Kakashi's Shock

Hatake Kakashi, also jokingly referred to as Hatake "Go-Even" (the one who draws with everyone).

Baiyu had been interested in him for a long time, wanting to meet this character who spanned the entire Naruto storyline.

However, before he could become a ninja, Kakashi had already joined the Anbu.

In the process of carrying out missions, they had never once crossed paths.

Kakashi held a book in his hand as he turned into an alleyway.

Guy hurried to catch up, and Baiyu, following behind, sensed something was wrong.

Glancing behind him, he discovered three Anbu members stealthily tailing them.

Tracking Kakashi?

Baiyu speculated in his heart.

As a transparent figure of the Uchiha clan, he shouldn't be worth the effort of an entire Anbu squad tailing him.

Baiyu pretended not to notice and quickly followed into the alley.

He happened to see Kakashi suddenly draw a kunai and turn to attack the lunging Guy.

"Clang!"

With a Shunshin, Baiyu didn't draw his blade, instead using his scabbard to block Kakashi's kunai directly.

Under the intense collision, Baiyu's wrist didn't waver in the slightest, firmly holding Kakashi's attack at bay.

Kakashi's pupils constricted slightly; he was shocked by the speed of Baiyu's move.

Although he hadn't used his full strength, an ordinary Chunin would have been killed instantly by him.

Uchiha?

So strong!

Why did this person give him a sense of déjà vu?

A samurai! Are there really samurai this strong?

Countless thoughts flashed through Kakashi's mind in that instant, ultimately stunned by a glint of light from the sword hilt.

His entire body was suppressed by an inexplicable aura.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly solidified.

"Whoa! Kakashi, it's me! Guy..."

Only then did Guy react, exclaiming in surprise.

The back of the blade holding the kunai was a mere hair's breadth away from touching his neck.

He could clearly feel the chill radiating from the scabbard against his skin.

As soon as Guy's voice fell, Kakashi felt that sense of oppression vanish.

"It's you again. What do you want with me?"

Kakashi released the kunai as if nothing had happened; this was the first time he had answered Guy directly since joining the Anbu.

He casually placed the kunai back into his ninja tool pouch and picked up his novel again, though his right hand trembled slightly, and his peripheral vision remained fixed on Baiyu.

At sixteen, Kakashi was already a Jonin, had joined the Anbu, and was participating in the plan to capture Orochimaru.

However, the outcome was miserable; he was defeated in one move by a full-strength Orochimaru.

Baiyu's swordsmanship had progressed rapidly, and his strength was far above Kakashi's.

Striking after the opponent, he had easily blocked Kakashi's attack.

Such a cold personality, he's right in the middle of his rebellious phase, a 'Dark Kakashi' who hasn't walked out of the shadows yet...

Baiyu thought to himself that Kakashi's behavior at this time was truly like that of a ninja.

Resolutely carrying out the essence of a mission, performing every task perfectly regardless of what it was.

Baiyu suspected that his personal example might be one of the reasons for Itachi's future descent into darkness.

Noticing that Hatake Kakashi had not inherited the Hatake style of swordsmanship, he felt a sense of dull disappointment.

Kakashi had such a group of good companions to pull him out of the vortex of darkness, while Itachi, after Shisui's death, had to bear the pressure imposed by the village and his clan all alone.

Watching the special bond between Guy and Kakashi, Baiyu suddenly felt a sense of sorrow for Itachi.

Perhaps this was the path of the Uchiha!

A path of solitude.

In Kishimoto's script, the Uchiha clan were all pitiful people in need of salvation.

Baiyu enjoyed this solitude, accompanied by his swordsmanship when he was alone.

Baiyu used the sword to save himself.

But what about Itachi?

He was just a boy who longed for a peaceful life and took careful care of his younger brother.

To be caught in the power struggle between one's clan and the village is to be destined for tragedy.

Without these lovely companions, Kakashi might have sunk into the depths of the Anbu, eventually becoming a killing machine, only to die in some nameless battle.

The departure of Uchiha Shiraha did not alert a single soul.

He completely masked his presence and left quietly.

Even the Anbu members who had been monitoring Kakashi failed to detect his trail; only Kakashi, who had been keeping an eye on Uchiha Shiraha, noticed.

"Who was that just now?"

After Uchiha Shiraha left, Kakashi finally put down his book and asked.

Guy, who had been trying to persuade Kakashi to quit the Anbu, hadn't noticed Uchiha Shiraha's departure at all.

"Shiraha? I almost forgot to introduce you to... Huh? Where did he go?"

Only then did Guy realize that Uchiha Shiraha's figure had long since vanished.

By this time, Uchiha Shiraha was already strolling through the streets.

After snacking on some treats, Uchiha Shiraha headed toward the market.

