Nara Shikaku's Inquiry (Bonus)
"It's really a bit strange."
Lin Ke, having not worn casual clothes in a long time, came to the commercial street, feeling a slight sense of temporal dislocation.
Just yesterday, he was fighting in the deep forests and wilderness, and today he was standing in a street like a modern city, buying clothes.
Steadying his mind, he went straight to a clothing store, decisively choosing a few clothes a size larger. After a quick try, he bought them without hesitation if the price was right, skipping the whole picking and choosing process.
Currently, he was quite satisfied with his dressing style; he only needed to change clothes because the old ones were too tight.
However, there was a new problem: the larger clothes were a bit too long for him...
While the clothing store was tailoring his clothes, he took the opportunity to go out and buy some sweets, taking a stroll before returning to pick them up.
Lin Ke leisurely arrived at Amaguriama, waiting in line to buy something, when he suddenly felt his shoulder become heavy. Looking up,
"Yo, kid, I remember you're called Lin Ke, right!" A hearty voice sounded from the side.
All he could see at first were two obstacles wrapped in fishnet and black lining. Shifting his gaze slightly, he saw the newcomer had purple hair styled in a pineapple shape similar to Nara's, a familiar smile on her face, and a brown trench coat draped over her shoulders.
"Nice to meet you." The purple-haired woman patted his shoulder, looking very happy.
Lin Ke glanced at the dozen or so people in line behind him and calmly said, "You want to cut in line, don't you?"
"Ha~" The purple-haired woman made a self-righteous sound. "We're all comrades from the same village, and Kurenai has mentioned you several times. I—"
"I don't even know who you are." Lin Ke silently interrupted her.
The eyes of the two passersby behind them in line changed subtly.
The purple-haired woman leaned in, whispering, "I'm Mitarashi Anko, Kurenai's friend. If you let me join you in line, I'll treat you to Maruko and Sweet Red Bean Soup with Mochi~"
"Deal." Lin Ke said decisively.
What an unadorable and honest kid.
Mitarashi Anko pouted. In Kurenai's description, this kid was strong, had a good personality, and was mature. But in reality, kids are just...—"Awesome!"
Mitarashi Anko happily stuffed a piece of Yokan handed to her into her mouth, mumbling, "Don't worry, little Lin Ke, come find me if you need anything."
She loved Maruko and Sweet Red Bean Soup with Mochi, but the main thing was sweets. Eating sweets had to be sweet enough and satisfying enough! Lin Ke looked at the childish Special Jonin licking her fingers and pouted. She really was childish.
To be bought off with just a piece of Yokan...
He picked up the Sweet Red Bean Soup with Mochi and took a small sip. The sugar intake was really amazing, especially during the body's development stage. A large intake was even better than XX.
He could somewhat understand a certain silver-haired, naturally permed samurai.
"Great, right?" Mitarashi Anko said proudly.
What are you so proud of?
Lin Ke complained inwardly, stood up, and said, "Goodbye." He didn't have much interaction with her anyway. Waiting in line together to eat some sweets and drink some sweet drinks was already giving Yuhi Kurenai face. There was no need to continue communicating or deepen their relationship.
Mitarashi Anko watched his small figure walk away, the smile on her face gradually disappearing.
Although he's not a very likable kid... he should be different from that guy...
"Squeak~" As she thought, the drink can she was holding let out a mournful sound. Lin Ke didn't care what Mitarashi Anko was thinking. He went to the clothing store to pick up his tailored clothes and went home.
He lay on the bed, leisurely waiting for his shadow to wash and dry his new clothes. Then, when he saw that it was about time, he got up and went to Barbecue Q.
He had agreed with his two companions yesterday to celebrate the completion of their mission with a barbecue, as usual.
He was treating.
His mission income had been pretty good recently. It didn't matter if he spent more on food and drink. He was now catching up with most ninjas and had completely lost the habit of saving money.
Ninjas were a profession where they could die at any time, and they could earn a considerable income after completing a mission. Naturally, they would spend money when they had it, not thinking about tomorrow.
People like Uzumaki Naruto, who saved a little from each mission, were the minority.
Eating barbecue was no different than before. Lin Ke also told his two companions about the mission Nara Yan Shui had informed him of. After eating barbecue, he went home, changed into slightly more formal clothes, and headed to the Nara clan grounds.
He had to meet them sooner or later, so it was better to do it sooner rather than later.
Nara Shikaku's house wasn't far from Nara Yan Shui's house. On the way, he even wanted to see if he could get Yan Shui Teacher to come along, but he wasn't home. He could only come alone.
After asking two passersby for directions, Lin Ke arrived at the Nara residence, carrying the gift box of Yokan he had bought in the morning.
"Ding-dong~"
The doorbell rang for more than ten seconds before someone came to open the door.
"Click~" Nara Shikaku opened the door, his expression not surprised to see who it was. He smiled and said, "Come in."
"Excuse me," Lin Ke said with a bow, following behind him to take off his shoes and enter the house.
The two went to the living room and sat down. He handed over the Yokan gift box and said, "This is just a small token of my appreciation."
"Thank you." Nara Shikaku accepted the Yokan, poured him a cup of tea, and said, "You must be curious as to why I asked you to come here."
"Yes," Lin Ke replied, looking attentive.
"I wonder if you have any thoughts about becoming my disciple," Nara Shikaku said directly.
The news came too suddenly, and Lin Ke was stunned for a moment.
Before he could answer, Nara Shikaku continued, "Actually, it should have been the Third Hokage accepting you as a disciple."
Whether it was giving ninjutsu or being willing to guide him, it was no different from being a disciple.
"But..." He shook his head, "Due to some matters, the Third Hokage probably won't be taking any more disciples."
"And you happen to be able to use shadow-related techniques, so I ended up being the one to ask you."
Nara Shikaku didn't beat around the bush, speaking very frankly, "If you're unwilling, I won't force you. With your talent and ability, I don't think I have much to teach you."
"No, you're too modest." Lin Ke thought for a moment and was able to guess some of the reasons.
There were many reasons why the Third Hokage wouldn't take any more disciples, but the most direct one should be Orochimaru.
Before the founding of Konoha, the Ino-Shika-Cho three clans came together under the witness of the Sarutobi Clan. It could be said that they were brought into Konoha by the Sarutobi Clan and were staunch supporters of the Sarutobi. It was easy to understand why Nara Shikaku would come forward to accept him as a disciple.
But Nara Shikaku was really honest enough, whether it was about the shadow-related techniques or directly saying that he had nothing to teach him.
This was the olive branch thrown by the Third Hokage-led stable faction.
So—
Should he become a disciple?
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
To read the full translation, as well as more than 130+ full translations or to request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/
You can also join the Random Translator Community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------