After snack time, Shin-chan rubbed his round little belly and looked at Bo-chan.
"Bo-chan, stay for dinner. My mom makes really good fried shrimp!"
Bo-chan shook his head.
"No."
"Why not?"
"I've got something to do."
"What?" Shin-chan tilted his head at him.
Bo-chan was silent for two seconds.
"Something at home."
Shin-chan nodded. "Okay then. See you tomorrow."
"Mm."
Bo-chan stood up, gave Misae a small nod, and headed for the door.
Misae poked her head out of the kitchen. "You're not staying for dinner?"
"No, thank you, Auntie." Bo-chan's voice was as flat as ever.
The door closed.
Misae looked at Shin-chan. "That classmate of yours is kind of strange."
"But he's really nice. He taught Shiro how to refine chakra."
Misae froze.
"Refine chakra?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan was already running toward the backyard. "Shiro, I'm back!"
Misae stood there for a long moment, completely speechless.
Were kids these days all this amazing?
Bo-chan had only walked a few steps away from the Nohara house when the strand of snot under his nose swayed.
So he turned and headed into a quiet side alley.
The alley was deep, with old walls on both sides. No one was around.
Bo-chan kept walking until he reached the middle, then stopped and said in his usual flat tone, "Come out."
No one answered.
The alley was silent except for the wind brushing over the tops of the walls.
Bo-chan waited two seconds, then started forming hand seals.
"Secret Art: Snot Shuriken Jutsu."
The strand of snot beneath his nose seemed to come alive, stretching and twisting in midair until it split into two translucent shuriken.
Whoosh.
The two snot shuriken shot out at the same time in different directions.
One flew toward the top of the wall at the alley entrance.
The other flew into the shadows deeper in the alley.
Bang.
Bang.
Two figures leaped out of hiding and landed at opposite ends of the alley.
One had silver hair, a face mask, and a kunai in hand.
The other wore the dark high-collared shirt of the Uchiha clan.
Kakashi.
Uchiha Toru.
Bo-chan looked at them without the slightest change in expression.
The two snot shuriken curved in midair, flew back to him, and turned back into ordinary snot, hanging once again under his nose.
Kakashi's gaze landed on that strand of snot, and his eyes narrowed.
Uchiha Toru's expression was complicated.
The three of them stood several meters apart, and no one spoke.
In the end, Uchiha Toru spoke first.
"How did you notice?"
Bo-chan looked at him.
"My snot."
Uchiha Toru froze.
"Your snot?"
"Yeah." Bo-chan nodded. "It told me where you were hiding."
Kakashi asked, "So you knew we were following you from the start?"
"Yeah," Bo-chan said. "I knew from the moment I left the Nohara house."
"Then why only make a move now?"
"Fewer people here."
Kakashi stepped forward, staring at him.
"Who exactly are you?"
Bo-chan looked at him and said nothing.
"You're not an ordinary student," Kakashi continued. "Not with your knowledge and not with your skills."
Bo-chan was silent for two seconds, then answered with a question of his own. "Why were you following me?"
"You're getting too close to Shin-chan."
Bo-chan looked at the two of them, seeming to understand something. "You're his friends."
"We are," Uchiha Toru said.
Kakashi didn't speak, but he didn't deny it either.
"So we need to know why you're getting close to him."
Bo-chan shook his head. "I mean him no harm."
Uchiha Toru studied his face, trying to read something there.
But Bo-chan's expression never changed. It stayed as flat as ever, and even the strand of snot stopped swaying, just hanging there motionless.
"I don't believe you," Kakashi said.
Bo-chan looked at him. "Then what do you want?"
"That snot of yours is a secret technique, right?"
"Mm." Bo-chan nodded.
"From what clan?"
Bo-chan was silent for two seconds.
"No clan."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "A secret technique with no clan?"
"Mm."
That answer was even more suspicious than having a clan.
"I don't believe that either." Uchiha Toru stepped forward and raised his hands slightly, taking the starting posture for hand seals.
Kakashi tightened his grip on the kunai, though his stance was clearly restrained. "Let's capture him first. Don't hurt him."
"I know," Uchiha Toru said with a nod. "I don't need you to remind me."
Bo-chan looked at them as the strand of snot slowly lengthened and floated in the air.
The atmosphere turned tense in an instant.
Uchiha Toru rushed forward a step, already forming hand seals.
But Bo-chan was faster.
The snot suddenly snapped upward, turning into a long whip that lashed toward Uchiha Toru.
Uchiha Toru twisted aside to dodge, but the snot whip curved in midair and came back around at him.
"Fire Style—"
He had only gotten out two words when the whip wrapped around his wrist and yanked him backward, instantly breaking his seal sequence.
At the same time, Kakashi moved.
He circled around to Bo-chan's side, kunai in hand, and thrust straight at him.
Bo-chan raised his other hand. The snot whip instantly split, part of it spreading out in front of him to form a translucent shield.
Clink.
The kunai hit the shield with a metallic sound.
Kakashi's eyes widened slightly.
It was snot, but it was as hard as steel.
He pulled back the kunai, stepped away, and looked for another opening.
Uchiha Toru tore the snot loose from his wrist and started forming seals again.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball—"
The snot whip lashed out again, this time striking directly at the hand that had only gotten halfway through the seals.
Uchiha Toru had no choice but to stop and dodge.
Then Kakashi attacked again.
The three of them went back and forth, and no one gained the upper hand.
At last, Uchiha Toru retreated a step first, breathing hard.
"This guy... is way too hard to deal with..."
Kakashi stopped too, staring at Bo-chan.
Bo-chan stood where he was, the strand of snot hanging beneath his nose again, swaying lightly as if nothing had happened.
"Still fighting?" he asked, his voice just as flat as before.
Uchiha Toru gritted his teeth.
Kakashi said nothing, but tightened his grip on the kunai.
Bo-chan looked at them and started forming hand seals again.
Bang!
A huge cloud of smoke exploded out, blocking everyone's view.
Kakashi and Uchiha Toru both instinctively backed away.
By the time the smoke cleared, Bo-chan was gone.
Uchiha Toru looked around.
"He ran?"
Kakashi walked to the spot where Bo-chan had been standing and looked down.
A few strange drops of liquid were seeping slowly into the dirt.
He crouched down, touched one with his fingertip, and held it up to look at it.
It was snot.
Kakashi stood and looked around.
Under the moonlight, the only sound was the wind moving through the treetops.
Uchiha Toru walked over, frowning. "Who is he, really?"
"I don't know." Kakashi flicked the bit of snot off his finger. "Next time, we shouldn't work together. Our coordination is way too awkward."
Uchiha Toru shot him a glance. "Relax. There won't be a next time."
~~~
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