That evening, Hatake Shibu searched all over the house for tea leaves, but strangely enough, he couldn’t find any.
Normally, the tea leaves were always easy to spot.
Yet for some reason, there wasn’t a single packet to be found.
After searching for quite some time, he finally found the tea leaves inside a drawer.
In the end, Hatake Shibu disappeared from class for an entire month.
Although his classmates were quite happy about his absence, out of the bonds of friendship, they still went to visit him at home.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get to eat a single one of those tea eggs.
All of them went to Hatake Sakumo and Kakashi.
In the end, Kakashi still had a little conscience and gave him half of one to taste.
And so, lying in bed, Shibu finally got to eat a taste of the food from his homeland after a long time.
That was why the flavor of that particular tea was so deeply etched into his memory.
“I heard Big Sis Keiko is very skilled at painting, so I came here because I wanted to ask you for a favor!”
Hatake Shibu glanced at the sky outside the window.
It was getting late.
He felt that it would be better to finish things quickly and head home.
Otherwise, bamboo shoot fried with meat would be waiting for him!
Kurama Keiko hurriedly shook her head.
“No. I can’t paint.”
Hatake Shibu was stunned.
Then he rubbed his chin.
“Why?”
The Kurama Clan’s genjutsu didn’t necessarily have to be manifested through painting, but painting could allow them to display their abilities in a much more direct way.
Speaking of the Kurama Clan, their bloodline was practically comparable to being favored by the Sage of Six Paths himself.
Almost every member possessed an innate talent for genjutsu, rivaling even the Uchiha.
Moreover, their clan had the potential to produce exceptional talents at certain points in time.
If their population hadn’t been so small, perhaps Konoha wouldn’t have been dominated by the Senju and Uchiha Clans.
“As soon as I paint, another version of me comes out of my body.”
“She’ll kill you.”
Hearing Keiko’s explanation, Hatake Shibu rubbed his chin.
Isn’t this basically split personality?
No, that wasn’t right!
Kurama Yakumo had developed Ido because of her persecutory delusions and the constant rejection she experienced from the people around her.
But Keiko didn’t look like someone who had suffered persecution.
Shibu asked,
“You mean that whenever you paint, another version of yourself emerges from your mental world and takes over your body?”
Kurama Keiko nodded.
“Yes. That’s why I can’t paint.”
Hatake Shibu scratched his head.
This was getting troublesome.
“Can I ask how strong you are after your body is taken over?”
Shibu wanted to see whether he could use the same method Yūhi Kurenai would later use when entering Kurama Yakumo’s mental world.
If he could enter that mental space and fight her, perhaps it might have some effect.
“My parents can only barely escape from her.”
Sorry!
I’m leaving!
If she had been at chūnin level, perhaps Hatake Shibu would have been willing to go in and give it a try.
But jōnin level had clearly exceeded what he could handle.
Hatake Shibu stood up.
“Sorry. I was too presumptuous.”
“It’s getting late, so we’ll head back now.”
“Take care.”
As he spoke, Shibu prepared to drag Uchiha Obito away.
After all, this was a ticking time bomb.
Who knew when it might explode right beside him?
And it could take both him and Uchiha Obito with it!
Obito was dragged toward the door by Shibu.
But just when Shibu was about to get him out of this dangerous place, Obito suddenly grabbed the doorframe with all his strength.
Shibu was nearly pulled off balance.
After steadying himself, he frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“We need to get back soon.”
“Your grandmother is still waiting for you!”
“Shibu, tell me.”
“Do you have a way to solve Big Sis Keiko’s problem?”
Uchiha Obito clung tightly to the doorframe, his expression making it clear that he wouldn’t leave unless Shibu answered him.
Shibu naturally wasn’t going to fall for that.
How could a mere Uchiha Obito possibly manipulate him?
“Not leaving?”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“You can stay here.”
Sure enough.
Without Uchiha Madara brainwashing him, Uchiha Obito really was just a hopelessly kind-hearted idiot.
Shibu did have a little bit of an idea.
But that idea relied on the mature soul and enhanced mental strength he had brought with him from his previous life.
That was precisely why he dared to even consider it.
But the problem was that if he went inside right now, he might very well be killed in there.
Severe damage to his mental strength was no joke.
His entire shinobi career could end before it even began!
“Waaah! You can’t leave!”
“Big Sis Keiko is such a cute girl, and she can only be trapped here.”
“Don’t you feel even a little sorry for her?”
Hatake Shibu looked at Uchiha Obito, who was wiping his tears and snot all over Shibu’s pant leg.
“I do have a way.”
“But I’m not strong enough.”
“How about we come back another time and help her solve this problem?”
“How does that sound?”
Just as Shibu felt that reasoning wasn’t going to work and was preparing to resort to some good old-fashioned physical education, a sharp sound suddenly came from the side.
“Whoosh!”
Shibu didn’t have time to think.
He immediately turned his head, causing the attack to miss.
As he watched the paintbrush fly past his face, Hatake Shibu immediately realized that things had become serious.
He kicked Uchiha Obito, who was still clinging to him, away.
Then he made several leaps and landed on top of a tree.
“Damn it!”
“Shibu, if you don’t want to help, then fine!”
“But why did you kick me?”
“I think you just broke two of my ribs!”
“BOOM!”
Before Uchiha Obito could finish speaking, a bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down from the sky!
The intense flash of lightning illuminated the surroundings, which had already grown dim under the evening sky.
But the dazzling light brought no warmth.
Instead, it was deathly pale.
Combined with the damp, gloomy atmosphere of the surrounding mountains, the entire area became even more eerie.
Uchiha Obito was startled by the lightning as well.
He hurriedly found a tree and hid behind it.
There was only one thought running through his mind.
What the hell is going on right now?
“You bastard!”
“I told you we should leave!”
“Look what happened!”
“Your Big Sis Keiko came looking for you!”
“Why don’t you go out and give her a hug?”
Uchiha Obito never expected to be this unlucky.
The current situation was extremely urgent.
No one could help him.
Unless Keiko herself regained consciousness!
Kurama Keiko stood at the entrance of the mansion, seemingly searching for her prey.
She had clearly seen two people earlier.
So why had they disappeared now?
From his position on the tree, Hatake Shibu watched the scene and breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Keiko had never received proper shinobi training at the Ninja Academy.
So she didn’t know how to use chakra sensory techniques.
Otherwise, Shibu felt that by now, he would probably already be about eighty percent cooked.
After all, the lightning crashing down from the sky was clearly different from lightning created by a shinobi!