A Message from the Anbu

Miyuki, standing nearby, saw this and activated her Sharingan too.

But soon, her expression also turned to shock.

Unlike the clueless Sanhe, Miyuki was a girl, and her natural attentiveness quickly made her realize that Shisui and Ryosuke's Taijutsu moves were almost identical. They were also remarkably similar to the moves used by a certain ninja school in the village.

This was because one of the duties of Miyuki's parents, as members of the Police Force, was to gather information on various ninjutsu and Taijutsu techniques. Even if they couldn't use them, they still had to know where they came from and what made them formidable.

Might Guy was one such example.

Soon, Shisui and Ryosuke stopped.

However, there was a huge difference in their condition.

Shisui remained calm and composed, his breathing steady, while Ryosuke was so exhausted that he sat down on the ground.

Their fight hadn't been limited to Taijutsu, so Ryosuke had been forced to use Lightning Release: Rampage, his Sharingan, and Pesquisa.

As a result, he had burned through a great deal of stamina and chakra.

There was no helping it. He was only eight years old, and although his chakra reserves had been expanded several times, his current limit was only 8,000. He hadn't even reached the level of an ordinary Chunin, let alone Shisui's.

"Who kicked me just now?"

Seeing the two stop, Sanhe immediately rushed over.

"What? Looking for a fight?"

Ryosuke wasn't about to indulge Sanhe's antics.

Sanhe's mouth twitched, and his eyelids began to twitch wildly.

"I was just reminding you to go easy next time. Are you blind? Don't you have a Sharingan?"

"Sanhe, that's not what you said a moment ago. Didn't you say you were going to settle things with Ryosuke?" Miyuki chimed in.

"Shut up, Miyuki!" Sanhe said, looking frantic.

Seeing the three of them like that, Shisui laughed too.

"Are you all free today?"

"Not exactly, Teacher Shisui. We actually came to ask you for advice about something."

Hearing Shisui's question, Sanhe immediately became serious.

"Oh? What is it?"

Shisui asked with a smile.

"The Third Hokage wants everyone on Team One to join the Anbu."

Miyuki spoke up.

At her words, Ryosuke immediately raised his head.

How could this happen?

They had graduated less than a week ago, and they were already being recruited into the Anbu?

As far as Ryosuke was concerned, the Anbu's ninja weren't all that impressive, but that didn't change the organization's standing in Konoha.

It was an armed force directly under the Hokage, with immense authority.

Shisui was rather surprised too.

"When did you receive the message?"

"This morning, someone from the Anbu came to our house to tell us. Our parents were home too, but they didn't say anything."

Sanhe's expression grew a little gloomy as he said this.

Sanhe and Miyuki's parents were both members of the Police Force.

The two of them had been deeply influenced by their parents and had always put the honor of the Uchiha Clan first.

"How about this? Come with me to see the Third Hokage. I'll get to the bottom of it."

Shisui said to the three of them.

The two nodded.

Ryosuke didn't say anything either. He didn't want to give up his current status as an ordinary ninja on Team One.

This wasn't just about earning money through missions. It also meant he could leave the village to carry them out.

Once he became an Anbu, his freedom would be severely restricted.

The Third Hokage was different from Danzo. As the leader of Konoha, he wouldn't make a deal with a child like Ryosuke.

Besides, he was always going on about peace, even at the cost of sacrificing other people's ideals. That put him at odds with Ryosuke in many ways.

Shisui led the three of them to the Hokage Office Building.

But this time, they didn't get to see the Third Hokage.

It seemed an important guest had arrived.

"Could it be the Cloud Ninja? I heard that after taking a loss last time, they didn't send anyone else to harass the border."

Sanhe whispered to Ryosuke and Miyuki.

"Now that would be boring. I thought the Cloud Ninja were supposed to be so brave," Ryosuke scoffed.

"What? You actually want to go to war with the Cloud Ninja? Don't you know how many people from the Uchiha Clan died in the last war?" Sanhe asked Ryosuke reproachfully.

"You don't need to remind me. My parents died in that war. I just want revenge." Ryosuke glared at Sanhe.

Sanhe was about to say something, but Miyuki stopped him.

"That's enough, Ryosuke. Don't let anyone else in the village hear you say things like that. They aren't friendly toward us Uchiha." Miyuki warned him too.

Ryosuke didn't respond this time.

"Teacher Shisui, what should we do now?" Miyuki looked at Shisui.

"There's a coffee shop over there. Let's get something to eat. My treat."

Shisui pointed to a small shop across the street.

The other three had no objections, and they soon headed over.

When the other customers in the shop saw Shisui and the others, they hurried out, looking nervous.

"They treat us worse than they treat ninja from other villages, even though our Uchiha Clan has sacrificed so much for Konoha."

Sanhe clenched his fists as he spoke.

"Come on, Sanhe. That's how things are. Maybe you could change all this if you became Hokage."

Miyuki tried to console him.

"That's right. I'll definitely become Hokage, then bring our clan back to the village. The Uchiha Clan is the strongest in Konoha."

Sanhe's eyes lit up, and he spoke with great excitement.

Neither Shisui nor Ryosuke said anything.

Shisui gazed out the window toward the Hokage Office Building.

Ryosuke, meanwhile, fiddled with his Ninja Blade.

Then he created a Shadow Clone. It left the coffee shop and disappeared around the corner.

"What's your Shadow Clone going to do?"

Sanhe noticed and immediately asked.

"See if there's anything good at the ninja tool shop."

"You'd be better off changing your clothes first. We're all being treated like this because of what you're wearing."

Sanhe couldn't help teasing him.

"You still think it's these clothes that make the people in the village treat us this way? They're just afraid of us."

Ryosuke said coldly.

Sanhe opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Just then, the coffee shop's door opened again.

Little Hinata walked in alone.

"Excuse me, could I have a piece of chocolate cake? Today, today is my birthday."

She spoke timidly to the shopkeeper.

She had to say it twice before the shopkeeper noticed her.

Only then did they hurriedly bring her a piece of cake.

A smile appeared on little Hinata's face. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed Ryosuke looking her way.

"Ryosuke... big brother. I-it's been a long time."

Little Hinata's face turned red, and she hid the cake behind her back.

"Yes, it has. I didn't expect to run into you here. It's your birthday today? Why did you come here alone?"

Ryosuke walked over and gently patted little Hinata's head.

"Everyone's busy. No one remembered my birthday."