Swordsmen Don't Need Girlfriends (Revised)

After exiting the Hokage Building, Shiraha had no intention of heading straight home.

Since he had finally made a trip to the village, he naturally wanted to take a good look around.

Inside the lobby, Shisui had handed him 1.2 million ryo, claiming it was the reward for their recent mission.

Although they hadn't completed the objective, stopping Orochimaru and severing his right arm was far more glorious than the embarrassing performance of the Anbu.

According to Shisui, the Hokage likely intended to use their achievements to whitewash the incompetence of the Anbu.

In this meeting with the Hokage, Shiraha had achieved part of his goal.

The Third Hokage had not directly agreed to his request.

He did not trust the Uchiha.

Shiraha's proposal to become a teacher at the Ninja Academy wasn't because he genuinely wanted to teach, but rather a probe directed at the Hokage Faction.

He wanted to see to what extent Konoha would allow the Uchiha to integrate.

The Ninja Academy was the foundation of Konoha, a fundamental plan initiated by the Second Hokage.

It was designed to divide the primary strength of the major ninja clans.

This was equivalent to the bedrock of Konoha.

Based on Shiraha's conjecture, the Third Hokage would not agree to his request, but Shiraha could follow Uchiha Shisui's lead and draw closer to the Konoha high command.

There would be an opportunity... for a single fatal strike, a desperate reversal.

Shisui approached them for the sake of the clan's peace; Shiraha approached them for his own sake.

A Konoha without a Kage-level powerhouse belonged to the Uchiha.

Danzo, in this game of chess against Konoha, must die!

Between the village and the clan, Shiraha chose himself.

He would extract benefits from both sides.

Whether those benefits were ninjutsu or status, Shiraha would refuse nothing.

He wouldn't be foolish enough to act as a lackey for the Third Hokage like Shisui and Itachi.

To become stronger, killing the Hokage and defecting was also a viable option.

Everything was done to acquire status and grow stronger!

The Hokage's considerations were not within his calculations; no matter the outcome, he could accept it.

Lost in thought, Shiraha wandered the streets until he suddenly caught a familiar, sweet, glutinous scent.

Shiraha's eyes lit up, casting his worries to the back of his mind as he followed the aroma to a shopfront.

It was a Three-Color Dango shop, with a few customers seated inside.

This glutinous scent is so similar to the dango from my hometown in my past life! Such a nostalgic flavor.

Shiraha followed the scent into the shop, then suddenly paused; there were other customers inside.

He swept his gaze over the patrons without leaving a trace.

They were all familiar figures.

Might Guy, the taijutsu specialist wearing a green spandex suit under his jonin vest.

Kurenai Yuhi, the mature, beautiful kunoichi who excelled in genjutsu.

Asuma Sarutobi, the Hokage's son who sported a beard despite his young age.

Hayate Gekko, the sickly-looking member of the Hayate Clan, a family of samurai origin second only to the Hatake Clan in the village.

"Is that him?"

Guy also noticed Shiraha, his eyes brightening as he greeted him with pleasant surprise.

"Hello! I finally see you've come to the village."

Shiraha looked around, realized there was no one else, and pointed to himself.

"Are you greeting me?"

"That's right! I hadn't seen you training outside the village lately and was curious what you were up to. So you've already become a chunin!"

Guy said with natural familiarity.

"Hello, my name is Might Guy! When I was training in the past, I could see you practicing swordsmanship outside the village every day. I'm sorry if I ever disturbed your training."

"Uchiha Shiraha."

One does not strike a smiling face; Shiraha responded in kind.

Through years of training, Shiraha had gained some understanding of Guy, as they often crossed paths.

As fellow practitioners of hard work, he held a relatively favorable impression of him.

Upon hearing the name, the bearded Asuma Sarutobi's expression tightened, and he scrutinized Shiraha carefully.

Kurenai Yuhi also slowed the movement of her hands, her ears twitching slightly.

A group of four people stood there, and aside from Might Guy, even Hayate Gekko remained quiet, busy blowing his own horn.

Uchiha Shiraha took in every action of the group.

"What do you want to eat? It's my treat for the first time! Let's be friends. When we have time, we can spar in taijutsu. Aside from Obito, you're the second person from the Uchiha clan I've ever met."

Might Guy said with a smile, pulling Shiraha into the shop to order.

