At night.
Sasuke invited Shinji out, and the two of them chatted at a ramen shop.
Sasuke complained, "Danzo's such a disgusting guy. He actually questioned us in front of Lord Hokage! How could we possibly be members of the Akatsuki Organization? Has he gone crazy?"
"Uh-huh."
Shinji ate his ramen, answering indistinctly.
Sasuke continued, "Shinji, having an Elder take you on as his student is a great thing! You won't have to worry about those rumors going around anymore!"
Shinji stopped eating and looked at Sasuke beside him.
The Night of the Massacre had changed Sasuke a lot, but he still seemed to be the same guy: cold on the outside, soft on the inside.
I wonder who matters more to him, Naruto or me?
Shinji looked away and continued eating.
For now, he thought Sasuke might care more about him. After all, they were the only two Uchiha left in Konoha.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. Huh, if that's the case, could I stage a scene to provoke Sasuke into awakening his eyes?
At the thought, he shook his head.
He didn't really want to use someone else's concern for him to provoke them, especially now that his Rinnegan plan was progressing smoothly. He no longer had a strong need for Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Noticing something was off with Shinji, Sasuke asked, "What's wrong?"
Shinji smiled. "Never mind. Let's eat before the ramen gets cold!"
At the Main Family estate.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
After a series of dull blows as fists and feet collided, the two figures leaped apart.
The pair locked in combat were Hiashi and Neji.
Hiashi looked puzzled. "Neji, why does it seem like you've gotten even faster and stronger?"
As clan head, Hiashi was naturally happy to see Neji grow stronger.