Chapter 6: Sasuke Is About to Come Knocking!
The two of them entered the dining room.
Four dishes had already been neatly arranged on the table.
An enticing aroma drifted through the air, instantly making one's mouth water.
"Itachi, let's eat," Shiraishi said.
"Yes, Senior Shiraishi."
As he ate, Shiraishi subtly observed Uchiha Itachi.
Only nine years old, yet there was not the slightest trace of childishness left in him.
Instead, he carried an air of composure and gravity far beyond his age.
Shiraishi remembered that in the original storyline, Uchiha Itachi had already begun contemplating the meaning of life and death when he was only six.
Sitting alone beneath an old tree, pondering what the true Will of Fire really was.
Where the leaves danced, the fire would live on endlessly.
"How does it taste?" Shiraishi asked.
"It's excellent," Itachi replied. "It's the most delicious food I've ever eaten."
"That's good to hear. Eat more."
After finishing lunch, the two returned to the lounge.
Shiraishi looked at Itachi.
"Itachi, before we formally discuss the situation between the clan and the village, how about we talk about something else first?"
"What would you like to talk about, Senior Shiraishi?"
"You have a younger brother, don't you?"
"Yes."
"A long time ago, I also had a younger brother," Shiraishi said calmly. "Unfortunately, he fell seriously ill when he was young. The illness was too severe, and he couldn't be saved. He never got the chance to grow up. That's something I've always regretted."
This was true. Shiraishi wasn't lying.
Bringing this up, he felt, might help close the distance between himself and Itachi—perhaps even raise Itachi's favorability a little.
At the same time, mentioning Sasuke would feel natural rather than forced.
"I'm sorry," Itachi said softly.
Shiraishi waved his hand.
"This has nothing to do with you, Itachi. There's no need to apologize. Besides, it was a long time ago. I've already come to terms with it."
After a brief pause, Shiraishi continued, "By the way, Itachi—could you tell me a little about how you and your brother get along?"
Itachi fell silent for a moment.
"When Sasuke was born, I was still very young myself."
"At that time, I didn't really understand what having a younger brother meant. But the moment I saw Sasuke, I felt an inexplicable sense of closeness from him."
"It's strange. Back then, when Sasuke saw our father or mother, he would cry and fuss. But whenever he saw me, he would immediately calm down."
"He was… very cute."
"Not long after Sasuke was born, a major incident occurred in the village—the Nine-Tails' Rampage."
"At the time, Sasuke was only a few months old. Yet it was as if he understood what was happening outside. He was incredibly well-behaved, never causing me any trouble, just quietly letting me hold him."
"..."
"But now, because I'm too busy, I spend much less time with Sasuke."
"I know Sasuke feels disappointed… but there's nothing I can do."
As he spoke, Itachi let out a quiet sigh.
"There really isn't," Shiraishi nodded. "The relationship between the Uchiha and the village has only been getting worse, and most of that pressure ends up falling on you."
"Previously, when Shisui and I discussed this, we came up with two possible approaches."
"One is to stop worrying about why the relationship between the Uchiha and the village became like this, and instead focus directly on solving the current tension."
"The other is to trace the root cause—figure out why things became this way in the first place, and then resolve it from there."
"Itachi, what do you think?"
Itachi looked at Shiraishi.
"Senior Shiraishi, I think the former might be more suitable. Tracing the root involves too many issues. The efficiency would be extremely low, and there's no guarantee it would even succeed."
"My opinion is the same as yours," Shiraishi said.
"But it's very difficult. The conflict has been brewing for a long time. Within the Uchiha, many people have already developed deep resentment toward the village. Suppressing those sentiments won't be easy."
"By the way, Itachi—what is the Clan Head's stance?"
Itachi shook his head.
"Father is trying to keep things under control, but the results aren't very good."
"Shisui's idea is to enter the Police Force. Right now, the Police Force is the point of contact between the Uchiha and the outside world. Shisui hopes to start from there and ease the relationship between the Uchiha and the village."
