"Is that all?!" Obito's outward calm was barely containing his inner explosion. He was going on strike!
Shisui pondered for a moment, then leaned in and whispered, "Actually, I had a mission in the village not too long ago."
"In the village? A mission?"
Obito exclaimed, "Shisui, you're Phantom God?!" He was aware of the Eternal Organization's surprise attack on Konoha to rescue Orochimaru, but he hadn't known Shisui was involved, let alone a key figure.
Shisui nodded shyly and said, "Brother Obito, what's your codename? Did Teacher Lin Yu not give you an embarrassing codename?"
"That..."
Obito stammered for a long time and then said sternly to Shisui, "Shisui, you must hide your identity. Your codename cannot be revealed lightly. I'll pretend I didn't hear what you just said."
Shisui nodded, looking somewhat troubled. "Indeed. Someone in the clan has already started to suspect me."
"Oh?"
Obito asked curiously, "Did you accidentally expose something that day?"
Shisui shook his head. "After all, I didn't appear back then, which is a major point of suspicion. Although the Hokage has already helped me explain, our Uchiha clan's relationship with the village isn't good, and they won't easily believe the Hokage's words."
Obito chuckled, "Do you need my help?" All it took was another Mangekyo Sharingan, and some acting. He, Obito, was good at that!
"No need. Brother Obito, you're not good at genjutsu, so you'd be discovered."
Obito's expression stiffened. Was he being looked down upon?
Shisui changed the subject. "Let's not talk about this. Brother Obito, you still haven't told me your codename!"
Obito: "..."
Shisui, you've changed! You never used to be so inquisitive!
...
Meanwhile, Itachi leaped through the forest, holding Sasuke, and asked softly, "Does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore!"
Sasuke looked at the bandaged wound on his palm, his eyes filled with a smile. His brother's favorite person was indeed him!
Itachi nodded, then said to Inuzuka Tsume beside him, "Senior Inuzuka, could you please look after Sasuke? I'm a bit worried about Brother Shisui."
"Ah? Yes, yes."
Inuzuka Tsume was still contemplating the grudge between Uchiha Shisui and that masked man. Should she report their conversation to the Hokage?
Obito? Wasn't that Uchiha Obito who died in the Third Great Ninja War? Inuzuka Tsume had a vague recollection, as it was a name etched on the Monument of Heroes.
Compared to Inuzuka Tsume's contemplation and Naruto's silly grin, Sasuke was completely bewildered, and then it was like a bolt from the blue.
No!!!
Snowflakes fluttered down, the north wind howled~
Even after Itachi left, Sasuke remained dazed, his heart aching!
Brother, you scumbag! I will never forgive you!
Sasuke felt wronged in his heart, holding back the tears that threatened to spill. He was the one who needed comfort the most right now, yet his brother ran off to care about that Uchiha Shisui! How detestable!
Naruto saw his friend's dejected look and jogged over, saying, "Don't cry. It's just a little bleeding from your hand; it'll be fine soon!"
"What do you know!"
Sasuke's eyes turned red. "You don't understand anything!"
Naruto was confused. He didn't understand why his friend was so angry with him. He scratched his head and then saw Sasuke staring in the direction Itachi had left. Suddenly, he understood!
"Tch! Such childish tantrums. I'm done with you!"
Naruto spat a few times onto his hands, his eyes filled with fighting spirit. "Here I come, Sasuke!"
Sasuke was still lamenting his declining status in his brother's heart when he suddenly felt a pair of burning little hands hug him around his waist.
Sasuke turned his head, asking confusedly, "Idiot, what are you doing?"
"Hugging you!"
Naruto's face turned red as he lifted Sasuke, straining. "Didn't you want someone to hug you! Don't worry, your brother isn't here, but I can hug you!"
Sasuke caught sight of Inuzuka Tsume, who was staring at them with wide, shocked eyes. His cool little face suddenly flushed, and he yelled,
"Get lost!!!"
Inuzuka Tsume put a hand to her forehead and sighed: Kids these days are so open! Oh no! Kids these days have such open minds!
...
Konoha Village.
A shocking piece of news reached Minato Namikaze: his son, Naruto Uzumaki, was missing!
*Bang!*
"How could Naruto go missing! What in the world is going on?!" First the Cloud Ninjas attacked the Hyuga clan, then they kidnapped Uchiha Sasuke, and now the Fourth Hokage's son is missing. What kind of night is this?! Is it the end of the world tomorrow?!
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, according to investigations, Uzumaki Naruto returned home around dusk, and then immediately left for the Uchiha compound, after which his whereabouts became unknown."
"What do you mean 'whereabouts became unknown'? Did no one in the Uchiha clan see Naruto?"
The ANBU ninja continued, "We've searched the entire Uchiha compound and found no trace of Uchiha Sasuke or Uzumaki Naruto. Based on our deduction, they were likely kidnapped by the Cloud Ninjas."
*Bang!*
Another punch hit the desk. Even the incredibly good-tempered Minato Namikaze was enraged to hear his son had been kidnapped. Naruto was only three years old, with no combat power, just a bit of stamina. How could Minato not worry? At home, they were a father and son who relied on each other; if Naruto was gone, wouldn't he be the only one left to suffer at home!
"Are there any surviving Cloud Ninjas?" Minato's voice was low.
"We haven't found any yet."
"Keep searching! You must find Naruto and Sasuke!"
The Hokage's office fell silent again. Minato stared at the alliance agreement on his desk for a long time. After a while, with a tearing sound.
To hell with the alliance! Konoha doesn't need it!
...
Sigh!
At Ichiraku Ramen, Lin Yu sat alone, drinking heavily, his mood incredibly somber. He had originally planned to go home and play mahjong all night with Kushina to relieve his mental fatigue, but Kushina, refusing to play fair, had held Hinata tight and refused to let go. That was cheating! What else could Lin Yu do but come out for a stroll and also act as a backup, ready to salvage the situation if anything unexpected happened. However, he was confident in Obito's actions. He was just worried that if Itachi saw his younger brother in trouble, he might fly into a rage and attack the Cloud Village. With Itachi's rationality, he probably wouldn't do something like that, after all, Uchiha Itachi loved the village and wouldn't cause trouble for it. But the future S-class rogue ninja, Akatsuki member, codenamed Vermillion Bird, Uchiha Itachi, might be a different story!
Teuchi glared at Lin Yu with a sullen expression. This Uzumaki Lin Yu actually came to his ramen shop to drink! How outrageous! What was even more outrageous was that he didn't even order a bowl of ramen! He wouldn't even eat the free food?! The most outrageous thing was that he didn't bring him a bottle of sake! This truly upset Otsutsuki Ichiraku's mood. This world should be plunged into infinite ramen reads, allowing the world to feel the richness of the broth and ingredients!