Surveillance

Looking at the black silhouette outside the door.

"G-Gym Director."

Samui's voice trembled, her conscience pricking her as she assumed Dan had discovered her secret.

Spies deserved to be beaten to death.

At that moment, she recalled the words Dan had said to Uchiha Inohi, as well as the miserable state of the spies who had died at his hands, and cold sweat began to trickle down her back.

Thump, thump, thump.

Her heart rate accelerated as she stared fixedly at the suffocating black shadow outside the door, her tension and fear reaching a breaking point.

"Judging by your voice, you seem a bit unwell." Dan spoke again.

"Oh, I... I've been suffering from insomnia lately, I can't sleep." Samui made up an excuse and quietly pushed the window open.

The moment she confirmed her identity was exposed, she would jump out the window without hesitation and flee Konoha under the cover of night.

"Insomnia?"

Upon hearing this, Dan didn't say whether he believed her or not; he simply turned and left, quickly disappearing down the hallway.

What should she do? Should she run away?

Just as Samui bit her lip, caught in indecision, the sound of footsteps returned, and the black shadow reappeared in the hallway, stopping right outside her door.

"I brought you some aromatherapy to help you sleep. I've left it at your door."

"Thank you, Gym Director..."

Samui watched the figure leave in shock and suspicion, then slowly walked to the door, slid it open, and picked up the aromatherapy from the floor.

It seems... it was just a coincidence.

"Whew~"

Samui finally let out a long sigh of relief and collapsed onto her bed, her clothes soaked with sweat before she had even realized it.

From now on, she would have to be twice as careful.

The night passed without incident.

Over the next two days, the Fitness Gym returned to its usual tranquility, with not a single customer showing up.

As the receptionist, Samui's life became boring once again.

That day, Dan had left a business card for Choza Akimichi, but it had vanished like a stone cast into the sea, with no response whatsoever.

Consequently, Samui's opportunity to gather intelligence on the Akimichi Clan had, as expected, fallen through.

It seemed.

The Uchiha reputation was truly abysmal, to the point where everyone avoided them like the plague.

Although Samui felt that Dan was a decent person, as long as he carried the Uchiha name, it would be impossible for him to make any friends in the village.

However.

Samui could still occasionally sense strange, prying gazes appearing around the Fitness Gym.

There were members of the Police Force, as well as members of the Anbu.

Beneath the calm and peaceful surface, dark currents seemed to be surging.

Early in the morning.

Itachi arrived at the Hokage Building, ready to clock in for work.

He had joined the Anbu Team Six.

For the past few days, under the leadership of captain Kakashi, Itachi had been serving as a bodyguard for the Third Hokage.

Simply put, he spent every day standing guard outside the Hokage's office.

Acting as a security guard.

As a newcomer, he had not yet had the opportunity to go out on missions.

"Itachi, good morning."

A young man with short brown hair and an honest face walked over, greeting Itachi with a cheerful smile.

He was Itachi's teammate, codenamed "Tenzo," who was said to have been promoted to Chunin at the age of six, just like captain Kakashi, and was capable of using the Wood Style of the First Hokage.

He was a one-in-a-thousand genius.

Although Itachi also held the reputation of a genius, compared to his dazzling captain and teammate, he was currently the most inconspicuous member of Team Six.

"Where is the captain? Has he not arrived yet?" Itachi nodded in greeting to Tenzo and asked.

"If he weren't late, he wouldn't be senior Kakashi." Tenzo leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, looking helpless.

A while later.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. I left the house this morning and wandered at the crossroads of life for a long time, so I accidentally ended up late."

Accompanied by a lazy voice, Kakashi, with his silver hair and black mask, appeared from around the corner and strolled over slowly.

Itachi and Tenzo exchanged a glance.

This was their captain, a man who was frequently late and loved to come up with all sorts of strange excuses.

"No need to stand guard today, there's a new mission."

Kakashi patted his two team members on the shoulders and gestured mysteriously for them to follow him to a certain place.

The three of them left the Hokage Building and headed toward the southwest side of the village.

Before long, they entered a tall building.

Clang.

Kakashi pushed the door open and walked in.

It was a spacious room equipped with several telescopes and surveillance screens. Through a row of one-way floor-to-ceiling windows, several Anbu were carrying out surveillance duties.

"Shift change," Kakashi called out.

"No abnormalities." The several Anbu stood up, handed over their duties to Kakashi, and filed out.

Kakashi turned his head to look at Itachi, and without waiting for the latter to speak, he took the initiative to explain:

"This place is used to monitor the Uchiha Clan. What do you think? Are you going to tell your clan members about this?"

A direct probe.

Itachi did not answer, but instead asked directly: "What is my job here?"

"It's very simple. Just keep monitoring with that thing; it's not tiring at all."

Tenzo leaned in, pointed at the surveillance screen with his finger, and then consciously walked over to a telescope to begin working.

Good grief.

It was either standing guard or watching surveillance.

After all that, wasn't this still just a security guard's job?

Itachi remained silent.

This was quite different from the life of an Anbu living on the edge of a blade that he had imagined.

Kakashi had been observing the changes in Itachi's expression, and seeing the latter remain silent, he probed again:

"Having to monitor your own clan members and relatives must be difficult. Do you want me to take your shift?"

"It's fine."

Itachi shook his head, and as he spoke, he walked over to the surveillance screen.

Inside the Uchiha Clan Compound.

There were children playing in groups;

There were new shops opening, bustling with customers;

There were elderly people lying on rocking chairs basking in the sun;

There were young men and women in love, slipping into the small woods...

The scenes seen through the surveillance were very ordinary and heartwarming.

The Uchiha Clan, compared to other villagers of Konohagakure, was actually not much different.

They had been deliberately demonized by certain people.

At this moment.

Itachi saw a familiar little figure on the surveillance screen, carrying a satchel as he headed out to attend the Ninja Academy.

It was his younger brother Sasuke.

Itachi couldn't help but smile knowingly.

But soon, his smile vanished, replaced by an expression of surprise.

Because.

On the surveillance, he saw his Uncle's Fitness Gym—the Physical Transformation Department.

"That surveillance camera was just installed. You went to see your uncle a couple of days ago, his name is... Uchiha Dan, right?"

Kakashi's lazy voice rang out.

Itachi felt a jolt in his heart upon hearing this.

So, had his movements been under surveillance the entire time?

"Yes."

He nodded, remaining calm and composed.

A while later.

Itachi saw his Uncle Uchiha Dan and the employee Samui appear in the alley, carrying a large bucket of milk, seemingly just returning from outside.

Suddenly.

Dan stopped at the doorway, looked up, and spotted the camera hidden in the tree at a single glance.

He raised his hand and pointed at the camera, asking Samui something, and she frowned and shook her head.

Because of the surveillance feed.

Itachi could only see the visuals and could not hear their conversation, but a sense of foreboding had already risen in his heart.

Sure enough.

He saw Dan bend down, pick up a small stone from the ground, and then flick his finger with an expressionless face.

Whoosh.

The stone traveled from afar, growing larger and larger on the surveillance screen until it filled the entire frame.

The next second.

With a soft hiss, the monitor went black.

Itachi: "..."

Kakashi was leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed, enjoying Icha Icha Paradise while slacking off, but upon hearing the sound, he put down his book and asked:

"Is there a situation?"