Chapter 11

"So that's the situation." 

"Kinoe was his code name in Root. Now, he's called Tenzo." 

If it weren't for the fact that the Hokage's orders were absolute, Kakashi would never have agreed to this. 

His forehead protector was tied loosely around his neck, and he stood at the doorway with his usual cold expression. 

Beside him, Tenzo stood stiffly, holding a bag of sweets in his hand. 

Hatake Satoru wore his usual black goggles, with a white towel draped over his shoulder. 

His damp hair fell neatly, a few strands hanging loosely over his forehead. 

Compared to his usual carefree and cocky attitude, he looked rather well-behaved at the moment. 

A faint scent of shampoo lingered around him. 

"You want me to teach him common sense? And he's going to stay here for half a month?" 

Hatake Satoru repeated the request with a somewhat puzzled expression. 

Of course, whether it was guiding Tenzo or letting him stay at the Hatake residence for half a month, neither was really a big deal. 

But why did he specifically need to teach him common sense? 

From what Hatake Satoru remembered from the anime, Kinoe joined Anbu under Kakashi's command. How did he end up assigned to him instead? 

Seeing Satoru hesitate, Tenzo quickly raised the bag in his hands, the sweet scent inside faintly drifting out. 

"Ah, hello, Hatake-san." 

"This is a gift from Kakashi-san for our first meeting." 

Even though Kakashi's face was mostly covered by his mask, Satoru could tell his expression stiffened instantly. 

Kakashi even turned his head to the side awkwardly. 

With just those two sentences, Satoru completely understood why this guy had been sent to him to learn common sense. 

Talk about not being able to read the room! 

He had just sold Kakashi out completely. 

Even though Tenzo lacked social awareness, he could still sense that the temperature around Kakashi had dropped a few degrees. 

He glanced around nervously, not sure what part of his sentence had triggered Kakashi. 

But he didn't say anything wrong, did he? 

Kakashi was the one who took him to buy these sweets. He even told him to take them out the moment Satoru hesitated. 

Watching Kakashi's awkward reaction, Satoru finally couldn't hold back and let out a chuckle. 

He took the bag of sweets from Tenzo with one hand and, with the other, flicked Kakashi on the forehead. 

"Come on in, I'll teach you." 

"I won't be staying. I have other things to do." 

Kakashi responded politely before quietly shutting the door behind him. 

Standing outside, he rubbed his forehead, hesitated for a moment as he looked at the closed door, then disappeared into the night. 

"This isn't Kakashi-san's house?" 

Tenzo asked, looking uncertainly at Kakashi's departing figure. 

Kakashi hadn't explicitly said he would stay here with him. 

But wasn't this his house? Why would he leave? 

"He stays at the Anbu dorms. Makes it easier for missions." 

"Besides, he and I don't get along very well~" 

Satoru placed the bag of sweets on the table and tapped the surface, signaling Tenzo to come over. 

Tenzo obediently knelt across from him, watching as Satoru rummaged through the bag for something to eat. 

"Not getting along…?" 

To Tenzo, Kakashi was practically the definition of a kind and reliable teammate. He couldn't imagine him having a bad relationship with anyone. 

And Hatake Satoru didn't seem like a difficult person either. 

How could these two not get along? 

Satoru pulled out a piece of Anko mochi and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out as he chewed. 

"Oh, I think I know what I need to teach you now." 

"Reading the room might be too hard, so let's start with why Kakashi and I don't get along!" 

...

Tenzo spent his time staying at the Hatake house, trying to learn, while occasionally taking on missions as part of Anbu, working in Kakashi's sixth squad.

Time passed quickly enough.

But every time Tenzo was paired up with someone, they would always report back to Kakashi about his strange behavior.

He was either suddenly overly enthusiastic with them or would do something completely unexpected and odd.

There was even one day when he gave his teammates chocolate, completely confusing them about what he was trying to do.

Kakashi listened, his temples throbbing with anger.

That idiot brother, what on earth is he teaching Tenzo?!

Hatake Satoru, who was being scolded, couldn't help but sneeze, rubbing his nose and looking around, puzzled.

"The weather is great, so who's secretly talking about me?"

Since Tenzo had no mission at the moment, Hatake Satoru urgently requested time off and, with determination, took Tenzo out to experience the world.

Was it for his own enjoyment? Of course not; he didn't have such worldly desires.

Tenzo looked around at the shops in the street, his curiosity piqued. He had been in Root for a long time.

Life there was all about training and missions, and he had rarely visited places like this.

"Ouch!"

Just as the two were studying the little trinkets in the street, a sudden scream came from behind them.

Tenzo curiously peeked over.

A few people wearing Uchiha fan shirts were standing in the middle of the street, shouting at a man on the ground.

"Hey, we saw you! You just stole money, didn't you?!"

The man on the ground was a scruffy-looking thief with a bruised face. He was holding a half-open wallet.

He groaned in pain, lying on the ground, but didn't directly respond to their accusations.

Seeing the man refuse to admit it, a few members of the Uchiha family's security team moved in, questioning him while kicking and hitting him.

Seeing the violent scene, a few villagers who were passing by began to gossip.

"Look, it's those Uchiha people again. I really don't understand why Lord Hokage assigned such an important task to them."

"It's so scary. Let's hurry up and leave."

"Mom, I'm scared..."

"..."

Tenzo couldn't help but furrow his brows. He tugged at Hatake Satoru, who was holding cotton candy and about to pay.

"Who are those people?"

......................................