Uchiha Shisui

"Itachi! What are you thinking about!" Watching Itachi stand there in a daze, Yu couldn't help but gently poke him on the forehead. "Stop spacing out. Izumi has been waiting for quite a while."

"Ah! Brother, it's nothing! Let's go to the Three-Color Dango Shop right now!" Itachi covered his forehead with his hand, his face flushing slightly as he replied.

"Izumi, let's go!" Yu turned around and said to Izumi, who looked at them with envy.

"Yu-kun, you really are such a gentle brother!" Izumi suddenly leaned in a little closer and said to Yu with a light laugh.

Feeling the warmth of the young girl's breath against his ear, Yu scratched his cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed. "If you want, I can be your brother too."

"Hmph, I don't want to be siblings with Yu-kun!" After saying that, the girl gave Yu an indignant glare.

As the three of them chatted, they soon arrived at Konoha's most famous Three-Color Dango Shop. A long line had already formed at the entrance, consisting almost entirely of six or seven-year-old children, with the occasional adult mixed in who had come to accompany them.

After all, today was the first day of the Ninja Academy, and any family with a bit of extra money would bring their children to celebrate.

Yu, Izumi, and Itachi followed the crowd, waiting for about half an hour before they finally saw the young owner dressed in a clean white chef's uniform.

"Izumi, are you here by yourself again today?"

Izumi nodded. "Mom and Dad both went out on missions. Brother Inada, I'm with friends today!" Izumi gave Inada a sweet smile.

"That's really great, Izumi has made friends too!" Inada looked at Izumi with a gratified expression, his hands never stopping their work. "The usual?"

"Yu-kun, do you want sweet or salty?" Izumi turned back to ask Yu.

"Me? I'll have the same as Izumi. As for Itachi, add a bit more sugar for him," Yu replied casually.

Upon hearing Yu's answer, Izumi's delicate little face crinkled into a smile that made her eyes squint, while Itachi, standing behind, tugged on Yu's clothes. "Brother, why didn't you ask me?" Itachi asked, looking a bit unhappy.

"You, little one, always looking so glum. Eat more sugar, and your mood will improve," Yu said, turning back to pat Itachi on his small head, his tone exceptionally gentle.

Itachi nodded silently, not opposing his brother's decision; he was as obedient as a little puppy.

The three quickly received the prepared dango from Inada. Considering Izumi's financial situation, Yu only had her buy two skewers each.

Holding a skewer of dango in one hand, the three of them happily headed toward their family's district.

"Yu-kun, is it good?" Yu took a gentle bite of the dango, finding it a bit too sweet and cloying, but seeing Izumi's expectant little face, he suppressed his slight discomfort and smiled warmly. "It's delicious. It seems you really love sweets, Izumi!"

"Mm-hmm, the three-color dango Brother Inada makes is the best in Konoha—soft and chewy. Yu-kun, let's come back to eat dango together next time!" Izumi said, walking backward with one hand behind her back, inviting Yu.

"Sure, but next time it'll be my and Itachi's turn to treat. Izumi, you can't refuse." Yu squinted his eyes at the slightly playful Izumi.

Izumi's expression paused for a moment, her large eyes blinking. However, seeing the somewhat serious look on Yu's face, she hesitated before finally agreeing, albeit a bit reluctantly.

She had originally wanted to treat Yu-kun a few more times, but looking at the serious gaze in his eyes, she knew that if it were his turn to pay, he would never agree to let her pick up the tab.

Seeing Izumi looking a little disappointed, Yu smiled slightly. "Izumi, we're friends now, right?"

Izumi nodded.

"Friends should look out for one another. If you were only buying dango for me and Itachi because you felt grateful, then Itachi and I have received your kindness."

"But I don't want you to do it out of gratitude. You're very cute, and I want to be real friends with you. After all, this is the first time I've made friends with such a cute girl like you!"

"Yu-kun!" Izumi's face turned red instantly, like a little apple. She covered her small face, looking like a panicked little white rabbit, and ran off quickly without looking back.

"Yu-kun, see you tomorrow!" A voice carrying a hint of secret joy drifted back from afar.

