Uchiha clan territory.
In the empty training ground, two boys, one big and one small, were practicing shuriken together.
The two men looked similar, with black hair and black eyes, and both were somewhat delicate. They were five or six years apart in age.
The kunai shuttled through the woods, accurately hitting every target, even those in blind spots.
The younger boy made a sound of surprise and looked at his brother with longing in his eyes.
"That's amazing, brother! How did you do that?"
Itachi seemed quite calm about his easy achievement: "You will learn it soon."
As he spoke, he seemed to notice something. He turned his head and saw a figure leaning against a tree not far away, looking at the two of them quietly.
"Shisui?"
After being discovered, Shisui chuckled and greeted the two: "Itachi, Sasuke."
After hearing the voice, Sasuke also hurriedly greeted him politely: "Brother Shisui."
Shisui slowly walked towards the two of them, "Am I disturbing you?"
"How could that be?" Itachi laughed.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke, please lend me your brother for a while." Shisui looked at Sasuke and said with a smile.
Sasuke looked at Itachi when he heard that.
"Sasuke, you go back first. I'll practice with you next time." Itachi said immediately.
Sasuke puffed up his cheeks in dissatisfaction, but turned and left without saying anything.
Shisui looked at Sasuke walking away angrily and couldn't help but chuckle: "It's great to have a younger brother."
Itachi also raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "What's the matter?"
"How's your time in Anbu?"
Itachi thought for a moment and said, "I haven't been on any official mission yet. I just stand guard every day. But Kakashi-senpai is quite easy to get along with. He's a little different from what people say."
"Rumors?" Shisui was stunned.
"Yeah, I heard that he even killed his teammates for the mission." Itachi nodded and said.
Shisui then remembered the Kirigakure incident that had happened before. Kakashi had killed his teammate Nohara Rin with his own hands during a mission. This incident had been spreading in the village for a while, and Kakashi always looked like he didn't want strangers to come near him, which made people think that the rumors were true. He and Kakashi were not familiar with each other, and they were the kind of people who just knew of each other's existence.
"Rumor has it that this thing is unreliable." Shisui said immediately, "But you can get used to it. Anbu are usually busier than ordinary ninjas."
"I think it's okay, and being busy is also a good experience for me." Itachi said, "Besides, I feel like I can finally do something now."
"Hmm?" Shisui was slightly stunned.
"Father told me yesterday that he hopes I can become the Uchiha's eyes and ears in the village." Itachi smiled. He naturally had no reservations about Shisui.
Shisui looked at Itachi and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
"...Do you know why Lord Fugaku did this?"
Itachi nodded, "I know a little bit. Because of the Nine-Tails incident, we Uchiha were forced to relocate our clan. Father wanted the Uchiha to regain power."
His father had told him this more than once, and had taught him more than once that he was an Uchiha first and a Konoha ninja second.
"So what do you think of this idea?" Shisui asked.
"What...what do you mean?" Itachi asked curiously.
"Are the village and the family two different entities?" Shisui's tone was confusing to Itachi.
"What Fugaku-sama is talking about, regaining power, is not as simple as a student who has made a mistake trying to regain the favor of the teacher."
Itachi stood there in silence. He was not a stupid person. Shisui's words made him realize that there seemed to be many things he didn't know yet.
"It doesn't matter. These are just things you haven't encountered yet." Shisui suddenly smiled again, "You just joined the Anbu. Before this, you haven't even met the Hokage a few times."
He looked relaxed, as if he was just talking about something insignificant.
Itachi was silent for a long moment, his eyes flickering slightly, "I want to know."
"…"
"I hope I can help my father, and I also hope I can help Shisui." Itachi said seriously, his young face full of sincerity.
Shisui's mind echoed with what Guanyue had said to him, and he couldn't help but sigh softly.
He didn't know whether he was relieved or sad.
What tasks are performed on a daily basis?
Assassination, reconnaissance, tracking, and communication are the most basic, and are no different from the Anbu. The difference is that the Root ninja serves Danzo, while the Anbu serves the Hokage.
As Shisui said, Guanyue cannot access more special tasks now.
As the senior who was responsible for leading him, he didn't take much action during the mission, and most of the battles that occurred were left to Yu Guanyue to fight on his own.
After several missions, there were no emergencies, and Guanyue had never even seen Jiao use the secret technique of repelling insects.
"You seem to be very accustomed to this kind of task."
When delivering the task, Jiao suddenly said to Guanyue.
"I've led some newcomers in the past. Regardless of their abilities, I've never seen anyone as adaptable as you."
"If I didn't know something about your resume, I would have thought you were transferred from the Anbu."
The Root is a formal and confidential department. In addition to Danzo's confidants, there are also many regular members transferred by the Hokage. These members include Anbu and ordinary ninjas.
