan meetings.
Although he was the clan's strongest ninja and the one who had saved the entire clan, he didn't hold any official position in the clan. According to etiquette, he sat below the three clan elders.
Despite this, Yusuke's presence seemed to be the center of the entire meeting hall, attracting the attention of all the Uchiha clan members. The three clan elders seemed like mere background figures.
No matter what their previous impressions of Yusuke had been, all the clan members now looked at him with awe.
The clan, which was on the verge of extinction, had not only retained most of its fighting force thanks to Yusuke's efforts, but had also eliminated their arch-enemy, Danzō, and Root.
This had not only pushed Yusuke's prestige to its peak but also showed the clan members the power that strength could bring.
At the beginning of the meeting, the two elders other than Uchiha Kenjiro each proposed candidates for the new clan leader, but they couldn't convince all the clan members present.
As the two old rivals were arguing, Uchiha Kenjiro said something shocking, "I propose that we make Yusuke's disciple, the son of the former clan leader, Fugaku, Itachi, the new clan leader!"
When he said this, Uchiha Kenjiro deliberately emphasized the word "Yusuke." It was obvious that he wanted to use Yusuke's prestige to make this happen.
Uchiha Kenjiro's words caused a stir.
The Uchiha clan members present all looked at the ten-year-old Itachi with uncertainty. Some clan members wanted to object, but seeing Yusuke sitting there, they didn't dare to speak out against it.
It was clear that Uchiha Kenjiro had achieved his goal by using Yusuke's influence.
But at that moment, a weak voice came from below, "If we're making a disciple the leader, why not directly make Yusuke-sama the clan leader?"
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