Chapter 256 The Fourth Person's Chair
As the morning light gradually turned to dusk, the Konoha Ninja Academy was filled with the cheerful chatter of children after school, mostly in groups of two or three.
Seeing that her deskmate, Uchiha Itachi, was getting ready quickly, Inuzuka Hana asked curiously, "Itachi, is your aunt coming to pick you up today?"
Uchiha Itachi froze, staring blankly at her, and asked in a daze, "What?"
Thinking she had misremembered, Inuzuka Hana waved her hand sheepishly.
"Sorry, it should be your brother, right?"
Even after hearing her change her address to Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi was still stunned. He gripped the book in his hand so tightly that his fingertips turned white.
Even after leaving the school, Itachi Uchiha couldn't recall what the inexplicable emotion that had suddenly surged within him was.
Finally, among the sparsely scattered little ones, he spotted the lagging Uchiha Itachi and raised his hand to greet him.
"Itachi! Here!"
Despite being three years older than him, Uchiha Shisui was significantly taller, making him stand out among the parents. His inherent coldness also caused the surrounding parents to keep their distance.
Itachi Uchiha spotted him very easily.
That's too easy.
A pang of sadness welled up in his heart.
Walking home with Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but glance at him.
Uchiha Shisui has passed the Anbu's test and officially become a member of the Anbu. Sometimes when a mission ends quickly, he will come to wait for him to go back together.
I can't quite remember how they met, but Uchiha Shisui was probably the person who knew him best outside of his family.
Uchiha Itachi pursed his lips, but decided to ask anyway: "Shisui, do I...do I have an aunt?"
"aunt?"
Uchiha Shisui frowned in confusion. He felt that the title was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. In the end, he could only scratch his head.
"No, don't you only have one younger brother?"
“That’s true…” Itachi Uchiha forced a smile and didn’t continue the topic.
Sensing his bad mood, Uchiha Shisui put his arm around his shoulder, his older brotherly warmth washing over him. "Want to go eat some dumplings?"
"No, I need to hurry home to take care of Sasuke."
Uchiha Shisui wasn't annoyed by his refusal and teased him, saying, "You're just a kid, yet you're taking care of another kid."
"I promised to take good care of Sasuke."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Itachi Uchiha was momentarily stunned.
This promise, etched deep in his heart, a promise he was determined to keep, was it made to whom...?
Sasuke Uchiha was only a few months old when he was born. He couldn't speak or crawl, but he seemed to know that he had a brother who loved him. Every time Itachi Uchiha appeared in front of him, he would wave his little hand with a smile.
Usually, when his mother was cooking, Itachi would take care of him in the living room.
It was late at night, and when Fugaku Uchiha dragged his tired body home, a fragrant and delicious meal was already on the table for him.
Fugaku Uchiha ate his rice slowly, glanced at Itachi Uchiha on his right, and said in a low voice, "I heard you applied for early graduation exams."
Uchiha Itachi put down his chopsticks and replied seriously, "Yes, Father, the teacher said that my abilities are already good enough for me to graduate early."
"Hmm." Fugaku Uchiha pondered for a moment, then remained silent.
Knowing that his father probably had something to discuss after dinner, Itachi Uchiha fell silent and focused on eating.
After the meal, Fugaku Uchiha slapped the table, signaling him not to leave yet.
"The masked man who attacked the Hokage has been identified. He is Uchiha Iihiko, a member of the Uchiha clan who recently went missing and was assigned to the Fourth Hokage."
"He had always harbored hatred towards Konoha, but because of his outstanding abilities and his peaceful personality, he was chosen by the higher-ups."
"Me too, I wasn't on guard earlier. Luckily, the Hokage didn't blame the Uchiha... Shisui has already joined the Anbu. After you graduate early, you should also go and train in the Anbu."
Without explaining the implications in detail, Fugaku Uchiha glanced at his obediently nodding expression and was somewhat stunned.
His eldest son has always been so obedient.
Then, as if touched by something in the dark, Fugaku Uchiha relaxed his brows and patted his shoulder with his large hand.
"However, it depends on your own wishes."
As was his usual practice, his father would arrange everything for him and inform him, and Itachi Uchiha would not complain, because he knew that his father was doing it for his own good, just as he had led him onto the battlefield back then.
To his surprise, his father would give him the choice in such a kind manner.
Itachi Uchiha nodded even more vigorously. The precocious and steady child's eyes were full of light at this moment, a testament to his admiration and respect for his father.
"Alright, come and have some fruit after the meal." Uchiha Mikoto smiled and placed a plate in front of them.
On a porcelain white plate lay many exquisite and adorable rabbit-shaped apples. Upon seeing this nightmarish sight, both Fugaku and Itachi Uchiha's expressions changed.
Seeing their expressions of alarm, Uchiha Mikoto burst out laughing.
Why do you all look so pale?
Upon hearing her say "you guys," both Fugaku and Itachi looked at each other, exchanging bewildered glances.
A few seconds later, Itachi Uchiha chuckled softly, covering his mouth, while Fugaku Uchiha also smiled slightly, using the gesture of drinking tea to cover it up.
A warm and harmonious atmosphere filled the entire dining table, while the chair symbolizing the fourth person sat empty in front of the table.
*
It had been a long time since I had a big fight with Haruko. Although we both pretended nothing had happened afterward, the subtle rift was undeniable.
Orochimaru doesn't consider himself a good person; if he dislikes someone, he will definitely not bother to see that person.
The thought of my past relationship with him makes me so disgusted that I can't eat.
If someone hates another person to the extreme, they will try every means to take revenge. Even if they had a deep friendship in the past, they will spare no effort to torture the other person to death, or even tear them apart and leave no trace of their body.
Therefore, he remained completely unmoved by Haruko's lukewarm "dislike."
Just like raindrops pounding on the ground, no matter how continuous or torrential the rain, it cannot cause any impact on the hard ground.
It wasn't that the rain was too weak, but rather that the ground was too hard.
Even someone as arrogant as him didn't expect the rain to last so long.
The raindrops kept falling softly, not painful, but impossible to ignore. Orochimaru thought casually that it seemed the rain hadn't stopped since the moment she reappeared.
I thought they would never cross paths again, perhaps for a very long time, or even forever.
But she was always so soft-hearted, whether towards others or towards herself who desperately wanted to possess her.
Upon catching a soft footstep outside the laboratory, different from that of Mitarashi Anko, Orochimaru froze in his experimental movements. No one knew that sound better than him.
Before he could gather his thoughts and consider how to greet their first meeting after the argument, a knocking sound, accompanied by the girl's clear voice, rang out at the door.
"Orochimaru, may I come in?"
Orochimaru heard himself chuckle involuntarily, "Do you need to ask permission to come in?"
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