Uchiha Chisen and Uchiha Itachi

A single sentence from Uchiha Itachi plunged the dinner table into an eerie silence, until the innocent and ignorant Uchiha Sasuke reached out with his chopsticks and picked up a piece of fried tempura.

Sasuke suddenly sensed that something was wrong, and his little hand stiffened.

He looked left, then right.

He found that whether it was Father, Mother, or his beloved brother, they were all frozen in their chairs, completely motionless.

Sasuke also noticed that his brother was looking at Father, while both Father and Mother were looking at his brother.

"What's wrong with you?"

Sasuke swallowed nervously, unable to resist breaking the silence.

But he found that Father ignored him and spoke directly to his brother. "Itachi, I told you during the day. At such a critical time, I will never allow you to lay hands on a member of our clan without a proper reason."

"And..."

Fugaku said solemnly, "You and Chisen are both geniuses who can carry the Uchiha Clan's future on your shoulders. If the two of you come into conflict, what will others think of the Uchiha Clan?"

"We are already heavily marginalized. If people discover that we are severely divided internally as well, the Uchiha's position will become even more difficult."

"Itachi, you are only twelve, but you should understand what I mean. You are a precocious child."

Uchiha Itachi shook his head.

"Father, I will not come into conflict with him." He said expressionlessly, "I merely want to speak with Uchiha Chisen."

A moment later, Uchiha Itachi added, "I guarantee it."

The next day, before dawn.

Uchiha Itachi stood before the door of a plain two-story house.

There were faint dark circles beneath his eyes. Clearly, he had not slept peacefully that night.

He raised his head, his gaze falling on the doorbell before him.

"Ring it."

A slightly deep voice sounded from behind Uchiha Itachi. "Didn't you say you wanted to speak with Chisen?"

The speaker was Fugaku!

Fugaku believed that since Itachi had made him a promise, he would never use force against Uchiha Chisen. He considered himself to know this eldest son, who filled him with pride, very well.

But...

He also considered himself fairly familiar with Uchiha Chisen. Fugaku was not sure whether Chisen would attack Itachi. After all, several years ago, Chisen had already made a move once.

Although Chisen later seemed to have "calmed down," and even if he happened to run into Itachi someday, their gazes would merely cross.

Fugaku still did not wish to see that kind of risk.

So he had followed him here.

But at that moment, both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku raised their gazes upward at the same time.

They both saw an orange Ninja Cat sitting on the railing of the second-floor balcony, its eyes watching the two of them.

—What a fat cat.

That was the father and son's first impression.

"It's Chisen's Ninja Cat." Fugaku said to Itachi, "It is a very formidable Ninja Cat. It had already been following Chisen during the Third Shinobi World War, traveling across the battlefield with him. It is said that even Elite Jonin have difficulty catching it."

"I recognize it." Uchiha Itachi said indifferently, "The day Uchiha Chisen and I came into armed conflict, this Ninja Cat left three deep wounds on my ankle. Even now, the scars remain there."

Fugaku fell silent.

It seemed the Ninja Cats at Uchiha Chisen's side were no pushovers either!

"Lord Fugaku."

Kijiro still showed Fugaku some respect.

But it showed Uchiha Itachi none at all, not even greeting him.

Kijiro licked its paw, then said, "Lord Chisen is already in the first-floor living room. The tea is brewed, meow. There's no need to ring the bell either. The door is open, so just push it and come in."

Fugaku was stunned.

Then he realized that his eldest son had stood at the door for more than three minutes without ringing that bell.

Apparently, Uchiha Chisen had noticed the father and son the moment they appeared here.

Uchiha Itachi stepped forward first.

He pushed open the door.

This was his first time entering this place, and it was also the first time in years that he stood face-to-face with Uchiha Chisen—the young man several years his senior, Shisui's contemporary, who seemed to be slightly older than Shisui. Back then, his reputation within the Uchiha Clan had been on par with Shisui's.

Fugaku followed him inside as well.

Fugaku found that he was the most nervous of the three present.

He feared that the two young men before him would come to blows.

He had already prepared to stop them. Even if it exposed his Mangekyō Sharingan, he could not stand by and watch the Uchiha Clan's two geniuses end up mutually wounded in an internal conflict.

Uchiha Itachi did not sit down. He walked to a sofa and looked at Uchiha Chisen, who sat there in casual clothes.

"I thought the moment I stepped inside, I would be greeted by surging magma. I was already prepared to fight to the death."

Uchiha Itachi glanced again at the several cups of strong tea on the coffee table, still giving off steam.

The tension in his heart eased slightly.

Those were not mere polite words, but his genuine thoughts.

Facing the man who had once been as famous as Shisui, Uchiha Itachi did not let down his guard in the slightest.

Even with those legendary eyes, he did not dare to be overconfident—because he was unsure whether the man before him, whose capacity was equally astonishing... possessed such a pair of eyes as well, like himself and Shisui.

Uchiha Itachi removed the Ninja Sword from his waist and set it aside. In an even tone, he said, "That incident years ago has always left me with a question. As far as I remember, I never offended you."

"Then why did you want to kill me?"

Meanwhile.

Not far outside the door.

"Ah, I finally made it..." Having learned her lesson from being late once, Izumi had secretly sworn that she could not keep being late. She woke before dawn and headed for Senior Chisen's home.

But just then, she suddenly discovered that the door to Senior Chisen's residence was open!

The girl could not help but freeze.

Did someone break into Senior's house? That absurd thought flashed through her mind, only for her to quickly dismiss it.

Izumi felt that Konoha probably did not have anyone so blind as to want to steal from Senior Chisen's house.

With a bit of curiosity, Izumi patted her little face, which looked listless from lingering sleepiness.

She quickened her pace.

And walked over.

"Senior! Uchiha Izumi, trainee of the Konoha Military Police Force, reporting for duty!" The girl raised one hand and shouted energetically from the doorway, drawing the gazes of all three people inside.

"Eh?"

"Eh!"

Izumi had not expected to see Patriarch Fugaku and Itachi in Senior Chisen's house!

Gasp!

Had she come at the wrong time?