章 75: Chapter 75 - Shisui
Head reeling, Mikoto's eyes widened as she involuntarily uttered, "Huh?"
Outside, the young Anbu member widened his eyes behind his mask. He had no idea how this person he had been ordered to observe had discovered him despite how well he hid himself.
Since the young Anbu member did not move from his hiding place, Jin inquired, "Are you really not interested in joining this fun conversation?"
"I am on duty."
The voice came directly from Jin's left.
'Wow. I knew he was fast, but this is excessive.'
Not showing much surprise on his face after the youth suddenly appeared inside the food stall, Jin patted the empty seat to his left and said, "Come on. Join us. You were obviously sent to tail me, anyway, so may as well do it from here."
"..."
The young man, his face still veiled by his crow mask, frowned. His hands clenched together as though struggling internally about something.
"Just sit," Jin said. "You already showed yourself, so I imagine you have some interest in what I'm saying even though you are supposed to tail me."
On the side, Mikoto narrowed her eyes at Jin. She almost got up to leave after the previous shift in conversation, but as soon as the young genius from her clan popped out from nowhere, she hesitated. The fact that Jin could discover Uchiha Shisui tailing him without visible effort gave her the impression that this young man might be more formidable than his earlier statement about his abilities suggested. Whether Jin sought to undermine her clan or support them, she decided it would be in her best interest to hear what he had to say for now.
At the same time, after a brief internal conflict, Shisui sighed and sat on the stool next to Jin.
"I'm Jin, by the way. Nice to make your acquaintance, Uchiha Shisui."
"...Please say what you have to say."
"Fair enough. To start, I'll tell you that I know a lot about the history of this world as well as the current internal situation of Konoha. Originally, I planned to ignore it for the most part and mind my own business, but talking with Mikoto here changed my mind."
"Me?" Mikoto pondered aloud.
"Yes. I was honestly surprised by your kind and gentle demeanor, and it made me a little unwilling to see you and your clan follow in the footsteps of your forefather in a self-destructive path."
Both Shisui and Mikoto stared daggers at Jin, causing him to smile wryly. Under their intense scrutiny, he explained, "In the history of this world, there was a Sage of Six Paths who had two sons. One inherited the traits of their father's powerful body and became the ancestor of the Senju, whereas the other inherited their father's powerful eyes and became the ancestor of the Uchiha. A few other clans descend from them as well, such as the Uzumaki and Hyuuga, but that is besides the point."
"Where did you hear of this?" Mikoto coldly asked.
Jin lowered his gaze and saw a kunai pointed at his abdomen.
"From watching the history of this world unfold from the sidelines."
On the left, Shisui folded his hands together on the countertop and quietly listened.
Behind the counter, Teuchi looked over, stopped washing dishes, and seconds later started prepping ingredients for another round of Ramen.
On Jin's right, Mikoto frowned. The kunai in her hand remained steady.
"So, with that out of the way," Jin started. His words briefly trailed off, and he took a moment to sip on the Ramen broth in front of him before continuing, "From what I see, it will not be long before the Uchiha follow in the footsteps of the Senju and Uzumaki should they fail to take a step back and see everything that is happening."
"A blind focus on slights against us due to the Curse of Hatred…" Shisui mumbled, half to himself.
Mikoto turned slightly widened eyes to her oldest son's friend.
"Yes, the Curse of Hatred, something your clan inherited from your ancestor after he single mindedly fought against his brother for most of their lives. If somebody can overcome it, like you or Kagami Uchiha, who knows what heights you could reach?"
Mikoto stared at Shisui.
Doing his best to endure the questioning gaze of his friend's mother, Shisui asked, "Did you know our ancestor?"
"From a distant perspective. I never met him in person."
"How old are you?" Mikoto asked, her brows furrowed.
In answer, Jin simply smiled and sipped some more Ramen broth.
"So, what I'm getting at is that I don't wish to see your clan perish like the Senju or Uzumaki have. Since both of you are still here, I assume it means you both have at least an inkling of an idea that I am not wrong in my assumption that your clan may face dire times in the near future if nothing changes.
The kunai in Mikoto's hand quivered for a second or two before steadying again. In contrast, Shisui turned his head to look at the woman for the first time since he entered Ichiraku's Ramen stand.
"Mikoto-sama, do you also… nevermind."
"That was the right decision. Do not ask me. I am the patriarch's wife and will follow him to the grave if need be."
"Even at the cost of your children's happiness?" Jin asked in a far more serious tone.
"You," Mikoto retorted angrily. Her grip on the kunai tightened until her knuckles. "What do you want from me?!"
"I just don't want to see you die a pointless death leaving your sons to kill each other."
Standing and slamming her hands on the counter, "They would never do that!"
"I hope they never do," Jin replied, calmly staring back at the three tomoe Sharingan glaring down at him. "And the best way to prevent that is for you to live a long life and guide them with the same kindness you showed before in regard to your late friend."