The reason Jiao said this was because Guanyue was always quick and efficient when carrying out his missions, without any dragging his feet, and everything he did was to complete the mission requirements.
"Maybe I just have more mission experience." Guanyue said. The amount of missions he had completed in the past was astonishing. Although he acted alone, he was no worse than any other team.
The most regrettable thing that Guanyue felt after arriving at Gen was that the generous mission rewards he used to receive for completing missions had become a fixed salary.
Let Shisui compensate him later.
It was already afternoon when he returned home. Because of his root outfit, Guanyue climbed into the room through the window.
After taking a shower and changing into casual home clothes, I heard someone knocking on my door. I opened the door and saw Tiantian standing outside.
"Brother Along, didn't you see the note on the door when you came back?" Tiantian asked.
"A note?" Guanyue asked in confusion.
"Look!" Tiantian pointed to the door, where there was a sign saying "Come to my house for dinner tonight" and signed by Tiantian.
"Mom specially prepared your portion. If I hadn't seen the lights on in your house, I don't know how long I would have waited for you." Tiantian said angrily with her hands on her hips.
"I came back and climbed out the window." Guanyue said.
"Eh? Through...the window?" Tiantian was suddenly confused when he heard that. "Why not through the door?"
"It's too much trouble."
"…"
"Anyway, just come with me." Tiantian was too lazy to care about what this brain train was thinking. He grabbed Guanyue and took her home.
"I'll change my shoes." Guanyue said helplessly.
Their two families are neighbors next door to each other. Tiantian's mother has always taken good care of Guanyue since she saw that Guanyue has always lived alone. Although Guanyue has refused, she can't resist her enthusiasm.
Tiantian's home seems much warmer than Guanyue's, whether it's the interior decoration or other things. Guanyue's home can only be considered a house at best.
There were already many dishes on the table, and it seemed quite rich for the three of them.
"Along is here, it will be ready soon." Tiantian's mother heard the noise, poked her head out of the kitchen and said with a smile.
"Take off your shoes." Tiantian stood at the entrance and instructed Guanyue.
Seeing that she acted like a little adult, Guanyue couldn't help but reach out to rub her head, but was slapped on the back of his hand and was glared at by Tiantian.
"Go wash your hands!" Tiantian said unhappily.
Who said that patting the head can increase favorability?
Guanyue was secretly dissatisfied.
"I just took a shower and didn't touch anything dirty." Guanyue said.
"You touched my shoes." Tiantian remembered it very clearly and pushed Guanyue to the bathroom with both hands.
"Be careful no boy will like you if you are so fierce."
"What do you care!" Tiantian's face immediately turned red, and he punched Guanyue hard with his fist.
Tiantian's family runs a ninja tool store, and their quality of life is not low. Guanyue often comes here and can get some preferential treatment in terms of prices.
Coming out of the bathroom, Tiantian's mother brought out the last pot of soup, and Tiantian was already busy setting the table.
"It's really rich." Guanyue said.
"I'm relatively free today, and I suddenly wanted to do this." Tiantian's mother is a very gentle housewife and very friendly.
"Come sit down and taste what today is like."
During the meal, they talked about family matters.
"You're rarely seen during the day. Even though you're young, you shouldn't work too hard." Tiantian's mother said to Guanyue, "I've seen other ninjas have quite a lot of free time."
"Brother Along is different from others. He is now an Anbu." Tiantian said from the side.
"How do you know?" Guanyue was stunned and asked curiously.
"I saw the uniform hanging on your wall and the mask on the table. Aren't they the uniforms of the Anbu?" Tiantian said as a matter of course.
The window is flipped open...
Guanyue took a mouthful of rice silently.
"I've also heard that the Anbu is full of elite ninjas. Aluo is truly amazing." Tiantian's mother exclaimed in admiration.
"That's right." Tiantian looked very proud, as if the elite her mother mentioned was referring to her.
"There are many people who are better than me." Guanyue said.
Tiantian's mother actually nodded, "That's true. I see many ninjas around your age have girlfriends."
"...Auntie, help me get another bowl of rice."
Every day he would stand by with a bowl in his hands and laugh secretly.
Guan Yue glanced over and said, "Tiantian."
"Um?"
"Is there a guy named Hyuga Neji in your class?"
"Eh...ah?" Tiantianchu was confused, but he saw a hint of malice in Guanyue's calm eyes and tone.
"I heard he's very popular among you girls."
Seeing his mother also looking at him with suspicion and scrutiny, Tiantian lowered his head feeling guilty.
Favorability -1.
The system interface gave a prompt, but Guanyue ignored it.
"Auntie, your cooking skills have improved again."