Shisui Uchiha

"Itachi! What are you thinking about?" Hane looked at the dazed Itachi and lightly tapped his forehead. "Stop spacing out. Izumi's been waiting for a while."

"Ah! Brother, it's nothing! Let's go to the Three-Color Dango shop now!" Itachi covered his forehead with one hand and replied with a faint blush on his face.

"Izumi, let's go!" Hane turned and said to the envious-looking Izumi.

"Hane, you really are such a gentle older brother." Izumi suddenly leaned closer and said with a soft laugh.

Feeling the warm breath the girl exhaled beside his ear, Hane scratched his cheek awkwardly. "If Izumi wants, I can be your older brother too."

"Hmph, I don't want to be siblings with Hane!" With that, the girl shot him an annoyed glare.

Chatting as they walked, the three soon arrived at Konoha's most famous Three-Color Dango shop. A long line had already formed outside, made up almost entirely of six- and seven-year-old children, with the occasional adult accompanying them.

After all, it was the first day of the Ninja Academy. Any family with a little money to spare would bring their children here to celebrate.

Hane, Izumi, and Itachi followed the crowd and waited for about half an hour before they finally reached the young owner, who wore a spotless white chef's uniform.

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

Izumi nodded. "Mom and Dad went out on a mission. Big Brother Inada, I came with friends today!" She gave Inada a sweet smile.

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

"Hane, do you like sweet or savory?" Izumi turned back and asked him.

"As for me, I'll have the same as Izumi. Add extra sugar to Itachi's." Hane answered casually.

The moment Izumi heard his reply, her childish little face broke into a smile so wide that her eyes narrowed into crescents. Behind him, Itachi tugged on Hane's clothes. "Brother, why didn't you ask me?" he said unhappily.

"You're such a little kid, yet you spend every day with a frown on your face. Eat more sugar and you'll feel better." Hane turned back, patted Itachi's little head, and spoke especially gently.

Itachi nodded silently without objecting to his brother's decision, obedient as a little puppy.

The three soon received the finished dango from Inada. Considering Izumi's financial situation, Hane only let Izumi pay for two skewers.

Each of them held a skewer of dango in one hand as they happily headed toward the Uchiha compound.

"Hane, is it good?" Hane took a small bite of the dango. It was a little too sweet and cloying for him, but seeing Izumi's expectant expression, he endured the slight discomfort and smiled gently. "It's delicious. Looks like Izumi really likes sweets."

"Mhm! Big Brother Inada's Three-Color Dango is the best in Konoha. It's soft and chewy. Hane, let's come eat dango together again next time!" Izumi kept one hand behind her back as she walked backward and invited him.

"Sure, but next time Itachi and I will treat you. Izumi, don't refuse." Hane narrowed his eyes as he looked at the slightly playful Izumi.

Izumi's expression froze for a moment, and her large eyes blinked. But when she saw Hane's suddenly serious expression, she hesitated before finally agreeing somewhat reluctantly.

She had originally wanted to treat Hane a few more times, but seeing the seriousness in his eyes, she knew that if she tried to pay next time, Hane would definitely refuse.

Seeing Izumi looking a little dejected, Hane smiled. "Izumi, we're friends now, right?"

Izumi nodded.

"Friends should take turns looking after each other. If Izumi treated Itachi and me to dango because you were grateful to me, then Itachi and I accept that kindness."

"But I don't want Izumi to do this out of gratitude. Izumi is adorable, and I want to be real friends with you. After all, this is the first time I've met a girl as cute as Izumi!"

"Hane!" Izumi's face immediately turned red like a little apple. Covering her face, she fled without looking back like a startled little rabbit.

"Hane, see you tomorrow!" Her voice drifted back from afar, carrying a trace of secret delight.

As Hane felt the system continuously adding 100 Gratitude Points, he could not help feeling a little pleased. Sure enough, the greatest weapon against the Uchiha was gentleness.