Mikoto's next words caught in her throat. The fact that Jin met her gaze without concern even with her Sharingan activated surprised her. The two stared at each other for a few moments until she closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and sat back down. Her Sharingan spun and slowly dissipated back into black irises.
"Do you have some intentions on the Uchiha, Jin-san?" Shisui asked.
"Depends what you mean by intentions. Do you believe in the Will of Fire?"
"Yes."
Shisui's answer drew a cautionary gaze from Mikoto, but he was too involved in the conversation to care right now.
"What do you think the Will of Fire is?"
"For me… it is to be an Uchiha who sacrifices from the shadows."
"I see. I, myself, also believe there is such a thing as the Will of Fire that has persisted in this world for a long time. However, there are people in this world who use that as a shield to manipulate others into committing evil acts or to explain away their own evil deeds. Those deeds hide in the shadows. Do you really think a Will of Fire that hides in the shadows can illuminate such things?"
"..."
"I believe you have the makings of not only a respectable Uchiha, but just a respectable person in general. I would encourage you to pursue what you have seen to be right, but also consider if you are still missing out on the whole picture when considering your idea of the Will of Fire."
"Did you know me before this?"
"I have watched from a distance, if that gives you an answer."
"I see."
"Mikoto," Jin said, turning his attention to the woman.
In response, Mikoto simply met his gaze.
"Sorry that this conversation turned strange, but I hope you and your kids can be happy in the future and that the loneliness I saw in you today can become a thing of the past."
Suddenly, Teuchi placed three more bowls of Ramen down in front of them. He abashedly rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but these are for you three. I don't know much about these complicated things, but hopefully some Ramen can raise your spirits a little. Haha."
Pulling her gaze away from Jin's eyes, Mikoto looked down at the fresh bowl of Ramen in front of her. The muddled reflection of her face in the broth looked back at her. As the warm steam rising from it brushed against her face, she tried smiling. It almost looked uncomfortable.
"How much am I paying for this, by the way," Jin asked in a concerned tone after seeing the new bowls.
"Consider it a freebie for letting me hear an interesting story," Teuchi responded while waving his hand in a dismissive manner and walking to the back to wash more dishes.
"At this rate, you're going to go out of business, you old geezer," Jin said in jest.
"Aren't you one to talk?" The middle-aged man retorted in a similarly joking tone.
Jin shook his head and sighed before digging into his second bowl.
"I know I said I was trying to eat for both my friend and I, but this is too much," Mikoto mumbled.
"Pft~!"
Once again, the woman caught Jin off guard with straight-laced humor.
Meanwhile, Shisui stared at the bowl of Ramen and wondered how much trouble he would get in for eating a meal while on duty.
"Mom? You're here again?"
"Hm?"
Mikoto turned her head to see a child leading a toddler who looked just like him by the hand. Both looked strikingly like Mikoto with black hair that had a bluish tint to it and pure black eyes. The younger one, who was sucking on his thumb, particularly stood out with his duck-butt style hair.
Eyebrows raised slightly, Mikoto got up from her stool, knelt down in front of the boys, and rested her hands on their heads. A motherly smile naturally made its way onto her face as she asked, "Itachi? What are you doing out and about with your brother? Wasn't your father watching you?"
"Mama!" Toddler Sasuke exclaimed, happily reaching out to her with a spit-covered hand. "Who dat?"
"This is Mister Jin. Say hello."
"Hewwo misser Jwin!"
Smiling, Jin responded with a simple, "Hello, there."
At the same time, Itachi greeted Jin with a subtle nod before looking back at his mom and answering, "Dad left to do something, so I came out to buy candy for Sasuke."
Not even a second later, a hand karate chopped the young Itachi on the head, but only hard enough to mess up his hair a little.
"Don't be eating that junk. Just sit here and take this Ramen instead. Your mother is already full, so you can have it."
Eyes sparkling despite his facial expression not changing at all, the young Itachi nodded. He happily accepted the bowl from Mikoto and then looked over at the few remaining seats.
"Eh? Shisui nii-san? You're here, too?"
"I'm not here. I'm on duty. You can't see me."
"Liar."
The elementary school-aged Itachi trotted over, set down the Ramen bowl, and hopped up onto the stool next to Shisui. At the same time, Mikoto lifted the toddler Sasuke into her arms. When she turned around to sit back down, she saw Jin staring at her with a gentle smile.
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just nice to see such a natural smile on your face like that."
Mikoto stood there for a moment without saying anything. Unbeknownst to Jin, she was trying to calm her heart that sped up way too much for her own liking.
On Jin's left, Itachi dropped his chopsticks in his Ramen and whipped his head toward them. His eyes widened into saucers.
"Father might be in trouble…" He mumbled under his breath.
Two fingers knocked Itachi's forehead the next moment.
"Don't say such things, even if it might be true," Shisui chided in a whispered tone. "Also, come train with me later. We've got a lot to talk about."
"Okay."
While the two friends discussed future training plans on the side, Jin pushed his Ramen bowl over to Mikoto after seeing Sasuke staring at and drooling.
"Can't bear to see that. May as well give him some, too."
