Chapter 53. His brother's words silenced him. ...
When it comes to Obi's ability to be disgusting, he is truly the most powerful among all the people Deidara has ever seen. Moreover, his methods of being disgusting are endless. Deidara waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I don't want to listen to your nonsense anymore."
"Senior, you really don't want to listen at all? But I feel like you really want to learn something from it, am I right?"
This time it wasn't just disgusting, it was also sarcastic and insincere.
Obito tilted his head, seemingly genuinely curious. He looked at Deidara through his mask, who looked impatient. He continued, "But senpai, it seems that Miss Aki doesn't treat you like an adult. If this continues, no matter how hard you try, it will be in vain."
Ugh, this is so annoying. He doesn't need to remind me of this kind of thing. Deidara felt like his appetite for the morning had been ruined, while the culprit was speaking in a light tone, pretending that nothing had happened.
That's absolutely despicable.
Deidara said, "That's enough, I don't want to talk about these things with you anymore."
Obito Uchiha nodded, saying he understood, but he still gazed at Deidara with his chin in his hand. Finally, Deidara slammed down his chopsticks. He had completely lost his appetite. What was there to eat now? Really.
"Hey, aren't you going to eat breakfast, senpai? I specially brought this up for you. It's such a waste," Obito Uchiha said.
Deidara stood up, ignoring him, and put on the robe that represented the Akatsuki organization. Then he coldly said to him, "You can leave now."
Deidara left the inn amidst the other person's muttering, "Oh dear, wasting food is not a good habit." A night passed, and the rain outside had stopped, replaced by bright sunshine. He squinted slightly, put on his hat, and shielded himself from most of the sunlight.
After walking for a while, Tobi was still chattering in his ear. Deidara answered only the meaningful questions and pretended not to hear the nonsense. When they reached the next fork in the road, Tobi suddenly said, "It seems like that ninja from Kirigakure that we met before had the same thoughts as you, senior."
That ninja from Kirigakure? Deidara thought for a moment, oh, it's that ninja named Zabuza, right? Although Deidara had never fought him, judging from his posture, he shouldn't be weak. After all, he was a Jonin. If he weren't currently on a mission, Deidara might actually want to challenge him.
But what did he mean by saying he shared the same thoughts? Deidara asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Hmm... it means exactly what it says. He also wants to become Miss Aki's lover. That's not surprising, after all, Miss Aki is so charming."
Deidara barely heard what he said after that. All he heard was that Zabuza wanted to become his lover. So that was what he was planning? Deidara frowned unconsciously, not realizing that he had fallen into his new partner's trap, and that his thoughts were being led by the other.
Obito Uchiha said, "However, I think you don't need to be too nervous, senpai. After all, Aki is very picky about her lovers."
Really picky? He really hadn't noticed. Deidara glanced at the other person; because the other had worn a mask the entire time, Deidara had never seen his true face. Could it be that his face under the mask was very handsome? Deidara asked thoughtfully, "Is your face very handsome?"
Upon hearing this, Obito Uchiha paused for a moment, then asked, "Eh? What?"
"Your face, I mean your face, is it very beautiful?" Beautiful enough for you to disregard other standards?
"Oh dear, that's really...maybe so? But looks are only considered beautiful if they suit other people's tastes, hmm, so you guess Aki likes my face?"
He was talking to himself, as if he were praising himself, and Deidara didn't want to hear him praise himself like that.
So how can you make him like you even more? Deidara fell into deep thought, but this question couldn't be answered in a short time, just like his inability to fathom your heart.
Well, we can only take it one step at a time.
If their chance encounter with Zabuza on the road was a coincidence, then their meeting with Itachi Uchiha was an accident, an accident for both of them.
Whether it was an unexpected surprise or a shock is a matter of opinion.
Anyway, Deidara recognized Itachi Uchiha immediately when he met him. It was the same Uchiha who had claimed to be Itachi's fiancé, and he was an Uchiha with the Mangekyou Sharingan.
This time, it was a true clash of titans.
One against two, Itachi Uchiha was clearly at a disadvantage, and he himself was aware of this, so he acted with extreme caution.
