Interlude: Kuro's Birthday 3

Uchiha Clan Compound - Archive Room

"Birthday?"

In the Archive Room, he tilted his head slightly, as if trying to recall something, and murmured while stroking his chin:

"Hmm, it seems like today really is..."

"You brat, you really have forgotten?"

The Candle Flame silently watched the child before it, its old face expressionless, but its heart filled with complex emotions.

Children like this haven't been seen since the founding of Konoha and the end of the Warring States Period.

While the Ninja World isn't exactly peaceful these days, it shouldn't be so chaotic that this kid forgets his own birthday, right?

It's like they're about to die at any moment...

Kouch felt the old man's speechless gaze, chuckled twice, and said nothing more.

After all, you can't exactly tell him that the Uchiha will be wiped out by some overly filial son in a few years, can you?

"Treasure Pika was just born this year; the Old Man wouldn't believe me if I told him..."

He muttered to himself as he picked up the two notebooks from the table, wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and looked at the old man with a grateful expression.

"I never expected you to remember my birthday and give me such a wonderful birthday gift."

You're such a good old man... oh no, I mean, a good grandfather!

"Alright, alright, stop flattering me."

Candle Flame waved his hand dismissively at Knock, urging impatiently:

"He's not some stubborn Old Man anymore, is he? Just a pretentious little brat."

I know exactly what my reputation is like!

He paused, shifting his gaze from Kou's smiling face to the deep night outside the window:

It's getting late, you should go back as soon as possible.

Your friends must have been waiting for you for a long time, right?

The Candle Flame paused, then glanced at the knocker with displeasure.

"After all, on this day last year, wasn't it that noisy brat who was always around you who dragged you back?"

"Well..."

Listening to the old man's words, he seemed to remember something and awkwardly shrank back.

The scene from last year involuntarily flashed through his mind.

That day, he stayed in the Archive Room until very late. Obito, along with Rin, Kakashi, Anko, Asuma, and a whole bunch of others, stormed in, chattering and telling him to go home for his birthday. Candle Flame immediately turned sour and kicked them all out.

Then, the day after his birthday, he and Obito were punished by having to clean the place for a week.

I had almost forgotten about it, after all... it wasn't a pleasant memory.

Thinking of this, Kou trembled slightly and quickly glanced at the clock on the wall.

Seeing that the clock had already passed 11:30, he turned around abruptly and hurriedly said:

"I'm leaving now!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already taken off running towards the door.

Seeing the flustered look on the Candle Flame, a hint of helplessness appeared on the stern old face.

He sighed, and was about to say something when his footsteps suddenly stopped.

Under the unexpected gaze of the Candle Flame, Kou slowly turned around and solemnly bowed in the direction of the old man:

"Thank you, Grandpa Candle Flame!"

After saying that, he straightened up, grinned, then turned around again and continued jogging towards the door.

The footsteps grew fainter and fainter, eventually disappearing at the end of the corridor.

The Candle Flame stood still, silently watching the figure disappear from sight.

The Archive Room fell silent again. He paused for a moment, then burst into laughter:

"That brat, can't he slow down?"

"If I weren't in a good mood today, I would have made him clean for another week."

The Candle Flame murmured to itself, then turned around, its gaze falling on the mess on the table that had been disturbed by the knocking.

The books were stacked at varying heights, some open and face down on the corner of the table, others with slips of paper covered in annotations, the ink still wet.

He reached out and picked up an open booklet, glanced at the dense notes at the bottom of the pages, and a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

"To be so diligent at such a young age is quite rare among the Uchiha of this era."

It's just a pity... compared to the previous diligent junior, this child's talent is truly lacking by more than a little bit.

"If that kid's talent were a little better, coupled with his intelligence and diligence,

While he can't be compared to those two, he's certainly worthy of being groomed as the next clan leader...

Candle Flame shook his head with a hint of regret, then, as if sensing something, turned around and looked at the corridor behind him that led to the depths of the Archive Room.

"Am I right, Fugaku?"

A figure was slowly walking in the shadows of the corridor.

The man was dressed in dark Uchiha clan clothing, his face solemn and dignified, with a youthful sharpness in the corners of his eyebrows.

Fugaku stepped into the lamplight and bowed respectfully to the old man before him:

"Long time no see, Teacher Candle Flame."

The Candle Flame waved its hand dismissively and replied casually:

"Alright, there's no need for such formalities between us."

"Now that you are the clan chief, if we're talking about bowing, it should be me, a mere bystander, who should be bowing to you."

Fugaku shook his head, looking at the old man before him with a solemn expression in his eyes:

"You don't need to be so modest. Putting aside the fact that you were once my Teacher, just consider the contributions you made to the Uchiha and Konoha."

They deserve the respect of all Uchiha, including myself as the clan head.

"Contribution? To Konoha? Ha!"

The Candle Flame scoffed:

"If you're referring to the coup I participated in during the reign of the Senju Clan Demon, then that would be a considerable contribution."

"After all, if it weren't for us hotheads setting a bad example, the other clans in Konoha wouldn't have behaved so well after the Lord First's death."

Hearing the old man's self-deprecating words, Fugaku's expression remained unchanged, and he calmly said:

"You were young then, and were misled by wicked people. It's understandable that you did something wrong in a moment of impulse."

"Your contributions in the First and Second Ninja World War are enough to make up for the mistakes you made."

"... snort."

Candle Flame pursed her lips, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic further, and reached out to stroke the scattered books on the table.

After a moment, he slowly spoke to Fugaku behind him, his tone returning to its previous casualness:

How is it? The younger generation in this clan.

In my opinion, if we disregard talent in Ninjutsu and consider only intelligence...

That kid is even comparable to you back in your day.

"... You flatter me."

Fugaku walked to the table and looked down at the books that had been knocked over and were now scattered about.

He reached for a book, picked it up, and flipped through a few pages.

"Even back then, I wasn't able to make such a sophisticated plan for my spiritual practice at this age."

"That child's intelligence far surpasses mine at his age."

"Hmm? This is quite a surprise to me. I never expected that lad would receive such high praise from you."

"If that kid knew, he'd probably be quite surprised..."

As if imagining the stunned and helpless look on Kou's face, the old man couldn't suppress the slight upturn of his lips.

But that upward curve only lasted for a moment before he seemed to realize his lapse in composure and quickly regained his serious demeanor.

"Cough cough."

The Candle Flame cleared its throat and spoke earnestly to the young man beside it:

"Then you should already have your answer regarding the suggestion I made to you earlier concerning that child."

"Ah."

Fugaku turned around and nodded slightly towards the Candle Flame:

"I will arrange it as soon as possible regarding the special training for that child."

He shifted his gaze from the Candle Flame onto the two well-read books on the table, a genuine expectation flickering in his eyes:

"Please rest assured, the Uchiha will never overlook any... promising genius!"

Seeing the intense emotion in Fugaku's eyes, Candle Flame said nothing more, only nodding slightly.

Outside the window, the night wind rustled through the trees, and the light in the Archive Room was still on, casting the shadows of two people on the floor—one old, one young; one still, one moving.

On that rumpled book, the hastily written annotations lay quietly under the lamplight, as if waiting to be opened again...