Shisui Uchiha

Before long, Uchiha Gen's Shadow Clone brought over the Jonin promotion certificate from home.

Uchiha Gen set down his spoon, pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, took the certificate from the Shadow Clone, and handed it to Anko. At the same time, with a bang, the Shadow Clone dispersed into white smoke.

After carefully reading through the certificate, Anko returned it to Uchiha Gen expressionlessly.

Though she had already been prepared for it, Anko was still hit hard.

A single year of difference meant the gap between a Genin and a Jonin...

"Stop looking so miserable."

"I'll treat you to dessert this time. Once I officially become Lord Orochimaru's disciple, I'll treat you again."

Anko, who had yet to suffer the blow of Orochimaru's defection, was cheerful and optimistic by nature. Hearing that, she immediately cast aside her worries and broke into a grin.

"You said it yourself, so don't go back on your word."

"No need to worry. I've got a bit of savings."

"Let's go."

After paying the bill, the two left Sweet Home together. They walked together for a while before parting ways and heading home.

At six in the afternoon, after working out and taking a shower, Uchiha Gen lay on the sofa, playing with Zhurong.

In fact, playing was also part of his training. Through the connection of the Soul-Soul Fruit, Uchiha Gen sensed the various properties of the flames within Zhurong, gradually improving his mastery of Fire Release nature transformation.

Ding-ding-ding...

The doorbell suddenly rang. Zhurong, who had been swimming through the air, paused slightly before turning into a streak of light and pressing the switch for the courtyard gate. Then it returned to Uchiha Gen's left forearm, becoming a lifelike yet imposing tattoo.

Uchiha Gen pushed open the door and entered the courtyard with a smile. "Why are you two here?"

"Come in."

The visitors were none other than his Team 7 teammates, Kakashi and Rin Nohara.

The two followed Uchiha Gen into the living room and sat down. He took three bottles of juice from the refrigerator and handed two to them.

"You should've let me know before coming. It's nearly dinner time, and I haven't prepared anything."

Kakashi accepted the juice, his expression rather grave. "Sensei already told us what happened. I never expected..."

Rin Nohara took the juice and encouraged him with a smile. "Gen, don't feel down. Even if we can't be teammates anymore, we're still friends."

"If there's anything we can help with, Kakashi and I definitely won't refuse."

Having gone through a month or two of war together, they had built some friendship between them.

"Thank you for your kindness."

"Don't worry. It's just a little regrettable. It's not as though we're being separated by life and death. It's no big deal."

"Enough about that. Have dinner here tonight. You can try my cooking while you're at it."

With that, Uchiha Gen left with a smile and walked into the kitchen.

Rin Nohara looked at Kakashi, who shook his head.

"Gen, Rin and I will come help?"

"Do you know how to cook?"

"Of course."

"Then come on. We can get dinner ready sooner."

Ever since Hatake Sakumo had left, Kakashi had become increasingly independent as he grew older. Naturally, he knew how to cook.

Rin Nohara came from a civilian family, and as a girl, she had been taught how to cook long ago.

However, their cooking skills and styles differed from Uchiha Gen's, and the dishes he made were ones neither Kakashi nor Rin Nohara had ever seen before.

In truth, the dishes Uchiha Gen made had been extremely common in his previous life: twice-cooked pork, mapo tofu, kung pao chicken, stir-fried greens, and tomato egg soup.

Uchiha Gen had been from Sichuan in his previous life, so he mainly cooked Sichuan cuisine. However, he also knew some dishes from other cuisines, having learned them from videos.

"How does it taste?"

In the dining room, Uchiha Gen watched the two take a bite each and asked with a smile.

"Mmm, it's delicious, delicious. I never thought these dishes, strange as they look, would taste this good."

"Any girl who marries you in the future will be very lucky."

Rin Nohara narrowed her eyes in enjoyment and nodded repeatedly like a pecking chick.

"It's better than what I make. I'll have to ask you for lessons when I have time."

Kakashi removed his mask. Just as handsome as Uchiha Gen, he too gave his approval.

"Haha, if it's good, eat more. There's plenty."

After that, the three stopped talking and focused on eating.

After dinner, Kakashi and Rin Nohara helped wash the bowls, chopsticks, cups, and plates before taking their leave.

Uchiha Gen saw them to the gate. "Although I've only dealt with Shisui a few times, I've heard that he's a very good person."

"Like me, he's an unusual Uchiha."

Kakashi and Rin Nohara revealed surprised expressions upon hearing that. Another unusual Uchiha?

Their Team 7 really was fated to meet unusual Uchiha, wasn't it?

"Understood. We'll treat him equally. I hope he can become someone we acknowledge, like Obito and you," Kakashi said seriously.

"We're leaving."

"Goodbye, Gen." Rin Nohara said with a cheerful smile.

"Goodbye."

Hopefully, Shisui can change the fates of you two.

Though there was not much hope. Even if he were still in Team 7, the hope would remain slim.

Watching their departing backs, Uchiha Gen thought to himself.

Including Zhurong and his other Homies, his true strength was already among the best of the Jonin, but there was still an enormous gap between him and Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu.

Even though Madara Uchiha was already old and near death, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.

After the two had completely disappeared from sight, Uchiha Gen was about to head back inside when a figure suddenly approached from the other direction.

The newcomer wore a black high-collared short-sleeved shirt and black trousers, brown armor on his right shoulder, and white cloth wrapped around his legs. The Uchiha clan crest was embroidered on the back of his clothes, and a short sword was strapped to his back. Even in the shadows, his button nose remained just as conspicuous.

Heh, the visitors are coming one after another today.

Uchiha Gen was so certain because his home was actually located in a relatively remote area of the clan grounds.

Although the original owner's parents had been ninja, neither had awakened the Sharingan. Strictly speaking, they had still belonged to a branch family, so their assigned home was naturally not in the core area of the clan grounds.

Only after awakening the Sharingan had he automatically been promoted to the main family, but he had been too lazy to move out of the house he was already used to living in.

"Shisui, did you come to see me?"

"Yes, Gen."

Looking at the clan's rising star, the clansman known alongside him as one of the Uchiha Twin Stars, Shisui Uchiha smiled gently.

"Then let's talk inside?"

"Alright."

The two entered the living room.

"What would you like to drink? Juice or tea?"

"Juice will do. Tea is a little troublesome."

After Uchiha Gen brought over the juice, the two sat down on the sofa.

Compared to the traditional kneeling style of the ninja world, Uchiha Gen still preferred sitting or lying on sofas and chairs.

"What did you come to see me about?"

"I wanted to apologize to you. Also, I wanted to ask about my new teammates."

Shisui Uchiha honestly voiced what was on his mind.

"What is there to apologize for?"

"It's not your fault, and no one did anything wrong. It was simply a choice."

"Whether it's you, me, or anyone else, it doesn't matter. As long as they're Uchiha, that's enough. Everything is for the clan."

The relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha was not particularly bad at present, so Shisui Uchiha did not feel there was anything wrong with the phrase "everything is for the clan." On the contrary, he rather agreed with it.

Taking on a master benefited the Uchiha and did Konoha no harm, so Shisui Uchiha naturally did not dwell on it.

"Although what you said makes sense, I still want to apologize to you."

Uchiha Gen: "..."

Please keep reading, everyone. Thank you. As long as the follow-up readership holds up, the updates after release won't disappoint either.