章 31: Could be…?!

¿Who would have expected that this boy with a brother complex would kill his entire family in five years? The reason: Fugaku did a great job of destroying his eldest son's psyche by exposing him to the horrors of war at an impressionable age, giving Sarutobi Hiruzen the perfect opportunity to brainwash him with his twisted Will of Fire. Itachi doesn't need the Will of Fire; what he needs is a qualified psychologist! Although it seems that the Uchiha clan holds itself in too high regard to accept that they need help from someone to fix their heads, so things ended up as they did. And I suppose visiting a doctor to treat his illness before it advanced too far would also be wise.

"Itachi," Mikoto calmed down when she saw that it was her son and not an intruder. Her motherly love kicked in, and she selectively forgot that her son was actually eavesdropping on the conversation. "Well, bring Sasuke here," she opened her arms to take her second son.

"I'll wait outside while you feed the baby," it would be impolite to watch a mother breastfeeding, and I'm pretty sure Itachi is secretly observing me, intrigued by the huge guest his mother brought home.

"Thank you," Mikoto thanked me. "Itachi, keep Mr. Enel company while I tend to Sasuke, please."

"Yes, Mother."

Wow, Itachi definitely has an issue, or maybe he has received strict upbringing from his father. Someone his age should call Mikoto "mom," not "mother."

I left the room and walked a bit away, finding a comfortable spot in the expensive-looking garden to sit while Itachi followed me and sat silently beside me without hiding his puzzled gaze.

He has questions, but it seems he's struggling to contain his curiosity with his etiquette.

"Apple?" I offered a piece to the iconic character, despite not approving of the Uchiha Massacre.

Itachi is upset, but he's not foolish. He could have limited himself to killing the members of the rebellion faction; he could have taken several children to safe places to prevent the complete extinction of the clan, and he could have done a hundred different things. But instead, he exterminated the entire clan, even though he knew they were being manipulated by the village, and he rationalized his behavior, sparing his little brother.

He can kill his father and mother but not his brother? It doesn't make sense.

"Thank you," Itachi took the apple and nodded, examining the fruit. I'm not sure if I should feel offended; it almost seems like he's checking if I did something to the fruit like injecting drugs or something. Is it part of ninja training to check what they eat every time?

"Which village are you from? I don't recognize the headband on your thigh," he asked while beginning to eat.

We engaged in a small improvised conversation, though it would be more appropriate to say that little Itachi was conducting an interrogation disguised as childish curiosity. Listening to the questions he asked, I wouldn't be surprised if he had actually been sent by the village to gather information, as some of these questions would be quite rude or straightforward if asked by an adult.

Itachi had, in fact, been assigned the mission of gathering information about this new village that appeared out of nowhere, and just when he was about to search for the target, he was surprised to find out that his mother had invited him to their home. Anxious, he rushed home and picked up Sasuke to spend extra time with him, as well as to have an excuse in case he got caught. He didn't expect that as soon as he approached the door, the giant man would notice his presence.

Was he a sensor ninja?

When he opened the door and saw him, he was baffled. Whether it was the strange attire, the large build, or the way he looked at him as if he knew him, Itachi couldn't recall his mother ever talking about this man in the past. But by the way his mother was sitting and offered him one of his favorite teas, which not even his father dared to use by mistake, it seemed they had known each other for a long time.

Handing over his younger brother, he followed the man named Enel to the garden, where he sat as if he were at home and offered him an apple. He thanked him and looked at the fruit, trying to understand how it could appear in Enel's hand without him noticing with his trained senses. He was pretty sure there was no chakra involved, but the fruit appeared in his hand the moment he blinked. How fast were a tall person's reflexes?

After making sure the apple was okay, he took a bite, almost spitting it out in shock. Could fruit be this sweet? No! He had to focus on his mission, no matter how delicious the apple was. Although now he understood perfectly why someone would use fruit for their ninja headband. The answers he got went a bit beyond what he expected. Enel seemed to have a terrifyingly accurate understanding of the village's situation in not-so-general terms, and he seemed interested in quite ordinary things. How long had his village been sending spies to Konoha to be so well-informed? As for the fact that his village had been established recently, he didn't believe it at all. Such a village wouldn't have the workforce or the capability to obtain this level of information. He also tried to find out what relationship he had with his mother, but to his frustration, he always got some witty answer instead. It made him feel like his mission was exposed, but the target's behavior didn't seem to show any signs of it. The worst part was that the crucial point, gathering information about the other village, made almost no progress, if it could even be called that. He couldn't find out their location, size, weaknesses, what styles and ninjutsu they focused on, who their Kage was, and so on. He only found out that the apple in his hand was a specialty from there!

Meanwhile, Enel was having a great time watching Itachi get frustrated as he answered all his questions in a way that didn't actually say anything.

"Itachi!" we heard Mikoto call, and we saw her coming out with a satisfied-looking Sasuke, who had fallen asleep after being fed. "Take your brother to his room so he can sleep peacefully."

"Yes, Mother," Itachi bid farewell and took his little brother as he walked away, still baffled. He had never encountered a situation like this on a mission before!

"Your son needs to work on subtlety a bit," I told Mikoto as we returned to the living room. I'm pretty sure she heard our entire conversation despite the distance. Did she use chakra in her ears or something? This chakra thing was really convenient.

"It's okay, it's been entertaining," I chuckled before picking up the now cooler tea, perfect for sipping. "Speaking of children, how is Naruto? I assume he's being taken care of by the Third Hokage."

Mikoto lowered her head, and the atmosphere became more somber. The circumstances and origins of Naruto were something that very few knew, even among the village's higher-ups. The fact that Enel knew so clearly that Naruto was Kushina and Minato's son was enough evidence for her that he was really close to her friend.

Kushina, you were my best friend, but you never told me about Enel.

Suddenly, a possibility shocked Mikoto's mind like never before. What if this man was Kushina's secret lover?! It was the only reason why he might not have known anything and yet be so close to her. After all, in the past, Kushina had complained many times that Minato was similar to Fugaku in that regard. And with all the time she was alone once she became the Fourth Hokage...

Well, Kushina might have been braver and more open-minded than she thought. As her thoughts wandered, she raised her head and noticed that Enel also had blonde hair, and something even more scandalous crossed her mind.

Could it be...?!