The Playground, War?

"Who's this little girl, Ryosuke? Do you know her? You don't have some weird fetish, do you?"

Sanhe noticed what was going on and immediately spoke in a scornful tone.

"Oh my, so Ryosuke likes little girls."

Miyuki touched her cheek, putting on a disappointed expression.

Little Hinata was so frightened by their reaction that she immediately hid behind Ryosuke.

"She's really timid. At her age, I could already climb trees."

Sanhe propped his face on one hand and gestured at Hinata's height with the other, speaking very smugly.

Just then, Shisui turned around.

"Isn't this Lady Hinata of the Hyuga Main Family? What are you doing here?"

"What? Someone from the Hyuga Clan? The family with the Byakugan?" Sanhe immediately stood up, even taking a fighting stance.

The Hyuga Clan had always touted itself as Konoha's greatest clan, as if it didn't consider the Uchiha Clan worthy of notice.

Although the Uchiha Clan disdained competing with them over such an empty title, some clan members still resented it.

Sanhe was one of them.

"The young lady of the Main Family? I can't believe how lucky you are, Ryosuke. If you married into the Main Family, you could live off your wife from now on."

Miyuki said with a squinting smile, but the coffee cup in her hand was already crushed out of shape.

Ryosuke was speechless. Were these two out of their minds?

He had no choice but to explain how he had accidentally saved little Hinata in the past.

"You awakened your Sharingan then? How is that possible? Isn't the condition for awakening it witnessing the death of a loved one?"

Sanhe said in surprise.

Miyuki glared at Sanhe, and he immediately shut up.

So this was a "secret" within the Uchiha Clan.

Sanhe and Miyuki had naturally learned about it from their parents.

But Ryosuke was an orphan of war, so this "secret" really was a secret to him.

And for the Uchiha Clan, the condition for awakening the Sharingan was something they couldn't let others know.

If the people of Konoha found out, they would probably fear the clan even more.

Ryosuke said nothing. He didn't want to correct them.

He looked down at little Hinata and asked, "Shall I take you home?"

To his surprise, little Hinata shook her head. "I don't want to go home. Everyone's busy. Can I stay with you today, Big Brother Ryosuke?"

Tears welled in her eyes, and she looked as if she would start crying the moment Ryosuke refused.

Ryosuke wasn't alone now, so he could only look to Shisui.

"Teacher Shisui, is that okay?"

Shisui smiled. "Then you'd better take good care of her. Otherwise, the Hyuga Clan will come after you."

Ryosuke nodded, then lifted little Hinata onto his lap.

"Whatever you want to do today, I'll go with you."

After all, he had the Shadow Clone Technique. As long as they weren't doing anything too dangerous, he could send a shadow clone in his place.

He could even leave a shadow clone here.

He was only waiting for news here, and getting along with Hinata would also mean getting along with the Hyuga Clan.

Whatever fate awaited the Uchiha Clan in the future, the Hyuga Clan was undeniably one of Konoha's mainstays.

"Then I want to go to the playground," little Hinata said at once after thinking it over.

"Does the village even have a playground?" Ryosuke asked, puzzled.

"Don't look at me. I don't know either," Sanhe quickly said, shaking his head.

"It does. There's a small playground in the south of the village. I'll go with you," Miyuki offered.

"No need. You stay here. Little Hinata, let's go."

Ryosuke left a shadow clone behind and took his real body out of the coffee shop with little Hinata.

With a bang, Miyuki's coffee cup shattered.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Coffee splashed all over Sanhe, and he jumped to his feet.

But when he saw Miyuki's Sharingan, he promptly sat back down.

"Heh, it's just a playground. It's no big deal. I can go there by myself sometime," Miyuki muttered to herself.

"You look terrifying when you're angry."

"Sanhe, could you please shut up?"

"Right away."

Shisui, sitting by the window, suddenly spoke. The other three immediately looked outside.

An old man with a big nose, barely a meter tall and wearing a hat, had just walked out of the Hokage Office Building.

The Third Hokage had even come out to see him off in person.

"Who's that midget? Why would Lord Hokage see him off personally?" Sanhe asked, confused.

"Didn't you see the sash around his waist? That's the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Iwagakure," Miyuki said irritably.

"What? The Tsuchikage? Why's he come to Konoha? No wonder Lord Hokage didn't meet with us," Sanhe said thoughtfully.

Shisui, however, looked solemn.

He already had a vague idea, but there weren't enough clues for him to be certain.

Soon, Ōnoki and the Iwagakure ninjas disappeared down the street.

Shisui then led the three others back to the entrance of the Hokage Office Building.

"Lord Hokage needs to rest," the ninja at the entrance said, trying to turn Shisui away.

But then he changed his tune. "Please, come in."

After Shisui and the others entered the building, the ninja shook his head. He then said, puzzled, "What was that just now?"

"Miyuki, don't use genjutsu on people in the village again."

Shisui spoke to Miyuki seriously.

"Teacher Shisui, I only wanted to avoid trouble. Otherwise, we might not have gotten to see Lord Hokage today."

Miyuki said coldly.

Ever since Ryosuke had left the coffee shop, her attitude had turned very sour.

Shisui said nothing this time.

The four of them went up to the second floor and knocked on the Hokage's office door.

"Come in."

The Third Hokage's voice came from inside.

The four of them opened the door and entered.

"Shisui, what is it?"

"Lord Hokage, I wanted to ask about Team One joining the Anbu. Was that your decision?"

Shisui looked at the Third Hokage, who sat in his chair with his back to them, and asked.

"That's right. It was my decision. Shisui, war is coming. The Uchiha are an important force in Konoha, so you must also become one of the village's defenders."

The Third Hokage turned his chair around and spoke with a serious expression.

"What? War? With whom?"

Shisui asked in surprise.

"Of course, with the Cloud Ninja. The matter from last time wasn't resolved properly, and now they're using a border dispute as an excuse. War is unavoidable."

"However, I've already contacted Iwagakure. With the strength of our two villages, the Cloud Ninja will have to think twice. The war may be unavoidable, but we must do everything we can to keep it from escalating."