Feeling the Gratitude Points in his system constantly ticking up by 100, Yu couldn't help but feel a little gratified. As expected, the ultimate weapon against the Uchiha was gentleness.

Yu turned back to look at Itachi, who was eating his dango with bright eyes. "My cute little brother! You are both my invisible wings!"

Aside from that treasure of a girl, the one behind him was also a massive experience-gaining baby.

Gratitude Points +1000

Gratitude Points +1000

"Looks like I should feed Itachi more sweets in the future! With a brother like me in this life, he'll definitely suffer much less!" Yu sighed inwardly.

"Itachi, Brother will take you to eat dango again next time!"

"Mm! Brother!"

With that, the two brothers walked toward their family estate.

Just as they were about to arrive home, Yu saw the person he least wanted to see. If one were to ask who, besides Fugaku and himself, had the greatest influence on Itachi since childhood, it would be the figure standing in the middle of the road.

"Shisui-niisan!" Itachi suddenly shouted excitedly.

"Itachi! Yu! I finally caught up with you!" Shisui waved happily at them.

"Yo, isn't this our busy man, Shisui-niisan? You actually have time to see me and Itachi today."

Shisui gave a wry smile. "Yu, today is your enrollment day. I was supposed to see you off this morning, but I got tied up with a mission. I came straight here as soon as I finished."

"I know, I know! The village's missions are more important than anything else under the sun! Itachi waited for you at the gate for half the day," Yu said sarcastically.

"Brother, I didn't! Don't just say things like that!" Itachi, who was being held by Yu, quickly retorted. He understood that Shisui-niisan worked hard for the village and the clan, and he wouldn't blame him for such a small thing.

"Hmph! Itachi, what do you know? Look at his flak jacket—he's just a Special Jonin. How could he have so much to keep him busy!"

Shisui was rendered speechless, feeling quite unsettled. "Yu, the village belongs to everyone. Each of us should contribute our own strength to it."

Yu immediately put on an exaggerated expression. "Oh, sure! With great power comes great responsibility. If everyone had as high a level of awareness as you, Shisui-niisan, world peace would be right around the corner. The village not choosing you as Hokage is an insult to your talent!"

"I have to say, the Konoha higher-ups are blind. You both shone brilliantly during the Third Great Ninja War—Namikaze Minato became the Fourth Hokage, and you? Look at our Shisui-niisan, running around for the village, and you're still just a Special Jonin!"

"I just want to ask, where did your merits go? Were they eaten by dogs?" It wasn't that Yu hated Shisui enough to mock him like this; it was that Shisui's ideology was too blindly loyal to the Hokage, and Itachi was deeply affected by it as well.

Of course, Yu also felt a sense of injustice for Shisui. Shisui was blindly loyal, but at the very least, he had been trying his best to run errands for both the village and the clan until the very end.

Shisui wore a complex expression, a hint of bitterness in his heart. "I'm sorry, Yu. I'm not like the Fourth Hokage."

"Heh, so you know you're different! Who are you sorry to?"

"Do you know? The person you're most sorry to is yourself!"

"What did you do wrong? Leaving early and returning late every day, running around, living like a dog, coming when called and leaving when dismissed. But what's the result?"

"The village is still wary of you, and your clansmen have grown to resent you. You're getting the worst of both worlds. If this continues, how will you survive?"

Yu's barrage of questions was meant to wake Shisui up, but as they locked eyes, Yu saw only firmness. He couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Yu, complaining won't change anything." Shisui patted Yu on the shoulder. "Where the leaves dance, the fire will burn on. We are all part of Konoha. Don't always complain about what the village gives you; ask yourself what you can do for the village!"

"Only when the village is peaceful and stable can we live and work in peace. The reason I work so hard is to ensure you won't have to face the situation I'm in now. Only when the village is strong can we avoid war. I don't think you want to see the village decline and have Itachi go to the battlefield early, right?"

Looking at Shisui, who seemed to have a light shining from behind his head, Yu felt a wave of revulsion. "The Will of Fire again. This stuff is toxic, isn't it? A simple pyramid scheme slogan is enough to lead an Uchiha genius around by the nose, only for him to end up dead!"