Chapter 54 You saw that dark shadow move...
Mikoto sensed the awkward atmosphere and said, "It's good to balance work and rest. People get boring if they're always working. I don't want you all to end up like your father."
Fugaku, who was quietly sipping his soup, slowly typed a question mark. Why did the conversation suddenly turn to him? Even the focus of the topic shifted to him. He paused, holding his spoon, looked at his wife and then at his two sons, and said, "It's true that we need to balance work and rest."
These words were so insincere that Sasuke immediately lost his appetite for dinner. He put down his chopsticks and said in a low voice, "I'm full." He then got up to leave the table.
Fugaku Uchiha gave his wife Mikoto a look, and she sighed helplessly, saying, "This is not your fault."
Before she could finish speaking, her eldest son Itachi's voice rang out, "I know, it's my fault. I'll have a good talk with Sasuke."
He then put down his chopsticks and said to his parents, "I've finished eating. Thank you for your hospitality."
Watching their two sons leave the restaurant one after the other, leaving their mother and father looking at each other in bewilderment, Fugaku Uchiha finally said, "The older they get, the less I can understand what they're thinking."
Mikoto said, "Is this the first time you've failed to see through his thoughts?" She was referring to their eldest son, Uchiha Itachi. In fact, she had been unable to understand the child's mind for a long time. Although everyone hopes to have a smart child, if the child is too smart, it will create a rift between them and their parents, and the so-called family affection will become very weak.
Uchiha Itachi is a typical example. Because of his outstanding talent and precociousness, his relationship with his parents was not very close, and could even be described as distant.
Unapproachable—that was Fugaku Uchiha's preconceived notion about his eldest son. When he first heard that his eldest son was going to get engaged to you, he was genuinely relieved, thinking that his son finally had something similar to ordinary people. However, the wedding later fell through, and the truth hidden beneath the surface of the wedding made Fugaku Uchiha feel that he didn't understand the other person.
What exactly does his son want to do? What does he want? Although Uchiha Itachi has now taken over the responsibilities from his father as he wished, becoming a qualified, no, an excellent vice-captain of the guard, and will eventually succeed as the head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku still feels uneasy about the future.
It was like the calm before the storm. His intuition, honed through countless battles, was so accurate that he keenly sensed something from the confrontation between Itachi and Sasuke. He couldn't help but sigh, "What can we do?"
His wife, Mikoto, seemed much more relaxed. She said, "I don't think you need to worry so much."
"But as their father—"
“Because even if you worry, it won’t affect how things develop. They are all mature ninjas now, not children who can be manipulated.” Mikoto analyzed the situation calmly and rationally. In fact, Mikoto was even more rational than her husband.
Fugaku Uchiha fell silent, unsure whether he was hurt or realized that his wife was telling the truth. In any case, he didn't know what to say for a moment.
His wife's words made sense, but he shouldn't have just stood by and watched. So in the end, he got up and went to find his youngest son first. As for why he didn't go to find his eldest son first, it was naturally because the other son might say something inappropriate. So, out of caution, Fugaku Uchiha found Sasuke sitting by the goldfish pond feeding the fish.
"Sasuke." Fugaku Uchiha called out his youngest son's name. The latter looked up, his expression sullen and his mood visibly low. He responded softly, "Father, is there something you need?"
Before this, Fugaku Uchiha rarely talked to his youngest son, because in his view, it was better to focus on training than to waste time on such things. However, perhaps because he was getting older and his eldest son was gradually taking over his position, his mentality gradually changed. Simply put, he became much kinder and even able to put himself in others' shoes.
This would have been absolutely impossible in the past.
Fugaku Uchiha sat down beside him, looking down at the goldfish in the pond. "Some of these goldfish were the ones you caught at the summer festival. They've been alive ever since. Both Itachi and Sasuke have a special fondness for those goldfish, and they even give them extra fish food."
"These fish were caught by Aki back then, right?" Fugaku Uchiha suddenly asked.
"Um."
Sasuke gazed at the goldfish.
Goldfish cannot understand human troubles; they eat their fish food without a care in the world.
Will they be sad because you're gone? Probably not.