Hane turned around and looked at Itachi, whose eyes sparkled as he ate his dango. "My adorable little brother! You're all my invisible wings!"

Aside from that treasure of a girl today, the one behind him was also a huge source of experience.

Gratitude Points +1000

Gratitude Points +1000

Looks like I'll have to feed Itachi more sweets in the future! With his brother around in this life, he'll definitely suffer much less! Hane sighed inwardly.

"Itachi, should Brother bring you here for dango again next time?"

"Mhm! Brother!"

With that, the Hane brothers headed toward their home.

But just as they were about to reach home, Hane saw the person he least wanted to meet. Other than Fugaku and himself, the person who had influenced Itachi the most since childhood was the figure standing in the middle of the road.

"Big Brother Shisui!" Itachi suddenly shouted excitedly.

"Itachi! Hane! I've finally been waiting for you!" Shisui happily waved at Itachi and Hane.

"Well, if it isn't our busy Big Brother Shisui. You actually had time to come see Itachi and me today."

Shisui gave a wry smile. "Hane, today was your first day at the academy. I should have come to see you off this morning, but I had a mission and couldn't get away. I came as soon as I finished it."

"I know, I know. Nothing is bigger than the village's missions! Itachi waited for you at the entrance for half the day today!" Hane said sarcastically.

"Brother, I didn't! Don't make things up!" Itachi hurriedly refuted him as Hane held his hand. He understood that Big Brother Shisui worked hard for the village and the clan. He would never blame Big Brother Shisui over something so trivial.

"Hmph! Itachi, what do you know? Look at his vest. He's only a Special Jonin. How could he possibly be so busy?"

Shisui was left speechless by the jab, and his heart felt bitter. "Hane, the village belongs to everyone. Every person should contribute what they can to it."

Hane immediately put on an exaggerated expression. "That's right! The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. If everyone had awareness as lofty as Big Brother Shisui's, world peace would have been within reach long ago. If the village doesn't choose you as Hokage, it's an insult to your talent!

"Konoha's higher-ups can only be called blind. You both shone brilliantly in the Third Shinobi World War, yet Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage. And you? Look at our Big Brother Shisui, running himself ragged for the village, and he's still only a Special Jonin!"

"I just want to ask, where did all your merit go? Did the dogs eat it?" It was not that Hane hated Shisui enough to mock him like this. It was because Shisui's devotion to the Hokage was far too blind, and Itachi had been deeply influenced by him as well.

Of course, Hane also felt a little indignant on Shisui's behalf. Shisui's loyalty was blind, but at least he had done his utmost to run between the village and the clan until the very end.

Shisui wore a complicated expression, bitterness rising in his heart. "I'm sorry, Hane. I'm not the same as the Fourth Hokage."

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

"The person you've wronged the most is yourself!"

"What did you do wrong? You leave early and return late, running around all day, living like a dog at everyone's beck and call. And what did it get you?"

"The village still guards against you, while the clan has come to resent you. You get nothing from either side. If this continues, how will you carry on?"

Hane's barrage of questions was meant to scold Shisui awake, but when their eyes met, all Hane saw was determination. He could not help sighing inwardly.

"Hane, complaining won't change anything." Shisui patted Hane's shoulder. "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on. We are all part of Konoha. Don't always complain that the village gives too little. Ask instead what you can do for the village!

"Only when the village is peaceful and stable can those of us living in Konoha live and work in peace. The reason I work so hard is so that you won't have to face the same situation I do in the future. Only when the village is strong will we avoid war. I'm sure you don't want to see the village decline and Itachi sent to the battlefield at such a young age, do you?"

Looking at Shisui, who seemed to have a halo glowing behind his head, Hane felt thoroughly put off. The Will of Fire again. Is this thing poisonous or something? A simple pyramid-scheme slogan can fool an Uchiha genius so completely, only for him to die a miserable death in the end!