Chapter 28 The Sorrow of Uchiha (Part 2)
Backyard.
Although winter is not over yet, the temperature is neither too cold nor too hot.
Sasuke, who was training, saw Itachi's ninja sword hilt passing by the wall and immediately became energetic.
After clenching his fists to encourage himself, he listened carefully to the sound of footsteps and set the time when Itachi could see him. He placed his feet lightly on the ground and jumped up like a dolphin out of the water. He completed three consecutive neat turns in the air. , every time he turned around, he threw two kunai, and then he landed on all fours like a leopard jumping from the tree. While rolling, he reached for his pocket and saw the traces of six shurikens. Like a blooming flower.
After a series of muffled sounds, the result came out - a total of six kunai shots, all hitting the center of the surrounding targets; only one of the six shuriken shots missed the target.
It can be said to be Sasuke's best result ever.
He's the kind of kid who performs better when people are around him.
Sasuke proudly admired the results of his practice, but when he turned around, he wiped the sweat from his head and looked as if he had just seen Itachi arrive.
"Elder brother!"
He ran towards Itachi with a face begging for praise.
Then Sasuke looked around, and the corners of his tall mouth gradually became smoother, like a birthday child who didn't find the cake in the refrigerator.
"Why are you the only one back, where is Giyu?"
His "performance" was not just for Itachi to watch.
Ever since Itachi set out to call Giyu back, he had been planning the scene of meeting his twin brother again.
During this time, the mother took her students on long-term missions, and the four father and son reunited about once a week.
Every time Giyu went home, cooked meals, helped them wash and dry their clothes, and then continued to practice secretly with Shisui. He didn't live at home at all, so Sasuke had no chance to inquire about Giyu's training results.
At the Konoha Military Police Force, he memorized books in the morning to prepare for the exam; at noon, on the roof of the Police Force, a jounin from the clan who took turns taught him how to practice shuriken; before going home in the evening, he would go to the lake to practice fire release, and his father would come over from time to time to demonstrate in person , it can be said to be a top-notch teaching staff.
When Sasuke thought about it, even if Giyu was very strong and had great talent in Water Release, there was no way he could surpass him in shuriken and fire release, so he waited here, hoping to let Giyu see him. "Daily practice", and then show a surprised expression (such as raising your eyebrows slightly, and then saying "Wow", or showing the nervousness of "I am so different from Sasuke''), and it would be better if he can praise him.
But what he didn't expect was that only half of the audience he imagined came.
Sasuke felt a little disappointed.
"He went inside."
Itachi pulled out a handful of Sasuke's hair that was wet from strenuous exercise, with a familiar tenderness in his eyes.
Even though I don’t want to say it…
But Giyu, only when he opens his mouth to speak, he becomes more like a worrying younger brother.
But Sasuke is always his younger brother, ignorant, innocent and cute.
"Are you disappointed that you didn't meet Giyu right away?"
"Hmph, I don't care about such a trivial matter."
Sasuke puffed up his face and turned to the side, pinching it with his fingers and making a clicking sound, "I'm used to it anyway."
【hateful! You didn't come to me immediately! 】
But when he thought about not having to eat ramen outside tonight, his mood improved wonderfully, "It's still early, brother, can you practice shuriken with me for a while?"
"So what do you want to learn today, Sasuke?"
"It's what Shisui said, hitting moving objects, such as throwing kunai to knock away shurikens."
He still remembered that the last time he "fighted" with those three genin, the other party easily neutralized his long-range attack.
"Ok."
Itachi nodded slightly, "I'll show you first. Just attack me with your shuriken."
"Hey, but-"
Sasuke had 150% confidence in Itachi, but this was a real attack with real weapons.
"It's okay, come on, Sasuke..."
Itachi flashed the kunai that had slipped from his sleeve to his hand at some point, "You know I'll be fine."
"Then I'm coming!"
After Sasuke stepped back four or five meters, a hint of cunning suddenly flashed in his eyes. His left hand quickly passed across his chest, but in fact he didn't throw anything. Then he suddenly threw the shuriken in his right hand and went straight towards Itachi's chest.
Neither Sasuke nor Uchiha Fugaku, who had just arrived from the entrance to the courtyard and was about to say goodbye to his other two sons, thought that this little trick would have any actual effect on Itachi.
