Before long, Gojo Satoru brought over the freshly made cake and delivered it to Mikoto without a hitch.
Uchiha Itachi also wrapped up his mission efficiently and returned home.
From a distance, Satoru spotted Uchiha Itachi and Shisui Uchiha walking over together.
Gojo Satoru grinned and let out a mocking snort.
"Hahaha, Itachi, I never realized you were this unpopular. So Shisui's your only friend, huh?"
Itachi gave him an amused glance.
"Exceptional people always have their troubles. Once you grow powerful, others unconsciously start keeping their distance..."
Gojo Satoru immediately jumped in, forcing a solemn, profound look onto his face.
"And you start getting arrogant, too. Even if everyone had high hopes for you from the start, I'm your only brother, the obstacle you can't avoid. I'll live on alongside you, even if you hate me. That's an older brother's fate."
"Hahaha..." Shisui burst out laughing as he watched them.
"Itachi, your little brother really knows you inside out."
Itachi shook his head helplessly and gave up on delivering any more lofty lectures.
For some reason, he simply couldn't get those profound words out in front of Gojo Satoru.
Forget it. Even if there really were an obstacle ahead, Satoru probably wouldn't climb over it. He'd find a tree to lie under and take a nice long nap instead.
"Hey, brat, don't you still owe me something?"
Once Shisui finished laughing, he turned to stare at Gojo Satoru, his eyes taking on a dangerous gleam.
"Something? What something?" Gojo Satoru looked utterly innocent, as though nothing had happened.
"Want me to jog your memory?"
"The Ramen Contest," Shisui said through gritted teeth.
"The Ramen Contest?" Gojo Satoru put on a look of sudden realization.
Then-
"Doesn't ring a bell." His answer was short and crisp.
Shisui's smile was downright chilling.
Unbelievable. He screwed me over and then forgot all about it.
If the ramen shop owner hadn't come looking for him to ask why he hadn't redeemed his free-meal voucher, he would still have known nothing about it.
"Let me give you another reminder."
"The contest prize."
Gojo Satoru dug a scrap of memory out of a dusty corner of his mind.
"Oh, so that's what this is about."
Oops. I really did forget.
"Big brother, look at him." Gojo Satoru decided to play the victim first.
Itachi paid no attention to their squabbling and simply gave each of them a look.
A little baffled, Shisui asked, "What's that look supposed to mean?"
Gojo Satoru propped up his chin and answered with a perfectly straight face.
"My foolish little brothers!"
A strange expression crossed Shisui's face.
"There's no way I'm the little brother here."
"One-star review!"
Itachi said with a chuckle, "That's enough, you two."
Once they were done fooling around, they headed to the dining area.
Mikoto's cake and the one Satoru and Sasuke had made were already set out on the table.
The Uchiha family had been waiting for a while.
"Shisui, you're here." Mikoto wore a gentle smile.
As Itachi's first and only friend, Shisui held a special place in Mikoto's heart.
After greeting Shisui, Mikoto quickly ushered Itachi to his seat.
Beside them, Gojo Satoru remarked gloomily, "I'm here, too."
Soon, everyone was seated. They sang the birthday song and got ready to divide up the cakes.
"Sasuke, what's wrong?" Mikoto was a little puzzled. He had been fidgeting and looking around for some time.
"Uh... I..." Remembering his second brother's shameless threat, Sasuke swallowed the rest of his words.
It's not that I don't want to stand together. The enemy's just too shameless.
Faced with that embarrassing photo, Sasuke decisively chose to keep his mouth shut.
Gojo Satoru chimed in from beside him. "Sasuke wants some cake."
"Is that it? Don't worry, I'll cut it now." Mikoto smiled gently.
Then she handed out the cake, slice by slice.
Sasuke stared wide-eyed at the slices he and his second brother had received, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying.
Does this count as falling into your own trap? Only our slices...
"Sasuke, why aren't you eating?" Mikoto asked with concern.
Everyone else turned to look at him as well.
Fugaku looked at Satoru and Sasuke in puzzlement, feeling that something was off about the two of them.
"I..." Under everyone's gaze, Sasuke hesitantly picked up his cake.
He remembered his second brother stuffing all sorts of things into this part of the cake, including the green wasabi he hated most.
Wait, my second brother got some, too.
He turned to look at Gojo Satoru beside him, only to find him eating his cake as if nothing were wrong, without the slightest sign of forcing himself.
How could this be?
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