Dinner began.
"Happy birthday!"
Amid everyone's well-wishes, Mikoto happily blew out the candles, then personally cut the cake and served a piece to everyone at the table.
It was a rare occasion for the whole family to get together, so they set aside the usual mealtime rule of "no talking."
They ate and chatted, speaking freely.
During the meal,
Mikoto quietly gave her husband a look. He immediately understood, gave a light cough, and naturally brought up the Police Force.
"Dan, would you be interested in joining the Police Force and giving your brother-in-law a hand? You're very capable. I'm sure it wouldn't take long for you to become a squad leader."
Fugaku extended an offer to his brother-in-law.
"Sorry, brother-in-law. I've always been a free spirit." Dan politely declined.
"Dan, are you sure you won't think it over?" Mikoto put an arm around her younger brother's shoulders and urged him earnestly.
"Let's not bring this up again. Thank you both for the kind offer, but I'd still rather stay at my own Fitness Gym."
Dan shook his head, then glanced at Samui and casually made up an excuse. "Besides, I can't just leave all the dirty and tiring work at the gym to her."
At that, Samui quickly waved her hands. "Director, it's no trouble."
So that was it.
Fugaku and Mikoto exchanged a look. At last, they understood that Dan had turned down the Police Force job for Samui's sake.
"If that's the case, I won't push you. But..."
Fugaku smiled, then added, "Dan, you haven't attended a Uchiha Clan Meeting before, have you? Come to next month's meeting and have a look. I'll have Itachi take you."
"That's right, Dan."
Mikoto gently echoed him. "You'll always be part of the Uchiha family. When you have the chance, you should spend more time talking and getting close with the clan members. You might even attract quite a few customers to your gym."
Faced with his sister and brother-in-law's kind intentions,
Dan couldn't keep turning them down, so he agreed. "All right."
Just then,
Fugaku glanced at his son, Itachi, then continued speaking to Dan:
"I've told Itachi to visit the gym whenever he has time and learn more about fitness from you. He's your nephew, after all, so feel free to put him to work whenever you need something."
Oh?
Hearing that, Dan guessed what Fugaku had in mind. He probably wanted Itachi and his uncle to grow closer, bringing the family closer together.
He looked at Uchiha Itachi.
"Uncle, I look forward to learning from you. Sorry for the trouble."
Itachi bowed to Dan and lowered his head. No one saw the reluctance in his eyes.
He was afraid of spending time with his uncle.
"Of course. You're always welcome." Dan grinned meaningfully, baring two rows of gleaming white teeth.
At the sight of Dan's grin, Itachi swallowed and shuddered.
It was getting late.
"Itachi, take Sasuke to bed. Mikoto, you should get some rest too. I'll take care of the remaining chores tonight."
With a smile, Fugaku sent his wife and children back to their rooms.
"We should get going too." Dan exchanged a look with Samui, and they rose to their feet.
"Wait."
Just then, Fugaku suddenly stopped them and said mysteriously, "Dan, there's something else I need to discuss with you. Samui, you should come too."
With that, he slid open a door on the left side of the hallway and went inside.
The room was furnished with neatly arranged low tables and cushions.
Fugaku sat facing Dan and Samui.
Thump, thump.
Samui's heart raced.
While spending the evening with Dan's family, she'd felt their goodwill toward her, especially from Uchiha Mikoto, who had treated her like a younger sister almost from the moment they met.
She couldn't hide how much she liked her.
Mikoto had also kept asking what Samui thought of Dan, what amusing things happened when she spent time with him, whether there was anything she disliked about him, and so on.
Only when Samui came to her senses did she realize the Fugaku couple had misunderstood.
They thought she and Dan were a couple, which was why they'd warmly invited her to the family dinner and treated her like one of their own.
More like a future sister-in-law.
At that moment,
Uchiha Fugaku sat bolt upright, his expression solemn. He'd asked to meet with the two of them alone. Was he about to ask...
Them to be the witnesses at their wedding?
What should she do?
Should she tell the truth and make a timely escape, or simply play along, sacrifice herself, and seize this chance to infiltrate the Uchiha Clan?
Samui's thoughts were in turmoil.
She sneaked a glance at Dan, but his chiseled profile gave away nothing.
Had the Director known about this all along?
Or was his head really full of nothing but muscles, and he still had no idea what was going on?
While Samui's thoughts ran wild,
Swish.
Without warning, Fugaku's dark eyes turned into a scarlet Three-Tomoe pattern.
A fierce surge of Pupil Power burst forth.
Samui was caught off guard and failed to avert her gaze from Fugaku's. Her whole body jolted, and her eyes went vacant.
The next second,
Her head tipped to one side, and her body slumped over. Dan caught her in his arms.
"Brother-in-law, what does this mean?"
Dan glanced at Samui, unconscious in the illusion, then questioned Fugaku.
Fugaku didn't answer. Instead, he fixed his Sharingan on Dan and asked in return:
"Dan, tell me—do you like this woman?"
"Why are you suddenly asking me that?" Dan couldn't help feeling surprised.
"Don't worry. We Uchiha aren't like those Hyuga. We don't force our clan members to marry within the clan just to preserve the purity of our bloodline. You're free to marry whoever you want. The clan won't interfere.
"However... this woman beside you, Samui, has a problem with her identity.
"Take a look at this file."
As he spoke, Fugaku pulled a prepared document out from under the table and handed it to Dan.
Dan began to read.
According to the file,
Samui was from Cloud Hidden Village. She was also a Special Jonin who had come to Konoha three years ago and gone undercover by Dan's side.
"I'm sorry, Dan.
"As your brother-in-law, I investigated someone close to you without your permission. But I suspect this woman is a spy. She deliberately got close to you to obtain information about the Uchiha Clan.
"If you still don't believe me, I can use the Sharingan to interrogate her and make her confess everything."
Fugaku spoke with a serious expression, laying out his suspicions.
He'd assumed that once Dan learned the truth, he would be extremely surprised, perhaps even unable to accept it.
Strangely, though, Dan simply set the document down with a calm expression and asked, "What are you planning to do with her?"
Fugaku slowly furrowed his brow and fell into thought.
"According to the rules, spies must be locked up and interrogated in the Police Force's prison. But Samui is said to be a confidante of the Fourth Raikage. If Cloud Hidden finds out something happened to her, they probably won't let it go easily."
He spoke gravely.
"You're worried the Hyuga Clan's past ordeal might happen to the Uchiha Clan. Is that it, brother-in-law?"
Dan saw what Fugaku was concerned about.
Thanks to "Book Friend 20200215163008155" for the tip.
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