Chapter 27: Leaf Wander

Itachi is the eldest son of Fugaku, the clan head; barring any mishap, he will surely become the next clan head, and Shisui will inevitably stand opposed to him if he wishes to succeed.

Whether for the clan or for the clan head position, killing the other might be a good thing.

"Impossible!"

Shisui's heart tightened, and he involuntarily shouted loudly.

After shouting, he realized it was wrong, lowered his head, looking like he had made a mistake.

Sima Yi frowned, not expecting Shisui and Itachi to be so close.

However, he has never been someone who subdues juniors with sheer authority.

He spoke softly, "This is just a choice; given that he can accomplish such a thing, his ability surely won't be lacking. If you become clan head and can convince him, he would also be a strong pillar for the clan."

Shisui breathed a sigh of relief, "Sorry, teacher, I was out of line."

"It's fine, but in the future, when you vie for the clan head position, what will become of your relationship with him?"

"No, if it's Itachi, if it's him, as long as I tell him my thoughts, he will surely support me!"

Shisui raised his head, his gaze fixed firmly on Sima Yi.

You want to seize his clan head position, and yet he would still support you?

Sima Yi fell silent; this was Shisui's third time being certain about someone's character. The relationships among these people are more complicated and bizarre than he imagined! Of course, mainly they are bizarre.

"If that's truly the case, with his help, perhaps you could seize the clan head position without bloodshed."

Sima Yi didn't know these people well, so he didn't comment much, just went along with what Shisui said.

"Thank you for your support, teacher!"

Shisui wore a smile, having firmly resolved in his heart to pull Itachi back from the wrong path onto the right one.

Afterwards, they chatted briefly and then parted ways.

Shisui went to Fugaku's manor, while Sima Yi took some money, summoned Hui, and together they left the clan grounds to explore deep into the Leaf.

"Haah~ Uncle Yi, why go out for a stroll in such cold weather?"

Also calling me, Hui looked weary; he had also drunk quite a bit the previous night, and in the depths of winter he really didn't want to get out of bed.

"You're young; how can you be so lax and lazy? How will you ever achieve anything great in the future?"

"What's the big deal? Loafing around and waiting to die is fine anyway; besides, I'll never become Hokage, and yesterday my father even got me a job at the Police Department, so I'll just spend my retirement there."

Hearing this, Sima Yi wasn't angry at all; instead he burst out laughing, "The Uchiha clan really gets more and more interesting."

"Shisui gave me quite a bit of money; you accompany this old man for a walk, and tonight we'll go eat the barbecue you've been craving."

"Barbecue!"

Hui immediately perked up; although his abilities are not ordinary, as an Uchiha he actually doesn't have much income.

Aside from being usable during wartime, in peacetime those high-level missions are hard for them to take, often coming with all sorts of restrictions.

Especially after the Nine-Tails rampage, the funds the village allocates to the Police Department have been decreasing year by year.

"Great, Uncle Yi, how much money did Shisui give? Is it enough to eat our fill?"

"Eating barbecue until full has always been Hui's little goal."

"Just lead the way with confidence."

Having received the answer, Hui's spirits lifted greatly; he puffed out his chest and began to anticipate tonight's delicacy.

"This is just the outskirts; there's not much to see, let's go inside."

Seeing Sima Yi continually patrolling the outskirts, Hui felt something was odd and spoke up to remind him.

Sima Yi took the opportunity to frown, he covered his forehead and sighed, "I'm getting older; lately I find my memories of the past growing ever less clear. Having left the village only a year ago, I've already forgotten many things."

Hui's expression changed; he hurriedly leaned over to support him, "No problem, Uncle Yi, you'll surely live to a hundred."

"I dare not say a hundred, but seventy is definitely doable."

"No problem, help me reacquaint myself so I can recall properly and avoid leaving with regrets." "Don't worry, I'm still quite familiar with this part of the Leaf."

Hui slapped his chest and immediately pointed around, saying, "This is merely the outskirts of the Leaf; most of the temporary residents are merchants who have come from the capital, while the rest are those who come to commission missions, most of whom are nobles, and they're not to be trifled with."

"Commissioned missions?"

"Eh, yes, undertaking missions is an important means of survival for ninjas; unfortunately, our Uchiha clan has long been ostracized in the Leaf, and Uncle Yi probably hasn't taken on a mission in ages—so much so that he even forgot about this."

Hui deeply empathized, having no doubts.

"Nobles? Missions?" Sima Yi keenly sensed something, yet he said nothing more.

"They commission missions; ninjas take them on and profit, so the Leaf should be siphoning off a considerable share, right?"

"Of course; after completing a mission, twenty percent is counted as a handling fee paid to the Leaf, but that's nothing unusual—it's always been this way."

"That's essentially a tax," Sima Yi understood.

"From this street you can go to the interior; it's much livelier in there, and the barbecue restaurant is also located there."

As they spoke, they crossed several streets and arrived at the interior of the Leaf.

"Apples, the last apples of winter, shipped in from the capital~"

"Dumplings, mutton filling, sixty taels per bowl~"

"Steamed buns for sale—chicken, duck, goose, dog, pork, beef, lamb mixed, everything you could want~"

"Noodles~"

Upon entering the interior, a wave of heat hit them; shouts rose continuously from both sides of the street, and passersby repeatedly shrank their necks, looking left and right.

Waves of strange aromas instantly awakened Sima Yi's taste buds; he followed the scent and found it to be a breakfast stall.

"Huh? What would you two like?"

In front of the stall, a woman was busy; as the two approached, she lifted her gaze, and when her eyes fell on Hui's clothes she blinked slightly, then reacted and asked.

"What do you sell here?" Sima Yi asked, curious about the aroma in the air.

Seeing the old man's dignified bearing, the woman dared not be slow; she hurriedly replied, "It's mutton soup; would you two like a bowl?"

"Let's have two bowls, let's sit down and rest a while."

Hui had no objection; he was now afraid that if Sima Yi encountered any mishap, he would be skinned by his father when he went back.

The soup was quickly brought over; Sima Yi blew away the heat and slowly tasted it, only to see his brows relax as he involuntarily nodded and praised: "Not bad, the flavor is rich; I never expected sheep offal could be boiled into such a delicious thick soup."

"'Any?'"

Hui stared at Sima Yi with a puzzled look at the ordinary sheep offal soup in his bowl.

He took several sips in a row and felt nothing worth praising.

Sima Yi gave a light chuckle without explaining; he enjoyed the food but also did not forget to observe the passing villagers.

He carefully scrutinized each person's expression and each shop.

After a bowl of soup, the two warmed up considerably.

"You two, that's a total of 160 taels."

The woman wiped the water stains from her hands, her gaze falling on Hui.

"'Cough, Uncle Yi.'"

Hui felt embarrassed; he had not brought a single penny, and being stared at like this made him uneasy all over.

Sima Yi chuckled and took out a banknote from his bosom; each note that Shisui had given him was worth a thousand taels.

"'Wait a moment.'"

The woman took the note and turned to leave; Sima Yi took the opportunity to ask casually: "Madam, selling soup here, you must be making a tidy sum each day, right?"

"(End of chapter)"