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Heshù and Shisui, under the overwhelming care of the overly enthusiastic auntie, finally escaped the street, each holding a box of takoyaki.
Heshù's expression was frozen stiff.
"That auntie was terrifying!"
He meant every word of that sigh.
The auntie hadn't listened to a single word of their explanation, bombarding them with a rapid-fire verbal assault that left both Heshù and Shisui stunned.
"Ya! Little Shisui, you must treat her right, okay!"
"Little Shisui, you're really something!"
"To find such a pretty girlfriend!"
"What's your name, little girl?"
"Oh! I know!"
"Your name is Little Shisui's girlfriend, right?"
In just five minutes, Heshù felt utterly dead inside. Based on his understanding of street aunties, within two hours, the news that he was Shisui's girlfriend would spread across the entire district.
"Heshù, you okay?" Shisui asked after a moment, his voice hesitant as he took in Heshù's completely numb expression. "Don't… don't take it to heart."
It was Heshù's first time in the Uchiha clan grounds, and he didn't know where Juri's house was. Shisui had come to pick him up. He hadn't expected… this.
But…
Shisui stole a glance at Heshù. For some reason, a tiny, inexplicable flicker of happiness stirred in his chest.
Heshù's eyes landed on Shisui's crimson-tipped ears and faintly flushed cheeks. He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "What are you thinking?"
If this guy was imagining anything inappropriate, Heshù swore he'd cripple him right here, system favor be damned!
A man could be killed, but not humiliated!
"Ah! N-nothing!" Shisui shook his head frantically.
Why did Heshù suddenly feel… dangerous?
"Really?" Heshù leaned in close, peering intently at Shisui's face before breaking into a sweet smile.
The sense of danger evaporated instantly for Shisui. He nodded. "Really. Wasn't thinking anything."
A short while later, they stopped in front of a gate.
Heshù immediately forgot the earlier incident.
He stared dumbly at the behemoth before him, turning his head stiffly. "This… is Juri's house?"
Shisui nodded.
Heshù turned his head back, imprinting the sprawling mansion onto his retinas.
He had a friend this rich?
A rich second-generation heir was right beside him all along?
The estate was a traditional Japanese-style compound. They followed a maid in a blue kimono down a covered walkway, past a rock garden and a small stream, arriving at an open courtyard.
"Young Master is waiting inside," the maid said with a respectful bow.
Heshù shook his head in awe. Now this was what he called a production! A proper, wealthy household!
"Heshù! Shisui!"
Uchiha Juri sat on tatami mats. A long, low table stretched before him, laden with exquisite tea and pastries.
Heshù and Shisui sat opposite him.
"Have you two eaten breakfast?" Juri asked, sipping his roasted tea.
"We have!" Heshù nodded.
Shisui gave the same answer.
"Mind having a little more then?" Juri picked up a sakura mochi. "I got up early for training. Just starting my late breakfast now."
His hair was still damp, tiny droplets clinging to the ends.
Huh. The guy was actually diligent. Heshù figured this Uchiha Juri would have been a grind-set king in his previous life. The rich-kid-who-still-outworks-you type.
"No thanks. I don't like sweets," Shisui declined politely. Watching Juri pop mochi one after another made his teeth ache.
Heshù simply wasn't hungry and shook his head as well.
"Ah. Alright then!" Juri tossed down the last two mochi, finished his tea, and sprang to his feet, bursting with energy. "Let's go! Time to train!"
…
Behind Juri's estate lay a dense forest.
"This is Uchiha clan land," Juri explained as they walked. "Anyone in the clan can train here."
Heshù recognized the place. In the anime, this was the secret meeting spot for Shisui and Itachi.
"Alright! Let's warm up with some shuriken practice!" Juri stretched, then produced several shuriken between his fingers.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Every shuriken thudded into the bullseye.
Next was Shisui.
He didn't even seem to aim.
The result, of course, was another perfect score.
Three minutes later, both sets of eyes turned to Heshù.
Heshù: "…"
Why were they practicing shuriken of all things?
Ahem.
Heshù stepped forward, pulling his own shuriken from his pouch.
The next second, the shuriken flew in every direction, sticking into the target at odd, pathetic angles.
Heshù's face contorted involuntarily.
Why could he fire ice blades with pinpoint accuracy, but could never get these damned shuriken to hit the center?
"Uh," Juri blinked.
Shisui's expression was complex. After all these days without practice, Heshù had made zero progress.
A faint rustle reached Heshù's ears. He raised a brow, glancing toward the sound.
"What is it?" Shisui followed his gaze but saw only a thick tree.
Heshù moved toward it, Shisui and Juri close behind.