Shiraha didn't know how to respond, muttering, "How could I let you do that..."

As he spoke, he ordered nearly twenty skewers of dango in various flavors from the shopkeeper.

Only those who have experienced poverty truly understand how difficult it is to treat someone to a meal.

Under Guy's introduction, Shiraha moved toward the four of them.

Guy introduced the three of them one by one, then introduced Shiraha to them in turn.

"This is a companion I met while training, Uchiha Shiraha."

The three of them wore smiling faces on the surface, appearing very welcoming to Shiraha.

While they were talking, the shopkeeper brought over a plate of dango and placed it in the center of the table.

Catching the scent, Shiraha couldn't hold back any longer.

After returning to the village, he had gone with Shisui to see the Hokage.

He hadn't eaten a single thing since then.

With the dango right in front of him, he sat down without ceremony, coincidentally wedging himself between Asuma and Kurenai.

"I'm digging in!"

Out of habit, Shiraha uttered the customary mealtime phrase before sweeping through the food like a whirlwind.

One skewer per bite—a basic operation.

It left the four people beside him completely stunned.

"Guy, this is the first time I've seen someone eat Three-Color Dango just like you! You two really are friends."

Kurenai said with disdain; the recent behavior of the Uchiha in the village was nearing the point of inciting public outrage.

A neighbor of Kurenai's had been dragged to the Police Force and locked up for two days over a trivial matter.

Because of this, she held a grudge against the Uchiha.

Guy remained his usual cheerful self, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in Kurenai's words.

Shiraha narrowed his eyes, ignoring Kurenai's remarks and keeping his focus on the dango.

Since Guy was paying and these people were Guy's friends, it was inevitable that they might reach out to grab a skewer or two.

Shiraha wasn't paying, but he intended to claim the entire plate for himself.

He needed to act aggressively to hold his ground so that the whole plate would end up in his stomach.

In three or four minutes, a large plate of dango—over a dozen skewers—had all vanished into Shiraha's belly.

Only then did he pick up the remaining two skewers, savoring them at a leisurely pace.

"Fragrant, soft, and delicious; a sweet, chewy sensation—a true delicacy of Konoha! One bite, and you can truly feel a sense of happiness."

Shiraha took a bite, appearing for a moment as if possessed by the grace of a noble aristocrat. After refinedly tasting a small piece of dango, he closed his eyes to savor the aftertaste for a moment before slowly speaking his thoughts.

I, Shiraha, am a gourmet.

The glutton from a moment ago was named Uchiha Inshui.

"..."

Kurenai stared dumbfounded at the empty plate and the pile of bamboo sticks on the table, her small face flushed red with anger.

Her ruby-like eyes glared in disbelief at Shiraha's handsome face.

This guy... he didn't even leave a single one for her!

He was holding two skewers, still there spouting flowery nonsense.

Every word of his review felt like a knife, stabbing deep into her heart.

All Uchiha are this detestable!!!

"Shopkeeper! Another ten skewers of dango!"

Kurenai shouted loudly, looking at Shiraha with a face full of resentment.

Shiraha responded with a kind smile, continuing to eat his two skewers of dango as if he were alone.

The atmosphere turned incredibly stiff for a moment.

Even Hayate Gekko, who was usually good at breaking the ice, was left speechless.

This Uchiha is not ordinary...

"I'm sorry... Miss Kurenai, I was planning to close up for lunch, and there are only a few dango left—not enough. Please come back this afternoon!"

The shopkeeper walked out, looking embarrassed as he spoke.

It was already high noon by the time Baiyu arrived, making him just about the last one to show up.

Kurenai Yuhi and the others had already been eating for a while.

Not having anticipated this, Kurenai Yuhi felt even more embarrassed.

Glaring fiercely at Baiyu once more, she sat down, pouting in anger.

Seeing Kurenai being bullied, Asuma couldn't help but prepare to speak up, only to be cut off by Guy.

"Kakashi!"

Suddenly, a shout from Guy shattered the stiff atmosphere.

Baiyu followed Guy's gaze and saw a white-haired, masked ninja wearing the white armor of the Anbu walking past the shop.

Kakashi glanced up at the group in the shop, then walked away as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Guy immediately gave chase, and seeing this, Baiyu set down his skewer, which still had two dumplings left, and followed them out.