"What you and your brother were saying at the dinner table just now... has there been some conflict between you brothers? I remember you two used to get along very well." Fugaku Uchiha finally got to the point, but he didn't go too directly. He followed his wife's advice and asked about what had happened between the brothers as tactfully as possible.
Sasuke placed the small jar of fish food on the other side and then said, "Did Mother send you here?"
"No, I came here to ask on my own initiative."
"It shouldn't be considered a contradiction." Sasuke carefully chose his words, pausing for a long time, unsure how to describe the strange atmosphere between himself and his brother Itachi. It was as if they were both hostile to each other. If he could, he wouldn't want to be on the opposite side of his brother, but... his brother always took him for granted, assuming that they were in love.
After getting to know you, Sasuke discovered that the so-called mutual affection was just his brother's delusion.
In the end, he just shook his head and said, "I don't know either."
Fugaku Uchiha said, "But you are brothers after all, and you should help each other."
Sasuke frowned. He hadn't meant to disparage his brother in his previous words. He said, "Of course I know that."
“But I still feel that my brother and Aki shouldn’t be together.” He suddenly mentioned your name, and Uchiha Fugaku, as if grasping the key point of the conversation, said, “Is all of this related to Aki?”
"Father, are you going to blame Mingxi?" Sasuke suddenly became agitated. He didn't want to hear others blaming you. In his opinion, you hadn't done anything wrong. The so-called mistakes were just something others were deliberately pinning on you.
Even if it was his father, he wouldn't want the other person to speak ill of you, so he hurriedly added, "Mingxi has already... done so much for us, in ways we can't see. If it weren't for her, our lives wouldn't be so comfortable today."
Fugaku Uchiha was completely bewildered. He hadn't even said anything yet, only mentioned your name, but his youngest son was already reacting so strongly.
He said, "I didn't mean that at all."
Sasuke calmed down and whispered an apology to his father. Fortunately, his father didn't take it to heart and simply asked, "Have you seen Aki?"
After a long silence, Sasuke finally said, "...I've met you."
And that was the end of it.
The conversation had reached a deadlock. Fugaku Uchiha had no prior experience talking to his son, so he was somewhat at a loss in the face of this situation.
So what should he say at this point?
Finally, Sasuke sighed and said, "Father, if there's nothing else to say, I should go to my brother's place. He still has something to tell me."
Since the other party had already said that, how else could he respond? He nodded and said, "Okay, then you can go."
Fugaku Uchiha watched his youngest son leave the courtyard before returning to his wife's side a while later. His wife could tell from his expression that their conversation hadn't gone well. She asked, "Did you run into a wall?"
Fugaku Uchiha glanced at her helplessly. She was still smiling, beckoning to her husband and saying, "I guessed it. There's nothing we can do about it, but it's already good that you've taken this step."
Feeling as if his wife was being indulged again, Fugaku Uchiha said, "Don't talk to me like that, like you're coaxing a child."
Mikoto patted his shoulder and said, "It really is Mingxi... Those two children really like Mingxi." Not only them, but she also likes you very much. On the eve of the wedding preparations, she took out her bridal box and let you look through the jewelry inside. If you wanted, she would give you any piece of jewelry without hesitation.
It's a pity you left without the slightest hesitation, as if you only considered this place a temporary stop. Realizing this, she couldn't help but feel sad, after all, she had already treated you like a real daughter, and she thought you had become family. But it seems you didn't think that way.
"If it's for Mingxi, then it's not surprising."
Fugaku Uchiha didn't understand the intricacies of the situation. He said, "Why isn't that strange?"
"Because Aki is a very likable girl, there's no one who doesn't like her. But she also has a temper, so she probably couldn't stand Itachi's personality, which is why she left."
While the two of them were discussing this matter, Sasuke sat down facing his brother Itachi. Itachi seemed relaxed and in a light mood. Sasuke immediately asked, "Since you've met Mingxi, you should know that she doesn't like you, right?"
It's a very useful method to lay out the unpleasant things upfront.
Uchiha Itachi said, "I know, Aki has already told me."
He knows everything? Then why, why is he so calm? Has he already given up on you? No, no, no, the possibility of him giving up on you is extremely small. So there is only one other possibility: he seems calm on the surface, but his heart is actually in turmoil.
