Chapter 50: Uchiha Ikeizumi And Uchiha Itachi
A single sentence from Uchiha Itachi caused the atmosphere at the dinner table to suddenly fall into a weird silence, until the oblivious Uchiha Sasuke reached out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece of tempura.
Sasuke suddenly felt that something was off, and his little hand froze for a moment.
He looked left and right.
He discovered that whether it was Father, Mother, or his most beloved big brother, they were all frozen in their chairs, motionless.
Sasuke also noticed that his brother was looking at Father, while Father and Mother were both looking at his brother.
“What’s wrong with you all?”
Sasuke swallowed nervously; he couldn’t help but want to break this silence.
But he found that Father ignored him and directly said to his brother, “Itachi, I told you during the day that at this critical juncture, I absolutely will not allow you to lay hands on one of our own clan members without any proper reason.”
“Moreover…”
Fugaku said gravely, “You and Ikeizumi are both geniuses in the Uchiha Clan who can shoulder great responsibilities in the future. If the two of you get into conflict, how will others view our Uchiha Clan?”
“We’re already facing severe exclusion as it is. If it’s discovered that we’re seriously divided internally, the Uchiha’s situation will become even more precarious.”
“Itachi, you’re only twelve years old, but you should understand the reasoning I’m talking about. You’re a precocious child.”
Uchiha Itachi shook his head.
“Father, I won’t get into conflict with him,” he said expressionlessly. “I just want to talk with Uchiha Ikeizumi.”
Shortly after, Uchiha Itachi added, “I guarantee it.”
……
The next day, before dawn.
Uchiha Itachi stood in front of the door of a simple two-story house.
The bags under his eyes had slight dark pigmentation, clearly showing he hadn’t slept peacefully the night before.
He raised his head, his gaze falling on the doorbell in front of him.
“Ring it.”
A slightly deep voice sounded from behind Uchiha Itachi. “Didn’t you say you wanted to talk with Ikeizumi?”
The speaker was Fugaku!
Fugaku believed that since Itachi had given him his guarantee, he absolutely wouldn’t use force against Uchiha Ikeizumi. He thought he understood this eldest son, of whom he was immensely proud.
However…
He also believed he understood Uchiha Ikeizumi fairly well. Fugaku wasn’t sure if Ikeizumi would make a move on Itachi. After all, several years ago, Ikeizumi had already struck once.
Though the Ikeizumi afterward seemed to “calm down,” and even if he accidentally ran into Itachi on some day, it was just a brief exchange of glances.
But Fugaku still didn’t want to see that kind of risk.
So he had followed along.
But at that moment, both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku simultaneously shifted their gazes upward.
They both saw an orange ninja cat squatting on the railing of the second-floor balcony, its pair of eyes watching the two of them.
—What a fat cat.
That was the first impression of the father and son.
“It’s Ikeizumi’s ninja cat,” Fugaku said to Itachi. “A very formidable ninja cat. It was already by Ikeizumi’s side during the Third Shinobi World War and followed him charging across the battlefield. It’s said that even elite jonin have a hard time catching this ninja cat.”
“I recognize it,” Uchiha Itachi said indifferently. “On the day Uchiha Ikeizumi and I got into a martial conflict, this ninja cat left three deep gashes on my ankle. Even now, the scars from the wounds are still on my ankle.”
Fugaku fell silent.
It seemed the ninja cats around Uchiha Ikeizumi were no pushovers!
“Lord Fugaku.”
Kijiro still gave Fugaku some face.
But it gave no face to Uchiha Itachi; it didn’t even greet Uchiha Itachi.
Kijiro licked its paw and then said, “Lord Ikeizumi is already in the first-floor living room. The tea is brewed, meow. No need to ring the doorbell either; the door is open. Just push it and come in.”
Fugaku was startled.
He quickly realized that his eldest son had been standing at the door for a full three-plus minutes without ringing the doorbell.
Undoubtedly, the moment he and his son had appeared here, they had already been discovered by Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Uchiha Itachi stepped forward proactively.
He pushed the door open.
This was his first time entering this place. It was also the first time in several years that he had stood face-to-face with Uchiha Ikeizumi—this youth several years older than him was Shisui’s contemporary and seemed a bit older than Shisui. The other’s reputation in the Uchiha Clan had once been on par with Shisui’s.
Fugaku followed him in.
Fugaku realized he was the most nervous of the three present.
He feared these two young men in front of him would come to blows.
He was already prepared to intervene. Even if it meant exposing his Mangekyo Sharingan, he couldn’t just watch as two geniuses of the Uchiha Clan ended up both wounded in internal strife.
……
Uchiha Itachi didn’t sit down. He walked to a sofa and looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi, who was sitting on the sofa in casual home clothes.
“I thought the moment I walked in, I’d be greeted by a torrent of lava, and I had already prepared myself for a fight to the death.”
Uchiha Itachi glanced again at the several cups of strong tea still steaming on the coffee table.
The slightly tense emotions in his heart eased a bit.
His words weren’t mere pleasantries but his genuine thoughts.
Facing the man once as renowned as Shisui, Uchiha Itachi showed not the slightest carelessness.
Even possessing the legendary eyes, he wasn’t the least bit arrogant—because he wasn’t sure if this man in front of him, whose “capacity” was equally astonishing… whether he, like himself and Shisui, also possessed such a pair of eyes?
Uchiha Itachi unfastened the ninja sword from his waist and set it aside, saying in an even tone, “That incident back then has left me with a lingering doubt. In my memory, I never offended you.”
“So, why did you want to kill me?”
……
At the same time.
Not far from the door.
“Ah, finally here…” Having learned from once being late, Izumi, who had secretly sworn not to be late again, woke up before dawn and hurried to Senior Ikeizumi’s residence.
But at that moment, she suddenly discovered that the door to Senior Ikeizumi’s residence was actually open!
The girl couldn’t help but be stunned.
Senior’s home had been robbed—this absurd thought flashed through her mind, then was quickly dismissed.
Izumi felt that Konoha probably had no fools bold enough to try stealing from Senior Ikeizumi’s home.
Harboring some curiosity, Izumi patted her somewhat listless little face, still drowsy with sleepiness.
She quickened her pace.
And walked over.
“Senior! Police Force trainee ‘Uchiha Izumi’ reporting for duty!” The girl raised one hand and shouted energetically at the doorway, drawing the gazes of all three inside the house.
“Eh?”
“Eh!”
Izumi hadn’t expected to see Clan Head Fugaku and Itachi in Senior Ikeizumi’s home!
Hiss!
Had she come at a bad time?
……
……