Two rogue ninjas, and both of them were members of the Akatsuki organization.
Is it because he used up all his good luck on reuniting with you? That's why he's having such bad luck now.
But it wasn't all bad, because the other party was still observing and showed no intention of making a move.
It wasn't until Deidara spoke up that he said, "Hey—you're the Konoha Uchiha who was chasing after the other Akatsuki members, right?"
Deidara added a long string of adjectives before "Uchiha," making it sound somewhat verbose. Uchiha Itachi nodded after hearing it and said, "Perhaps." It's also possible that the other party was referring to Shisui, since two Uchiha were in charge of this mission at the time.
"What do you mean by 'maybe'?" Deidara's tone was not very friendly. While he was talking to Itachi Uchiha, Obito Uchiha was quietly observing another Uchiha.
Judging from his appearance, did he just leave from your place? He was radiating happiness and joy, which seemed particularly dazzling to him.
Haha, is he showing off?
But why has your attitude towards Itachi Uchiha softened? He clearly remembers that you used to openly hate Itachi Uchiha. Why did you suddenly change your attitude?
Did Itachi Uchiha use a Sharingan on you? Did he alter your memories or your will? As the owner of the Mangekyou Sharingan, it wouldn't be difficult for him to do something like that.
Deidara continued to question Itachi Uchiha, "Were you following us this time too?"
Despite being misunderstood, Itachi Uchiha remained calm and explained casually, "No, I wasn't on a mission this time."
"Really? You weren't on a mission, so I can't completely believe what you say." These Uchiha are all cunning, and he won't be fooled so easily.
Hearing Deidara say this, Itachi Uchiha asked with a hint of doubt, "If you don't believe me, then why did you ask me? Isn't that completely pointless and a waste of time?"
Upon hearing this, Deidara froze. What he said seemed to make some sense, but wait! Why should he agree with someone he disliked?
In short, he absolutely could not lose in this confrontation. Deidara puffed out his chest and said, "Is it any of your business?"
“I certainly don’t have the right to discipline you, but I was simply raising a question.” Uchiha Itachi remained remarkably calm throughout, which only served to highlight Deidara’s agitation.
"No, this can't go on," Deidara reminded himself. He raised his chin, getting back to the point, and asked, "Where exactly did you come from!?"
Uchiha Itachi blinked slowly and said, "From Konoha."
The conversation was about to break down. Deidara's face turned red with anger. He felt that the other party was provoking him, so he started fighting with Uchiha Itachi in a fit of rage. The two fought back and forth. Just when Deidara thought he was about to win, the explosion he threw engulfed Uchiha Itachi's figure in flames. But the next second, the figure turned into smoke and disappeared with a bang.
Deidara then realized that he had been fighting Itachi Uchiha's shadow clones the whole time.
Wait, so all that effort, even that fierce battle, ultimately resulted in Itachi Uchiha's true form actually leaving first!?
When exactly...? When exactly did he so subtly replace the person in front of him with a shadow clone? Deidara was completely baffled, and his face turned even redder as he was already furious.
Obito Uchiha, who had been watching the battle from the sidelines, suddenly appeared and, not wanting to miss out on the excitement, said, "Oh dear, it seems you've fallen for the Uchiha's trap, senpai."
"So annoying!" Deidara said irritably. Obito Uchiha comforted him, "Come on, he's Itachi Uchiha after all, a genius among the Uchiha."
These words seemed to have no comforting effect whatsoever; in fact, they had the opposite effect. Deidara hated Itachi Uchiha even more, and he questioned his partner, saying, "Whose side are you on anyway?!"
Obito Uchiha shrugged and said, "Well, of course I'm on your side, senior. We're partners, after all."
Really? How come he didn't seem to notice?
It took Deidara a long time to calm down, so long that Itachi Uchiha had already returned to Konoha and even gone to the Hokage Building to report back from his leave.
On his way to the Hokage Building, Itachi ran into Shikamaru, who was looking for the Hokage. Out of politeness, Itachi smiled at him, and Shikamaru nodded somewhat awkwardly as a greeting.