Sasuke asked, "Won't you be sad, brother?"
"Sasuke, do you want me to be sad? Do you want to see me in tears?" Itachi Uchiha asked.
“Of course not—” Sasuke replied immediately, “I don’t want my brother to suffer.”
He couldn't bear to see his brother suffer, and the price he would pay was to be caught in a dilemma. He said, "But Mingxi..."
"Sasuke, you're worried about Aki, but you don't need to worry too much, because I didn't do anything to her. To be honest, what I did when I saw her this time, well... I guess I just confessed to her." Itachi Uchiha spoke these surprising words in a calm tone.
What repentance? What should I repent for?
Sasuke's mind was filled with these questions for a moment. It took him a few seconds to find his voice and say, "Repentance... What is Brother repenting to Mingxi about this time?"
“The wrong things I did to her in the past, such as not considering her opinion beforehand and acting on my own.” Itachi Uchiha listed his crimes one by one. If he could, he would really like you to punish him, but he was not so lucky, and you would not punish him.
It's such a pity just thinking about it now.
Sasuke felt as if he was only now gaining a deeper understanding of his brother. Yes, he had come into contact with a side of his brother that no one else knew, and this feeling made Sasuke feel somewhat unfamiliar.
Does his brother really think that way? Or is he just trying to gain your sympathy? This thought suddenly popped into Sasuke's mind. He didn't know why he would make such a guess; wasn't this malicious speculation? Was it really okay to speculate about his own brother like this?
Sasuke took a deep breath and said, "If you do this, will Aki forgive you?"
The original intention was simply to ask if the other person had forgiven him, but the words came out sounding like a provocation, and a very obvious one at that.
No, he absolutely did not mean that, so he hurriedly added, "I, I was just asking."
"It seems she hasn't forgiven me, but I can understand Mingxi. It's okay even if she doesn't forgive me." She casually stated the fact that she hadn't been forgiven by you, as if she had already accepted everything, but is that really true?
Have you really accepted it?
Sasuke looked at Itachi with a suspicious gaze, while Itachi was still smiling and said, "Sasuke, is there anything else you want to ask? I apologize for my tone during dinner earlier."
"Ah... Brother, there's no need for you to apologize to me."
"So Sasuke doesn't have anything to ask?" Itachi asked the next second. "Then Sasuke, can you tell me what happened between you two when you last met Aki?"
Instead of taking the initiative, it's more accurate to say that he was planning from the very beginning how to ask his younger brother about his relationship with you.
Sasuke clenched his hands, revealing a hint of nervousness. He said, "It's nothing." He couldn't possibly tell his brother that he slept with you, could he?
"Sasuke, you're still as bad at lying as ever," Itachi said, his casual remark carrying a heavy weight of pressure.
Sometimes Sasuke would wonder why he still felt a sense of oppression when facing his brother. Even though his brother wouldn't hurt him, this feeling would still arise.
Sasuke said, "This is between Aki and me, and I feel... it's not appropriate to talk about it with others."
"Even if I told my brother, it wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"
Sasuke hesitated for a moment.
Before this, Sasuke had always regarded his older brother as a role model and a goal for himself to strive for. But when exactly did it begin? Gradually, he began to have differing opinions with his brother, and even arguments would break out, something he had never imagined before.
Sasuke's lips parted, his expression conflicted. He said, "...This won't do, this is the only thing that won't do." His voice went from weak at first to firm at last.
Yes, this is the only thing that won't work.
Sasuke raised his head, looked directly into his brother's eyes, and said, "I can follow my brother's advice on other matters."
Itachi Uchiha remained noncommittal, his dark eyes like still pools reflecting Sasuke's face. After an unknown amount of time, Sasuke heard his brother say softly, "Sasuke, you... you've grown up. You're quite opinionated now."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if stating facts without any personal emotion. Was he happy or angry?
Unable to see through it, unable to guess its meaning, that was Sasuke's only thought.
"Brother, are you angry?" he asked tentatively.
Unexpectedly, Itachi Uchiha smiled at this moment and said, "Sasuke, why do you think I'm angry? Did I do something that made you misunderstand?" As he spoke, the corners of his lips turned up slightly, a very faint smile, just like always.