"The problems with the Police Force are indeed very serious."
The two continued discussing matters intermittently.
However, Shiraishi could clearly tell that Itachi didn't truly trust him yet.
He hadn't revealed his genuine thoughts or viewpoints at all.
This was evident from Itachi's favorability.
It had been 68 before. After lunch, and after such a long conversation, it hadn't increased by even a single point.
That alone said everything.
"It's getting late, Senior Shiraishi. I still have something to take care of, so I'll head back first."
"Alright."
Itachi stood up.
Shiraishi walked him to the door and took out a small bag, handing it to him.
"These are some afternoon tea snacks Alice made. Take them back for Sasuke."
Itachi hesitated for a moment, then accepted them.
"Thank you, Senior Shiraishi."
Watching Itachi's retreating figure, Shiraishi's expression gradually hardened.
"Such strong vigilance and defensiveness…"
"Even with Shisui's connection, even after eating Alice's cooking, he spent most of the time merely echoing my words. Not a trace of his true intentions showed."
"In other words… does Itachi not fully trust Shisui either?"
Shiraishi shook his head.
"My earlier judgment was correct after all."
"Raising Itachi's favorability is going to be extremely difficult."
"Even Alice's cooking only raised it by two points at the very beginning."
"This is the nature of someone who thinks independently."
"But at least, it wasn't a complete loss."
Even if Itachi didn't fully trust him, Shiraishi believed Itachi would still give the snacks to Sasuke.
He wouldn't suspect them of being unsafe.
That alone would greatly increase Shiraishi's chances of coming into contact with Uchiha Sasuke.
Before long, Itachi returned home.
"Father, Mother, Sasuke, I'm back."
A woman looked up toward the entrance. When she saw Itachi, a gentle smile appeared on her face.
"Itachi, you're back. Your father went out earlier. Sasuke is in the backyard. Have you eaten?"
Itachi shook his head.
"No need. I just came back from the ninja tool shop. I had lunch there, and I brought back some tea snacks as well. Mother, would you like to try some?"
"The ninja tool shop run by Granny Cat?" Uchiha Mikoto asked.
"Yes."
Itachi nodded.
"But Granny Cat isn't there right now. Senior Shiraishi is running the shop. The snacks were made by the shop's chef, Alice. Her cooking is very good—no, extremely good."
"Better than mine?" Mikoto asked with a smile.
Itachi was silent for a moment.
"Different styles."
Hearing that, Mikoto immediately understood.
If that weren't the case, Itachi wouldn't have answered like that.
"Then I really want to try it. Let's go to the backyard together."
"Alright."
"Big brother! Mom!"
The moment Sasuke saw Itachi, his eyes lit up. He rushed toward him excitedly, giving a small hop just before reaching him.
Itachi reached out and caught Sasuke in his arms.
"Big brother, you haven't been home in so long. Can you practice kunai throwing with me today? You promised last time."
At first, Itachi wanted to refuse.
But after hesitating for a moment, he agreed.
"Alright."
"That's great! Thank you, big brother!"
Sasuke cheered.
Itachi looked at Sasuke, a hint of tenderness appearing in his eyes.
That tenderness, however, seemed to exist only for Sasuke among the Uchiha.
It was unlikely he would show it to anyone else.
"Let's eat the snacks," Itachi said, placing them on the table. "They're really good."
"Okay."
The moment the package was opened, the fragrance spread instantly.
Mikoto's eyes brightened slightly.
She reached out and picked up a small piece.
"Indeed… very good."
Sasuke had already started eating eagerly.
"So good!"
"Big brother, you should eat too."
Itachi shook his head.
"I've already eaten. These are for you."
Sasuke glanced at the snacks on the table, slowed down, picked up one piece, and handed it to Itachi.
"Big brother, eat one more. Just one."
This time, Itachi didn't refuse.
"Alright."
Sasuke then set aside another portion.
"These are for Father. Oh, right—big brother, where did you get these snacks? I want to go buy them next time too."
"They weren't bought. I brought them back from the ninja tool shop."
