As for why Uchiha Gen had praised Ayame, there was no special reason. He simply thought she was pretty, right in line with his tastes.
If he had come here as just an ordinary person, he might really have married Ayame, or a girl like her. Otsutsuki Ichiraku had stood strong throughout the entire series—still quite the catch.
When the drink in his mouth suddenly lost all flavor, Uchiha Gen leaned against the tree and curled up slightly, setting it beside him. Though he did not feel tired at all, he looked at the night sky... Come to think of it, without modern industrial pollution, the stars were quite beautiful. He slowly closed his eyes, treating it as a chance to relax.
Perhaps after one sleep, he would discover that he had never transmigrated at all. After helping the child find his parents, amid all sorts of reluctant refusals, he would take the little red envelope and go eat crayfish with his sons. Hahaha. As Uchiha Gen thought about it, a gentle smile appeared on his lips.
He did not know how long had passed before Uchiha Gen was awakened by a small stone. It could not exactly be called being hit awake—he merely sensed something flying toward him and instinctively woke up, catching the stone between his fingers in an extremely pretentious manner.
The children below were immediately frightened by the sight. Udon, wearing glasses, timidly hid behind Konohamaru and sniffled. "He... he doesn't look like a dummy."
Moegi, with her two pigtails sticking up, took a frightened step back and nodded. After all, they were the ones who had done something bad.
Konohamaru was a little scared too, but thinking of his two underlings beside him, he forced himself to speak. "What's there to be afraid of? We only threw a very small stone at him to see whether he was a dummy. Even if it hit him, it wouldn't hurt..." His voice grew quieter and quieter toward the end. He was obviously guilty, because he had not controlled the direction properly just now, and the stone seemed like it would have hit the man's face.
Uchiha Gen clearly intended to tease them. His voice was low and icy. "Brats, can I consider what you did an ambush?"
"B-But, but it was only a little stone." Moegi grew anxious upon hearing that and hurriedly explained.
Looking at the towering figure before him, Konohamaru broke out in a cold sweat. He forced a cheeky grin and said, "Hehe, w-we just saw you staying in this tree for many days. You didn't even bother when leaves fell on you, and you hadn't changed your pose at all. We thought you were a dummy... so..."
"So just because of what you assumed, I was supposed to get hit by a stone for no reason?"
Hearing that, Konohamaru had no good excuse left. He steeled himself, squeezed his eyes shut with the air of someone facing death, and bowed to Uchiha Gen. "I threw it. It has nothing to do with those two. I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
Having found his target, the aura around Uchiha Gen grew increasingly dark and cold. Just as he raised his hand as though preparing to hit him—
Moegi and Udon tremblingly stood in front of Konohamaru. Though Udon was terrified, he still said in a shaking voice, "N-No, it isn't Konohamaru's fault. I-I was the one who egged him on."
The moment he finished speaking, Udon's fear reached its limit. He burst into tears on the spot, snot and tears running down his face, leaving Uchiha Gen speechless. With that kind of courage, he could egg someone else on? It would be more believable if someone had egged him on.
Yet even so, Udon still stood in front of Konohamaru without retreating a single step.
Moegi took a small step forward and blocked Udon. "No, I was the one who egged him on. I-I'm sorry. Please forgive us." After saying that, she closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head, preparing herself for Uchiha Gen's wrath.
Konohamaru was moved to tears behind them. "You guys..."
Emmm, it seemed he had taken the teasing too far. Uchiha Gen suddenly felt like he was the villain, while Konohamaru was the protagonist. Later, Konohamaru would probably say something like, Don't bully a poor young man, and he himself would become the first nameless villain to be beaten down.
Amused by his own thoughts, he failed to keep a straight face and burst out laughing. His raised hand came down gently, rubbing the heads of the two little ones.
They instinctively shrank back, only to realize that there was none of the pain they had imagined. "Huh?"
Looking at the three little heads full of confusion, Uchiha Gen coughed lightly to cover it up. "Since you know how to repent, I'll let it go this time. Next time, if you're unsure whether something is dangerous, find an adult. Not everyone is as generous as I am."
The three of them had the same question at once. Generous?
He ignored the expressions on their faces that plainly said, Are you serious?
Looking at Udon, whose tears and snot still hung from his face, Uchiha Gen took out a sheet of paper that had come free with a purchase and helped him wipe it clean.
"A real man shouldn't cry." After wiping him clean, Uchiha Gen tidied up a little and brought some things over from behind the tree. "Do you like snacks? If you do, these are for you."
Seeing at least a huge bag of snacks, all three pairs of eyes immediately lit up.
Konohamaru instantly felt that Uchiha Gen was not so scary after all, completely forgetting how the man had frightened him earlier. "Why are you giving us snacks? We clearly..."
"Because I feel like it. How's that for a reason? I like the look of you." Uchiha Gen spoke indifferently. He had received something from an important character; he did not know whether Konohamaru counted, but building a good relationship could not hurt.
Suddenly, Uchiha Gen seemed to remember something. "How long until the finals of the Chunin Ninja Exams?"
Konohamaru blinked, then counted on his fingers. "About two days. Are you going to watch the Chunin Ninja Exams too?"
Uchiha Gen nodded, then suddenly felt a mischievous urge. "I'm the Jonin leading the Sound Ninja team. Of course I'll be attending something like that."
Only then did Konohamaru and the others notice the Sound Ninja forehead protector tied around Uchiha Gen's arm. They immediately became wary again. "You're from another ninja village."
His goal achieved, Uchiha Gen narrowed his eyes and smiled. "That's right. I'm leaving now. Bye-bye, brats. These things aren't poisoned, so you can eat them. Of course, that's assuming you're not afraid of food given by a ninja from another village."
With that, he used the Body Flicker Technique and left.
The three little ones looked at one another, then at the colorful candy and snacks in their hands, falling into troubled contemplation.
In the end, Konohamaru gathered his courage, gritted his teeth, and ate a piece of candy. Moegi immediately grew anxious when she saw it. "Quick, spit it out! What if—"
Konohamaru interrupted her. "If he wanted to harm us, we couldn't have escaped anyway. But just in case, I'll taste one first. We'll wait and see if anything happens."
Are you an idiot? The words stuck in Moegi's throat. Seeing that the candy had already been swallowed and knowing she could not persuade Konohamaru, she could only watch him worriedly.
An hour later, Konohamaru gave a thumbs-up and smiled. "No problem. Eat up."
Only then did Moegi and Udon breathe sighs of relief. At the same time, they swallowed as they looked at the huge bag of snacks.
Walking down the street, Uchiha Gen sensed that no Anbu were watching him. They had probably all gathered at the arena. He rubbed his chin and looked at the pedestrians chatting and laughing around him. The calm before the storm? Konoha was far too weak right now...
Leaning against a tree, he watched a small snake slither up his arm and into his sleeve. It opened its mouth and spat out a small roll of paper covered in slime.
"..." That was a little disgusting. Uchiha Gen did not know how Orochimaru had found him. He unfolded the paper, casually skimmed it, then burned it.
The general contents were an order for him to prepare to act, and for Uchiha Gen to pretend to be a surviving Uchiha in front of Sasuke and submit to Orochimaru.
That displeased Uchiha Gen greatly. It felt like he was suddenly being asked to embarrass himself in front of a younger member of his own family.
Before you continue