The Elder Wants to See You

"You bastard. Didn't I tell you? It's best not to get involved with him."

After leaving Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Nara Yoshino shot Habara a very displeased glare. Clearly, she had not expected him to do something like that.

In Yoshino's memory, Habara had always been an extremely, extremely smart person. He was also very kind to others and always handled things with great calm.

You could not tell at all that he was a member of the Uchiha clan. His perspective and insight were things even Yoshino of the Nara Clan had no choice but to admire.

But after not seeing him for several years, when she ran into Habara again today, she found that while he still looked the same as before, his brain seemed to have changed a little.

He had gotten stupid!

Who was that kid just now?

Although the village forbade people from talking about it, and the villagers had spread rumors until they treated that little guy Naruto as the incarnation of the Nine-Tails...

In truth, that claim was not too far off, because Naruto was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. Sealed inside his body was an actual Nine-Tails!

And on the night of the Nine-Tails Attack, the ninja who had participated had all seen, reflected in the Nine-Tails' eyes, that pair of scarlet Sharingan patterns.

What did that mean? It meant the Nine-Tails had been controlled by someone, and the person controlling it had been an Uchiha!

Though so many years had passed, every Konoha resident still remembered clearly the sight of the Nine-Tails rampaging through Konoha and causing the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.

It could be said that the destruction the Nine-Tails brought to Konoha was the first time Konoha Village had suffered such a major attack.

Even if ordinary people did not know the Nine-Tails had been controlled, would Konoha's higher-ups not know about these things? What did it mean for an Uchiha like you to get involved with the Nine-Tails?

That kind of behavior was practically no different from courting death!

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Faced with the nagging Nara Yoshino, Habara also shook his head rather helplessly. He was not angry, because he knew this was Yoshino's way of caring about him.

When others showed him kindness, Habara would not feel troubled or disgusted by something like that.

The sages had said: Repay resentment with fairness, and repay virtue with virtue.

Although Habara knew what the original meaning was, he preferred to understand it as: If other people treat you well, you should treat them well. If other people don't, then you handle it as you see fit.

Although that did twist the sage's words a little, Habara still upheld his own understanding when doing things.

Besides, it was not as if he had never learned those old family teachings like, "A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring; the hatred of a broken tooth must be repaid with a head."

The Nara Clan was actually quite interesting. Once you became familiar with them and gained their recognition, then even if they said it was troublesome, they would still think of ways to help you.

Naruto and Shikamaru in the original work were exactly like that. Although Shikamaru was dragged into trouble by Naruto every single time, he would still do everything he could to help Naruto.

Moreover, the Ninja Acumen of the Nara Clan had always been pretty good. During the Chunin Exams, Shikamaru held the rear by himself, and at that point he had already mentally prepared himself to die in battle.

It was a great fortune that Asuma hurried over. Otherwise, Shikamaru might really have been done for.

"Actually, don't just talk about me. Did you forget? Your Shikamaru is skipping class together with that kid from the Akimichi Clan."

Habara did not want to keep getting tangled up in this topic, so he quickly shifted the subject to Yoshino's family affairs.

"Tsk, tsk. Back when we were studying, we didn't dare skip class. That little brother of yours isn't bad."

"Tch, Shikamaru is my cousin, not my actual younger brother. Why would I care about his family's business? How troublesome."

But what Habara had not expected was that Yoshino did not take the bait at all, which left Habara in a bit of a difficult position.

Fortunately, Nara Yoshino was not the type who thought, "You have to listen to whatever I say." She was purely giving Habara a well-intentioned reminder.

If Habara really would not listen, she would not keep nagging him. After all, this was not her own business, and if she said too much, everyone would end up unhappy.

"All right, all right. This is your business, so just handle it yourself. But let me give you another friendly reminder."

Nara Yoshino stopped, then looked around at their surroundings before lowering her voice as much as possible and speaking to Habara. She even raised a hand to block her mouth.

"I've heard some rumors, and I can also see it myself. The relationship between your clan and the village is getting worse and worse.

If possible, I suggest you try not to get involved in your clan's affairs, then find a long-term mission outside the village.

When the time comes, watch how the wind blows, then make some decisions."

Nara Yoshino's words were extremely indirect, but Habara was not stupid, so he naturally understood exactly what this girl meant.

He had not expected Nara Yoshino to give him such a suggestion, but he had to admit that this suggestion was indeed very kind.

As for the rumors Yoshino had heard, they were probably conclusions she had drawn by combining some of Nara Shikaku's actions with an analysis of the current environment inside the village.

A person like Nara Shikaku probably would not leak information easily. Of course, it could not be ruled out that he wanted to earn some goodwill from the Uchiha.

But Habara was more inclined to believe that this was something Nara Yoshino had analyzed on her own. Having been her teammate before, he knew what this young girl was capable of.

He had to admit, this analysis really was accurate, and the advice she gave was very good as well.

But the key problem was that Habara had no way to run.

"Are you suggesting that, if possible, I should leave Konoha?"

Perhaps because he felt this topic was too heavy, or perhaps because Habara already had plans in his own heart and had no desire to take up this thread, he smiled and teased Yoshino.

"Do whatever you want. Anyway, it's just a friendly suggestion from me. Listen or don't, no one is forcing you."

Nara Yoshino looked at Habara, then walked forward without turning her head.

"Hey, if you tell me something like this, can I report you for inciting me to defect?" Habara quickly caught up, asking in a low voice with amusement.

"Did anyone else hear it besides you and me?" Nara Yoshino raised an eyebrow, then looked at Habara strangely. "And what are you talking about? Defection this, defection that?"

After saying that, she continued walking forward, casually lifting a hand and waving at Habara. "I'm off. I'm going home. Hope we can meet again next time."

Habara watched the young girl's back, and a faint smile appeared on his face as well. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly called out loudly, "Thank you, Yoshino."

Then he turned around too and headed toward the Uchiha Clan's Clan Land. He had originally planned to go train, but now he felt a slight sense of urgency.

He wanted even more to return to the clan and see how Shisui's talk with the elder behind him had gone.

Besides, when it came to training, Habara felt it was better to do it with two people, especially since his training partner really couldn't be weak.

However, what Habara hadn't expected was that just as he reached the entrance of the Uchiha Clan, Shisui was already waiting there.

"Habara, come with me. The elder wants to see you."

"Mm, I understand."