As the two passed each other, Itachi Uchiha said, "Being in charge of liaising with different forces must be very tiring and stressful, right?"
What did he mean by that? Was he showing concern? Or was he testing him? Shikamaru looked over in confusion, but by then Itachi Uchiha had already walked away, leaving a bewildered Shikamaru standing there.
A few seconds later, he remembered his real purpose for coming to the Hokage Building: to report on his work. He temporarily put this little incident out of his mind.
As for Uchiha Itachi, who left the Hokage Building, he first went back to the Konoha Police Force. The members working in the police force could feel that their vice-captain's mood had improved a lot after returning from leave. Even if the documents were not up to standard, he would gently ask his subordinates to redo them.
The team member who had been sent back for revision was still somewhat puzzled as he left the vice-captain's office. The team members waiting outside asked one after another, "Hey, didn't the captain say anything about your report not being approved this time?"
“Yeah, I think it’s really strange too. This time the captain didn’t say anything, he just told me to take it back and redo it.” The team member also found it strange. They looked at each other, and finally an experienced team member said, “I know, the captain probably encountered something good while he was traveling.”
"Good news? What good news could there be?" Could it be that you've met someone you've fallen in love with at first sight? But before this, Itachi Uchiha was almost going to marry you, but there was a little hiccup in the middle, so the engagement party was called off. However, the Uchiha are a very devoted clan. Once they've decided on someone, they won't change their minds.
So someone else said, "Aren't you just talking nonsense? Be careful the captain hears you and comes after you!"
“But he only became so relaxed after enjoying his vacation, so something must have happened during the vacation, right?” The person who initially made the speculation looked around and, noticing that his colleagues were all silent, asked curiously, “Why aren’t you guys talking?”
One of his close colleagues pointed behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Uchiha Itachi standing there. He didn't know when he had been listening to their conversation. A few beads of sweat quickly appeared on the team member's forehead. Then he smiled awkwardly at the team leader, Uchiha Itachi, and said, "Captain... uh, we were just joking, ahaha—yes, just joking."
The team member had expected Itachi to be furious; after all, anyone would be angry to hear their subordinates talking about them like that behind their back. So the team member was prepared for a storm, but in the end, no storm came. Instead, all that came was Itachi's calm words: "Where's your report?"
Huh? Just asking about the report? He widened his eyes in surprise. Didn't he hear their conversation just now? No, no, he definitely heard it, but he was too lazy to investigate. Thinking of this, the team member breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was really lucky today, and then took the report to the office.
After sitting back down at his desk, Itachi Uchiha read the report and confirmed that there were no problems before saying, "Hmm, this report is fine."
Just as the subordinate was about to leave, Itachi Uchiha suddenly spoke up, saying, "I think that kind of discussion was unnecessary and meaningless. Of course, if you really want to discuss it, I won't stop you, just don't do it under my nose."
His words, spoken so casually, felt incredibly heavy when they landed on his subordinate. The subordinate tried to ease the tension with a smile, but it seemed to backfire. Uchiha Itachi said, "I don't think this is the right time to smile. While there's a saying, 'You don't hit a smiling face,' an inappropriate smile will only make people doubt your work attitude. I think no one wants their work ability to be questioned because of such a small detail, right?"
The smile on the subordinate's face vanished completely, without a trace. He left the office stiffly, giving his colleagues a look to warn them to be careful. Don't be fooled by Itachi Uchiha's seemingly cheerful demeanor; his mood is as unpredictable as the weather. One moment he might be all smiles, and the next his words could turn sharp.
The colleagues who were submitting their reports later were terrified, barely daring to breathe as they handed in their reports. Fortunately, Itachi Uchiha wasn't really angry; he had only given his subordinates a few words of advice. However, because of the imposing aura he exuded, it seemed to others that he was angry.
But actually, it's not an easy thing to make Itachi Uchiha angry.
After reading the last report, Itachi Uchiha nodded to his subordinate and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
The subordinate bowed slightly, then immediately turned and left.
