Not Even One Word!

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

The familiar voice pulled Arata Uchiha out of his thoughts.

He looked up to see the gentle, lovely face of Izumi Uchiha, who was currently adjusting her newly donned Konoha forehead protector, her eyes brimming with joy.

"How is it? Isn't it cool?"

Izumi tapped the forehead protector triumphantly, her tone cheerful.

"Yeah, let's head home."

Arata straightened up and responded in kind, though he couldn't truly empathize with the girl's delight.

"No way!"

Feeling brushed off, Izumi Uchiha knitted her delicate brows, her slender arms instantly crossing into an 'X' shape.

"Since it's the day of our successful graduation, we absolutely must celebrate. Training can wait for a while."

"Otherwise, hmph, hmph..."

The girl shook her dainty fist and wrinkled her nose, pretending to look fierce.

He only knew how to train every single day, with no other hobbies or friends among his peers; Izumi Uchiha was genuinely worried that this little guy in front of her might end up broken.

"But..."

Arata wanted to offer a rebuttal.

After all, compared to such meaningless celebrations, he would rather swing his blade one more time at the training ground. Besides, he had a very important matter to discuss with Uncle Yashiro.

"Are you not going to listen to your sister anymore?"

Izumi Uchiha cut off the excuse he was about to make, her slender finger reaching out to tap him lightly on the forehead.

"This afternoon, your time belongs to me!"

"No objections allowed!"

"Understood?"

This was an ultimatum.

Otherwise, she might have to use her Sharingan to alter his will!

"Understood."

Looking at the girl so close to his line of sight, Arata Uchiha weighed his options and chose to compromise.

Because he intended to apply for the Anbu next, to monitor the movements of Itachi and the Konoha high-ups in preparation for the Night of the Massacre. If he could actually get the clan elders to agree to this, he wouldn't have much time for himself in the future.

"Hmph, that's more like it. What do you want for lunch? Come on, sister is treating you."

Izumi naturally had no idea what he was thinking, assuming her intimidation had worked, and a smile spread across her face once more.

"Anything is fine."

Arata's tone was flat, still wearing that look of indifference toward everything.

"That kind of answer is wrong!"

Hearing his reply, Izumi Uchiha grew quite angry, looking at him as if she were disappointed by his lack of progress.

How could he be so perfunctory with a girl?

How would he ever find a girlfriend in the future?

As she spoke, she reached out with practiced ease and began to pinch the boy's cheeks.

"When you talk to a girl, you need to smile a little, and your tone should be gentle. Being dismissive is very impolite."

"Yeah, ah, oh—try to use those words less."

"Got it?"

Watching the smile she had squeezed onto Arata's face, Izumi Uchiha clapped her hands in satisfaction.

He was clearly a handsome, strong little boy, yet he acted like he was pushing everyone away every single day. That was no good; it really hurt a girl's heart.

"Yeah."

The lectured little guy responded subconsciously.

"Yeah?"

A dangerous glint flickered in Izumi Uchiha's eyes as she heard the reply.

What had she just said?

"Okay."

Arata immediately corrected himself.

" 'Okay' isn't good enough either, not a single-word answer!!"

The Two-Tomoe Sharingan gradually surfaced in Izumi Uchiha's eyes; it seemed it would be more convenient to just alter his will directly.

The main district of Konoha was bustling, with merchants from all over the world arriving one after another; the sound of hawking could be heard from one end of the street to the other, all of them hoping to make a fortune in the strongest ninja village.

Fortunately, Izumi was very restrained.

Even though she was quite interested in the hairpins, cosmetics, and clothes at the stalls, she still remained mindful of Arata's mood.

Since they had agreed it was just for a meal, then it could only be for a meal.

"What kind of gift would Sister Izumi like?"

But just then, a question suddenly reached the girl's ears. When she regained her focus, Arata was already standing by an accessory stall, looking over the items seriously.

The Uchiha clan was not short on money.

This clan was not as pedantic as the Hyuga, having no rigid distinction between main and branch families. Any clansman who awakened the Sharingan would receive a tilt in resources.

And money, in an Uchiha clan that valued strength above all else, was merely the most inferior of resources.

As a wielder of two Kekkei Genkai, the resources Arata Uchiha could obtain went without saying; among the younger generation, perhaps only Itachi, the clan head's son, could be mentioned in the same breath.

"How about this one?"

After quietly scanning the area, Arata picked up a clover-style hairpin—simple and ordinary.

The reason for choosing it was as simple as its design: the clover symbolized good luck.

However, Izumi treated this ordinary hairpin as a treasure; the moment she took it, she couldn't wait to pin it into her hair.

"Does it look good?"

She gently adjusted her hair in the stall's mirror, her beautiful eyes curving into crescent moons.

This was the first gift she had ever received.

"Mm."

"It looks good."

This time, Arata had learned his lesson, adding a follow-up sentence to his affirmation.

"Not bad, you're improving. Keep it up~"

Turning around, Izumi Uchiha reached out her palm, subconsciously wanting to pat Arata's shoulder to encourage him as she usually did. However, she suddenly realized that the little guy who hadn't even been as tall as her before had quietly surpassed her in less than two years, even skipping three grades to graduate from the Ninja Academy alongside her.

"Arata, you've grown up."

An inexplicable sense of gratification spread through the girl's heart.

"Come on, Sister will treat you to barbecue."

For the sake of the gift, she abandoned her plan to proselytize the Three-Color Dango and began to mentally budget her personal savings.

However, at this moment, Arata's attention was drawn by another small figure, and he did not respond to Sister Izumi's suggestion.

That guy, he seemed to be...

"The village says he is the incarnation of the Nine-Tails fox."

Following Arata's gaze, Izumi Uchiha also saw the tiny figure who was treated like a rat crossing the street, accompanied by shouts of expulsion and slander.

It was no wonder people treated him this way; after all, that "natural disaster" five years ago had left indelible scars on many residents of Konoha.

Both she and Arata were among them.

"It's not, it's not!"

"I'm not a demon fox! I'm not any Nine-Tails fox!"

"I am Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki!"

The tiny figure covered his ears tightly, arguing at the top of his lungs, single-handedly confronting those who looked at him with clear-cut disgust.

Yet, such defenses were completely useless; those hateful gazes did not melt in the slightest.

"Let's go, Sister Izumi."

Arata did not want to keep watching.

Naruto's tragedy and the current situation of the Uchiha shared similar underlying factors. With his current strength and status, he was fundamentally powerless to change anything.

All he could do was simply not add to the cruelty.

"Mm."

Izumi didn't say anything more. After taking one last look at the tiny figure about to be drowned in rumors, she walked with Arata toward another street.

The awkward position of the Uchiha in the village constrained them from meddling in other people's business. On this point, any clansman who had successfully graduated from the Ninja Academy should understand.

But the Konoha commercial district, after all, was only so big~