As expected, once Uchiha Obito said this, the surrounding clamor grew even louder, with everyone whispering about the matter.
Kakashi was silent for a moment. "I think I might not be quite suitable."
To reject it just like that—Uchiha Izuna was truly shocked now. This drama was the most popular hit of the moment; even if its sequel couldn't replicate the glory of the first installment, the lead actor would definitely receive a massive salary thanks to its current popularity. Yet, the other party had rejected it so casually. One had to say..
Wait, Uchiha Izuna also realized that this person didn't just have issues, but had massive issues.
Although Uchiha Obito was usually unreasonable, he had never acted this crazily before.
Could it be that, by thinking back to Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Izuna has connected all of this?
This person is the legendary childhood classmate of Uchiha Obito, the Anbu captain of Uchiha Itachi, the teacher of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, the Sixth Hokage of Konohagakure.
Hatake Kakashi!
Chapter 75
“Skarsgard is back!”
As soon as Kakashi stepped through the entrance of the shop, the people inside saw him and let out a loud shout.
Kakashi paused, as he looked up, he saw a group of people gathered around the television all turn their heads in unison to stare at him.
Even a battle-hardened veteran like Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine under the intense stares of this group.
"What's wrong with everyone?" Kakashi withdrew his gaze and continued walking inward as if nothing had happened.
Kusunoki wiped the bar counter while pointing toward the television being surrounded by the crowd.
As he moved, the crowd that had been blocking the television screen made way, creating a space so Kakashi could see what was being broadcast on the TV.
Although the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan was no longer present, this distance was naturally not a problem for Kakashi, he could easily see the footage playing on the television.
The scene where he was caught by Uchiha Obito during his fan meeting—a slender man shrouded in the shadow of another well-built man, looking as if he were being held in his arms. One had to wonder what angle the photographer used to capture such a photo; anyone who saw it would find it incredibly ambiguous.
Kakashi's eyelid twitched. Being caught by Obito-san to take photos at his fan meeting back then was shameful enough, but being stared at by everyone now was twice as humiliating. However, what shocked him most was the headline on the photo.
[Actor Uchiha Obito acts intimately with a strange man, suspected of being unable to forget an old flame]
[Childhood Sweethearts Reunited]
[The former star-crossed lovers once rejected by their clans have now achieved success and fame, the lovers have finally become a couple]
What kind of headlines are these? And what the hell is "lovers"? This is absolute nonsense!
Kakashi widened his eyes, using all his strength to avoid losing his composure.
Having lived in a [simple mountain village] all his life, he had not yet experienced the nonsense of the media age; how could he have ever seen such unscrupulous headlines before?
"Are you and Uchiha Obito really in a relationship?" Yata couldn't help but lean in beside him to ask, while the looks in the others' eyes also betrayed their curiosity.
“Obito-san and I are not in that kind of relationship!” Kakashi nearly jumped up.
“But the reports say that Uchiha Obito comes from a prestigious family, while you are a commoner and a man, so his family thought you, this male vixen, had seduced him, they refused to let you be together. Because you were unwilling to see your lover in difficulty, you disappeared into the crowd, sixteen years later, even after he had achieved great success, he still did not forget his first love. You also couldn't suppress your feelings and went to meet him, where he caught you, finally, the lovers were reunited.”
Yata spoke enthusiastically about the gossip just mentioned on TV. It had to be said that gossip provides infinite power; even someone like him, who didn't care for reading, could actually recount such a long passage.
It's nothing like that, it's all nonsense," Kakashi explained very seriously. "Obito and I are just classmates.
Yata didn't believe it. "Then why is he holding onto you like that? With that expression, you either owe him a favor or you owe him money."
“If there are no feelings involved, then do you owe him money?”
As he spoke, he looked at Kakashi; this guy didn't look like he was short on money either.
