The Uchiha Compound, hidden in Konoha.
A long table stood in the entrance hall. The shoji doors were open, leaving the whole room airy and bright. From the table, they could see the evening sun and the flowers and greenery in the courtyard.
Uchiha Mikoto was a wonderful cook, and everything on the table tasted delicious.
The clan head's family had always observed good table manners. Meals were usually quiet, and even Sasuke never made much noise. But today...
"Clatter, clatter! Slurp, slurp!"
The table rang with the clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the sounds of someone wolfing down his food.
Compared to Qing Xuan, who ate like a ravenous tiger, Itachi behaved much more properly. Still, he preferred watching Qing Xuan eat.
It made the food look even more appetizing.
From the moment he met Qing Xuan, Itachi had noticed how different he was. There seemed to be something about him that Itachi didn't know about, yet desperately wanted.
"Shimura Danzō is one of the Third Hokage's trusted aides."
Fugaku spoke up just then. Itachi knew his father normally never spoke during meals.
Everything had changed...
Itachi couldn't help looking at his cousin again.
Was it because of him?
"Itachi! Are you listening? What are you spacing out for?"
His father's scolding pulled him back to the present. Itachi hurriedly looked away, only to see his father's faintly displeased expression and his mother's worried gaze.
"Why did he approach Itachi?"
Mikoto asked her husband. She had been worried about that all along, but someone else answered her first.
"Obviously, he wants to drag Itachi into the darkness."
The careless reply came from the bowl that hid its speaker's face. His muffled voice made Mikoto's expression change.
Fugaku let out an angry snort.
It reminded him of Liu Yun, whom Danzō had taken to Root when they were young. Was Danzō targeting his son this time?
"Don't worry."
Only then did Qing Xuan finally lift his head from his bowl. Rice grains clung to his face, and his comical appearance made Sasuke giggle.
He grinned, wiped his chin, and popped the rice grains into his mouth. Chewing, he said, "I'll protect him!"
But he didn't look convincing at all. Fugaku glanced at him. "You're six now, and old enough to enroll. Go to the Ninja Academy tomorrow."
Qing Xuan didn't object, but asked, "Don't I need to take an entrance exam or something?"
"I've already spoken to them. Just go tomorrow."
"You're not coming with me?"
"I have things to do tomorrow. Besides, it's not an enrollment ceremony. It'll be fine if Itachi goes with you. His team doesn't meet until the afternoon, so he's free in the morning..."
"So love really does disappear, huh? You won't even come with me for something as important as starting school. I really must not be your biological son."
"You aren't."
Fugaku felt a vein twitch in his forehead. That familiar feeling had finally returned after all these years.
Itachi stared wide-eyed from the side. He'd never seen anyone talk to each other like this. And judging by his father's expression, he didn't seem to mind.
How could that be?
After Qing Xuan's antics, the atmosphere at the table grew much more relaxed, and Mikoto's worries gradually eased. Watching her husband get the worse of the exchange, she suppressed a laugh and took Qing Xuan's bowl to get him more rice.
"Auntie, just half a bowl more, please."
Qing Xuan called after her, then turned to Fugaku, who was sulking. "Aren't you going to ask what I talked about with the Third Hokage?"
"That's your business." Fugaku truly didn't want to deal with him right now. Liu Yun used to get on his nerves this way, and now his son was doing the same.
"Fine."
Qing Xuan shrugged indifferently, pulled two things from his Ninja Tool Pouch, and passed them across the table to Fugaku.
One was a letter; the other was a sealed black bottle with a sealing tag on it.
"These are from my father."
Fugaku took them. Seeing the words "To my elder brother" on the envelope, his fingers trembled, but he still couldn't bring himself to open it.
"If you want to read it, just open it."
Qing Xuan spoke again. He took a few mouthfuls of rice, then said around his food, "There's nothing embarrassing in there. He just asked how you've been, whether you miss him, if Itachi's grown taller, and whether you're thinking about having a second child..."
At the sight of his carefree expression, more veins rose on Fugaku's forehead. He even crumpled the letter in his hand.
"You read it already?"
Qing Xuan swallowed his food and asked in confusion, "Was I not allowed to?"
Fugaku took a deep breath, then slumped back in his seat as if all the air had gone out of him.
"Forget it..."
"Uncle, I know this might sound rude, but I still have to say it. Shouldn't you work on that habit of losing your temper at the drop of a hat? A clan head should stay composed, even when a mountain collapses in front of him. But I can't see any of that in you..."
"Are you done eating?"
"Yeah, but..."
"Itachi, take him to rest. Don't forget to go to school tomorrow."
With that, Qing Xuan was dismissed. He could only follow Itachi to his room with a helpless look.
He'd returned so unexpectedly that they hadn't had time to prepare a room for him. So tonight, he'd have to sleep on the floor in Itachi's room.
Qing Xuan didn't mind. Compared to sleeping rough, he really didn't care where he slept.
As Itachi took bedding from the closet and carefully laid it out, Qing Xuan was already looking around the room.
It was clean and tidy, just like the descriptions of male leads in novels. It wasn't a mess at all; everything had been put in its place.
"This is all we can do for tonight. We'll make do until morning."
By the time he turned around, Itachi had already finished laying out the bedding. Those were also the first words he'd said since they met.
Young Itachi really was gentle and quiet.
Qing Xuan rummaged through his Ninja Tool Pouch, then took out a box of Three-Color Dango and offered it to him.
"Want one?"
Itachi declined. "We just ate, and you're not supposed to eat before bed."
As if he hadn't heard, Qing Xuan opened the box, took out a skewer, and put it in Itachi's hand. "I saw you. You barely ate anything, and you didn't have lunch either, did you?"
Itachi hesitated, then thanked him and took a small bite. He wanted to say something but couldn't think of anything, so an awkward silence settled between them.
Qing Xuan, however, didn't seem at all uncomfortable. He sprawled across the bedding, enjoying its softness, and sighed. "It's been so long since I felt this! I'm sleeping until noon tomorrow!"
"That won't do. We have to get up early and go to school," Itachi reminded him.
Qing Xuan's excitement about the Ninja Academy immediately halved. He groaned. "Once we graduate and become ninja, can we sleep in?"
"That won't do either. Ninja have missions. We can't keep our teammates and Leading Jonin waiting."
"Hold on! I know there's a white-haired guy in the village who lazes around all day. Either a cat's blocking his way, or he's lost at life's crossroads..."
"You mean Jonin Kakashi? He's with the Anbu."
"Then I want to join the Anbu!"
"Compared to ordinary ninja, the Anbu's standards are extremely strict..."
"What about the Police Force?"
And so the two of them chatted on.
Night deepened. In a secret chamber, the Three Tomoe spun and warped into a new pattern. Beneath the lamplight, the writing on the letter gradually faded, and new words appeared.
The opened envelope lay on the desk. The seal on the bottle beside it had been undone, and two crimson forms flickered in the bottle's glowing mouth.
"So this is what you had in mind, Liu Yun..."
[Character: Fugaku Uchiha's way of thinking has been significantly changed, affecting the Uchiha Clan's predetermined fate. Reward: one Golden Treasure Chest. Congratulations, Host—you have obtained: Heroic Spirit Possession and Fusion Authority!]
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