After finishing his accumulated work, Itachi Uchiha left the guard unit and headed towards his room at home. Because of Itachi's handling of various affairs in the guard unit, his father, Fugaku Uchiha, was now in a semi-retired state. When Itachi returned home, Fugaku had been back much earlier than him and was sitting with his mother.
To outsiders, the Uchiha clan appears arrogant and aloof, but in reality, they often show a soft and gentle side when dealing with their loved ones. For example, Fugaku Uchiha now smiles and whispers secrets to his wife.
If nothing unexpected had happened, this would have been the case for you and him. He could have promised to cherish you for the rest of his life, and you would have been a model couple in the eyes of others.
However, since there had already been setbacks, he had no choice but to temporarily change his plans. He quickly accepted the situation, since all sorts of unexpected situations could arise even during a mission. Therefore, learning to formulate backup plans was an essential skill for any ninja. As an excellent ninja, Uchiha Itachi was adept at formulating backup plans and could adjust and change them at any time according to the changing circumstances.
"Itachi? You're back?" Itachi's mother, Mikoto, was the first to spot him. She waved to her eldest son, who had been busy taking over his father's official duties and had little time to have dinner with him. Fortunately, after all the formalities were finished, he finally had some free time to sit down and have a proper dinner with the family.
Itachi nodded, walked over and sat down next to his mother, and said, "Yes, I'm back."
Mikoto reached out to touch Itachi's hair, but then suddenly remembered that he was now an adult, so she just smiled and said, "Sasuke seems to be coming back soon too. That's great, our family can have dinner together again."
Uchiha Itachi said, "No, we're not family yet."
Mikoto knew what he meant when she heard him say that. The smile on her lips faded a little. She said, "Itachi, are you talking about Akira? That child..." The words she wanted to say melted into a sigh. Mikoto was also surprised when you left, but after careful analysis, she realized that perhaps living here was the unbearable thing for you.
You are a child with a strong sense of boundaries, and everything they do is testing your boundaries. Finally, they tested your bottom line, and your reaction was to walk away.
Mikoto said, "Itachi, you can't force feelings. I originally thought Aki liked you, but..."
Uchiha Itachi interrupted his mother Mikoto in a gentle tone, but with an unquestionable manner, saying, "Mother, I think you don't need to worry about this."
Are you really not worried? If I do nothing, I always feel like something uncontrollable will happen.
Mikoto frowned, and her husband patted her on the back, silently saying that it would be better to leave this matter to Itachi to handle himself.
Just as the conversation reached an impasse, Sasuke returned from outside. He changed his shoes in the entryway and, after taking only a few steps, saw his parents and brother sitting in the hallway. What were they doing? This was the first question that crossed Sasuke's mind. He said, "Mother... and brother, what are you all talking about?"
"It's nothing, we were just talking about when you'd be back. What a coincidence, you're back already. Well, it's time for dinner." Mikoto said, standing up.
But Sasuke's intuition told him that they weren't talking about trivial family matters, but something he couldn't tell him.
It's like this again. Even though he's already a ninja and has completed many dangerous missions, they still treat him like a child. Just thinking about this makes Sasuke feel depressed. He never hides his feelings from his family. He just can't do it. Both his mother and brother noticed his low mood.
Mikoto served her youngest son a bowl of soup and asked, "How was your day?"
The topic was being changed. Sasuke looked at the soup bowl, with specks of oil floating on top, and said, "That's fine." He didn't have much to say about this topic; it was just an ordinary day. The only thing that bothered him was his brother's attitude.
He had heard that his brother had recently left Konoha for a vacation, and this was no ordinary vacation. Sasuke paused, his hand holding the chopsticks still. He looked up at his brother sitting across from him, who looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Was he making malicious assumptions about his brother? But he clearly loved his brother so much; he shouldn't have done that.
However, his heart was filled with hesitation and confusion. Finally, he spoke up and asked, "Brother, where have you been all this time?"
Uchiha Itachi's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Sasuke, didn't you already have the answer in your heart before you even asked this question?"
His brother's words silenced him.
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