“I suppose we still owe him a favor. I heard Uchiha Obito has quite a background; that group is not to be trifled with. If he owed money, he'd probably have been thrown into the sea long ago,” Totsuka Tadayoshi interjected. “Besides, we all saw just how much you love Uchiha Obito, seeing that whole room full of merchandise.”
To this day, he could still not forget the shock of seeing that room full of merchandise; a person who looked so gentle and elegant on the outside was actually such a fanatic fan.
However, if we say those two had a history, then it would explain everything.
"It's not what you think," Kakashi refuted with a weary expression. Those rumors were merely the way he had come to understand Uchiha Obito in this world.
Then what is the truth?
"Obito and I were elementary school classmates because we were from the same place to begin with," Kakashi began to explain the backstory of their relationship.
"Childhood friends, indeed." Totsuka Tadayoshi said with an "I knew it" expression.
Kakashi forced himself to ignore Totsuka Tadayoshi's words. "After finishing elementary school, we studied under the same teacher together for a few more years."
"So you ended up becoming a couple," Kusunoki added, joining in the fun.
"Not at all! Our relationship was really bad back then!" Kakashi defended.
"Why was it bad?" the others asked, puzzled.
Kakashi rubbed his face, "Maybe it's because I have a bad personality."
After all, Uchiha Obito had been a respectful, kind, lovable child since he was small; a large part of the reason the two had a poor relationship at that time was because he simply didn't care to interact with others.
The others looked at Kakashi's face, thought about how he was usually extremely gentle and considerate, expressed their disbelief one after another.
“Are you sure it's not because the two of you dated and then broke up, which is why things are bad between you now?” Totsuka Tadayoshi proposed another possibility.
"He had someone he liked back then!" Kakashi shouted, his voice nearly cracking.
"That's right, the person he likes is you." Totsuka Tadayoshi
“It's really not me! The person he likes is a girl in our squad!” Kakashi felt like raising two fingers to swear to heaven that he and Uchiha Obito definitely didn't have that kind of relationship.
Alright, alright." Kusunoki saw that Kakashi was getting anxious and called an end to the gossip among the crowd. "It seems this is all a misunderstanding; the media just wrote it recklessly.
Kakashi nodded vigorously. It was true, Obito was definitely innocent, as for him, he was more or less innocent as well.
“Then can you get us Uchiha Obito's autograph?” Yata leaned in close to him again; this was the first time in his life he had met someone who knew a celebrity.
"If there's an opportunity." Kakashi neither refused nor agreed.
"When will Mikoto return?" Anna had been quietly listening to the entire gossip session from the side before asking Kusunoki Kyousaku beside her.
She had already asked this question many times over the past few days, every time the answer she received was much the same as the first.
But this time Kusunoki did not answer her that she should return whenever she wanted; instead, he said thoughtfully, "It seems Suoh Mikoto has been out for quite a long time."
Chapter 76
“Welcome..” Kusunoki stopped mid-sentence, silently watching the man in black who walked in.
Ah, Skarsgard's elementary school classmate is here again. To be able to camp out like this continuously for someone who is a celebrity, the relationship between these two must be quite complicated.
“The usual, add a bit more sugar.” The man said succinctly.
".. Alright." Watching the newcomer find a seat on his own, Kusunoki pulled out a bottle of milk that was originally intended only as a mixer, added a lethal amount of honey to it, thought for a moment, then added a few more spoonfuls of sugar and stirred.
Forget about why the other person kept ordering milk at a bar; even with this amount of sugar, a normal person wouldn't be able to drink it. Kusunoki let his thoughts wander while silently stirring the drink.
He had even searched online with such doubts. The Uchiha Clan had incredibly high popularity due to their looks; with just a quick search, he found that the Uchiha in those records were all sweet lovers, their sugar intake was basically a lethal dose.
I didn't understand what a lethal dose of sugar meant before, but now I finally understand—half a cup of a cup of milk is just sugar.