"Got you." Heshù landed lightly, placing a hand on the small figure's shoulder.
"Huh?"
Heshù's eyes widened in surprise.
The kid had soft, messy hair and large, dark eyes. Two faint tear-troughs marked the skin beneath them.
Uchiha Itachi!
Heshù immediately looked at Shisui.
The destined best friend had arrived.
Juri frowned. "Isn't that the clan head's kid?" He'd seen Itachi at a clan gathering before.
Heshù released his grip, but couldn't resist reaching out to pinch the soft, chubby cheek of the young Uchiha.
"Hey there, kid. What are you doing here?"
[Ding! Target: Uchiha Itachi. Favorability -10!]
(╬ಠ益ಠ)!
Heshù felt a vein throb on his forehead. Seriously? This kid was that stingy? All he did was pinch his cheek! What was the big deal?
He reluctantly withdrew his hand.
"Training," Itachi said quietly, surrounded by the three older boys like a lone lamb among wolves. Or perhaps, a lone wolf among lambs.
"You're training at this age?" Uchiha Juri, the king of the grind, felt a sudden spike of competitive anxiety.
Itachi nodded.
Shisui smiled warmly. "Would you like to train with us?"
Itachi stared at Shisui for a moment, hesitated, then gave a slow nod.
Destined besties, indeed. Heshù felt a wave of speechless despair.
Shisui took care of the four-year-old Itachi. Heshù and Juri walked behind them, one expressionless, the other radiating competitive tension.
"You want to practice shuriken too?" Shisui noticed the small pouch at Itachi's hip.
Itachi nodded.
"Give it a try," Shisui encouraged.
"System, can you check Shisui's favorability toward Itachi?" Heshù asked silently.
"Affirmative."
[Current favorability of Uchiha Shisui toward Uchiha Itachi: 69.]
Pfft!
Heshù felt like he was internally coughing up blood. He'd fought tooth and nail to get Shisui's favorability to sixty. Itachi shows up once, and it's nearly seventy? He genuinely felt sorry for himself.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
While Heshù was having his internal meltdown, Itachi had already thrown his shuriken.
One minute later.
The gazes of Shisui, Juri, and Itachi all settled on Heshù again.
Pfft!
More internal bleeding. Why were they all looking at him after Itachi nailed all bullseyes?
Nope. He couldn't stay in the Uchiha district any longer. Any more of this, and he'd die of excessive blood loss.
"Heshù, it's okay. Don't stress," Uchiha Juri walked over and patted Heshù's shoulder comfortingly.
"Thanks," Heshù forced a smile.
That "comfort" just made him want to bleed out even more.
Meanwhile, Shisui began earnestly correcting Heshù's shuriken form. The things seemed fundamentally incompatible with Heshù's existence. They flew crooked, missed entirely, veered off course. In a whole hour, not a single one hit dead center.
He almost skewered Itachi's head once.
And Itachi's favorability successfully dropped from -10 to -20.
What a wonderfully productive hour.
Heshù smiled serenely.
"Maybe… we should move on to ninjutsu?" Juri suggested, unable to watch any longer.
Heshù, who had suffered for an hour, readily agreed.
Itachi looked at Heshù, a faint trace of confusion in his eyes.
Heshù's instincts screamed not to engage, or he might literally explode.
But someone had to ask.
Like Uchiha Juri.
"Itachi, is something wrong?" Juri asked, noticing the look.
Itachi shook his head, his face a mask of innocent curiosity. "No. I was just wondering… why something as simple as shuriken would be difficult for someone to learn?"
Shisui froze. A chill shot up his spine.
He turned. Heshù was smiling sweetly. A visible, white mist was beginning to curl from his skin.
Uchiha Shisui: (⊙ˍ⊙)!
"What an excellent question," Heshù said, his voice sugary. There are so many characters in Naruto. Surely I don't HAVE to target Itachi?
"Negative. Uchiha Itachi is a mandatory system target," the system stated coldly.
"…" Heshù swallowed a mouthful of bitter resentment.
"H-Heshù, don't be mad! You're amazing at other things!" Juri tried to soothe him. "It's fine if you can't do shuriken! I've never heard my father talk about any great ninja who was killed by a shuriken!"
"Hmm?" Shisui felt this logic was flawed, but also… strangely compelling.
Heshù felt instantly cured.
"You're right," he agreed. Shuriken were like the Great Fireball Technique. No one ever died from them.
"Itachi, you shouldn't say things like that. It's impolite," Shisui said, shaking his head at Itachi's blunt observation.
Itachi looked at Heshù, then bowed his head slightly. "I apologize." He genuinely hadn't known his words would cause distress. He was simply confused.
