"Akatsuki?"
"I'm not interested in joining a boring organization like that."
Itachi's gaze sharpened. "Boring?"
"So you even know their organization's ultimate goal?"
Haruma stretched on the tree and yawned. "I do, but I can't tell you about those things just yet."
"After all, you can't exactly say you trust me all that much right now, can you?"
At that, Haruma leaped down from the tree with interest. "If you're willing to sign a document with me, just like Shisui did..."
"Then I can tell you whatever you want to know."
"A document Shisui signed?"
Itachi watched Haruma approach, inwardly on guard. "What document?"
A gleam flashed through Haruma's exposed eye, and he hurriedly pulled a stack of paper documents from inside his clothes, casually drawing one out.
Itachi took the sheet and focused his gaze on it.
What kind of document was this?
Was he trying to fool an idiot?
"An IOU?"
The corner of his cool face's mouth twitched slightly. Itachi looked up at the excited Haruma. "Five hundred million?"
Haruma nodded calmly. "I'm not a hypocrite like the Sarutobi, always talking to you about the Will of Fire and the shinobi code."
"You can ask me any one question you want answered, and this document is the payment I require."
"Fair and square! We each get what we need!"
Haruma stared intently at Itachi and coaxed, "Compared to Shisui, I'm already giving you a very cheap price."
"Don't you have anything you particularly want to know?"
Itachi frowned, holding the IOU in indecision.
Seeing his hesitation, Haruma pressed his advantage. "There's practically no secret in the entire Shinobi World that I don't know."
With that, Haruma took a gold fountain pen from inside his clothes and handed it to Itachi.
Itachi took the pen instinctively and fell silent as he looked at the IOU in his hand.
Haruma said nothing more either, simply turning to look at the surrounding scenery with an air of complete confidence.
Itachi frowned as he studied Haruma's back, thinking to himself, One question. What should I ask?
His relationship with my parents and clan?
This person's true identity?
His source of information?
His ultimate goal?
Everything about Akatsuki?
Too many questions circled in Itachi's mind.
After considering it for a long time, Itachi finally signed his name.
"Don't forget the time and date. A handprint would be best too!" Haruma reminded him loudly from the side.
Itachi's small hand paused. "Didn't you say Shisui signed one too? Let me see his so I can learn the format."
Haruma could tell Itachi was gathering information, but he didn't expose him.
Anyone who signed an IOU was a brother anyway, so giving him a little sweetener first didn't matter.
Haruma readily took out Shisui's astronomical IOU and openly showed it to Itachi.
"Five billion?!"
Itachi's pupils trembled, and he couldn't hold back his exclamation of shock.
Haruma carefully folded the IOU into a neat square and tucked it inside his clothes, saying softly, "Honest dealing for young and old alike. A fair trade."
"Shisui signed this of his own free will. If you don't believe me, you can find a chance to ask him yourself."
Although shocked, Itachi didn't ask any more questions.
After a moment of thought, Itachi lowered his head and added a date and handprint to his own IOU.
"Can I ask now?"
Haruma took the IOU Itachi handed him and slowly stepped back twice. "Wait."
Under Itachi's puzzled gaze, Haruma supported the thin sheet with one hand and activated a faint trace of wind-attribute chakra.
An extremely thin half-sheet of white paper slowly drifted off the IOU.
"What are you doing?" Itachi asked with a frown.
"Don't rush." Haruma's tone was calm as he patted the thick stack of papers inside his clothes.
"I prepared all these in advance. All the IOUs are like this. The amount stays the same; there's just an added repayment date and a teeny hundred-million-bit of interest."
"That should be perfectly normal, right?"
Itachi remained silent. If this fellow dared tamper with it and change five hundred million into several billion, he simply wouldn't repay it anyway.
Having unveiled the hidden contract, Haruma showed Itachi the IOU again.
The amount was unchanged, and the repayment deadline had become one year. Those were normal enough.
Ten percent interest???
It didn't clearly state whether that was per year, per month, or per day.
Itachi merely watched him coldly without a word.
Haruma gave a sheepish chuckle. "Don't worry. Your father and I are on such good terms."
"I certainly wouldn't swindle his own son."
With that, Haruma took out the gold pen and added the word "annual" after the interest rate.
The stack of double-layered IOUs inside Haruma's clothes was handed out according to the person.
Those who counted as being on his side got the ones on top, like Itachi and Shisui.
But those who counted as true brothers got the stack at the very bottom!
Repayment deadlines ranged from one year to one day.
The interest was also written according to the person; it could be annual or daily.
Everyone who signed said it was good, anyway!
The pinwheels in his eyes spun, and Itachi even activated his Mangekyō to scan the IOU in Haruma's hand carefully.
A one-year repayment period, five hundred fifty million with interest...
Although it wasn't a small sum, Itachi could just barely accept it.
"Can I ask now?!" Itachi said coldly.
"Of course."
Haruma spread his small hands. "One question. Think it through before you ask."
"If you want to ask a few more things, that's fine too. You'd just have to sign your name a few more times."
The corner of Itachi's mouth twitched. Five hundred fifty million... and he calls that 'just.'
Not bothering to argue, Itachi raised his eyes and stared straight at Haruma, his tone serious. "One question!"
"You have no intention whatsoever of harming the Uchiha Clan or Sasuke!"
"Is that right?"
Haruma jolted and looked at Itachi with a complicated gaze.
He really was the Shinobi World's number one little-brother-obsessed maniac!
Haruma, who had already prepared to reveal his true identity, hadn't expected Itachi to ask that.
This money really was easy to earn.
"Harming the Uchiha Clan and harming Sasuke. Strictly speaking, that counts as two questions."
Haruma looked at Itachi and said softly, "But for Fugaku's and Shisui's sake, I'll answer both."
"Whether it's the Uchiha Clan or your little brother, I will never deliberately harm them."
"In fact, restoring the Uchiha Clan to its peak is one of my goals." Haruma raised his hand and held up his index finger. "I'll throw in that piece of information for free. No separate charge."
Itachi gave Haruma a long look. "Understood."
With that, Itachi prepared to turn and leave.
"Hold on a sec!"
Itachi turned his head. "Anything else?"
Haruma stood with his hands behind his back and shook his head, speaking calmly. "Although you're also an Uchiha Clan member, there's still one thing I have to remind you of."
"Don't even think about not repaying, repaying less, or delaying repayment!"
"Or running away from your debt-any of those things that would damage our brotherly bond."
"Otherwise..."
Chakra far beyond Kage Level erupted for an instant!
Under Itachi's utterly shocked gaze, Haruma immediately reined in that overwhelming aura again.
"Otherwise... the consequences will be very serious."