Time passed quickly. As the temperature gradually rose, the days slipped by until, before anyone realized it, it was already early April.
This year, the snow had lingered longer than usual. Even by mid-March, Konoha had still been blanketed in white.
"Shimizu-senpai, we're here again!" Obito's energetic voice rang out from afar before he even reached the door.
"This is a hospital! No loud noise allowed!"
"Huh? Ow, ow, ow—!" Obito's voice instantly deflated, turning pitiful. "Miss Imadegawa, why are you hitting people?!"
"How many times have I told you? Why can't you remember?"
"I just got a little excited… Oh, right—Miss Imadegawa, the cherry blossoms are blooming!"
"Ah?! Really?!" Sara's mood flipped instantly, excitement lighting up her face. "Then we can go see them~"
"Yeah! That's why we came—to invite Shimizu-senpai along."
"Not bad, not bad… I'll have to make some plans too~"
"Plans for what?"
"You have to watch cherry blossoms with someone you like—that's what makes it romantic~" Sara said dreamily.
"Eh?! Is that so? But Miss Imadegawa, don't you have a boyfr—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
"Why did you hit me again?!" Obito's tone now carried a hint of tears. "And you hit so hard!"
"If you don't understand something, don't go running your mouth."
"But I was just asking!"
"That's not allowed either."
"How can you be like this?!" Obito protested.
"This is a hospital. I make the rules."
"You're so bossy, no wonder you don't have a boyfr—"
His voice cut off again.
After a while, Sara's patient lecturing drifted in from outside the door. "Do you know what you did wrong now?"
"…I was wrong."
"Good~ Now go in."
The door opened.
As expected, the three kids—Obito, Kakashi, and Rin—walked in together.
Obito even had a trace of tears clinging to the corners of his eyes.
This kid… like this…
Can he really awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan someday?
Can he really carry the role of a major villain?
Shimizu found himself… deeply skeptical.
"Good morning, Shimizu-senpai~" Rin greeted with a warm smile.
"Hello, senpai," Kakashi added.
"Senpai… hello…" Obito muttered, his head drooping, still not fully recovered from his earlier "lesson."
In a slightly hoarse voice, Shimizu replied, "What brings you here again today?"
Recently, these three had been visiting him quite often.
Ever since he'd been hospitalized with severe injuries, visitors had come in waves—comrades who had survived the Sunagakure assault with him, the parents of the fallen, Megumi, his teacher Kosuke, Jiraiya, Minato, Tsunade… even the Third Hokage had personally come to see him.
But most of them had only visited once.
As for these three… this made it their fifth visit.
Every time they came, they brought along bits of news—village gossip, small "major events"—all things they had seen or heard themselves.
"Whoa~ Senpai, your voice!" Obito suddenly looked up, surprised. "It sounds like it's almost back to normal!"
That was true. The last time they'd come, Shimizu's voice had been completely hoarse, and even speaking had been difficult.
Now, only a slight discomfort remained in his throat.
He had indeed recovered a great deal.
"Yeah… it's getting better day by day. It's already been over a month."
Though unfortunately, he still couldn't mold chakra—nor could he even get out of bed.
"At this rate, it won't be long before you can walk again, senpai~" Rin said with a gentle smile.
Rin really is kind… no other girl compares.
Obito's face flushed red.
Meanwhile, Rin continued with that same soft expression, "Senpai, the cherry blossoms are blooming. We thought you might be bored staying in the hospital all the time, so we wanted to take you out for a walk."
"Come to think of it, they bloomed pretty late this year. Usually it happens in March."
Rin is so thoughtful…
Obito's eyes sparkled with admiration.
In fact, the idea of taking Shimizu out to see the cherry blossoms had been Rin's.
And for Obito—being able to go see them together with the person he liked—there was no way he would refuse. He had immediately raised both hands in agreement.
With two out of three already on board, even Kakashi—who was in the middle of mastering a crucial stage of his Chidori-derived technique—had no choice but to put his training on hold for now…
And so, the three of them had made this trip to the hospital.
To see the cherry blossoms…
Shimizu couldn't deny it—he hadn't been outside in a long time. His days had become painfully monotonous, reduced to a fixed routine between two points: the bed and the bathroom.
He couldn't train, had to limit his speech, and with no newspapers or anything to pass the time, he felt like he was practically growing mold.
What? Read novels?
Do I look like some die-hard fan of Jiraiya?
"…Alright," Shimizu agreed.
"Yesss! Let's go!" Obito immediately rushed off and wheeled over a wheelchair.
"Did Miss Imadegawa approve this?" Shimizu asked before getting up.
"She wants to see the blossoms herself—why would she care about us?" Obito grumbled indignantly.
"She approved," Kakashi replied calmly.
Just as the four of them were about to leave the room, two more people entered—
Megumi and Shisui.
Shisui visited him every few days, but Megumi came less often. It was a bit unusual to see the two of them together today.
"Shimizu, you're going out?" Megumi asked.
"Yeah. They're taking me to see the cherry blossoms."
"Your body isn't even fully recovered, and you're already thinking about going out?"
"Being cooped up in a room all the time gets pretty boring."
"Hey, you! How can you be so disrespectful?" Obito pointed at Megumi, raising his voice.
Although all three of them were members of the Uchiha clan and held the rank of chūnin, their reputations couldn't have been more different.
All of them had awakened the Sharingan, but Obito had long been labeled the dead last, only improving after gaining his eyes. Shisui, on the other hand, had always been hailed as a "genius of the Uchiha clan."
As for Megumi, though she had only recently awakened her Sharingan, her performance in the recent chūnin exams had been stunning enough to earn her the same title—genius.
This… was a matter of pride.
A battle for the dignity of the underdog! I, Uchiha Obito, will not back down!
"That's because Shimizu likes it when I call him that," Megumi replied casually.
Hey, hey, hey—when did I ever say I liked that?!
You decided that on your own, didn't you?!
And I've corrected you multiple times—you're just refusing to change!
"Or what? If you're so capable, why don't you get Shimizu to agree to you calling him by name too?" Megumi added, delivering a clean finishing blow.
"I—" Obito choked, instantly losing all ability to retaliate.
Silence fell.
Hmph… one day, I, Uchiha Obito, will get my revenge!
"Well, since sensei has decided to go out for a walk, we might as well join too," Shisui said gently, breaking the awkwardness.
Kakashi couldn't help but glance at him a few more times—the young ninja hailed as the Uchiha clan's genius in recent years.
It was said that Shisui's Body Flicker Technique was incredibly fast, rivaling even that of jōnin.
Meanwhile, Shisui's gaze also drifted briefly toward Kakashi.
The prodigy of the Hatake clan… the son of the White Fang… a chūnin at the age of six… and the true genius who had developed the Lightning Release: Chidori by the age of ten.
Shisui had personally witnessed the power of that technique when Shimizu used it—
That unmatched blue lightning had clashed head-on with a Tailed Beast Bomb… and ultimately saved them all.
It was a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.
"Then let's all go together," Shimizu said.
With his word, the five youngsters naturally agreed without hesitation.
And so, the group left the hospital together…
...
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