But Itachi was suddenly stunned, unmoved by the attack so close at hand, as if his consciousness had been trapped in another world -
The figure of Sasuke in front of him gradually overlapped with the figure of the heir to the single-generation ninjutsu he killed with his own hands last night.
When the child who was one year younger than him saw his grandfather lying on the ground, he also used the same "tactic" as Sasuke and launched a feeble resistance against him.
Even without the Sharingan, Itachi could easily see the trajectory of the shuriken.
However, this time, he failed to react in time. For a moment, he even felt that he didn't want to resist at all.
But this thought only appeared for a moment, then disappeared without a trace, and could no longer be captured...
But when Itachi came to his senses, the shuriken was only one step away from his chest!
At the critical moment, a snapping sound rang in his ears.
The moment the sharp edge cut open his clothes, a winter cherry branch accurately passed through the iron ring in the center of the shuriken, and then flew to the side with it, pinning heavily on the big tree at the edge of the yard. On the top, the shuriken that was still spinning kept clanging, and stopped after a few seconds.
Itachi turned around with some fear and saw his father who looked serious, worried, and even a little angry.
"Brother! Are you fine?!"
Sasuke's screams began.
He didn't understand what happened just now and why his brother didn't knock the shuriken away or even dodge it.
However, no one paid attention to him at this time.
Uchiha Fugaku exchanged glances with his most proud eldest son, but hesitated to speak.
Finally, he turned around and said, "You've worked hard during this time, Itachi."
"Since you are very tired, Go back to your room and rest first. When you wake up tomorrow morning, come and talk to me."
"Yes." Itachi lowered his head slightly.
"And Sasuke, don't disturb your brother today, got it?"
"I know, I know."
Seeing his father staring at him, Sasuke quickly nodded in agreement.
Even if his father didn't say anything, he still noticed that something was wrong with his brother.
After his father walked away, Itachi looked at Sasuke, who was still a little overwhelmed, with an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry, Sasuke, it seems I won't be able to do it today. I am indeed a little tired."
"We'll talk about this later."
Sasuke came to his side and scanned up and down carefully, but found nothing unusual.
In the end, he could only ask in a worried voice: "Is it because of the ninja mission? Are you injured somewhere?"
"Nothing like that."
"Then that must be what happened."
Sasuke showed a suspicious expression, "Aren't you willing to tell me?"
Itachi stared at his younger brother's childish face and suddenly didn't know how to answer.
"Humph, Will you be like Giyu now, Brother."
Sasuke took two steps back gloomily, scraping the soles of his shoes on the ground, "You have so many secrets anyway, and you won't tell me anything."
Uchiha Itachi stretched out his hand distressed, but was dodged, and his arm stopped awkwardly in mid-air.
"Okay then, let me ask you a question first. If you can answer it, I will tell you. How about it?"
"Ask anything you want."
Sasuke puffed up his chest and declared very confidently: "I can get perfect marks on the test given to me by the Police Force jounin."
"Sasuke, let me ask you..."
Itachi organized his words and asked his question: "If creating a small-scale disaster may prevent a larger-scale disaster from happening... what would you do?"
"..."
Sasuke was stunned for a while, then hesitantly said: "I don't know, there is no answer to this question in the things I carry..."
"Then according to the agreement, I can't tell you anything, Sasuke. Besides, this originally involves the secret of the mission..."
"You are lying, this is not a question I will encounter in the entrance exam!"
Sasuke shouted unconvinced.
"Then I hope you never have to face a test like this."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head slightly, then stood up with a smile, "As for practicing shuriken..."
He hooked his fingers at Sasuke. The latter's face suddenly turned red as if he remembered something embarrassing, but his body still moved forward coquettishly.
As expected, Itachi's two fingers flicked on Sasuke's forehead gently.
"Please forgive me this time, Sasuke, next time it will be okay, next time for sure."
"Now, go back and take a shower, and then get ready to eat."
"Then I want to wash it with you!"
"Ok."
There's nothing wrong with agreeing to this.
…
After dinner, Sasuke was full of tea and rice, and leaned against the wall with a bulging belly. All the blood in his brain was transferred to his stomach to promote digestion.
In his words, eating a little more of Giyu's cooking will last until noon tomorrow, so he doesn't have to eat ramen.
