In the room, Sasuke was rolling around on the futon. "Brother, it's been a long time since we've slept together like this."
Itachi was thinking about what Tōshirō and their father were talking about in the other room, so he didn't respond immediately and ignored his brother.
Sasuke puffed out his cheeks, looking unhappy. "Brother..."
Itachi snapped out of it. "What is it?"
"I said it's been a long time since I've slept with you," Sasuke repeated the same sentence in a discontented tone.
"It has," Itachi said, looking down and sighing.
When he was little, he used to sleep with his brother all the time, but everything changed after he officially became a ninja.
"Brother, you were thinking about Uncle Tōshirō just now, weren't you?" Sasuke looked at Itachi's profile and whispered.
Itachi was a little surprised.
Sasuke was proud that he guessed correctly. "I knew it."
Itachi went along with his brother's thoughts. "I heard that Uncle Tōshirō is a very powerful ninja. I think that with him back, Father should be able to relax a lot."
Sasuke was excited. "Hey, Brother, what kind of jutsu do you think Uncle Tōshirō will teach me?"
Itachi was curious about how Tōshirō would teach his brother. "I don't know. You'll probably have to find out for yourself."
"I'm really looking forward to the day I start training." Sasuke hugged his pillow, his face filled with anticipation.
"Yeah..."
Itachi felt as if he was dreaming, being able to be with his brother like in the old days.
knock knock
A low knocking sound came from outside the room, interrupting the brothers' conversation.
"Who is it?" Sasuke asked.
"It's me..."
A low voice came from outside the door.
Itachi was surprised. It was his father's voice.
Sasuke quickly ran to open the door. Soon, a stern-faced middle-aged man stood outside, his gaze directed at Itachi in the room.
Itachi noticed the gaze and was slightly taken aback. "Father, is there something you need?"
Fugaku hummed in affirmation and got straight to the point. "Tomorrow, you'll accompany your Uncle Tōshirō to get to know the village. He just returned and isn't very familiar with some things."
Itachi's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and he politely refused. "Father, I have a mission tomorrow."
"You can do that kind of mission anytime."
"But..."
"I'll explain it to the Hokage."
Fugaku didn't care about his son's attitude and immediately made a decision.
He was beginning to have some doubts about his son's loyalty.
He couldn't let him stay with the Konoha higher-ups anymore, in case he was truly subverted.
"I understand..."
On the surface, Itachi was giving in to his father's tough attitude, but in reality, he planned to use this opportunity to observe Tōshirō more closely.
With Tōshirō's sudden return, the village's higher-ups would definitely ask about him. Itachi would probably be the one they go to for information about Tōshirō.
The next day, Tōshirō had breakfast with the family of four, and then he left with Itachi.
"Bye, Brother! Bye, Uncle Tōshirō!"
After waving and watching Sasuke leave for school, Tōshirō turned to Itachi beside him and said casually, "Sorry, I had to trouble you to take time out of your day to show me around the village. I told Fugaku not to go through the trouble."
"Don't worry about it... I also wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about what kind of person you are, Uncle Tōshirō."
Itachi's tone was calm as he looked at Tōshirō.
If he hadn't experienced the serious aura Tōshirō radiated, he would have found it hard to connect the seemingly cheerful, white-haired boy in front of him with the person who exuded such a condescending aura.
"You'll slowly get to know me." Tōshirō's lips curved into a meaningful smile.
"Where would you like to go first, Uncle Tōshirō?"
"Take me around the clan district first."
After that, Itachi accompanied Tōshirō around the clan district.
Because of what happened the night before, Tōshirō's reputation had completely spread.
In just one night, everyone knew that the man who had only existed in legends was back. As long as they weren't in a hurry, they came to see Tōshirō, looking at him with curious eyes.
With his white hair, Tōshirō stood out among the black-haired Uchiha clan, making him easy to find.
"Tōshirō-senpai..."
The Uchiha members greeted Tōshirō one after another.
After waving goodbye to a clan member, Tōshirō said in a relaxed tone, "I can't believe that after all these years, I'm still quite popular in the clan."
After they had walked around the clan district enough, Itachi said, "Next, should we go to the center of the village?"
Tōshirō thought this was a good idea. "Sure, let's go."
Just as they were about to leave, a girl's voice filled with joy came from behind them. However, she wasn't looking for Tōshirō; she was looking for someone else.
"Itachi!"
"Izumi..." Itachi looked at the beautiful girl with a beauty mark at the corner of her eye who had called his name.
"Is she your girlfriend?" Tōshirō also noticed the girl. He raised an eyebrow and said in a teasing tone, "You're too young for puppy love, you know. Be careful, or I'll tell Fugaku."
With someone saying this in front of the person she liked, even though it was mostly a joke, Izumi still felt embarrassed.
Itachi's gaze was calm. "We're friends..."
Izumi's clear eyes showed a look of disappointment.
Tōshirō, with his familiar demeanor, patted Itachi's shoulder. "I'm just kidding. I won't tell Fugaku. After all, when I was your age, I already had a girlfriend..."
Itachi: ...
Izumi's gaze moved away from the person she liked and fell on the white-haired boy.
Because of what happened last night, Izumi also knew about Tōshirō's return. She asked in an uncertain tone, "Tōshirō... senpai?"
Tōshirō hummed in affirmation and teased, "Itachi's girlfriend?"
"Uh, no."
Izumi's face blushed.
Tōshirō let out a chuckle.
After meeting and talking with him in person, Izumi found that the senior was surprisingly easy to talk to. She had thought he would be the silent type, like Itachi.
And why did he look so young?
Izumi was filled with questions about this.
She was a sensible girl, so she didn't ask more about it.
Since she had other things to do, she greeted Itachi and Tōshirō, introduced herself, and then quickly left.
Watching Izumi's retreating back, Tōshirō was deep in thought.
He had a pretty good impression of this girl.
He turned to Itachi and teased, "She's a good girl. Don't let her down."
"She and I really aren't in that kind of relationship..."
"Then you don't like her?"
"..."
After a brief silence, Itachi was surprised to find that he had hesitated.
If this had happened in the past, he would have given a negative answer without a second thought.
He had seen how Izumi had supported him without hesitation.
Had this girl unknowingly left an indelible impression on his heart?
After a long time, Itachi looked down and gave his reply. "I'm not very interested in things like that right now."
"You're lying... you hesitated just now."
"...Uncle Tōshirō, why are you so concerned about my personal relationships?"
"It's probably because I've experienced the pain of loss before. So I hope my descendants can find happiness in that area."
Tōshirō's voice became inexplicably sad.
"..."
"It's like how parents always hope their children can make up for their own childhood regrets, isn't it?"
"..."
"That person is gone, and my heart has already died... I don't think I'll ever be interested in any other woman."
Is it because of Tsunade?
From the tears in Tōshirō's eyes, Itachi saw genuine sadness, which was different from the pretense from before. "Uncle Tōshirō..."
"Itachi, can you fulfill one of your uncle's wishes?"
"Yes, tell me. I'll do my best."
"Be my son."
Tōshirō stretched out his right hand like Whitebeard.
"???"
"I can't be interested in any other women, so I probably won't have any children in the future, so I was thinking... Hey, wait for me! Don't go!"
...
...
Despite his earnest pleas, Itachi left without a word.
Tōshirō put his hands on his hips and shook his head, laughing at himself. "Right now, this is the only way I can relieve the pain in my heart."
He looked up at the sky and secretly swore, "Tsunade, I will definitely resurrect you."
(End of Chapter)
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