[Ding! Target: Uchiha Itachi. Favorability -15!]
Heh.
Heshù inwardly sneered. He swore then and there. He would mold Uchiha Itachi into a proper, well-adjusted child. He would embed the core socialist values deep into this kid's psyche, let them take root and guide his growth.
Since both Shisui and Juri used Fire Style, their ninjutsu practice nearly set the forest on fire. Under the highly safety-conscious Heshù's organization, the two arsonists-in-training were forced to cease their dangerous activities.
"How about we just have a free-for-all spar?" Juri suggested, eyeing Shisui and Heshù and cracking his knuckles.
What kind of battle maniac was Uchiha Juri? Heshù wondered.
Shisui looked at Heshù, a hopeful smile on his face.
"Fine," Heshù nodded.
Time to show them what a cheater's dimensional suppression felt like.
The three formed a triangle again. Tension crackled in the air.
Heshù remained unmoved. The atmosphere was purely generated by Shisui and Juri's own competitive spirit.
A grunt. Their figures blurred, colliding in the center.
Perhaps due to some unspoken agreement, neither attacked Heshù first, each waiting for the other to make the move.
Heshù was happy to watch.
Shisui and Juri exchanged blows, breaking apart after each clash, their eyes darting warily toward Heshù, as if expecting a surprise attack.
Heshù understood their caution. But they were overthinking it.
A direct, overwhelming defeat was far more satisfying anyway.
After a series of probing exchanges, Shisui and Juri retreated to their original positions, the triangle clear once more.
They exchanged a look, then simultaneously focused on Heshù.
Since neither wanted to attack him alone… they'd do it together.
Their figures shot forward like lightning. One attacked from the front, the other moved to intercept Heshù's likely escape route from behind.
Heshù sidestepped to the left. His hands shot out, catching both their attacking wrists mid-strike.
Their attacks not only missed but left them trapped.
Shisui flipped backward, breaking Heshù's grip and putting distance between them.
Juri reacted differently. He twisted in the air, his leg snapping out with powerful force toward Heshù's arm.
His foot connected—with an invisible film. Heshù was unharmed.
Juri's eyes widened in shock. That split-second distraction was all Heshù needed. His foot shot up, catching Juri square in the chest.
Juri flipped through the air, landing awkwardly and stumbling back several steps.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Shisui's voice came from behind.
A massive fireball tore through the air with a hiss and roar, expanding rapidly in Heshù's vision. Flames engulfed him.
Itachi, watching from a distance, stared wide-eyed. Wouldn't that kill him?
Shisui frowned too. What was going on? Why wasn't Heshù using his Ice Style?
Firelight danced in the eyes of Shisui and Juri.
The next instant, a flash of silver shot through the heart of the flames, appearing before Shisui faster than thought.
Heshù's fist drove toward Shisui's chest with terrifying force.
To Heshù's surprise, Shisui reacted. His eyes widened, and he threw himself into a desperate, graceless backward roll. Heshù's fist whistled through empty air.
Shisui came up covered in dirt and leaves, utterly disheveled.
Heshù moved again. A silver blur. He was in front of Shisui in the blink of an eye.
To avoid bullying children, aside from the hospital incident, Heshù had never used teleportation. But the sheer speed granted by the Limitless was still beyond their ability to track.
This time, Shisui couldn't dodge.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Technique!"
A scorching wind, carrying the roar of a fiery serpent, shot toward Heshù's back.
Heshù hadn't expected Juri to know this one. The Dragon Flame was another C-rank Fire Style technique. In the anime, Sasuke had used it during the Chunin Exams. Juri had already mastered it?
Heshù raised a hand. A vortex of cold air swirled in his palm. Bone-chilling frost erupted.
The flames froze instantly, crystallizing into red-tinted ice. The ice spread like lightning, racing across the ground toward Juri.
Juri yelped, leaping back.
Too slow. The frost touched his toe. A numbing sensation shot up his leg.
In the span of a breath, Juri was encased in a flawless block of ice, standing statue-still in the middle of the forest.
In that same moment, Shisui, having recovered, focused with intense seriousness.
Shuriken flew.
Clang! Clang!
Ice knives intercepted and knocked them all aside.
Simultaneously, Shisui's figure vanished and reappeared right in front of Heshù.
The cold gleam of a short sword reflected his calm eyes.
Heshù's lips twitched.
Oh, really?
Bringing a blade to a fistfight? Playing for real now?
The blade stopped a hair's breadth from Heshù's chest. No matter how much strength Shisui poured into it, it couldn't touch Heshù's clothes.
Heshù reached out and patted Shisui's shoulder.
"Good effort."
And rewarded him with his very own ice sculpture.
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