Uchiha Mikoto chatted with Itachi about the interesting things in her mission. After Giyu handed Sasuke water and digestive tablets, he sat quietly and listened.
"He hired ninjas from five major countries at the same time, just to find one person?"
Itachi was amazed at the financial resources of this Fire Nation dignitary, "What a persistent person."
"Who says it isn't?"
Uchiha Mikoto said while drinking tea: "The money for hiring ninjas and the money for Tsunade-sama's treatment add up to about tens of millions ryō. In the end, it was just for that reason..."
"Then there was no conflict between you and your subordinates when they met Iwagakure?"
Uchiha Mikoto shook her head.
"It's okay. During the previous battle, the only Uchiha clansman who fought against Iwagakure was the child who gave his eyes to Kakashi. The rest were on the battlefield fighting Kirigakure, so the two sides met this time , showed great restraint.”
"That's it."
Itachi nodded, and then asked: "So... what disease does he want to treat?"
"He thinks his nose is too ugly."
Mikoto paused, "If it's a disease, it should be over-sensitivity and low self-esteem."
“But judging from the situation when we sent him back to the Fire Capital, both problems should have been solved."
[Just for this kind of thing, let the ninjas of two countries that have been hostile for a long time cooperate? The possible dangers involved...]
Itachi only felt that this world was a bit absurd.
"But mom, why do you call a doctor 'sama'? It doesn't seem to be a big deal."
Sasuke questioned. After all, when talking about Hokage at home, they just use the word "Third Hokage", which is not very respectful.
"Tsunade-sama is more than just a doctor, Sasuke."
Mikoto held out a finger, "She is the best medical ninja in the ninja world and the most powerful female ninja. Many people in the clan survived the battlefield thanks to the medical policies she proposed. Compared with these, Her status as the granddaughter of the First Hokage actually seems not worth mentioning."
"I thought mom was the strongest female ninja in the world."
Sasuke looked at his mother in disbelief.
And Giyu is still wondering whether she will tread water.
"Of course, She's not the strongest, but she's at least among the top ten in Konoha."
"Then...since she is so powerful, why doesn't she come back to Konoha?"
Sasuke continued to ask.
"Many people can't figure out the reason behind this."
Mikoto shook her head slightly, "But when we left, Tsunade-sama had already continued her journey. If we went all the way south, we are now near the Land of Rain. Tsunade-sama has the ninjutsu that can change the appearance and age. It will be almost impossible to find her again."
【The Country of Rain? 】
Itachi was slightly startled.
That happened to be the target location for his next mission and the last mission before joining ANBU.
It shouldn't be too easy...
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and Giyu immediately got up and went to open the door. Unexpectedly, standing outside the door was Wen Uchiha.
"Why are you here Wen?"
Giyu's voice had no warmth, but the Uchiha children who were familiar with him were already used to it.
"Giyu, have you heard? Brother Flame has become a Jonin."
Uchiha Wen looked super excited.
"He has promised us that he will officially be the leader of me, Gan and Cui. No matter what the elders of the clan decide, he will not change his mind. Once the formalities are completed, we can go outside the village immediately , to carry out more difficult tasks."
It seems that carrying goods around the village, watching dolls, and catching cats for the daimyo lady has almost pushed these three people to their limit.
"So you came to me because..."
Giyu still didn't understand the purpose of his visit.
"It's like this. In order to celebrate this, Brother Flame is going to treat us at the Barbeque Q the night after tomorrow. All the peers from the clan will come. He specially asked me to invite you and Sasuke. When we trained together before, didn't you help us? A lot of work?"
"peer?"
Giyu tilted his head, and then said a name: "What about Shisui?"
"Well, without him..."
"Itachi?"
"There is no such thing..."
Uchiha Wen's expression gradually stiffened, "Just you and Sasuke..."
Giyu understood and nodded slightly.
"I'll ask Sasuke for you."
"What about you?" Uchiha Wen saw that Giyu was about to close the door so he asked hurriedly.
"I have something important."
With a clang, the door closed, leaving only Uchiha Wen staring outside.
The day after tomorrow was the day that Giyu practiced Water Breathing and Constant for a whole year. It was also the time when he and Shisui made an appointment to meet and find out how to leave the village for a few days without being discovered by his family.
