Brat and the Unexpected Encounter II

"The Hokage wouldn't steal food from villagers. This is robbery—a crime." Higashino Makoto said, turning to deliberately ask his companions, "Hayate, where do criminals get sent?"

"Should be the Konoha Police Force. I hear it's full of Uchiha Clan members, and they're ruthless. You get strung up and beaten before anything else."

Little Yugao added another jab: "That's right, that's right. They're terrifying—eat four kids a day, especially little girls. The one squatting down is the tastiest."

"Ah!" The girl shrieked, stood up, and abandoned her comrades, bolting away.

The Dark Strong Boy, pale with fear, gritted through the pain and mustered his strength to drag his two underlings off. "I'm not going to the Police Force!"

As he ran, he let out the howl of a beaten dog.

Higashino Makoto didn't stop them. They were just brats. A beating was enough. If they ran into him again and still acted cocky, he'd give them another one.

Back at the campfire, the food was done. Hayate Gekko picked up a grilled fish, blew on it to cool it, took a bite, and nodded. "Ready to eat."

Uzuki Yugao grabbed one and started devouring it—she was starving.

Higashino Makoto took one too, but instead of eating, he turned and called out to a tree on the other side. "Seen enough? Come down and eat with us."

His two companions looked curiously in the direction he'd shouted, and saw a kid about their age drop nimbly from the tree.

He wore a blue, stand-collar short-sleeve shirt, with slightly wavy black hair. His features were clean and cute, especially a pair of striking Carlan Eyes. His nose was a bit bigger than a normal kid's, but it wasn't ugly—just distinctive.

He confirmed shyly, "Really?"

"Really. We're not bad kids. Father always says helping others is a good virtue. Besides, Makoto's fish is pretty tasty." Uzuki Yugao picked up a grilled fish and handed it to him, adding, "What's your name?"

"Shisui. Uchiha Shisui."

"Ah? Ha... haha!" The Little Girl's hand froze mid-air. She'd just been badmouthing his clan, and now she'd run into the real deal.

"Thanks for the hospitality." Uchiha Shisui took the fish and looked at the three, explaining weakly, "Um, my clan might seem stern, but we really don't eat kids."

Hayate, Yugao: "..."

Higashino Makoto had guessed from his clothes that he was an Uchiha, but he hadn't expected it to be the future legendary Body Flicker Shisui. He had none of the Uchiha's trademark aloof pride—instead, he was surprisingly shy and easygoing.

They were all kids—at least on the surface, one of them was—so they quickly hit it off. After exchanging names and chatting a bit, the matter of the Police Force eating kids was dropped.

Higashino Makoto asked curiously, "Uchiha Shisui, right? How old are you?"

"Just call me Shisui. I'm four."

Uzuki Yugao: "Hey, same age as us! But you act like Makoto, trying to be all grown-up."

Hayate Gekko: "Don't lump me in. I'm a year older than you."

Higashino Makoto was a bit surprised. He hadn't realized he and Uchiha Shisui were the Same Age. That meant they'd probably enroll in the Academy the same year?

He hoped they wouldn't be in the same class. And even if they were, he hoped they wouldn't end up on the same team after graduation.

Everyone knew that was a fast track to becoming fuel for awakening the Sharingan.

Kakashi started by sacrificing one eye. Dreamer got two tomoe—that was the lucky end.

The unlucky ones were Teacher Mizuki, and classmates Tenma and Shinji—randomly sacrificed as three squad members. Itachi Uchiha also got two tomoe.

The worst was Sasuke. He sacrificed his entire clan, awakening one tomoe—but not quite. Like it was half-open.

After lunch, they packed up.

Higashino Makoto clapped his Hands together. "Alright, full and fed. Let's start."

Uchiha Shisui asked, "Excuse me, are you playing some game? If possible, please let me join too."

It wasn't that he was greedy for fun. He just thought making more friends outside the clan grounds was a good idea—that's why he often came out here.

As for why he thought that, he was still too young to know. It was just an instinct to blend into groups of kids without his clanmates.

But he'd tried a few times, and those kids always showed they weren't welcome once they saw the Uchiha Clan Crest on his back. So far, only Higashino Makoto's little group didn't seem afraid of him.

Uzuki Yugao wagged her little finger. "Nope. Makoto's going to teach us how to control chakra."

"Is that so? Then I'd better head home."

Higashino Makoto asked, "As expected of a clan's Disciple—already training at this level?"

"No, I haven't. But I think this kind of training involves each clan's secrets. Eavesdropping on it would be rude."

"What secret? It's just some personal insights. It's fine. Join us."

Shisui immediately dropped his concerns and happily joined in.

It figured—clan kids knew their rules, since they were the biggest beneficiaries of them.

Then the four of them dove into intense Chakra Control training.

Climbing trees and walking on water sounded simple. You just coat the soles of your feet with chakra. On solid surfaces, you make it generate suction. On fluids like water, you control it to create buoyancy to hold you up.

But the problem was that control. You had to constantly sense the conditions underfoot and adjust the chakra output. Too much, and you'd damage the surface. Too little, and you'd lose your footing.

In battle, you wouldn't have the focus to fine-tune it. So like the Chakra Extraction Technique, it was easy to learn, but the basic requirement was the same: train it until it became instinct.

Like breathing—you didn't have to consciously control your lungs expanding and contracting. Your body just did it.

This was a training session that required considerable time.

By afternoon, Shisui had made the fastest progress. His talent was extraordinary, quickly picking up the technique with decent form. Perhaps given a few more days, he could reach Higashino Makoto's level.

After all, Higashino Makoto's control over Chakra had grown increasingly effortless thanks to the nourishment and optimization of White Natural Energy on his body.

Shisui, on the other hand, relied purely on natural aptitude, plus the Uchiha bloodline's innate affinity for Chakra.

After all, they were still legitimate descendants of the Otsutsuki Clan, and Chakra was originally something the Otsutsuki brought to the Shinobi World.

Second in progress was Hayate Gekko, who had the advantage of being a year older.

The worst off was Uzuki Yugao, who had endured a whole afternoon of blows. Poor kid, her face had been puffed into a bun the entire time.

The four of them tormented a few more fish in the evening before ending the day's training and heading home.

Before parting, Uchiha Shisui asked with hopeful eyes, "From now on, can we train together like this too?"

Uzuki Yugao happily agreed: "Of course, Shisui. We all know each other's addresses now, right? If you get bored at home, you're always welcome to come find us."

Higashino Makoto and Hayate Gekko didn't speak, just smiled and gave Shisui a thumbs-up.

Uchiha Shisui, usually so mature for his age, rare showed a bright grin and returned the gesture.

It was a good thing the three weren't wearing green jumpsuits and their teeth didn't gleam, or Konoha would have gained three melon-heads from then on.

On the way back, Uchiha Shisui's heart was filled with joy. He didn't know why, but he just felt happy and relaxed—a feeling completely different from being around his own Clan Members.

At that moment, young as he was, he even thought that perhaps his clan was too closed off. They should be like him, coming out more often to interact with everyone in the village, instead of guarding that broken-down Police Force all day.