A Uchiha Boy Who Loved Eating Three-Colored Dango

A Uchiha Boy Who Loved Eating Three-Colored Dango

After counting them, he now had three abilities that needed upgrading: [Inferior Self-Healing Body], [Thorn Halo], and [Hardening].

All three abilities were LV0. [Thorn Halo] and [Hardening] could both enhance his attack power in different ways, while the effect of [Inferior Self-Healing Body] was honestly rather underwhelming.

So after careful consideration, he decided to use the Beginner Skill Card on [Hardening] first. After all, his character was that of an "exceptional talent" with this kind of potential.

As an unreliable undercover agent who was constantly courting death, keeping a few trump cards up his sleeve was a necessity.

He decisively upgraded the [Hardening] skill to LV1, then secretly activated it once while no one was paying attention to check its effects.

That test was astonishing!

Although it had only gone up by one level, LV1 [Hardening] was a qualitative leap over LV0 [Hardening].

For starters, LV0 [Hardening] could only cover the skin of one hand. After reaching LV1, however, Aoba could instantly cover both arms with the ability, and their hardness had also increased considerably. The improvement was truly astonishing.

But just as he was rejoicing, he suddenly felt a wave of fatigue and hurriedly canceled [Hardening].

Although the increase in power was obvious, the stamina consumption had naturally increased greatly as well!

With his young body, which had yet to undergo any formal training, he clearly could not sustain it for very long.

He estimated it in his mind. Given his current physical condition, he could use it for five seconds at most. Any longer, and he would collapse from exhaustion.

Even so, he was filled with confidence about his future. Once he gained an elementary understanding of the [Navy Body Tempering Method - Foundation], this predicament would definitely be resolved, allowing him to finally cast off the title of "Barbarian King."

As it happened, the three-colored dango he had ordered was brought over at that moment.

"Please enjoy~"

Aoba felt so hungry that he could probably eat an entire ox, so he immediately picked up a skewer of soft, fragrant three-colored dango and wolfed down the whole thing in one bite!

He had to admit, these three-colored dango were really delicious!

Even a fake foodie like Aoba, who had been steeped in the cuisine of Greater China on Earth, could not help but fall in love with this snack.

Besides, it was not particularly expensive. At eight ryo per skewer—roughly five yuan—it was perfectly fine to indulge once in a while.

In the blink of an eye, he had devoured four of the five skewers. Just as he picked up the last skewer of three-colored dango and prepared to put it in his mouth, he suddenly noticed a child about his age standing outside the shop, watching him eat the dango with huge bites while secretly swallowing several times.

By nature, Aoba would not have paid him any attention, much less shown him any kindness. However, he noticed the clan crest on the child's clothes, and it looked especially familiar!

When he saw the crest that resembled a war fan, he froze at once.

This is... Uchiha?

But... surely a clan as prominent as that could afford a skewer of three-colored dango, right?

Aoba hesitated, but in the end, he inexplicably carried the last skewer of three-colored dango over.

"Want some?"

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry at all... grrrr~"

After the Uchiha boy refused against his better judgment, his stomach immediately rumbled the next second.

The two exchanged glances, and the air instantly grew awkward.

Aoba could see the boy's face turn red from the base of his neck all the way to his forehead in an instant. What a cute little kid. He seemed quite different from those gloomy, long-suffering Uchiha who looked at everyone as though their eyes and noses were in the wrong places.

So, just as the boy was about to flee because he could no longer endure the awkward atmosphere, Aoba stuffed the dango in his hand into the boy's mouth and directly dragged him back into the dango shop.

"Miss, bring us five more... no, ten more skewers of dango!"

The auntie, who was already in her thirties, immediately smiled until her eyes curved like crescent moons when she heard Aoba's sweet voice. After answering him, she went off to get busy.

The obviously bewildered Uchiha boy wanted to resist, but he could not bear to spit out the dango in his mouth. In the end, he half-resisted and half-submitted as he sat down beside Aoba.

"Th... thank you for the dango, but I have to go back. Otherwise, my father will get angry."

After silently finishing the skewer Aoba had stuffed into his mouth, the Uchiha boy spoke somewhat restlessly.

"So you think I can finish ten skewers by myself?"

Aoba spoke with a guilty conscience. Forget ten skewers—even another ten would be no problem for him!

Unfortunately, his wallet did not agree. He had only brought two hundred ryo when he left, and fifteen skewers of three-colored dango had already cost him 120 ryo. He still needed to keep some money for emergencies. He could not spend it all.

After hearing him say that, the Uchiha boy hesitated. He still did not leave without a care, because aside from people in his clan, Aoba was the first person to invite him to eat dango.

Usually, other people would go around him as soon as they saw the clan crest on his clothes. Even when some reckless brat came looking for trouble, the boy would beat them all flat. Over time, he had developed a deadpan, emotionless face that was frighteningly aloof.

He had hurried out today to watch Lord Fourth Hokage's inauguration and had not brought any money with him. That was why he had stopped when he passed by this place.

He had simply never expected that this child, who was about the same age as him, would not only fail to fear him, but would also spend money to treat him to three-colored dango. It gave him a completely different feeling, and his usual aloof demeanor had already fallen apart the moment his stomach rumbled.

It was also worth mentioning that his favorite food was precisely these three-colored dango...

"By the way, I still don't know your name. My name is Shimiya Aoba. I'm five years old, and I was brought back to the village not long ago as a war orphan."

While they waited, Aoba broke the silence first and asked him.

After hesitating for a moment, the Uchiha boy answered, "My name is Uchiha Itachi. I'm the same age as you—five years old."

Actually, when Itachi heard that Aoba was a war orphan, he already understood why Aoba was not afraid of him. This also allowed him to relax inwardly.

Besides, he had already followed the people of his clan onto the battlefield when he was four and had witnessed the cruelty of war.

Therefore, Aoba's experience made him feel quite sympathetic. He thought the two of them might have many things in common to talk about.

What Itachi did not know was that the moment he introduced his name, Aoba was so shocked that he almost did not know what to say.

Uchiha... Itachi???

P.S. Itachi God has finally appeared! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and smash me to death with your recommendation votes! And don't forget to collect and invest too, or you'll get an Amaterasu warning!