Chapter 28 The Sorrow of Uchiha (Part 2)
Backyard.
Although winter is not over yet, the temperature is neither too cold nor too hot.
Sasuke, who was training, saw Itachi's ninja sword hilt passing by the wall and immediately became energetic.
After clenching his fists to encourage himself, he listened carefully to the sound of footsteps and set the time when Itachi could see him. He placed his feet lightly on the ground and jumped up like a dolphin out of the water. He completed three consecutive neat turns in the air. , every time he turned around, he threw two kunai, and then he landed on all fours like a leopard jumping from the tree. While rolling, he reached for his pocket and saw the traces of six shurikens. Like a blooming flower.
After a series of muffled sounds, the result came out - a total of six kunai shots, all hitting the center of the surrounding targets; only one of the six shuriken shots missed the target.
It can be said to be Sasuke's best result ever.
He's the kind of kid who performs better when people are around him.
Sasuke proudly admired the results of his practice, but when he turned around, he wiped the sweat from his head and looked as if he had just seen Itachi arrive.
"Elder brother!"
He ran towards Itachi with a face begging for praise.
Then Sasuke looked around, and the corners of his tall mouth gradually became smoother, like a birthday child who didn't find the cake in the refrigerator.
"Why are you the only one back, where is Giyu?"
His "performance" was not just for Itachi to watch.
Ever since Itachi set out to call Giyu back, he had been planning the scene of meeting his twin brother again.
During this time, the mother took her students on long-term missions, and the four father and son reunited about once a week.
Every time Giyu went home, cooked meals, helped them wash and dry their clothes, and then continued to practice secretly with Shisui. He didn't live at home at all, so Sasuke had no chance to inquire about Giyu's training results.
At the Konoha Military Police Force, he memorized books in the morning to prepare for the exam; at noon, on the roof of the Police Force, a jounin from the clan who took turns taught him how to practice shuriken; before going home in the evening, he would go to the lake to practice fire release, and his father would come over from time to time to demonstrate in person , it can be said to be a top-notch teaching staff.
When Sasuke thought about it, even if Giyu was very strong and had great talent in Water Release, there was no way he could surpass him in shuriken and fire release, so he waited here, hoping to let Giyu see him. "Daily practice", and then show a surprised expression (such as raising your eyebrows slightly, and then saying "Wow", or showing the nervousness of "I am so different from Sasuke''), and it would be better if he can praise him.
But what he didn't expect was that only half of the audience he imagined came.
Sasuke felt a little disappointed.
"He went inside."
Itachi pulled out a handful of Sasuke's hair that was wet from strenuous exercise, with a familiar tenderness in his eyes.
Even though I don’t want to say it…
But Giyu, only when he opens his mouth to speak, he becomes more like a worrying younger brother.
But Sasuke is always his younger brother, ignorant, innocent and cute.
"Are you disappointed that you didn't meet Giyu right away?"
"Hmph, I don't care about such a trivial matter."
Sasuke puffed up his face and turned to the side, pinching it with his fingers and making a clicking sound, "I'm used to it anyway."
【hateful! You didn't come to me immediately! 】
But when he thought about not having to eat ramen outside tonight, his mood improved wonderfully, "It's still early, brother, can you practice shuriken with me for a while?"
"So what do you want to learn today, Sasuke?"
"It's what Shisui said, hitting moving objects, such as throwing kunai to knock away shurikens."
He still remembered that the last time he "fighted" with those three genin, the other party easily neutralized his long-range attack.
"Ok."
Itachi nodded slightly, "I'll show you first. Just attack me with your shuriken."
"Hey, but-"
Sasuke had 150% confidence in Itachi, but this was a real attack with real weapons.
"It's okay, come on, Sasuke..."
Itachi flashed the kunai that had slipped from his sleeve to his hand at some point, "You know I'll be fine."
"Then I'm coming!"
After Sasuke stepped back four or five meters, a hint of cunning suddenly flashed in his eyes. His left hand quickly passed across his chest, but in fact he didn't throw anything. Then he suddenly threw the shuriken in his right hand and went straight towards Itachi's chest.
Neither Sasuke nor Uchiha Fugaku, who had just arrived from the entrance to the courtyard and was about to say goodbye to his other two sons, thought that this little trick would have any actual effect on Itachi.
