A Gathering Storm

After leaving the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Sora Uchiha had no idea what to do for a while, so he started wandering aimlessly.

As he walked, Sora Uchiha could vaguely hear people on the roadside pointing and whispering about him:

"That kid looks like he's from the Uchiha Clan."

"The Uchiha? That cold-blooded clan?"

"Tsk, I heard the Uchiha are emotionless killing machines on the battlefield. Every last one of them is cold as ice. Apparently, they don't even know how to smile anymore."

"Look, that kid up ahead. He's still young, but you can already see the indifference on his face."

"If you ask me, the Uchiha Clan should be erased from Konoha."

As he walked, he listened to the hushed comments, some pitying, others mocking. Sora Uchiha's expression didn't change. He didn't argue, and his pace never faltered.

The Uchiha were cold-blooded?

The Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan could only be awakened through intense emotions.

In principle, love, hatred, and sorrow could all trigger the awakening of the Sharingan.

But in this world, nothing cut deeper than pain. Compared to love, hatred and pain were far easier to come by.

All it took was the death of someone precious to you, and there was a very good chance you would awaken the Sharingan.

And the battlefield was often where hatred and pain ran deepest.

As a result, most Uchiha who survived the war awakened the Sharingan. As more and more people died, their emotions naturally grew duller.

To possess those eyes was proof that you had already lost many things.

Strictly speaking, the Uchiha were the clan that valued emotions most in the Shinobi World. Yet the people of Konoha saw eyes awakened through pain as a sign of cold-bloodedness.

How ironic.

Beside Ichiraku Ramen stood one of Konoha's clothing shops. Inside, a pretty young woman browsed fine clothes, her eyes bright with delight.

Come to think of it, these shops were pretty fearless. The Land of Fire was still at war, yet they were managing to keep their businesses open.

Sora Uchiha hadn't planned on paying the shop any attention, but as he passed, something caught his eye and made him stop.

He'd spotted a few people he hadn't expected to see.

A red-eyed girl holding up a piece of clothing to check how it looked, a short-haired girl with two painted stripes on her cheeks, and a lively-looking girl.

Weren't they Kurenai Yuhi, Rin, and Mitaraishi Anko?

He hadn't expected those three to go shopping for clothes together.

But...

Sora Uchiha stroked his chin. Since Rin was here, could that guy be nearby too?

He glanced around and, sure enough, spotted the goggle-wearing boy at a snack shop not far away.

He chuckled. "Just as I thought. Wherever Rin is, Obito is too."

After a moment's thought, he walked over...

The snack shop wasn't very busy. A few people sat eating skewers and chatting about recent happenings, giving the place a cozy, lived-in feel.

Among them, Obito ate his grilled sausage absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the painted girl in the clothing shop nearby.

"Rin's so cute..." he murmured, looking every bit the lovesick fool.

"Keep staring and you'll start drooling."

A teasing voice came from beside him.

Obito jolted and quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, only to find it dry. He looked up and saw Sora Uchiha barely holding back a laugh.

Even with his thick skin, Obito blushed bright red. "Sora, what are you talking about?!"

With that, he flung his sausage stick at Sora Uchiha.

Sora Uchiha smiled faintly and caught the wooden stick between two fingers. As Obito glared at him, he sat down.

"Boss, five lamb skewers!" he called, then turned back to Obito.

"I was just joking. No need to glare at me like you're about to eat me. It's not as if you've only liked Rin for a day or two."

Obito was startled. In a flash, he appeared in front of Sora Uchiha and clapped a hand over his mouth, stammering, "H-how did you know?!"

Sora Uchiha slapped Obito's hand away without hesitation and scoffed. "What do you mean, how did I know? You should be asking who doesn't know."

As they spoke, the owner brought over two lamb skewers. Sora Uchiha casually handed one to Obito.

The sizzling meat glistened golden, its rich aroma irresistible—almost as tempting as The Temptation of Going Home.

Sora Uchiha took a bite, his eyes lighting up. He hadn't expected the lamb skewers to be so good. He silently made a note of the shop.

Obito took the skewer but had no appetite. Sora Uchiha's words were all he could think about, so he set the meat aside.

"Sora, is it really that obvious?"

"Yeah. Your eyes are practically glued to Rin. Everyone knows except you."

Obito blushed and stammered, "D-does Rin know?"

"Rin?" Sora Uchiha thought for a moment, then admitted he wasn't sure. "Probably...?"

In the original story, Obito was, perhaps, more or less just pining for her alone!

Obito's face fell. "Ugh, it doesn't matter that I like Rin if she doesn't like me back!"

"Oh? How do you know Rin doesn't like you?"

"Because Rin likes someone else."

"Huh? Who?" Sora Uchiha asked, startled.

Now this was juicy gossip!

Who'd stolen our Obito's girl? Well... "stolen" wasn't quite right, since Obito had never had a chance with her in the first place.

But as soon as he said it, Obito gave him an unusually... resentful look.

In a chilling voice, he said, "Who?" His tone turned sarcastic. "Who doesn't know that our Uchiha genius has every girl at the Ninja Academy swooning over him? And that one Summoning Technique of his was so earth-shattering it made the heavens and earth tremble!"

At that, Sora Uchiha blinked, coughed twice, and picked up a skewer.

"Obito, look, this meat really is... meat."

Obito glared at him, then grabbed the skewer and took an angry bite, as if that would ease his resentment.

"Oh! Sora, what are you doing here?"

A girl's surprised exclamation came from beside Obito. He looked up resentfully and drawled, "Hey, don't ignore me, you jerk!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Kurenai Yuhi quickly pressed her palms together and apologized.

Sora! I'll never forgive you!!!

Sora Uchiha couldn't help laughing, then held out his palm to Kurenai Yuhi.

She startled, realizing what he meant, and blushing, placed her hand in his.

...Silence.

Without the slightest hesitation, Sora Uchiha slapped the girl's soft hand away, wearing a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Did you forget something?"

"What? You have no sense of romance at all." Kurenai Yuhi stuck out her tongue, then took a few pieces of candy from her pocket and placed them in Sora Uchiha's hand. "I remember. It's been a month and a week."

Rin came over too and placed a handful of nuts in Sora Uchiha's hand.

Seeing her cheeks turn a little pink, Sora Uchiha felt his heart stir.

Rin was actually quite lively. So why did she always seem so delicate around him?

Remembering what Obito had just said—"Rin likes someone else"—he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Could Obito be right? he wondered.

"Hey, why are you giving this guy food?!" Mitaraishi Anko stared wide-eyed at Sora, eyeing him suspiciously as if she were trying to uncover something fishy between them.

Could Sora have found some dirt on Kurenai and Rin?

"Kurenai, we lost a bet to him," Kurenai Yuhi explained awkwardly, taking Mitaraishi Anko by the wrist.

Sora Uchiha watched the girls' interactions in silence. He thought this kind of life wasn't bad.

But how much longer could it last?

A storm was brewing.