"It's fine. I'll just ask Mister Teuchi for more."
"Just take it. Consider it an apology for getting on your nerves a minute ago."
Seeing Jin push the bowl over without accepting no for an answer, Mikoto's face took on a semi-perplexed expression. Unfortunately, her toddler greedily reached out for the Ramen bowl, which made her sigh reluctantly.
"Dankyu, mister. Yummy. Mama, help, eat."
Mikoto sighed, but ultimately took the chopsticks, blew on the noodles, and carefully fed the boy one or two noodles at a time. She couldn't erase the subtle smile from her face even if she tried.
"Thank you, Jin. You seem to be a kind person yourself."
"Thanks, I guess."
"Albeit a nosy one."
"..."
Smiling wryly, Jin didn't bother retorting. At the very least, the subtle smile on the woman's face told him that she did not completely mean it.
In the back, Teuchi glanced at the strange grouping of customers and chuckled to himself. To him, it looked like a happy family enjoying a meal in his establishment. A mother feeding her child, a young father trying to clean up after the toddler, and two brothers discussing something while eating their own food. The only weird part was the oldest kid eating Ramen without removing his crow mask.
"Would be nice if they could be like that," He mumbled to himself while imagining such a scene in his head. "Maybe I should spend more time with my daughter."
While Shisui and Itachi whispered to each other in between bites, Sasuke spilled broth out of his mouth trying to eat too quickly. The broth splashed all over Mikoto's jacket. Her eye twitched, but she otherwise refrained from reacting. She then looked at Jin for a moment.
"Do you want me to hold him or something?"
"Would you mind?"
"No problem."
Mikoto furrowed her brows as though thinking about something, but then lifted the boy from her lap and handed him over while asking, "Are you sure?"
"I had quite a few nieces and nephews in the past, so I'm used to kids."
"...I see."
The moment Jin set the toddler Sasuke on his thigh, the boy looked up at him with a curious gaze. Then, the kid placed a hand on Jin's cheek, splattering ramen broth on it in the process.
In response, Jin chuckled. He then controlled the subtle defensive barrier he kept active to encircle the broth left behind on his cheek to encircle the mess and pull it away from his face. He then floated the translucent barrier ball in front of the kid. Immediately, Sasuke's little eyes lit up as though he found a new toy.
"Wow! How you do dat?!"
The others all looked at the small barrier which now held a small amount of dirty ramen broth. Mikoto paused wiping off her Uchiha jacket and subtly observed what she assumed to be some form of Kekkei Genkai. Shisui and Itachi also glanced at it in a curious manner.
"I thought you said you were a swordsman," Mikoto offhandedly commented.
"I am one, but who would reveal all of their secrets to a stranger?"
"So you have more secrets."
"Plenty. Maybe you can figure them out if you try."
"...Nevermind."
Jin smiled and picked up some noodles with the chopsticks to give to the toddler sitting on his lap. He repeated the process of feeding the kid and distracting him with the barrier ball until Mikoto took him back.
Once the kids and Shisui finished eating to some extent, Jin found a moment to excuse himself.
"I know our earlier conversation was a little strange and unexpected, but I do wish you the best, Mikoto. You as well, Shisui," Jin said, briefly pausing when Shisui also stood up abruptly. "Although, I suppose you're going to keep following me around for a bit."
Still wearing his crow mask, Shisui nodded.
"Do you… have somewhere to stay, Jin?" Mikoto asked with a strange and unreadable expression on her face.
"I'll be staying at an inn nearby, most likely."
"We do have a guest house attached to our home if you need a place to stay temporarily."
"Although I would love to accept the offer, it is probably best if I don't, at least for now."
Mikoto frowned, but then nodded in an understanding manner after thinking about it.
"Perhaps we will run into each other again here," Jin said. "I plan to make this my go-to place for food until I start traveling again."
"In that case, take care," Mikoto said, bowing her head slightly in farewell. She then gestured for son's to wave goodbye and said, "Say goodbye to Mister Jin."
"Bai-bai!" Sasuke said with a messy grin covered in ramen broth.
In contrast, Itachi silently waved goodbye.
"See you around. Stay happy," Jin said before turning around and walking back toward the main street. Halfway there, he asked, "Are you going to walk with me or follow from a distance?"
"Distance," Shisui responded before flickering over to a nearby roof.
"Fair enough."
Back at the ramen shop, Mikoto watched Jin and Shisui leave for a few seconds. Then, she looked at Itachi and asked, "What was your father doing?"
"A meeting with the elders."
"I see. We are going home. I need to discuss something with him."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I thought I would be done with this scene by now, but then the words kept flowing, and it ended up like this. Anyway, since some people are curious (I thought was obvious), Jin felt like trying to change the fate of the Uchiha clan to some extent since he happened to end up in this part of the timeline. Complete coincidence, I tells ya. Nothing to do with the milf, I tells ya.
Anyway, we'll be done with the Naruto world after a couple more chapters and move on to some more Bleach world stuff before the first official chat group mission in a new world! Yay!
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