But Itachi was suddenly stunned, unmoved by the attack so close at hand, as if his consciousness had been trapped in another world -
The figure of Sasuke in front of him gradually overlapped with the figure of the heir to the single-generation ninjutsu he killed with his own hands last night.
When the child who was one year younger than him saw his grandfather lying on the ground, he also used the same "tactic" as Sasuke and launched a feeble resistance against him.
Even without the Sharingan, Itachi could easily see the trajectory of the shuriken.
However, this time, he failed to react in time. For a moment, he even felt that he didn't want to resist at all.
But this thought only appeared for a moment, then disappeared without a trace, and could no longer be captured...
But when Itachi came to his senses, the shuriken was only one step away from his chest!
At the critical moment, a snapping sound rang in his ears.
The moment the sharp edge cut open his clothes, a winter cherry branch accurately passed through the iron ring in the center of the shuriken, and then flew to the side with it, pinning heavily on the big tree at the edge of the yard. On the top, the shuriken that was still spinning kept clanging, and stopped after a few seconds.
Itachi turned around with some fear and saw his father who looked serious, worried, and even a little angry.
"Brother! Are you fine?!"
Sasuke's screams began.
He didn't understand what happened just now and why his brother didn't knock the shuriken away or even dodge it.
However, no one paid attention to him at this time.
Uchiha Fugaku exchanged glances with his most proud eldest son, but hesitated to speak.
Finally, he turned around and said, "You've worked hard during this time, Itachi."
"Since you are very tired, Go back to your room and rest first. When you wake up tomorrow morning, come and talk to me."
"Yes." Itachi lowered his head slightly.
"And Sasuke, don't disturb your brother today, got it?"
"I know, I know."
Seeing his father staring at him, Sasuke quickly nodded in agreement.
Even if his father didn't say anything, he still noticed that something was wrong with his brother.
After his father walked away, Itachi looked at Sasuke, who was still a little overwhelmed, with an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry, Sasuke, it seems I won't be able to do it today. I am indeed a little tired."
"We'll talk about this later."
Sasuke came to his side and scanned up and down carefully, but found nothing unusual.
In the end, he could only ask in a worried voice: "Is it because of the ninja mission? Are you injured somewhere?"
"Nothing like that."
"Then that must be what happened."
Sasuke showed a suspicious expression, "Aren't you willing to tell me?"
Itachi stared at his younger brother's childish face and suddenly didn't know how to answer.
"Humph, Will you be like Giyu now, Brother."
Sasuke took two steps back gloomily, scraping the soles of his shoes on the ground, "You have so many secrets anyway, and you won't tell me anything."
Uchiha Itachi stretched out his hand distressed, but was dodged, and his arm stopped awkwardly in mid-air.
"Okay then, let me ask you a question first. If you can answer it, I will tell you. How about it?"
"Ask anything you want."
Sasuke puffed up his chest and declared very confidently: "I can get perfect marks on the test given to me by the Police Force jounin."
"Sasuke, let me ask you..."
Itachi organized his words and asked his question: "If creating a small-scale disaster may prevent a larger-scale disaster from happening... what would you do?"
"..."
Sasuke was stunned for a while, then hesitantly said: "I don't know, there is no answer to this question in the things I carry..."
"Then according to the agreement, I can't tell you anything, Sasuke. Besides, this originally involves the secret of the mission..."
"You are lying, this is not a question I will encounter in the entrance exam!"
Sasuke shouted unconvinced.
"Then I hope you never have to face a test like this."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head slightly, then stood up with a smile, "As for practicing shuriken..."
He hooked his fingers at Sasuke. The latter's face suddenly turned red as if he remembered something embarrassing, but his body still moved forward coquettishly.
As expected, Itachi's two fingers flicked on Sasuke's forehead gently.
"Please forgive me this time, Sasuke, next time it will be okay, next time for sure."
"Now, go back and take a shower, and then get ready to eat."
"Then I want to wash it with you!"
"Ok."
There's nothing wrong with agreeing to this.
…
After dinner, Sasuke was full of tea and rice, and leaned against the wall with a bulging belly. All the blood in his brain was transferred to his stomach to promote digestion.
In his words, eating a little more of Giyu's cooking will last until noon tomorrow, so he doesn't have to eat ramen.
