Reflection

Chapter 81: Reflection

"We're going back!"

"Take care of yourself."

"Good luck tomorrow!"

As Kakashi and the others waved

goodbye one by one, laughter still echoed in Kiba's ears. Suddenly, the

infirmary seemed much quieter than before.

"Kakashi... let's go to your

house next!" Obito's voice echoed from afar.

"Huh? I have tasks tomorrow,

and I want to rest early," Kakashi's voice responded.

"Anyway, it's a D-rank

mission, so it's easy and relaxing. Let's play a bit longer. And it's not too

late, right, Rin?"

Nohara Rin chuckled.

"What are you laughing at,

Rin?" Obito was puzzled.

"Obito, you want to eat the

fish that Kakashi caught," Nohara Rin said, smiling.

"Who wants to eat this guy's

fish!" Obito's tone was half disdainful, half shy.

"Oh! Kakashi, you can fish?

Let's have a youthful fishing competition!" This was Guy.

"I'm going back first. If I

don't, my mother will get worried," said Shiranui Genma.

"I'm going home too,"

added Ebisu.

"Well, goodbye!" Kakashi

seemed to be saying farewell to them.

"Guy, don't overdo it. We

have a mission tomorrow," Shiranui Genma reminded.

"Okay! My reliable

teammate!" Guy's enthusiastic voice rang out.

"Goodbye!" Shiranui

Genma said.

"Goodbye, my reliable

teammate!" Guy echoed.

With Obito and Guy's voices of

"Go to your house, go to your house!" fading away, Kiba, Hirohiko,

and Yukina watched them leave the first practice field before turning back to

the infirmary.

"Speaking of which, why

hasn't Sensei Kushina come back yet?" Kiba rubbed his stomach. He had

enjoyed chatting with Kakashi and Genma, but now his stomach was growling with

hunger.

"Huh? This is..." While

Kiba was speaking, Hirohiko noticed something and looked at the wall next to

the door.

"This is..." Yukina

walked over and picked it up.

The three immediately recognized

it as the bento bag Uzumaki Kushina often carried during training. It was

bulging with food.

"It seems Sensei Kushina

already came and left this for us. Let's eat first," Kiba said,

understanding what happened. Kushina had seen Kakashi and the others visiting

and left without disturbing them, placing the bento bag for them instead.

Kiba walked into the infirmary

first and put together some chairs to make a table.

Yukina and Hirohiko followed.

Yukina took out the bento from the

bag and set it on the improvised table. The three of them sat on the ground,

picked up the bento, and started eating.

Kushina had been thoughtful,

preparing a meal full of high-protein foods to help them recover from injuries

and replenish their strength. The food was delicious.

Kiba, always a fast eater,

devoured his food hungrily. Hirohiko and Yukina also ate with relish, speeding

up as they enjoyed the tasty meal.

While eating, Kiba wore a

thoughtful expression. Chatting with Kakashi, Genma, and Ebisu earlier, he

learned many things that weren't in the original work.

For example, the candidates for

the Chunin Exam were Konoha ninjas born and bred. Lin, Obito, and others were

now part of this world, not just manga characters. These people fighting in the

Third Great Ninja War was impossible.

Kiba also learned about Shiga

Taketake and Kiuchi Taketo from Kakashi and Genma. Although they didn't know

much about them, they mentioned that their teacher was Morino Makoto, a silent

Jonin with a reputation as "the tail of the crane in Jonin."

However, Kiba didn't think so.

Shiga Taketake winning three matches in a row after abstaining showed he was

strong. Kiba had a premonition that Shiga Taketake would be a very tough

opponent.

And Kiuchi Taketo entered the

final test with a two-point advantage, winning three matches in a row. A

teacher with such powerful disciples couldn't be weak. Kiba believed Morino

Makoto was a powerful ninja, even among Jonin.

Additionally, Morino Makoto had no

relation to Ibiki Morino. The surname Morino was common in Konoha without any

special abilities.

Kiba put down his chopsticks,

pondering the information he got from Kakashi and Genma. His huge bento was

finished.

Without needing words, Yukina, who

had already finished eating, put away her bento box and Hirohiko's as well. She

took the bento boxes to the pool outside the clinic to clean them.

"Yukina, I can do it

myself," Hirohiko said quickly.

But Yukina had already walked out

of the door. "It's okay, leave these to me," she called back.

Hirohiko felt embarrassed,

standing at the door, wanting to help but feeling he couldn't intervene.

Finally, he walked back awkwardly.

Kiba remained thoughtful,

seemingly oblivious to everything around him.

Hirohiko, used to Kiba's sudden

introspective state, wasn't surprised. Hearing the sound of water outside,

Hirohiko kept a poker face, but his eyes flickered as he began to think.

About ten minutes later, the sound

of water stopped, and Yukina returned with the cleaned bento boxes.

"There's still an exam tomorrow. You guys rest early. I'll go back

first," she said.

Hearing Yukina's words, both Kiba

and Hirohiko snapped out of their thoughts. Kiba looked down and noticed his

food box was gone. Seeing Yukina's bento box, he instantly understood what had

happened. "Thanks, Yukina."

Yukina shook her head. "It's

okay. See you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow. Be careful

on the way!" Kiba and Hirohiko said in unison.

"Then go to bed."

After seeing off Yukina, Kiba

climbed into bed.

"Don't you want to play a few

more games? It's still early," Hirohiko suggested.

"Sleep! You turn off the

lights!"

Kiba's mouth twitched. As soon as

he covered himself with the quilt, he lay down and fell asleep.

Soon, Hirohiko turned off the

light and returned to his hospital bed.

The two had a fierce fight today,

especially Kiba. After his back-to-back battles with Hyuga Yutaka and Hirohiko,

Kiba fell asleep almost instantly, and Hirohiko followed shortly after.