Ito Hirofumi was completely plastered. It was his body's first time drinking, after all, and the rest of the Konoha 12 weren't faring much better, all woozy and swaying. After belting out a song, everyone turned their mischievous, teasing gazes toward Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi. The two of them blushed furiously under the suggestive stares of the youngsters. Asuma, being a tough guy, handled it okay, but Kurenai was so embarrassed she wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear.
Meanwhile, Might Guy was practically vibrating with excitement. His body trembled as he tried to contain his overwhelming emotions, but it was no use—he couldn't hold it in!
With a loud BAM!, he shot to his feet.
"This is youth!!!"
The room exploded into lively chaos again, but just then, Asuma and Kurenai furrowed their brows slightly. They sensed something off—there were a ton of ninjas surrounding the barbecue restaurant!
Exchanging a quick glance, they tugged at Might Guy, who was still shouting about youth. Caught up in his passionate outburst, Guy hadn't noticed anything unusual, but now he picked up on the odd vibe too.
The Anbu sent by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had scoured the village and pinpointed Ito and his group's location. They'd gathered outside the restaurant, ready to move in.
At that moment, Kakashi Hatake burst onto the scene.
Inside, some of the restaurant's customers sensed the tension and bolted, leaving the place nearly empty. The Konoha 12, still tipsy from their drinks, were slow to catch on, but they finally realized—they were surrounded. Masked ninjas encircled the restaurant!
Seeing those masked figures, the group instantly recalled the time at the Ninja Academy when Danzo had taken Ito away. These ninjas looked a lot like the Root operatives from back then!
Is Danzo coming for Hirofumi again?! the Konoha 12 thought, immediately snapping into battle mode.
Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy, however, were confused. Why would Root ninjas be surrounding the place?
BAM!
Kakashi charged in, spotting the group inside and letting out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness! My students are all here!"
Seeing his team safe and sound in the restaurant, Kakashi turned to the Anbu, explained the situation, and told them to report back to the Third Hokage. The Anbu came and went in a flash, vanishing as quickly as they'd appeared.
But then Kakashi spun around, his expression turning deadly serious as he glared at Ito Hirofumi, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. "You four little troublemakers are not making this easy! Don't you know today's the class assignment day?! Why weren't you waiting at the Ninja Academy? Do you have any idea how much of a stir this caused? You even got the Third Hokage involved!"
Naruto, unfazed by Kakashi's stern look, casually picked his nose and flicked a booger right at him. "Tch! Mr. Kidney Failure! You've got some nerve talking about class assignments! We waited at the academy for ages, and you didn't even show up! We got hungry, so we came here to grab some food—what's wrong with that? And look at you, all half-asleep with those dead fish eyes! You don't even look like a proper ninja. Kidney failure, I'm telling you! And now you're blaming us for not waiting? I, Naruto Uzumaki, have never met such a shameless guy!"
Kakashi's eye twitched. My teacher's kid is seriously not cute at all. He thought back to his sensei, Minato—always bright, always optimistic. And then there was Naruto, the total opposite!
Sasuke, standing nearby, piled on. "For once, this idiot's got a point. You're the one who didn't show up on time."
Sakura chimed in quietly, "He does kinda look like he's got kidney issues…"
Asuma and Kurenai, finally piecing things together, realized Kakashi was the jounin leader for these four kids. And they were calling him Mr. Kidney Failure?!
Suddenly, Might Guy, as if struck by a revelation, dashed up to Kakashi. "Kakashi! This is youth!!! Who's my bride?! Take that!"
Kakashi blinked, utterly baffled as his friend burst into song—a song he'd never even heard before! Who's your bride? Since when are you dating someone? And why don't I know about it?!
Hesitantly, Kakashi asked, "Guy… who's this 'bride' you're talking about?"
Guy flashed a dazzling smile, his teeth gleaming as he gave Kakashi a thumbs-up. "It's you, of course, Kakashi! You're my bride! Hey, let's go meet our parents! This is youth!!!"
Kakashi panicked, stumbling back a few steps with a look like he'd seen a ghost. You thick-browed traitor! I thought we were brothers, and now you're trying to make a move on me?!
Inside the summoning space, Might Dai was practically bursting with pride as he stood next to Sakumo Hatake. Seeing his son Guy become such an outstanding ninja—and even a jounin leader—filled him with joy. Then he overheard Sakumo mention that Kakashi was his son.
Might Dai slung an arm around Sakumo's shoulders. "Sakumo! This is youth! Who would've thought our sons would be so close?! Guy's definitely my boy! I told you we should've sung that song together, but you wouldn't go for it. Look at that—Guy's serenading Kakashi! That's youth!!!"
Sakumo, however, wasn't in the mood to entertain Might Dai. He'd been daydreaming about what kind of ninja his son would become, only to find out Kakashi was this listless guy who got called "Mr. Kidney Failure" by his own students. What a disappointing son!