Uchiha Mikoto chatted with Itachi about the interesting things in her mission. After Giyu handed Sasuke water and digestive tablets, he sat quietly and listened.
"He hired ninjas from five major countries at the same time, just to find one person?"
Itachi was amazed at the financial resources of this Fire Nation dignitary, "What a persistent person."
"Who says it isn't?"
Uchiha Mikoto said while drinking tea: "The money for hiring ninjas and the money for Tsunade-sama's treatment add up to about tens of millions ryō. In the end, it was just for that reason..."
"Then there was no conflict between you and your subordinates when they met Iwagakure?"
Uchiha Mikoto shook her head.
"It's okay. During the previous battle, the only Uchiha clansman who fought against Iwagakure was the child who gave his eyes to Kakashi. The rest were on the battlefield fighting Kirigakure, so the two sides met this time , showed great restraint.”
"That's it."
Itachi nodded, and then asked: "So... what disease does he want to treat?"
"He thinks his nose is too ugly."
Mikoto paused, "If it's a disease, it should be over-sensitivity and low self-esteem."
“But judging from the situation when we sent him back to the Fire Capital, both problems should have been solved."
[Just for this kind of thing, let the ninjas of two countries that have been hostile for a long time cooperate? The possible dangers involved...]
Itachi only felt that this world was a bit absurd.
"But mom, why do you call a doctor 'sama'? It doesn't seem to be a big deal."
Sasuke questioned. After all, when talking about Hokage at home, they just use the word "Third Hokage", which is not very respectful.
"Tsunade-sama is more than just a doctor, Sasuke."
Mikoto held out a finger, "She is the best medical ninja in the ninja world and the most powerful female ninja. Many people in the clan survived the battlefield thanks to the medical policies she proposed. Compared with these, Her status as the granddaughter of the First Hokage actually seems not worth mentioning."
"I thought mom was the strongest female ninja in the world."
Sasuke looked at his mother in disbelief.
And Giyu is still wondering whether she will tread water.
"Of course, She's not the strongest, but she's at least among the top ten in Konoha."
"Then...since she is so powerful, why doesn't she come back to Konoha?"
Sasuke continued to ask.
"Many people can't figure out the reason behind this."
Mikoto shook her head slightly, "But when we left, Tsunade-sama had already continued her journey. If we went all the way south, we are now near the Land of Rain. Tsunade-sama has the ninjutsu that can change the appearance and age. It will be almost impossible to find her again."
【The Country of Rain? 】
Itachi was slightly startled.
That happened to be the target location for his next mission and the last mission before joining ANBU.
It shouldn't be too easy...
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and Giyu immediately got up and went to open the door. Unexpectedly, standing outside the door was Wen Uchiha.
"Why are you here Wen?"
Giyu's voice had no warmth, but the Uchiha children who were familiar with him were already used to it.
"Giyu, have you heard? Brother Flame has become a Jonin."
Uchiha Wen looked super excited.
"He has promised us that he will officially be the leader of me, Gan and Cui. No matter what the elders of the clan decide, he will not change his mind. Once the formalities are completed, we can go outside the village immediately , to carry out more difficult tasks."
It seems that carrying goods around the village, watching dolls, and catching cats for the daimyo lady has almost pushed these three people to their limit.
"So you came to me because..."
Giyu still didn't understand the purpose of his visit.
"It's like this. In order to celebrate this, Brother Flame is going to treat us at the Barbeque Q the night after tomorrow. All the peers from the clan will come. He specially asked me to invite you and Sasuke. When we trained together before, didn't you help us? A lot of work?"
"peer?"
Giyu tilted his head, and then said a name: "What about Shisui?"
"Well, without him..."
"Itachi?"
"There is no such thing..."
Uchiha Wen's expression gradually stiffened, "Just you and Sasuke..."
Giyu understood and nodded slightly.
"I'll ask Sasuke for you."
"What about you?" Uchiha Wen saw that Giyu was about to close the door so he asked hurriedly.
"I have something important."
With a clang, the door closed, leaving only Uchiha Wen staring outside.
The day after tomorrow was the day that Giyu practiced Water Breathing and Constant for a whole year. It was also the time when he and Shisui made an appointment to meet and find out how to leave the village for a few days without being discovered by his family.
