Izumi Uchiha

Ever since Yun Yan returned home for vacation, a week had passed.

Over the past week, Yun Yan had thoroughly embodied the word "vacation." Whether it was clan affairs or missions related to his duties as a shinobi, he ignored them all, staying home and lazing about in complete comfort.

Still, it wasn't as though no one disturbed him during that time. Kakashi, for instance.

Ever since his last attempt to track and monitor Yun Yan had failed, Kakashi had begun paying attention to him. He knew that although this kid looked utterly ordinary, he was actually unfathomable, and might even be stronger than Kakashi himself!

Furthermore, Hiruzen Sarutobi had given Kakashi instructions afterward. Whenever he had time, he was to stake out the area near Yun Yan's home and keep watch for a while, checking whether Yun Yan had any suspicious schemes or unusual behavior.

When Kakashi received that order, he was miserable inside.

Lord Hokage, the other guy noticed my surveillance from start to finish last time. If Yun Yan hadn't pointed it out at the end, I'd have thought I'd done a great job and never been discovered.

And now you want me to go again? Aren't you afraid of making Yun Yan angry?

Though he had plenty of grievances, Kakashi did not show them in the slightest and obediently accepted the order.

Thus, starting from the second day of Yun Yan's vacation, Kakashi would occasionally come by, hiding around Yun Yan's house and observing what he was doing.

Kakashi's uninvited return was admittedly somewhat rude, and Yun Yan naturally noticed him again. However, Kakashi knew how to conduct himself and had a good sense of limits.

He usually came around dusk each evening. Every time, he would only remain nearby to observe for roughly half an hour, then leave immediately once the half hour was up, without lingering at all.

As Kakashi's friend, Yun Yan could guess what he was thinking.

Kakashi was trying to fulfill Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders by going through the motions without putting in any real effort.

Lord Hokage, you never specifically ordered me to stake out Yun Yan's home all day without rest, did you?

In that case, I'll just come over every day and squat here for half an hour. That should be enough.

That way, I can be considered to have carried out your order without offending Yun Yan too badly. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?

That was Kakashi's response.

It had to be said that his approach was quite correct.

At first, Yun Yan had indeed found Kakashi's return and renewed harassment annoying. He had even briefly felt the urge to drag him over and beat him up, even though Kakashi was his friend.

But later, Yun Yan realized that Kakashi only came every evening for half an hour, leaving the instant his time was up. That made Yun Yan feel much better.

It seemed Kakashi was quite skilled at humoring his superiors as well. He knew that for some things, putting on a show was enough.

And so it went for several days. Kakashi came every evening, then left immediately about half an hour later.

During those thirty minutes, Yun Yan behaved entirely normally and made no unusual moves. The two of them cooperated with remarkable tacit understanding.

One merely went through the motions, while the other deliberately put on a performance for half an hour so he could report back. They understood each other perfectly.

And today's dusk was no different.

Today was the seventh day of Yun Yan's vacation, making it exactly one full week.

At dusk, Yun Yan sat beneath the eaves of his home, enjoying the comfortable evening breeze while sitting cross-legged and quietly reading a scroll spread across his lap.

This was no ordinary scroll. It contained material related to ninjutsu and chakra, which Yun Yan was currently studying and researching.

That was right. Yun Yan had not spent the entire vacation lazing around. When it was time to work hard, he still had to work hard—like now.

And Kakashi?

As always, he was crouched on a nearby rooftop, quietly concealed there as he discreetly watched Yun Yan, honestly slacking through today's surveillance assignment.

The two of them were exceptionally in sync, each fully aware of the other.

Yun Yan continued sitting beneath the eaves, silently reading his scroll as though he had no idea Kakashi was watching him.

Kakashi remained hidden, silently staying there as though he had no idea Yun Yan had noticed him long ago.

It was clearly a somewhat strange situation, yet the two got along in remarkable harmony. Truly odd.

Just as Kakashi, on the rooftop, thought that today would likely pass uneventfully as usual, a small accident occurred.

Someone knocked on Yun Yan's door.

