Shuji and Itachi

Shuji and Itachi

Shuji was a ninja.

Itachi was also a ninja.

"Uchiha... Itachi?"

Shuji looked at the boy before him, dressed in a dark blue short-sleeved shirt and shorts... No, "boy" was not quite right. He was a child.

He was eight years old, his tender face still bearing traces of baby fat. Yet his pitch-black eyes were like deep pools, devoid of the liveliness and innocence a child should have possessed.

"Yes, Senior Shuji," the child replied softly.

Although he had taken over this body half a month ago and had mastered everything he needed to practice and learn.

He had accepted the fact that he was only fourteen yet already a ninja who had been cutting people down for years. But taking a child out to cut people down still left him mentally unprepared.

Even if that child was Uchiha Itachi.

He showed no sign of anything unusual. He merely took out the Mission Scroll and was about to explain the mission when he caught a sweet fragrance.

It was nine in the morning. A few sparrows hopped along the eaves, chirping crisply. The air was fresh and uplifting, while the sunlight was bright and warm.

Following the scent, Shuji spotted a confectionery shop—a dessert store. The owner was diligent, having opened early for business, and was currently making rice dumplings.

"Uchiha—cough, I'll just call you Itachi." Shuji's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

"Alright, Senior," Itachi replied in the same soft, calm tone.

"Want something to eat?"

Itachi finally raised his head, a trace of surprise appearing in his eyes as he followed Shuji's gaze.

A confectionery shop, dango...

Itachi hesitated. "Um... Senior Shuji, the mission..."

"The dango seem to have just been made." Shuji turned toward the confectionery shop and started walking, muttering to himself, "Freshly made food tastes best. And what I ate this morning was nowhere near enough... It's early, so eating a little more won't hurt..."

His senior was a Chunin and the leader of this mission. Since Shuji had made his decision, Itachi could not very well object.

Thinking this, Itachi followed Shuji into the confectionery shop. Once seated, Shuji ordered four skewers of dango, all Three-Color Dango, along with two cups of tea to cut the sweetness.

The Three-Color Dango were served on pale blue saucers, giving off a warm, sweet aroma. The glutinous rice dumplings were crystal clear: pink cherry blossom-flavored, green matcha-flavored, and white plain-flavored, lined up neatly. Their surfaces were dusted with fine sugar frosting that glimmered enticingly in the sunlight.

Shuji first rinsed his mouth with clear tea. When he set down his cup, however, he discovered that only two skewers of dango remained before him.

He blinked, and after confirming that he had not seen wrong, shifted his gaze to Uchiha Itachi across from him. The boy's fair cheeks were slightly puffed out, with a bit of sugar frosting still clinging to the corner of his mouth. His normally still eyes were faintly narrowed, revealing the satisfied expression of a cat that had stolen a fish.

"Boss, two more skewers." Shuji could not help smiling as he pushed the remaining dango toward Itachi.

A faint blush appeared on Itachi's cheeks, but his slender fingers reached over without hesitation. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting mottled patches of light and shadow across the wooden table between them.

The dango were sweet, chewy, and good.

Another sip of tea was even better.

Shuji let out a pleased breath.

Itachi also set down his teacup contentedly.

Shuji spread open the Mission Scroll. "This mission is to eliminate a group of bandits. There are no portraits, only the knowledge that they had originally been plundering along the border of the Land of Rivers. When the Land of Rivers began pursuing them, they crossed the border and fled into the Land of Fire."

"When Daimyo Palace received the news and dispatched soldiers, they fled again to the Land of Rain."

"Just when the two countries had decided not to take any further action, the bandits reappeared along the Land of Rivers border and committed more crimes. The Land of Rivers finally entrusted this mission to the village."

"According to the intelligence handed over by the Land of Rivers, there are no ninja among the bandits."

"However, they have been exceptionally sharp at avoiding battle and fleeing whenever faced with pursuit, with no casualties incurred."

"There are between fifteen and twenty of them."

"Since no combat with ninja is expected, the mission is C-rank. Considering the large number of enemies, the reward is fifty thousand ryo."

After briefly explaining the mission, Shuji pushed the scroll toward Itachi for him to read as well.

"Though this is a temporary team, I should explain my abilities. I'm a ninja specializing in ninjutsu, with both range and power. There's no need to worry about combat during this mission."

The original owner of this body had come from a border combat squad. During his last patrol mission, he encountered a large Kumogakure force. Two teammates died in battle, while he alone escaped with the intelligence despite being severely wounded. He was sent back to Konoha for treatment, but the one who awoke in the end was no longer the original Shuji, but the current one.

He did not know whether his situation was body snatching or awakening. In any case, he possessed all fourteen years of memories from this body, along with more than twenty years of memories as an ordinary person from another world. Shuji did not want to dwell on it either. There was no point.

After recovering for half a month, he had planned to take on a mission as rehabilitation and, at the same time, reintegrate himself into this world.

Since the mission description said they would be dealing with ordinary people, the real difficulty lay in tracking them down. He had originally planned to do it alone, but the village had still assigned him a teammate.

"Senior, you needn't worry about me." Itachi introduced himself seriously. "I can use ninja tools, know a little Genjutsu, and can use some Fire Release. If you decide that I will affect the mission, Senior can abandon me at any time."

His father had said that the person before him was an excellent ninja.

"Though it is a C-rank mission, the fact that a Chunin and a Genin were assigned to work together at least shows that he is among the best Chunins, with no obvious weaknesses."

Uchiha Itachi disagreed with his father Fugaku on some matters, but when it came to judging a ninja's strength, he completely trusted the eye of the captain of the Konoha Military Police Force.

Hearing those "mature" words, Shuji's brows rose slightly.

"Since you say that, you'll have to obey my orders completely during this mission. No problem?"

"Yes, Senior." Itachi nodded.

"Also, regarding the mission reward—"

"Senior needn't consider my share. Being able to learn from Senior is already my honor." Itachi appeared very humble, though for the Uchiha clan, this amount of mission money was indeed insignificant.

But that did not accord with Shuji's principles.

He lightly tapped the table, his tone calm yet leaving no room for doubt. "Since we're going on a mission together, don't say things like that. We'll split the reward sixty-forty. As the Chunin and team leader, I'll take an extra ten percent, but you won't be shorted a single ryo of what you deserve. Any problem with that arrangement?"

"Yes, Senior," Itachi replied softly.

(End of Chapter)