Gojo Satoru laughed without a care, a skewer of Three-Color Dango still hanging from his mouth.
He farmed roleplay points every day, slowly pushing his character unlock percentage higher.
For now, he had only unlocked two skills, six eyes and Blue, but they were enough to get by.
"Stop right there, you brat! Trying to eat without paying?"
A roar erupted from the direction of the shop, absurdly loud.
The young woman inside reacted quickly, charging out with a broom in hand.
The wind whipped her red skirt wildly, every bit as unrestrained as her temper.
"Oh-ho, look at you."
Gojo Satoru let out an exaggerated sigh.
His blindfold slipped a little, and he reached up to adjust it, his ears still ringing.
Could this be the legendary Lion's Roar?
"Come on, do I, Gojo Satoru, look like someone who'd skip out on a bill?"
"Relax, relax."
"See? Here comes the guy who's paying."
Smiling like a sunny young boy, he took one quick step and shoved the still-bewildered Itachi beside him to the front.
"Counting on you, Itachi."
"No need to get all emotional!"
Godspeed.
I have faith in your abilities.
Oh, right. I meant your wallet's abilities.
"Of course not."
"Satoru would never do something like that."
Dazzled by Gojo Satoru's smile, the young woman flushed scarlet and shook her head like a bobblehead.
But when her gaze moved to Uchiha Itachi's stern face, all the color drained from hers.
"Uchiha..."
"Nine-Tails..."
"Forget it, forget it. I don't want money from you Uchiha."
The killing intent unconsciously seeping from Itachi forced her back several steps, her expression panicked as she muttered under her breath.
Gojo Satoru's smile vanished at once, and the flippancy disappeared from his azure eyes.
The Uchiha Clan handled policing in Konoha, overseeing the village's security patrols and criminal arrests.
Whether it was because of that work or something ingrained in the Uchiha, there was always a barrier between them and the other villagers. They were never particularly close.
Friction and misunderstandings were commonplace, but they had at least maintained a surface-level peace.
Until that incident-the Nine-Tails' attack on the village.
After that, the rift between the two sides was torn wide open, and everyone spoke the Uchiha name with disgust and fear.
Ugly suspicions seemed to sprout legs, scurrying through people's hearts and every corner of the village.
Once the village was rebuilt, the entire Uchiha Clan's relocation to its outskirts became a matter of course.
Within the Uchiha Clan, anger and resentment simmered, and the atmosphere grew more suffocating by the day.
So the young woman's reaction came as no surprise to Gojo Satoru. Pretty much the whole village shared that attitude.
"What's wrong, miss? Am I so handsome you're giving me a free meal?"
"I know this face of mine is hard to beat, but I, Gojo Satoru, have principles. I'm not used to living off a woman."
"Now what do we do?"
"Got it. Let Itachi pay. If he refuses to settle up, make him come back dressed as a girl and sell himself to pay off the debt."
"He'd look great in women's clothes, too. I've got an eye for these things."
Gojo Satoru winked at the young woman with an utterly serious expression.
A system notification chimed in his ears.
[Ding! Roleplay points +100!]
Usually, the points trickled in five at a time. This was a real windfall. No wonder he kept finding ways to screw Itachi over.
You can't blame me for always picking on you.
The system just pays too well.
Gojo Satoru felt no guilt whatsoever.
He had never grown a conscience and didn't even know the meaning of remorse.
"Uchiha Satoru."
The victim's mouth twitched. Itachi had so much to say, but the words all caught in his throat.
With such an outrageously flighty little brother, he sometimes felt a genuine ache in his skull.
Did this fit the Uchiha's traditionally stiff, serious image at all?
There was no predicting what he would do next.
Perhaps their back-and-forth had put the young woman at ease. Her shoulders relaxed, and the furrow in her brow smoothed out.
"There's no need for that. This isn't some shady shop. I don't do anything that nasty." A smile touched her lips.
So not everyone in the Uchiha Clan was as scary as the rumors claimed.
Some of them were actually easy to get along with.
When she first saw Gojo Satoru's white hair and blue eyes, she hadn't really believed he was an Uchiha.
She hadn't expected the two of them to truly belong to the same clan.
Looking at Gojo Satoru's carefree grin and Uchiha Itachi's helpless expression, the young woman couldn't help laughing too.
His big brother was going to have plenty to worry about.
Uchiha Itachi took out his money pouch and handed it to her.
It was heavy when he handed it over, but came back featherlight a moment later.
Was this part of his plan, too?
For all his constant smiling, he might be shrewd beyond belief underneath.
Even Uchiha Itachi felt he couldn't tell what was going on inside his brother's head.
"My little shop charges everyone fairly. I didn't take a single extra coin. He cleaned out every sweet I had in stock."
The young woman shot Uchiha Itachi an uneasy glance, then clutched the money to her chest and bolted out of sight.
She had worked hard to earn that money. No way was she letting him take it back!
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