"What did you mean? You wanted to invite me over as a guest?"
Genkawa Uchiha was baffled.
Didn't they know perfectly well what his relationship with the Uchiha Clan was like?
Inviting him over as a guest at a time like this... wasn't that complete nonsense?
Mikoto Uchiha nodded.
"Yes, it was proposed by Uchiha Yashiro and the others."
"Wait, don't explain yet. My head's a little muddled."
Genkawa Uchiha wore a strange expression. Countless thoughts circled through his mind again and again, yet he still could not figure out why.
Mikoto Uchiha saw that and smiled. "They think you're the one with the strongest convictions in the Uchiha Clan."
Genkawa Uchiha opened his mouth to speak, but then he laughed.
"Forget it. They can think whatever they want. Don't tell me about things like this in the future either. I'm not going."
Mikoto Uchiha seemed to have expected that attitude from him. She had merely told him about it as a joke and had not taken it too seriously.
Of everyone in the Uchiha Clan, she was the one who understood Genkawa Uchiha best.
"Speaking of which, you came here... won't the Clan Head be angry?"
Mikoto Uchiha was folding the clean clothes beside him. At his words, her hands paused, and her expression became unnatural for an instant.
"Why would he be angry? Don't overthink it."
Genkawa Uchiha nodded. "That's true. He's the Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, after all. He should have at least that much tolerance."
Mikoto Uchiha fell silent.
"Sigh, what a pity. I can't help you with that. All I can do is dote on my big sister here."
He sounded perfectly serious, but Mikoto Uchiha knew him far too well. Seeing that look on his face, how could she not know the brat had ulterior motives?
"Eat your food."
Seeing her willow brows knit together, Genkawa Uchiha chuckled, but he did not say anything else.
The two chatted idly, deliberately avoiding the topic of the Uchiha Clan and talking instead about trivial matters.
At the end, just as Mikoto Uchiha finished tidying up and prepared to leave, she suddenly asked something.
"Genkawa, can you do me a favor?"
Genkawa Uchiha was picking his teeth. Hearing that, he nodded. "Tell me. What kind of favor?"
"Promise me first."
Genkawa Uchiha's tooth-picking motion paused, and he raised a brow.
What was this, acting cute with me?
Didn't look like it, though.
He looked Mikoto Uchiha up and down, lingering especially over her chest and waist. Her face flushed slightly, and she stepped forward to smack him.
"Are you going to agree or not?"
Genkawa Uchiha parted his lips slightly. Seeing her like this, he found it rather strange.
"Tell me what it is first."
"Promise me first."
Having said that, she merely looked at him and said nothing more.
Genkawa Uchiha fell silent and likewise did not speak.
The two seemed to be locked in a standoff, waiting to see who would give in first.
The result was obvious. Mikoto Uchiha spoke first. "I've taken care of you since you were six or seven. I looked after you for years. Do you remember how much you loved the food I made back then? I washed all your clothes... When others spoke badly about you, I stood in front of you. When you were upset, I comforted you..."
She listed everything she had done for him one by one. The more she spoke, the redder her eyes became, and the more she felt like crying.
It had to be said, married women truly seemed to learn certain things without being taught. She was actually using tactics on a handsome young man like him.
Even though Genkawa Uchiha knew Mikoto Uchiha was doing it deliberately, he could not simply watch her like that.
His relationship with the Uchiha Clan was poor, and he had intentionally kept his distance from Mikoto Uchiha, but things had not reached that point yet.
Seeing that she was about to continue rambling, Genkawa Uchiha shook his head helplessly. "Let's make this clear first. If it's something that puts me in a difficult position, I'll refuse."
Only then did Mikoto Uchiha stop. "I want you to become Itachi's teacher."
Genkawa Uchiha pointed at himself.
"Me?"
Mikoto Uchiha nodded.
"Be Itachi's teacher?"
Mikoto Uchiha nodded again.
"Yes."
Genkawa Uchiha fell silent.
If you can't find a book by its title, try searching for the author. It may have simply been renamed!