However, as Sasuke gazed at his brother's face, a sense of unease arose within him.
Is his brother truly happy? Is he pleased with his growth?
"It's getting late, Sasuke, you should go and rest too, shouldn't you?" Itachi Uchiha said, just like a proper older brother caring for his younger brother and urging him to rest early.
Sasuke, still preoccupied with other thoughts, mumbled a vague "Um, um..."
But actually, Sasuke didn't sleep well that night after saying those words to his brother. Yes, his brother's words kept swirling in his mind, making him toss and turn and unable to fall asleep.
He didn't fall asleep until the sky began to lighten, utterly exhausted.
On the other hand, you go to bed early and get up early, and your lifestyle is as healthy as can be. You even add a morning exercise routine, which sounds quite serious, but it's actually just a walk around the villa's garden. You start walking after breakfast, and you can stop and rest for a while when you have a thin layer of sweat on your forehead.
Bai is very pleased to see that you have maintained this routine. He said that if you continue like this, your health will definitely improve. He said, "Mingxi, you will definitely live to be a hundred years old if you do this."
You couldn't help but laugh and say, "That's living way too long. Living to the end can be a kind of torture, you know."
But Bai just hopes you live to be a hundred years old. You chat with him casually, and then someone brings it up first, most likely you. You mention Uchiha Obito and realize that he hasn't appeared in front of you lately. You guess the Akatsuki is starting to push for their year-end KPIs.
Just kidding. There are many reasons why he might not appear. For example, he might be on a mission, or he might be dead. You think the latter is too unlikely because, judging from his background and experiences, he is the kind of handsome, strong, and tragic character that you'd expect in a shonen manga. So it's unlikely he'll die until the very end, in the crucial plot.
Of course, you're not cursing him to die soon; you're just using an analogy. Besides, you'd feel it's a shame if such a useful tool died. You'd hope he could live a little longer and create more business value for you. As for his ideals, you don't care at all. Let him do whatever he wants.
It's also possible that because you talked about Obito Uchiha during the day, you actually dreamed about him that night. However, it wasn't a pleasant dream, but rather a somewhat chaotic one, in which you saw Obito Uchiha as a child.
You can be pretty sure you've never seen him as a child, but you still dreamed about him, which is why you say the dream was confusing.
As a child, Obito was lively and cheerful, even a natural optimist. You stare at this Uchiha who is always laughing and joking and ponder why he became so gloomy as an adult.
This dream severely affected your sleep quality; you even woke up several times during the night, something you'd never experienced before. This is enough to prove that your sleep quality is terrible. When you woke up for the last time, it was already 5 a.m. Since you were wide awake anyway, you simply turned on the bedside lamp and started reading by the headboard.
While listening to music and reading a book, halfway through, something flashes past in the corner of your eye. You keenly notice it and quickly look in that direction, only to see a dark shadow, pitch black, hidden in the shadows.
Are you still half asleep? That's your first reaction, but you're definitely awake, you can be sure of that.
Soon, you saw the dark shape move, as if it had a life of its own.
Given that ninjas, beings that defy physics, already exist in this world, you wouldn't be too surprised if something similar to Venom suddenly appeared; your tolerance for such things has been honed to a very high level.
You close the book in your hand; it's a huge volume, as thick as half your palm. You slowly stand up, your movements tiptoeing, like the prelude to swatting a cockroach. You were very good at swatting cockroaches in your past life, and that skill has been passed down to this one.
The secret to killing cockroaches is to be quick, accurate, and ruthless; you absolutely cannot give them a chance to react. The current situation is similar to dealing with cockroaches.
You stood up, but not completely straightened up. Instead, you leaned forward slightly, lowering your center of gravity and adopting a posture as if you were about to attack.
The next second you heard a sound suddenly coming from that dark shadow, a high-pitched sound that would only make your ears uncomfortable.
"It's you...it's you who's been interfering with my plans. What if you're the one hindering my plans? Obito Uchiha will only become weak because of you, so you must die!"
Before it could even finish speaking, you grabbed a large book and smashed it over.
What are you babbling about? All you're doing is swatting cockroaches.
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