Dangerous Attack!

Dangerous Attack!

"Slurp... slurp... ah~ refreshing!"

While Itachi still had a bowl left to finish, Aoba had already wolfed down three full bowls!

Seriously, ever since coming to Konoha, this was the first time he had eaten his fill!

Besides, Ichiraku's ramen was not only satisfyingly chewy, but the broth was especially delicious. More importantly, the portions were generous!

And perhaps because they were still children, Teuchi had quietly added an egg to every bowl of ramen and even given them two side dishes. What a conscience!

No wonder so many people loved eating there. Naruto had even become a lifetime customer of Ichiraku.

Seeing that Itachi had nearly finished eating as well, and unwilling to waste anything, Aoba cheerfully pulled out his wallet and slapped it onto the table before shouting, "Check, please!"

Itachi froze for a moment, then hurriedly swallowed the ramen in his mouth. "Weren't we supposed to..."

"Haha, I was just teasing you. Besides, you treated me to a hundred skewers of dango. If I made you pay for these few bowls of ramen too, what would that make me? If you consider me a friend, don't worry about things like this."

"Uncle, the check!"

Teuchi looked at him in surprise, then once again revealed his trademark squinty-eyed smile and gave him a thumbs-up.

"That'll be 270 ryō. Thank you for your patronage!"

Aoba readily paid, then pulled the well-fed Itachi outside.

At that moment, Teuchi began clearing the table and sighed, "The younger generation these days is truly remarkable..."

"What's wrong with you? You've been hesitating to speak since earlier. Don't tell me you ate so much you damaged your brain?"

Itachi clearly had a lot to say, but every time the words reached his lips, he did not know how to begin.

In truth, it was the word "friend" that Aoba had mentioned earlier that had caused his heart to throb. Only then did he realize that he, too, longed for friendship.

However, the people in his clan would never agree to let him be friends with an ordinary civilian child. If the clan learned that something so shameful to the Uchiha had happened, he did not need to imagine how they would react. Aoba would only be harmed as a result.

That was why he hesitated, caught between two impossible choices.

"Nothing. I'm just a little too full. By the way, didn't you say you wanted to buy a lot of things? We can get some exercise while we're at it." Itachi smiled as he changed the subject. He did not want to bring Aoba any trouble over something like this, so it was better to maintain the status quo. He was still accustomed to shouldering everything himself.

Aoba could not see through Itachi's thoughts, so he let the matter go. Then, grinning, he took the future Itachi God to the market.

He really had quite a lot to buy. He had bought five hundred jin of rice alone. If Itachi had not been there, he probably would not have been able to carry everything home.

With a huge pile of things strapped to their backs, so large that they could barely be seen, the two of them became the brightest sights in the neighborhood!

In the past, whenever he encountered such "attention-grabbing" circumstances, Itachi probably would have run away immediately.

But after interacting twice with someone as carefree as Aoba, he had learned to ignore the strange looks of others.

Although he was still terribly embarrassed, he persevered and walked all the way home with Aoba.

"Thanks. You really helped me out today. If you hadn't been here, I couldn't have carried all this back by myself."

After putting everything down, Aoba stretched his limbs and thanked Itachi.

After all these days of training, his physique had clearly improved, and he had become much stronger. This progress made him very happy.

"It was nothing. I'm glad I could help."

"To show my appreciation, why don't you try my cooking later?"

The moment Itachi heard that Aoba wanted to eat again, his expression changed. He genuinely could not eat another bite.

"Next time—let's do it next time! I should head home too. I still have training this afternoon."

"You're really diligent. Then I won't keep you. Will you come again in the future?"

Itachi hesitated, but still nodded. "If I get the chance, I will. As long as you don't force me to eat so much."

Good grief!

Even Itachi God had learned to make sarcastic remarks!

Aoba was clearly left speechless for a moment, then helplessly said, "Don't worry. I couldn't afford to eat like this every day either. Next time you come, I want to ask you about a few things."

Itachi relaxed considerably when he heard that. "No problem, then... goodbye."

Watching Itachi leave with light footsteps, Aoba could not help smiling. He could sense that Itachi was hiding a great many things in his heart.

But Itachi was only five years old and clearly had not yet developed the aloof personality that kept strangers at a distance in the future.

Moreover, looking at Itachi's short life as a whole, it was not hard to see that his emotions ran deep but remained restrained. Aside from his guilt toward Uchiha Sasuke, he also placed great value on his bonds with his comrades.

Even after joining the Akatsuki Organization, his personal charm still won over his teammates.

Even a missing-nin like Jūzō Biwa could throw himself in front of Itachi to block a fatal attack. As for his later partner Kisame, there was even less to say—until the moment of his death, the person he could not stop thinking about was Itachi, whom he respected immensely.

And when Itachi learned of Kisame's death, he had been unable to hold back a single tear.

Some people were simply extraordinary by nature. Wherever they went, they were impossible to ignore.

After sighing with emotion, Aoba put everything away, then went outside to begin the day's training.

It was just the same old body-training routine, so he was not afraid of anyone finding out.

But all of a sudden, he sensed danger. The feeling of a blade at his back made his hair stand on end.

Without thinking, he immediately performed a clumsy rolling dodge, avoiding the sneak attack in an extremely awkward manner.

Three kunai were embedded in the ground in a triangular formation, right where he had been standing moments earlier.

"Huh?"

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Aoba, seemingly surprised that a little brat could have such sharp instincts.

Although it had only been a casual strike aimed nowhere near a vital point, his show of strength had failed to establish the intended intimidation.

When Aoba saw the conspicuous clan crest on the other person's clothes, a chill ran through his heart. If he had not dodged in time, injury would have been inevitable.

Not only had the mighty Uchiha personally attacked a child, but he had even resorted to a sneak attack. This person was truly despicable!

"Who are you? As a ninja, you actually attacked a civilian. Aren't you afraid Lord Hokage will find out and punish you?"

Aoba shouted loudly, hoping to attract other people's attention. At the same time, he crossed his hands in front of himself, preparing to receive another attack at any moment.

He knew that if the other party went all out against him, death was his only possible outcome.

Turning around and running would be the stupidest thing he could do!

For now, he could only hope that the other person would have reservations. After all, if word got out that the Uchiha had attacked a civilian, the attacker would probably suffer the consequences too.

Not to mention that the Uchiha were in charge of Konoha's Police Force, responsible for maintaining order and stability within the village.

If this matter grew too serious, it would become a case of me arresting myself. That would certainly be something to watch.

P.S.: Thanks to Little Boy Who Roars at Tigers for the thousand-reward tip. I didn't even realize the status had changed—my first blood was actually taken by you. 666!

P.S.: The contract status has finally been changed back. What a miracle! So, Old Faceless, can I shamelessly ask for a round of tips? Also, the update time has temporarily been changed to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. There will be two updates every day before the book goes on sale, and one extra chapter for every Ten Thousand Reward.