Entering the Anbu

Asuka walked into the house and looked around. Bright sunlight streamed through the windows, warming the pastries on the table and giving them a strange sunlit smell.

After tasting a piece of pastry, Asuka closed his eyes and chewed.

Hmm. It actually has a damn weird taste, but it isn't the taste of spoiled food.

Opening his eyes, Asuka looked at Mikoto, who sat properly across from him. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said,

"Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Mikoto. Where is Captain Fugaku?"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Mikoto watched him swallow the entire pastry. A faint smile immediately appeared on her face as she asked,

"How does it taste?"

"Not bad!"

Although the food was rather unpleasant, Asuka still praised her as usual. After all, he could not tell someone to their face that their food tasted terrible.

Then, he picked up another pastry from the table, put it into his mouth, and chewed with great elegance.

Hmm. It really is awful. "Fugaku was called away just now. Please wait here for a moment, Asuka-kun."

"Alright!"

Asuka nodded, then picked up another pastry to taste. To be fair, aside from the poor flavor, it was still edible.

As the Uchiha Clan Head's Wife, she cared about her reputation. She definitely would not serve him expired food. This was probably just how it tasted.

With that thought, he picked up another pastry and sampled it.

Hmm. It really is terrible. Even after four pieces, I still haven't gotten used to it.

"Is it that delicious?"

"It's very good!"

Watching Asuka give her a thumbs-up, Uchiha Mikoto glanced at the pastries on the plate, her eyes full of confusion.

She had spent the morning experimenting with a plate of pastries, but she did not know which step had gone wrong, causing the freshly baked pastries to taste exceptionally awful. After trying one, she had intended to throw them away.

But when she arrived at the front courtyard, she saw Shisui bringing Asuka in. As the hostess, she naturally could not ignore them, so she simply brought over the pastries to entertain him.

After setting the pastries on the table and pouring a cup of water, she had barely finished asking why he had come when she saw Asuka reaching for that plate of failed pastries.

And she forcibly suppressed the urge to stop him.

"Asuka-kun, do you really think they're tasty?"

Seeing him put one pastry after another into his mouth, Uchiha Mikoto lightly furrowed her brow and asked cautiously.

"They're tasty. Can't you tell?"

"I can tell."

Seeing the look of enjoyment on Asuka's face, Uchiha Mikoto hesitantly looked at the pastries. Then she picked one up and examined it for a while.

Could it be that only the one I tasted was a failed product, while the rest turned out well?

If that's the case, Itachi can have some when he comes back hungry.

With that thought, Uchiha Mikoto took a small bite. After chewing it, the smile on her face stiffened slightly.

Sure enough, it was a failed product.

Trying it once could be blamed on ignorance, but she had actually tasted a plate of failed pastries twice.

I'm such an idiot! She felt as though a pair of donkey ears had suddenly sprouted from her head. Although the smile on Asuka's face had not changed at all, she could vaguely sense that he was mocking her.

Seeing Uchiha Mikoto staring fixedly at him, Asuka glanced at the pastry with a bite missing in her hand and said,

"Lady Mikoto, the flavor of these pastries is quite unique this time."

"Yes, it certainly is unique."

She raised her head and looked at the respectful Uchiha youth, who appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the food. Her feelings were complicated.

At such a young age, he was already so considerate. In order to convince her that the pastries were good, he had actually forced himself to eat over half the plate.

Alright! Seeing that she had actually begun eating them in small bites, Asuka looked in surprise at the pastry in his hand. He stroked his chin with one hand, scrutinizing her as he asked,

"Is it tasty?"

"Yes, very tasty."

Is that so? Seeing Uchiha Mikoto nod at him with a gentle smile, Asuka's expression turned grave. Could she have lost her sense of taste because of some terminal illness?

"Madam, stick out your tongue. I suspect you might be sick."

"Hm?"

Seeing Uchiha Asuka's brows furrowed deeply, Uchiha Mikoto's heart skipped a beat. She knew how skilled he was in Medical Ninjutsu.

Could there really be something wrong with me? With that thought, she subconsciously closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

After Asuka held her tongue and examined it from side to side for a while, he blinked, his face filled with utter disbelief.

She isn't sick!

But the pastries really taste awful. A normal person's taste buds should reject this stuff completely. How could she be smiling while eating it?

A moment later.

Watching Uchiha Mikoto's hurried retreating figure as she headed for the hospital, he sat back down in his chair in a daze.

Even now, Asuka doubted his own medical skills, yet never suspected that, like him, she had merely forced herself to eat them.

When Fugaku returned from handling matters outside, he saw Asuka sitting in a chair with an expression of utter disbelief and asked,

"What happened?"

"I'm having some doubts about my medical skills."

"?"

A row of question marks instantly appeared over Fugaku's head. However, he knew nothing about medicine and merely assumed that Asuka had encountered some difficult ailment.

With that thought, he took the seat of honor and said in a low voice,

"This morning, Hokage-sama sent someone to inform me that you are to report to the Anbu tomorrow."

At this point, Fugaku raised two fingers and continued,

"After joining the Anbu, you must be diligent and hardworking. Always remember the glory of the Uchiha Clan."

"There is one more thing you must keep in mind. Although the Fourth Hokage bears no ill will toward our clan, the Konoha Elders still hold considerable power. It is not difficult to imagine that they may secretly influence some of the Fourth Hokage's decisions in the future."

"But precisely because of that, we need eyes and ears of our own."

"Overall, the Uchiha Clan supports every decision of the Fourth Hokage. But when certain matters involve the interests of the clan, we must have our own stance."

"Understood!"

Asuka nodded. Isn't that just being a spy? Besides, I won't be one for long—only a little over seven months.

Once the Third Hokage returns to power, there's a good chance I'll be expelled from the Anbu.

Meanwhile.

At the Fourth Hokage's home, Kushina picked up the file on the table. While accepting the food Minato Namikaze fed her, she read through the information he had brought home.

Uchiha Asuka took on an apprentice? Looks like quite a few interesting things have happened lately.

"Minato, is there anything wrong with his mental state?"

Because of the Third Shinobi World War, many ninjas in the village had lost companions one after another. Their bodies and minds were tormented by recurring nightmares, filling them with darkness—especially the emotionally intense Uchiha Clan.

And Uchiha Asuka was one of those who had lost companions.

"There's no problem!"

Minato Namikaze peeled an apple as he smiled and said,

"His mental state has already been tested. It's fairly good."

"And he has taken on an apprentice. The emptiness in his heart should gradually be filled, so he won't descend into darkness."

"Is that so?"

Kushina skeptically glanced at the file, opened her mouth to accept a slice of apple, and muttered,

"Seeing that chubby Summoning Beast of his reminded me of something."

"Back when I accidentally stepped on that fat cat's tail, I could feel the strength of his ocular power when he looked at me with the Sharingan. He's more capable than most Anbu."

"Since there's nothing wrong with his mental state, where do you plan to assign him?"

Looking at pregnant Kushina, Minato scratched his head and smiled.

"How about the same position as Kakashi? I heard his Medical Ninjutsu is excellent."

To watch over me? Kushina thought of those old men among the Konoha Higher-Ups and immediately shook her head.

How could those people possibly let an Uchiha come into contact with the Nine-Tails?

P.S. Dear readers, July is over. See you in August.

Thank you all for your tremendous support throughout July.