Of course, the internet also offers another possibility: eating a lot of sugar could also be due to high mental stress, necessitating a replenishment of glucose.
Kusunoki clicked his tongue as he looked at the glass of milk in his hand. With this much sugar, the pressure Uchiha Obito must be under to be sitting here must be immense. He turned the thought over in his mind—did that also mean he was sitting here despite such immense pressure?
Was he sitting here to endure such immense pressure, or was he sitting here despite such immense pressure? As Kusunoki pondered this, he found it becoming more and more intriguing.
Kusunoki shook his head and sighed inwardly while handing the prepared lethal dose of sugary drink to Uchiha Obito.
Uchiha Obito did not notice the other's meaningful gaze; at this moment, his entire focus was on the second-floor staircase. He knew that in about an hour, Kakashi would come down from there.
This was the result of his experience staking out the area for the past few days. Ever since he caught a trace of Kakashi, he had been staking out this spot since that first afternoon, has continued to observe every single day since.
As for the results, one could only say they were slightly better than nothing; he wasn't worried, but the other Uchiha behind him were.
Especially since yesterday was also a day of returning empty-handed; after Uchiha Obito returned, everyone saw that his back was empty and knew he hadn't brought Kakashi back yet.
"Why are you back alone again?" Shisui looked around for a moment, only to find with disappointment that no second person had indeed emerged from behind Uchiha Obito.
This brat, even though he was older than him, didn't use a single respectful title. Uchiha Obito, who was already in a bad mood, sat down in the chair huffily.
“I knew it would be like this.” Uchiha Itachi sat on the sofa, calmly picking up his thermos to drink tea, “He is always so slow when it comes to getting things done.”
Uchiha Madara deeply agreed with this statement, then thought about how Senju Hashirama had been talking to him about this very thing this morning. He grew impatient, just in time to see Sasuke and Naruto walking out of the room.
“You two, come over here.” Uchiha Madara called out to the two of them.
"Is there something you need, Madara-san?" Uzumaki Naruto asked, running over while bouncing with every step.
Uchiha Madara raised an eyebrow. "That guy Obito is simply too useless; he hasn't even managed to bring Kakashi over yet."
"I find that strange too. I thought that as soon as Obito-san showed up, Kakashi-sensei would be lured over immediately," Uzumaki Naruto nodded in agreement.
"Clearly, someone's charm isn't that great," Uchiha Sasuke spoke.
"You can't count on this guy anymore. Tomorrow, you all go over there and bring Hatake Kakashi back," Uchiha Madara commanded.
Uchiha Obito rarely failed to argue, but this time he merely gave Uzumaki Naruto a sour look.
What a great choice. Kakashi-sensei's precious disciple is certainly much better than his elementary school classmate, who tricked him into visiting graves for eighteen years.
Kakashi personally certified it—between him and Naruto, he would choose Naruto!
Uchiha Obito thought as much, but even though today was clearly a matter concerning Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, his body was still honest enough to run over.
After all, Naruto and Sasuke were still a bit young and unreliable, so they needed a mature adult like him watching over them, Uchiha Obito thought quite confidently.
Kakashi walked down the stairs, his gaze instinctively sweeping around the room once. After meeting a certain gaze, he stiffened for a moment before turning his head away as if nothing had happened.
He quickened his pace, hurrying down the stairs under that gaze, ducked behind the bar to grab a cloth and start wiping a glass.
Were these two playing some kind of game to see who could keep their composure better? After watching the whole thing, a question mark involuntarily appeared in Kusunoki's eyes behind his sunglasses. He really wanted to remind Kakashi that he had just wiped that glass himself, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the door being pushed open and two people entering.
Kusunoki found it a bit strange. It was already midday, normally, very few people would enter their bar before evening.
A blonde-haired boy and a handsome black-haired young man appeared in his field of vision, Kusunoki straightened his posture slightly.
“Welcome..”
Kakashi-sensei!