Chapter 239 : Hibiscus flowers are still blooming
…Recently, Uchiha Itachi had not been very happy.
Because not long ago, his favorite Brother Naraku seemed to have left the Village for a very important matter, only leaving a letter for his mother.
His mother hadn't even finished reading the content before she knocked over her teacup, and hot water flowed onto the tatami, forming a dark water stain.
The next morning, his mother changed into an outfit he had never seen before, entrusted him to the care of Shizune, and then left the Village in a large group with many other adults.
He and Shizune waited and waited, and after two or three more days, his mother finally returned with Brother Naraku, and even his father came home to play with him.
But his brother had been sleeping ever since he came home, sleeping for many days without waking up.
Everyone who visited, including his parents, told him that Brother Naraku would wake up as soon as he rested well, very soon, very soon… But how long exactly was "very soon"?
Days passed, and Uchiha Itachi's young mind couldn't keep track of the days anymore, yet he still couldn't see the end of "very soon."
Until one night, the clear, cold moon, as usual, cast its silver light upon the earth, and he was eating snacks with his mother when he saw a small bird fall from a branch in the tree canopy in the courtyard.
He walked over and picked up the bird, finding that its feathers had lost their luster, and its strong, agile wings could no longer fly, so he vaguely realized something.
His mother seemed to know his thoughts, her eyes gentle and sad.
He frantically ran to Brother Naraku to confirm that he wasn't cold and stiff like the little bird.
Feeling the warm breath and body temperature, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, throwing himself into his mother's arms, who had followed him, and said his brother wasn't a little bird.
His mother stroked his little head and smiled, saying, "Yes, your brother won't be a little bird."
Itachi curled into a small ball, lying on his side in bed, closing his eyes and counting sheep, hoping that when he woke up tomorrow morning, he would see Brother Naraku say good morning to him… In the early morning, Itachi opened his eyes and still didn't see Naraku, feeling a bit disappointed, he lay in bed unwilling to get up.
Mikoto finally coaxed her youngest son out of bed to get dressed and eat, telling him that Shisui would come to play with him soon and bring new toys.
Itachi's eyes immediately sparkled, and after eating, he sat in the corridor, eagerly watching the entrance, and the moment he saw Shisui, he quickly scurried forward on his short legs to greet him.
"Brother Shisui!"
"Itachi, were you waiting for me?"
Shisui crouched slightly, smiling at Itachi who was running towards him, his indigo forehead protector shimmering with an illusory light in the morning sun.
He bent down and picked Itachi up with one hand, while with the other, he pulled out a very small kendama from behind his back, singing a children's song and showing Itachi how to play with it.
Itachi quickly became engrossed in the kendama, unable to extricate himself, repeatedly failing and trying again, his entire focus on completing the challenge.
Shisui quietly signaled Mikoto that he was going to find Naraku, and after receiving her smiling response, he exited the living room and walked to the room where Naraku was recuperating.
"Naraku, good morning, I'm here again."
Sitting on the stool by the bed, Shisui looked at Naraku's increasingly gaunt face and the small, diamond-shaped cursed seal on his forehead, unconsciously touching his own forehead protector.
Beneath that fabric, there was also a kite-shaped mark.
That was the Sealing Jutsu that Naraku had implanted in him last autumn—Healing Seal: Modification (Zhen Yu Feng Yin - Gai).
Although Shisui didn't suffer from bloodline limit sickness due to awakening his Sharingan too early, Naraku still insisted on using this Jutsu on him to prevent him from being unable to bear overly powerful Dōjutsu Power (Pupil Power) like Naraku himself when he later awakened his Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
Unable to argue, Shisui had no choice but to accept this kindness.
But no one probably expected that this seal would play a crucial role just one year after its implantation.
After deciding to reinforce Mount Kikyo, Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, to avoid causing panic, did not publicly announce the battle plan and suppressed public opinion, so most Konoha villagers were unaware of this matter from beginning to end.
Ninja Academy students were even less likely to know about it.
It wasn't until the war had ended and the battle survivors had been evacuated back to the Village that details gradually spread from those who had experienced it.
It was also at that time that Shisui heard from Inuzuka Hana that Naraku had also appeared on the Mount Kikyo battlefield.
Just like that night, the pure white Susanoo stood like a deity amidst the evening glow, drawing its sword in the fierce mountain wind to cleave the Ichibi's Tailed Beast Ball.
Inuzuka Hana was full of excitement, talking endlessly about the stories she had heard from her mother.
But Shisui felt a chill run through his body.
The Inuzuka clan didn't understand the Uchiha's bloodline limit sickness, but he knew very well that for Naraku, with his terrible physical condition, fighting with the Mangekyo was tantamount to starting a death countdown.
Shisui, who was always obedient and sensible, skipped class for the first time in his life, running all the way to Naraku's small courtyard to find him.
It was empty inside, as if no one had lived there for a long time.
Eventually, Mikoto, hearing the unusual commotion, came to check on the situation, and seeing him anxious with teary eyes and incoherent speech, she sighed helplessly and took him to see Naraku, who was still in a coma.
Shisui lay by Naraku's bed, unable to understand how things had come to this.
By the time Mikoto noticed something amiss, Shisui's eyes had already turned blood red, and sealing runes covered his cheeks and upper body, tightly locking down the surging Dōjutsu Power (Pupil Power), preventing his Sharingan from evolving into a Two-Tomoe Sharingan at the last moment.
Later, when the news of Obito's sacrifice at Kannabi Bridge reached Konoha, it was also thanks to the Healing Seal: Modification (Zhen Yu Feng Yin - Gai) that Shisui did not awaken his Sharingan again in his grief.
Without this seal, evolving his Sharingan twice in a few days, Shisui might have become sicker than Naraku was back then.
"...I always come to bother you; I hope you don't find me annoying."
Shisui lowered his hand from his forehead protector, maintaining a gentle smile with effort, and quietly chatted with Naraku, confiding in him about some small things that had happened to him.
Perhaps after he said a certain sentence, he would hear Naraku's response?
"I have already finished my school courses, so I want to graduate early like you and become a capable Ninja sooner."
"Granny Ame's dango has new flavors again; many people say they're delicious, but I haven't tried them yet, I wonder if they'll be especially sweet…"
"Yesterday I finally learned the Body Flicker Technique, but I'm still not as fast as you… Hey, Naraku, what's the trick?"
After rambling on and on, essentially performing a monologue, Shisui buried his face in the bedding, his voice muffled through the fabric, mixed with a hint of a sob.
"The weather is very good today, Naraku."
"The hibiscus flowers are still blooming; please come and see them with me."
After a long pause, he heard a somewhat hoarse reply from above his head.
"…Okay."
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Read Ahead & Support
Read up to 650 chapters ahead with daily updates at 02radnovel.com
Connect & Updates:
(Twitter) • x.com/02IsmetHQ
Instagram • instagram.com/02novelofficial
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