Having learned everything he needed to know, Jie Uchiha offered a few casual words of encouragement and sent Itachi on his way. As for Shisui Uchiha, Jie didn't strictly forbid Itachi from contacting him.
Itachi had already formed his own worldview; a few words from Shisui wouldn't be enough to shake it. In fact, under Shisui's influence, Itachi might even engage in deeper contemplation. Using Shisui—and Hiruzen Sarutobi behind him—to help cultivate an excellent leader for the Uchiha clan was a brilliant trade-off. Jie knew exactly how to play this hand without a second thought.
Meanwhile, having received Jie's praise, Itachi was filled with newfound motivation. He made up his mind to grow stronger so he could closely follow in his older brother's footsteps.
On the first day of his vacation, Jie resolved a major problem for the Uchiha clan. In a fantastic mood, he simply took Izumi Uchiha and little Sasuke out to play in Konoha. It had to be said, three years had passed, and Izumi had blossomed from a naive little girl into a beautiful young woman. Even at her age, she exuded a unique charm that made Jie's heart skip a beat.
Between eating dango, touring the Hokage Monument, and sharing laughs, three days quickly slipped by. Unlike Jie, who had already graduated, Izumi still had to attend the Ninja Academy. After keeping him company for those three days, she returned to her classes. Left with only little Sasuke, Jie had to find creative ways to kill time around the Hidden Leaf Village.
He was only one step away from awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, so Jie wanted to try a few more experiments with his little brother. With a bit of luck, his system might just tally up enough points before his vacation ended.
His attempts weren't entirely fruitless. After three days of playing around, he finally triggered a system settlement.
[Ding! Reward Received: 1% Indra's Reincarnation Chakra]
Although there was still a 10% gap, it proved his method was viable, leaving Jie thoroughly excited. While 10% sounded like a lot—and under normal circumstances, it would take at least a year or two—who could predict the system? Perhaps an unexpected opportunity would suddenly fill the remaining void. With his mind made up, Jie dragged Sasuke all over the village every single day.
Hard work paid off, though Jie never expected the so-called opportunity to arrive so quickly.
He had been wandering the village with Sasuke all morning. Right around noon, as Jie was planning to head home, Sasuke looked up at him. "Brother, let's get ramen for lunch! I heard a new shop opened in the village called Ichiraku Ramen, and it's supposed to be really good."
"Ichiraku Ramen?" Jie blanked for a moment. 'Could it be the same Ichiraku Ramen run by the man countless people jokingly call Teuchi Otsutsuki?' The thought instantly piqued his interest. This was the perfect chance to see if the owner really was the legendary hidden powerhouse. Besides, it was about that time of day, and a bowl of hot ramen would be a nice change of pace.
Making his decision, Jie let little Sasuke lead the way while he followed slowly behind. After walking for a while, just a few minutes away from the restaurant, the harsh laughter of several children suddenly echoed from a nearby alley.
"Hahaha, are you the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan? Come on, show us your Byakugan!"
"You can't do it? You're actually just a white-eyed monster, aren't you!"
"Those eyes of yours make me sick to my stomach! You white-eyed freak!"
"Hahaha!"
Immediately following the laughter, the faint, pitiful sound of a little girl crying drifted out of the alley.
'Byakugan? A girl from the Hyuga clan?' Jie pondered. 'Could this be the scene of Naruto and Hinata's first meeting? But shouldn't that have happened in winter? Or perhaps Hinata was bullied constantly, and the time Naruto saved her was just the one that left the deepest impression?'
Although the Hyuga clan had always sought to compete with the Uchiha for the title of Konoha's number one clan, relations between the two weren't exactly harmonious. Still, since he had stumbled upon it, he might as well help out. After all, the political struggles between ninja clans had nothing to do with children who weren't even shinobi yet.
Just as Jie made up his mind to step in, someone beat him to the punch.
"Stop it! What are you guys doing?!"
"A bunch of you bullying one little girl? Have you no shame?!"
'Sasuke's voice?' Jie paused in surprise. He suddenly realized that Sasuke, who had been walking right in front of him, had completely vanished.
"Hey, who are you supposed to be?!"
"Do you have a death wish, sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?!"
Exposed and embarrassed at being called out, the bullies roared in defensive anger.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha!" little Sasuke declared firmly, his tone brimming with absolute pride. "The future Hokage's little brother!"
Jie's mouth twitched involuntarily, his eyes filled with helplessness. 'Little brother, you sure know how to run your mouth. If word of this gets out, who knows what Hiruzen Sarutobi will think.'
Upto 40 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Vristikk