He intended to treat himself today.

For someone who loves meat, a meal without it is quite unpleasant.

The village market was much larger than the clan's small bazaar.

The meat vendors alone occupied a large corner, covering over a hundred square meters.

Uchiha Shiraha asked around here and there.

Finally, in a corner, he found a shop with fresh meat and reasonable prices.

"Boss, give me three pounds of lean meat. No skin, no fat!"

The chubby boss holding the knife glanced at Uchiha Shiraha and didn't speak, instead turning to another ordinary villager and saying, "What would you like?"

The person who had come up behind Uchiha Shiraha looked at him apologetically, then pointed to a slab of pork belly and said, "Give me two pounds."

"That'll be forty ryo."

The boss replied with a smile, eyeing the scale which showed about two pounds and two ounces.

After collecting the money from the customer, the boss's expression hardened. He turned back to Uchiha Shiraha and said, "I don't sell lean meat separately. You have to add pig's head meat, same price! Thirty ryo a pound."

Uchiha Shiraha's face darkened. Was the forty ryo for two pounds of meat he just saw an illusion?

Uchiha must pay double when shopping!

"Boss, it was twenty a pound just a moment ago! Why did the price go up when it's my turn?"

"Villagers pay twenty, Uchiha pay thirty! Take it or leave it."

The boss slammed his knife into the chopping block and sneered.

"Is that so?"

Uchiha Shiraha's expression remained unchanged. Want to play tough?

His left hand rested slightly on his scabbard, and with a flick of his thumb, a flash of white light streaked out. The butcher knife the fat boss had just slammed into the block, along with the chopping block itself, shattered into countless pieces, scattering across the entire stall.

The sudden, massive commotion immediately drew a large crowd of onlookers.

"Whoa!"

"What happened?"

"What a sharp blade..."

"Who's causing trouble!? Ah... it's an Uchiha! Never mind, never mind. Everyone, disperse!"

"Move along, move along. What are you gawking at? Do you want to eat prison food at the Police Force headquarters?"

"..."

When these villagers first saw the bizarre scene, they intended to watch the show, but upon spotting the Uchiha crest on Uchiha Shiraha, their faces turned pale, and they subconsciously pretended not to see anything as they left.

Just then, a thin, middle-aged man walked over. He was visibly trembling, but he still gathered the courage to say:

"This lord, you want to buy meat, right? My place is cheaper. This coward just knows how to scam outsiders. You are a magnanimous person, please spare him!"

Uchiha Shiraha glanced at the middle-aged man. So Uchiha are considered outsiders now? That was fine; he didn't care to deal with the villagers' attitudes anyway.

He couldn't afford to fall out with Konoha just yet, so since this thin boss was offering him a way out, he would take it.

Before leaving, Uchiha Shiraha turned back and said to the fat boss, "Doing business like this, you'll go bankrupt sooner or later!"

With that, he followed the thin middle-aged man to his stall.

The thin boss seemed worried that Uchiha Shiraha would cause trouble for the fat boss, so he kept speaking up for him.

The fat man's anger had a lot to do with the Uchiha.

It was because of what had happened at the market just yesterday.

The fat shopkeeper had a ten-year-old son who was dragged away right in front of him by ninjas from the Uchiha Police Force, and he still hadn't been released.

At the time, the crime announced by the Uchiha was the theft of an Uchiha clan emblem.

It was just a decoration stuck to the main gate of the Police Force headquarters.

The fat shopkeeper's son was used by the Uchiha as an example to scare the others; he was locked up for theft, to be released only once he realized his mistake.

But whether he realized his mistake or not was entirely up to the Uchiha to decide.

Baiyu sneered, "Is that so?"

The relationship between the Uchiha and the villagers was becoming increasingly rigid, with the cold war creating a massive rift.

The clan's ninjas were frantically cracking down on villagers who offended them, fueling growing public resentment.

The villagers began to spontaneously boycott the Uchiha clan.

With Danzo stirring the pot and causing trouble, neither side would bow their heads to apologize or negotiate, leading to all sorts of frantic infighting between the two parties.

This resulted in the current situation where the price of groceries for the Uchiha was always inflated, leaving innocent villagers like Baiyu or even Uchiha clansmen with nowhere to seek justice.

Arriving in front of the thin shopkeeper's pork stall, Baiyu looked things over.

The thin shopkeeper was indeed as good as his word; the prices were much cheaper, and the quality of the meat was about the same.

Baiyu bought five jin, costing eighty-two ryo, which averaged out to about sixteen ryo per jin.

Under the shopkeeper's watchful gaze, Baiyu also made him throw in a jin of pork ribs.

Due to what had just happened, Baiyu didn't want to continue wandering around the village market.

After buying a few more vegetables, he headed home.