Itachi was only a little over four now, nearly five. He was still just a little kid.
But when Genkawa thought of what this guy would do in the future, his head began to ache.
This one was a landmine.
With that thought, he immediately shook his head.
But Mikoto Uchiha seemed truly hurt by his attitude. Her eyes instantly reddened, and tears fell.
"Why?"
Perhaps because she found it hard to accept, Mikoto Uchiha's voice trembled slightly when she said it.
After all, she had always regarded Genkawa Uchiha as family. She was only asking him to teach her child, yet he had chosen to refuse outright. It left her feeling defeated.
It was as though the feelings she had invested in Genkawa Uchiha over so many years had not been worth it.
This was bad.
Genkawa Uchiha feared women crying most of all.
Especially after giving it some thought and roughly guessing why she felt this way, his head began to ache again.
Others did not know what Itachi Uchiha would become in the future, but how could he not know?
Yet by ordinary standards, it was only natural for him to become Itachi Uchiha's teacher now.
That was how Mikoto Uchiha saw it. That was why she was so upset after being rejected.
"I..."
Genkawa Uchiha was at a loss for words, but seeing her expression, he could not bring himself to continue refusing so cruelly.
"Let's make this clear first. I'm not even an adult yet, so it's not appropriate for me to be a teacher. Think of me as an uncle who helps look after your kid in his spare time."
Hearing that, the grief on Mikoto Uchiha's face eased somewhat.
Then Genkawa Uchiha added, "I can't guarantee that I'll teach Itachi well. You know what kind of situation I'm in right now. As long as you aren't afraid that, after getting close to me, Itachi will pick up my temperament and start hating the clan too."
Mikoto Uchiha wiped the corner of her eye. "Hating the Uchiha is still better than being like the other clan members and clinging to unrealistic fantasies about the Uchiha."
Genkawa Uchiha raised a brow. "Looks like Big Sister Mikoto understands these matters very clearly."
Mikoto Uchiha ignored that and said, "Then it's settled. I'll tell Itachi when I get back."
"Aren't you afraid the Clan Head will refuse?"
"He won't."
With that, Mikoto Uchiha left directly.
It was obvious that she was somewhat impatient.
Shaking his head, Genkawa Uchiha did not think further about it.
This had come rather suddenly for him, but it was not entirely unacceptable.
Thinking about what she had just said, it was clear that as a mother, Mikoto Uchiha did not want her child to become like the others in the clan, easily swept up by the clan's emotions.
If that happened, she would seem like a failure as a mother.
But becoming Itachi's teacher...
That would be difficult.
"I hope that Fugaku Uchiha can stick to his principles and refuse Big Sister Mikoto's request."
Then, the outcome truly exceeded Genkawa Uchiha's expectations.
Because three days after that day, Mikoto Uchiha came again, bringing news that left even him bewildered.
"Fugaku agreed. This is the thank-you gift he asked me to pass on to you."
It was a Ninja Blade mixed with chakra metal, clearly a top-quality piece no matter how one looked at it.
"Why would he agree?"
Genkawa Uchiha was baffled.
As a father, and especially as the Clan Head, shouldn't Fugaku Uchiha have firmly refused?
After all, not only the Uchiha Clan, but even people in the village knew that he and Fugaku did not get along.
Did this make sense?
It didn't, right?
Yet Mikoto Uchiha smiled faintly and dealt a finishing blow with a single sentence.
"You don't understand how parents feel about their children, nor how much importance they place on them."
As she spoke, she explained, "Perhaps in your eyes, you and Fugaku don't get along. But in Fugaku's eyes, you are a true genius. Having you guide Itachi from your perspective is actually a good thing for him."
"Is that so?"
Mikoto Uchiha nodded. "So, six days from now, I'll bring Itachi over to meet you."
"Why six days from now?"
"Because the miscellaneous matters concerning the new clan grounds will still take a few days to handle."
"Fine."
Things had reached this point, so there was nothing more to say. He also wanted to meet Itachi, the clan exterminator from the original story.
Before you continue