Naruto couldn't move once he heard the word ramen.
Lee, standing beside him, agreed without even thinking about it.
Only Neji looked at Sasuke a little awkwardly.
"There are four of us."
"And it seems like we can all eat quite a lot."
Neji spoke with some embarrassment.
At their age, in this condition,
they might eat a lot.
"It's fine."
"My brother just gave me some money."
"Let's go."
As Sasuke spoke, he headed toward Ichiraku Ramen.
He couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
The Hyuga Clan really did raise their children well.
Neji was only six, yet he was already thinking of others.
Inside Ichiraku Ramen Shop.
"Another bowl!"
"Me too!"
"I'll have another bowl as well."
There was no denying it—the three of them could really put food away.
By now, a great many empty bowls had piled up to one side.
Sasuke hadn't exerted himself much, so he stopped after his fifth bowl.
After nearly two hours of eating, the three of them were stuffed like balloons.
At first, Neji had been relatively reserved.
But later, for some reason, they started competing to see who could eat the most.
In the end, Naruto won without question, with nineteen bowls.
Neji had fifteen, and Lee had sixteen.
"Uncle Teuchi, here's 50,000 yen."
"Keep the rest here."
"Whenever one of my classmates comes to eat, just deduct it from the balance."
"We'll be going now."
After leaving 50,000 yen on the counter, Sasuke left the ramen shop with the three of them.
On the way back, Naruto and Lee started competing again,
to see who could run a lap around the village in the shortest time.
So they split off ahead of the others.
Sasuke and Neji walked together in the same direction.
"Sasuke, your Uchiha..."
After a moment of silence, Neji began to speak.
But he wasn't much of a talker to begin with. After saying those words, he trailed off.
"What is it?"
"Do you have some particular opinion about the Uchiha, Neji?"
Sasuke asked cheerfully.
"No..."
"It's just that you're a little different from the Uchiha in the rumors."
"Even with talent like yours, you're neither arrogant nor impatient."
"And you're sincere toward your friends, too."
"You're... a good person."
As Neji spoke, a blush appeared on his face.
Neji really was a tsundere. He'd been so awkward about expressing himself since he was a kid!
"Thanks."
"From now on, we're friends."
"Oh, here. Take this."
After speaking, Sasuke raised his hand and released a concentrated stream of Little White Worms.
"What's this...?"
"They can temper your body, but don't use too many or they'll harm you."
"There's something inside you that my Little White Worms can devour, too."
"Oh, Hinata's my friend as well!"
After saying that, Sasuke waved and ran off into the distance.
After all, the Uchiha Compound wasn't in the center of the village,
so he and Neji weren't headed the same way.
"Sasuke..."
"Zzzzt... Sss!"
Neji raised his hand, and the Little White Worm burrowed straight into his finger.
A familiar sensation washed over him.
Compared to the previous time, this Little White Worm was clearly gentler.
It slowly tempered his cells.
And Neji, whose senses were sharp, was surprised to discover that this Lightning Style was eroding the Caged Bird on his forehead!
The discovery left Neji stunned.
The Caged Bird was a seal the Hyuga Clan had developed specifically to target the Byakugan.
No one had ever been able to break it in all these years.
"Does Hinata... know something?"
Neji thought of the girl who called him "big brother Neji," and his expression turned awkward.
His fist clenched tightly, and his face grew heavy.
Before long, the hostility seemed to fade from Neji.
He felt somewhat more at ease.
"Maybe I've met an extraordinary friend..."
Neji shook his head and decided not to dwell on it for now.
He glanced toward the Hyuga Clan compound in the distance, then slowly left.
Inside the Uchiha Compound.
"What?"
"Lord Shisui wants to rejoin the Military Police Force?"
"Uchiha Shisui? Wasn't he in Anbu? The Third Hokage must have been suppressing him. Now he wants to come back to the Military Police Force, huh..."
"That's enough. We're all members of the same clan, and Shisui really is strong."
"What does the clan head say? Is he really going to let him join the Military Police Force just like that?"
When Sasuke had just returned home, he saw a crowd of Military Police Force members gathered outside his house.
From their conversation, it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on.
Uchiha Shisui was leaving Anbu?
Sasuke went inside with his usual innocent, cheerful expression, without listening any further to their discussion.
It was enough to get the gist of the gossip.
Watching from the sidelines had never been Sasuke's style.
Back inside, his aunt had already prepared dinner.
He washed his hands, ate, and checked in at the training ground.
Afterward, Sasuke returned to his room.
[Mission: Make Hyuga Neji abandon his obsession with the Main Family and Branch Family]
Sasuke was at a loss when he saw the mission.
The reason he'd said those things when parting with Neji was precisely because the system had given him this mission.
But...
The conflict between the Hyuga Clan's Main Family and Branch Family came down to that bizarre rule!
Changing their rules would be no easier than getting every Uchiha to become easygoing and friendly...
"Sasuke, are you asleep?"
Just then, Uchiha Itachi's voice came from outside the door.
"Rattle..."
Sasuke opened the door.
"Brother, is something wrong?"
Sasuke looked at Uchiha Itachi curiously.
Why had Itachi come to see him at this hour?
"Father wants you to come with me to his study."
"He told me that if you were asleep, we could talk tomorrow instead."
Itachi relayed Fugaku Uchiha's words.
"Okay."
"Let's go."
Itachi had a pretty good idea what this was about.
Most likely, it was about Uchiha Shisui.
Inside Fugaku Uchiha's study.
"Sasuke, you've already met Uchiha Shisui, haven't you?"
"He wants to return to work with the Military Police Force."
"Tell me what you think."
As soon as Sasuke sat down, Fugaku Uchiha explained why he'd called him over.
"Big Brother Shisui?"
"He's really strong!"
"It'd be great if he joined the Military Police Force!"
Sasuke shared his opinion in just a few short sentences.
"Is being strong enough?"
"What if... the Third Hokage sent him to the Military Police Force to take control of it?"
Fugaku Uchiha suddenly asked.
His blunt words left Uchiha Itachi stunned as well.
Was it really appropriate to say something like that in front of a child?
He glanced at Sasuke sitting beside him, but saw no sign of panic or unease.
His little brother, he...
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