Framed

Rin Nohara's sudden appearance scared Liumu into a cold sweat.

Only after finally finding an excuse to brush it off did Liumu let out a long breath.

Looking at the flowers in her hands, Liumu asked, "What are you off to do so early in the morning?"

Rin Nohara replied with a smile, "It's Obito's birthday today. I'm going to the ninja tool shop to buy him a birthday present."

"Birthday?"

Liumu scratched his head, stepped over to Rin, and said, "Then I'll go with you. We were classmates, after all. I'll pick out a present for him too."

"Sure!"

There weren't many ninja tool shops in Konoha, and choosing weapons like ninja tools as gifts was the most common practice among ninja.

For example, the short sword on Kakashi's back had been a graduation present from Konoha's White Fang.

However, after Konoha's White Fang took his own life, Kakashi replaced that sword with his father's broken blade.

Liumu followed Rin into the ninja tool shop on the west side of the village. Even he was dazzled for a moment by the vast assortment of tools on display.

Upon entering, Rin Nohara gave the flowers to the shopkeeper, her small face full of smiles.

"Granny, these are for you. I grew them myself."

The owner of the ninja tool shop was an old woman. From the conversation between her and Rin, Liumu could tell they were probably old acquaintances.

After finally choosing a shuriken, Rin came over to Liumu, who was fretting.

"Liumu, haven't you picked anything yet?"

"Uh... not yet."

Liumu smiled awkwardly.

But in truth, it wasn't that Liumu couldn't find a suitable gift. These ninja tools were just... too damn expensive.

A single shuriken cost almost two months of his living expenses, instantly making Liumu wish he didn't know Obito.

"Why the hell do you have to have a birthday?"

Perhaps Rin had noticed Liumu's predicament. After all, as his former classmates, many of them knew about his family circumstances.

But to spare Liumu's pride, after they left the ninja tool shop, Rin bought the ninja dart he had spent so long looking at and quietly slipped it into his hand.

"What are you..." Liumu stared at Rin in surprise.

"This is my present to you." Her smiling eyes curved into crescents as Rin said with a bright smile, "Congratulations on graduating from the Ninja Academy."

Liumu: ...

Those simple, warm words left Liumu rooted to the spot. Watching her skip away, he suddenly felt a trace of warmth flow through his heart.

He had been here for six years, and this was the first time he had felt such warmth.

Liumu looked at the ninja dart in his hand, then raised his head to look at Rin's retreating figure. A barely perceptible glimmer of resolve flashed in his eyes.

"Rin, wait for me..."

Liumu ran after her, catching up to her side. He waved the ninja dart in his hand and said to Rin, "Thank you."

Hearing the words by her ear, Rin simply smiled without saying anything.

It was only when the two were nearly at the Uchiha Clan's compound that Liumu turned to Rin and said, "By the way, when's your birthday? I'll get you a present too."

"Mine?" Rin replied, "You don't need to. My birthday's still a long way off."

Hearing that, Liumu hurriedly objected. "What do you mean, I don't need to? How can you have a birthday without a birthday present? Just tell me."

"But..." Liumu changed tack. "You know my circumstances too. I can't afford to give you ninja tools like these, but I can make it up to you in other ways."

"Other ways?" Even more puzzled, Rin asked, "Like what?"

"Like what?" Liumu chuckled. "Like meat..."

"Who are you? What are you doing standing here?" Just then, a dark-faced Uchiha clansman suddenly appeared and blocked Liumu and Rin's path. Sizing them up, he barked, "Get out of here. Don't loiter here."

The Uchiha Clan's covert struggle with Konoha High Command had left relations between the two sides extremely tense. Even half-grown children like Liumu and Rin were subjects of suspicion for both sides.

The dark-faced ninja's tone immediately displeased Liumu, but Rin stepped forward before he could speak and replied, "We're Obito's classmates. We're here for his birthday party today."

As she spoke, Rin introduced them. "My name is Rin Nohara, and he's Liumu."

"Liumu?!"

Hearing that name, the dark-faced ninja's gaze changed instantly. His fierce eyes widened in anger, and his expression turned cold as he turned to Liumu. "You're the Liumu who destroyed the Uchiha stone statue?"

Damn it! So caught up in strolling around with Rin, Liumu only now remembered that he had actually forgotten Obito bore the illustrious Uchiha name.

Wasn't brazenly walking into the territory of the Uchiha Clan, who considered him a thorn in their side, an outright slap in their faces?

"Don't listen to her nonsense. My name isn't Liumu. It's Shisui!"

Liumu spouted nonsense without batting an eyelid. Shisui hadn't even been born yet, anyway. Surely borrowing his name wasn't going too far.

"Is your name Liumu or Shisui?"

Rin: "Liumu!"

Liumu: "Shisui!"

Rin: ???

"I don't care what your name is!" The dark-faced ninja stepped forward and grabbed Liumu's arm. "Come back to the guardroom with me. Whether your name is Liumu or Shisui, we have ways of finding out!"

"I'm not going!"

Liumu slapped the dark-faced ninja's hand away, actually striking it hard enough to make it swell.

"Hiss..."

The dark-faced man looked at his palm, which had instantly swollen a size larger, and threatened, "I'm giving you an official warning. Last night, a member of our Uchiha Clan was ambushed and seriously injured. I suspect you were involved. Now come quietly to the guardroom with me so we can investigate. If you resist..."

At that point, the corners of the dark-faced man's mouth rose slightly.

"If you resist, I'll have no choice but to take you back by force."

As he said that, his pitch-black eyes immediately transformed. The sudden appearance of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan frightened Rin into retreating several steps beside Liumu.

After all, as a fellow member of Konoha, Rin had long since heard about the Sharingan from Obito.

But this was her first time seeing those chilling eyes in person.

Rin had heard quite a few vague rumors about what Liumu had done in the past, but she would never believe that he would ambush someone.

So, faced with his accusations against Liumu, Rin had wanted to step forward and say a few words in his defense.

But she hadn't expected that, under the Sharingan's intimidating gaze, her body would feel restrained, unable to move in the slightest.

Noticing something wrong with Rin, Liumu took a few steps forward and stood in front of her. In his fury, he laughed instead. "You mean... Uchiha Izumi?"

"So it was you!"

The dark-faced ninja flew into a rage, chakra surging violently around him as he constantly flaunted his might like a roaring lion.

"Not only did you destroy the stone statue, you beat my younger brother unconscious! I won't let you get away with this!"

With that, the dark-faced ninja began forming hand seals...

But this time, Liumu didn't wait for him to prepare. While the man was still forming hand seals, Liumu's fist crossed the tiny distance between them and slammed into his face!

Bam!

After a spectacular 360-degree spin, the dark-faced ninja's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.

"Fuck, I've stirred up a rat's nest. I just finished beating up the little one, and now a big one's come along."

Still, since Uchiha Izumi had an older brother, Liumu no longer felt guilty about last night's punch to the groin.