Upon hearing the knock, both Yun Yan beneath the eaves and Kakashi on the rooftop looked toward the gate at the same time.

After glancing at the gate, Yun Yan instinctively looked toward the rooftop opposite him, while Kakashi instinctively looked down toward the eaves across from him.

As a result... the two met each other's eyes.

Yun Yan looked up, Kakashi looked down, and neither said a word. The atmosphere was a little awkward.

After awkwardly staring at each other from afar for a second or two, Kakashi was the first to turn his face away and avoid Yun Yan's gaze.

Yun Yan's expression became a little strange as he put down the scroll and scratched his head.

No matter what, someone had knocked on his door. And now the second round of knocking sounded, clearly indicating that whoever was outside had not left.

As Yun Yan rose and walked through the courtyard toward the gate, he began guessing who might be outside.

Who could it be? Who would come knocking at my door looking for me?

Logically speaking, aside from a few nearby neighbors, Yun Yan did not know many people in the entire Uchiha Clan. Who would come looking for him?

Wait... could it be her?

A guess quickly formed in Yun Yan's mind.

Watching Yun Yan prepare to open the door, Kakashi also grew somewhat curious.

He truly had not expected that something unexpected would happen during his routine half-hour surveillance today. He had thought today would end peacefully as usual.

He just did not know who was knocking outside.

Could it be... an Uchiha Clan jonin?

Yun Yan had been home for a week now, yet there had been no movement from him at all. He had stayed at home the entire time, lazing around like a complete couch potato.

Not only that, despite returning to the clan after completing a mission outside, and despite having been back for so long, he had not reported his return to the Uchiha Clan at all. That was truly hard to justify.

Even though Kakashi knew Yun Yan was not valued within the Uchiha Clan, he had not expected Yun Yan to hold his own clan in such little regard.

Now that someone had come knocking and looking for Yun Yan, perhaps the Uchiha Clan higher-ups had finally learned that he was back and were dissatisfied that he had made no move at all, so they had come to call him to account?

That was Kakashi's guess.

And so, under Kakashi's watchful gaze and with a suspicion already in his heart, Yun Yan crossed the courtyard, arrived at the gate, and opened it without another word.

The door opened to reveal a beautiful girl of fourteen or fifteen.

She had black hair and black eyes, clearly marking her as a member of the Uchiha Clan. Her temperament was gentle and serene, her eyes bright and teeth white, her bearing graceful and elegant. She was a rare little beauty.

She was only called a little beauty because she was still young and had not fully grown into her looks.

Once she matured, once she reached an age as radiant as a blossoming flower, she would become a stunning beauty unlike any other.

But enough idle chatter. Who was this girl?

She was none other than one of Yun Yan's few friends in the clan, Izumi Uchiha!

That was right—Izumi Uchiha, the young beauty of the Uchiha Clan and Itachi Uchiha's suspected love interest in the original story.

As for when Izumi Uchiha had become Yun Yan's friend, and why their relationship appeared to be rather unusual, that required a brief explanation.

It had happened... not long after Yun Yan had first transmigrated here.

At the time, Yun Yan had inevitably felt somewhat uneasy after arriving in this world. Since his heart was unsettled, he would occasionally go out for walks to clear his mind.

It was during one such walk through the clan compound that Yun Yan happened to encounter Izumi Uchiha.

To be honest, Izumi Uchiha was the first person Yun Yan had encountered after transmigrating who had a name and role in the original story.

As a result, Yun Yan naturally paid her some attention and tried to get close to her.

And Izumi Uchiha? She was also a girl with a very good personality, gentle and kind.

Perhaps because of the butterfly effect, Izumi Uchiha had not crossed paths with Itachi Uchiha at that time.

She was also at the age when a young girl first began to experience the stirrings of affection. Since Yun Yan took the initiative to approach her, Izumi Uchiha shyly accepted his company.

As the two continued interacting, they gradually became familiar with each other and became rather close friends.

That was right, not merely ordinary friends, but rather close friends.

As close friends, the two gradually opened their hearts to each other and spoke of their respective troubles.