The tall, burly man holding a tiny kitten made for quite a mismatched sight. His face looked fierce as he grabbed the little girl's arm. "You're not getting away this time, Inuzuka Hana!"
"But I obviously saved its life!" the little girl argued, struggling with all her might. Their strength was clearly worlds apart.
"Didn't you tell me you could make it completely recover? That's why I let you treat it!"
Inuzuka Hana grew anxious, standing on tiptoe and gesturing at a height. "It fell from so, so, so high up! And it isn't even a ninja cat, so it was definitely going to be left with some injuries..."
"...Don't run. Pay up!"
"When I examined it last time, I already apologized to you and McGonagall, and I gave you fifty thousand ryo. That was all the money I had..." Tears welled in the little girl's eyes, but she gritted her teeth and refused to let them fall.
"How could that possibly be enough compensation?! McGonagall is my life!"
Uchiha Itachi and the crow in his arms tilted their heads at the same time. The situation was perfectly clear...
An innocent young veterinarian had saved a cat's life, only to be extorted by its owner afterward. She had even paid fifty thousand ryo. No matter how one looked at it, she was the sucker here!
"Caw? Caw!"
Since that cat was his life... then send both the cat and its owner on their way. Kill them and do a good deed!
Itachi's face darkened. "Kitahara..."
That young veterinarian was a kind person... And she sounded highly skilled too. He still needed her to treat Kitahara!
"Let her go!" Itachi stepped forward and grabbed the big man's arm. "She did nothing wrong. Don't make trouble over someone else's kindness..."
"What business is it of yours, brat?"
"Caw!" Kitahara urged from the air. He was exhausted today and did not feel like flying...
In this situation, they obviously needed to fight. Stop preaching... Did he really think every ninja in the world was Nagato? Besides, with his abilities, he would only be able to fool that little brat Sasuke in the future...
Seeing that the man's face was still full of hostility, Itachi sighed inwardly and leaped up, driving a kick into the man's face and sending both man and cat flying!
When the surrounding crowd saw a fight break out, some applauded while others followed the rules and called the Konoha Police Force...
"Why is someone fighting again..." The police officers arrived with miserable expressions. After surveying the scene, they broke into admiring smiles. "As expected of the captain's son!"
"..."
After a moment of silence, Itachi explained, "He was trying to extort a little girl. I just happened to come across it..."
"Oh, oh, understood! We'll lock him up right away!" Without even waiting for Itachi to finish, the police officers hauled away the burly man lying on the ground.
They could have handled the case fairly, yet they had deliberately acted as though they were backing someone up... There was a reason the police force was unpopular in the village.
"Thank you! That man keeps chasing after me... He's really troublesome!" Inuzuka Hana ran over to thank him. Looking at Kitahara as he flew into Itachi's arms, she said, "But this crow is so fierce. How can he talk about killing people?"
"He was joking..." After patting the crow's wing and explaining, Itachi looked at the little girl in surprise. "You... can understand Kitahara?"
Inuzuka Hana covered her mouth and smiled, waving her hand with narrowed eyes. "Because I'm a veterinarian... Whew... Luckily, the syringe didn't break just now..."
"Caw!"
Kitahara shot into the air. She was a little lunatic—he could not listen to her!
Itachi gave him a good-person card. "Kitahara, she's a good person..."
"Eh? Your crow is really interesting!"
"He's my first friend... Forget it. It looks like he doesn't want an injection. Is there any other way?" Itachi helplessly watched the crow hover in midair before turning to the little girl.
Inuzuka Hana really knew her stuff. She even understood psychological therapy. "Then try doing something that makes him happy. Maybe it'll help calm him down."
Kitahara swiftly landed on Itachi's shoulder, looking at the little girl and nodding. "Caw!"
You really are a good person...
"Thank you for the compliment..." Inuzuka Hana understood him. She solemnly returned the crow's courtesy, treating animals with great respect.
Ichiraku Ramen.
"How unusual! A crow that likes ramen!"
"Hehe, little brother Itachi's crow is one of our regulars!" Uncle Teuchi warmly set down a bowl of char siu ramen and greeted the customers.
"Itachi? Uchiha Itachi?" Inuzuka Hana seemed to have only just realized it, muttering, "People in the village mention you all the time!"
The little boy casually accepted the ramen from Uncle Teuchi and pushed it in front of Kitahara. Taking over from the little girl, he asked, "That often?"
Inuzuka Hana pressed a finger to her chin and nodded without hesitation. "I guess it counts as pretty often. You're quite famous in the village! The genius Uchiha, the five-year-old Sharingan, things like that..."
"A lot of my friends have mentioned you too. There's a genius in our year who doesn't like being with everyone else, always running around with a red-eyed crow, and sometimes even carrying a child..."
"In short, you're just... strange and weird..."
The little girl chattered on and on, delivering her verdict on Uchiha Itachi.
"Little brother Itachi isn't strange at all..." Uncle Teuchi watched the two children with amusement before suddenly speaking up. "The ramen hanging on our wall was introduced because of little brother Itachi's suggestion!"
Ichiraku Ramen's new program was highly praised throughout Konoha, easing the burdens of many broken families and the village orphanage.
"Wow! Really?"
"It was actually Kitahara's idea!" Itachi denied Uncle Teuchi's claim.
Inuzuka Hana tried to secretly touch Kitahara's wing, but the crow noticed and she hurriedly pulled back her hand. "...I'm so jealous of you! Unfortunately, our family can only keep dogs... Last time, I secretly brought home an injured little bird, and Kuromaru ran away from home. Mom and I searched for him for ages..."
"..."
There was something Itachi really wanted to say... After all, a crow running away from home because his family had raised a little brother... Should he mention that?
"Hahaha, this fierce crow ran away from home once too! Because he lost an argument! I heard it!"
The fierce little girl Ayame suddenly popped out and said exactly what Itachi had wanted to say, though the details were rather different.
"Did you bring some other animal home too? Whenever there's a new member, they tend to argue easily... Sigh..." Inuzuka Hana sat in her chair, shaking her head. This problem troubled her too.
"Caw!" With a strand of ramen in his beak, the crow still did not miss the chance to smear Sasuke. That little brat at home... would leave sooner or later!
"You're still keeping him?" After hearing the crow, Inuzuka Hana seemed to focus on the wrong point. "Itachi, how did you manage it? Is it because the other one is too young?"
Itachi looked at the little girl's eager face but had no choice but to shatter her illusion. "No... The one who often argues with Kitahara is my younger brother, Sasuke... Is there any solution?"
"...So that's the situation!"
The young veterinarian slowly straightened up, recalling her family's circumstances. "I have a younger brother too. His name is Inuzuka Kiba, and he isn't even half a year old yet! He gets along well with Kuromaru, but sometimes his little temper makes Kuromaru unhappy..."
Itachi waited for what came next, nodding his little head with an expectant look... His family had wanted to solve this problem for a long time!
Inuzuka Hana continued, "Mom gives him a good scolding, then tells me that even a boy in swaddling clothes must not be spared a proper education!"
"Caw!"
The crow frantically hinted from the side...
This young veterinarian was highly skilled, and what she said made perfect sense...
Since the second update was rather cute... it was posted early...
Before you continue