Sasuke froze for a moment, curiosity shining even brighter in his eyes.
"Which ninja tool shop?"
Itachi hesitated briefly.
"How about this, Sasuke? I'll take you there tomorrow. Besides ninja tools, the shop has a lot of ninja cats. And the shopkeeper, Senior Shiraishi, is a pretty good person too."
"Really? Thank you, big brother!"
Itachi reached out and ruffled Sasuke's hair.
Sasuke squinted his eyes in enjoyment, almost like a ninja cat.
As for Shiraishi, Itachi didn't fully trust him—but he did trust him to a certain extent.
And within the Uchiha compound, no one would dare harm Sasuke.
Itachi also felt deeply guilty toward his younger brother.
After recalling Shiraishi's story about once having a younger brother, and seeing how much Sasuke liked the snacks, Itachi decided to take Sasuke to the ninja tool shop.
After finishing the snacks, Itachi took Sasuke to a nearby forest to practice.
Only when dusk approached and the sky darkened did they return home.
On the other side, Shisui arrived at the ninja tool shop.
"Shiraishi."
"Shisui."
Shiraishi had Alice prepare some late-night snacks.
The two ate while chatting.
"I never imagined the chef at a ninja tool shop could be this good," Shisui said. "Shiraishi, I'm honestly a bit jealous."
"If you like it, you can come often," Shiraishi replied. "It's just more ingredients and tableware. If you're worried about it, you can pitch in for food expenses."
"Really? Then I won't hold back."
As he spoke, Shisui took out his money pouch.
"Let's just leave this here. I don't really use it much anyway."
However, after placing it down, Shisui hesitated again.
"But… will this be bad for you, Shiraishi? Alice is the shop's chef. If she's unhappy, and Granny Cat comes back, will she scold you?"
"She won't," Shiraishi said. "Alice and I are very close."
Only then did Shisui relax.
"So, during the day—what did you and Itachi talk about? Did you manage to test anything?"
"Itachi doesn't trust me much yet," Shiraishi said. "We only talked briefly about the current situation between the Uchiha and the village. I couldn't tell much for now. But I found a breakthrough."
"What is it?"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Shiraishi continued, "From what Itachi said, he cares deeply about his younger brother. So I plan to interact with Sasuke."
"I might be able to get some useful information from him."
Shisui nodded.
"That could work."
"And you? How's your progress with the Police Force?"
"I've already secured a position. I officially start tomorrow. I'll be leading a small squad responsible for a certain area. I haven't fully thought out what to do yet—I'll observe first."
"What exactly does the Police Force handle?"
Shisui replied, "Primarily enforcing village regulations, and mediating disputes among villagers."
"Both of those are easy ways to offend people. No wonder the Police Force's reputation among villagers is so bad—and it ends up dragging the entire Uchiha clan down with it."
"I plan to first observe how the other members operate."
"If it's possible to adjust the working method and ease the tension between the Police Force and the villagers, that would be ideal."
Shiraishi asked, "Shisui, is the entire Konoha Police Force currently run exclusively by the Uchiha?"
"Yes."
"And who sets the village regulations?"
"Of course, the village's higher-ups."
After saying this, Shisui seemed to realize something, his gaze flickering slightly.
Shiraishi continued, "The village's higher-ups make the rules. Villagers violate them. The Uchiha, as the Police Force, must enforce those rules—so conflict with villagers is inevitable."
"If you don't punish the villagers, you'll be criticized by the higher-ups."
"Shisui, I actually have an idea."
Shisui asked instinctively, "What idea?"
"In this process, villagers develop resentment toward the Police Force, but not nearly as much toward the higher-ups who made the rules. That proves the rules aren't the problem, and punishment isn't the problem—contact is."
"So if we add another layer between the Police Force and the villagers, the situation might improve. This new layer would handle direct interaction with the villagers."
"These people could be hired from ordinary ninja, or even from civilians."
"That way, the Police Force would have far fewer direct interactions with villagers."
"And the Police Force itself would become… the upper tier."