After finalizing the main matters,
the atmosphere between the two men relaxed considerably.
Although Itachi still wore his usual expressionless face,
before he realized it, he had already finished several glasses of watermelon juice...
Moreover, in the distance,
he could clearly see his beloved younger brother Sasuke laughing and playing joyfully around a bonfire with children from the orphanage—a truly cheerful scene.
Such a warm and happy moment naturally pulled Itachi into its embrace as well.
After all, back in Konoha Village, a sight like this would have been unthinkable.
So indeed, as their father once said,
no matter what the future might bring,
right now, at this very moment...
everything Shimoku Cousin had done...
had succeeded!
and deserved praise!
Compared to their father, Shimoku Cousin was clearly more suited to be a leader!
If Shisui could see this scene right now, how wonderful it would be!
Itachi quietly mused to himself,
yet felt an unprecedented sense of peace within.
"Itachi, what do you think of those new clothing designs?"
Shimoku gestured toward the center of the plaza with a sly grin and asked.
Itachi's gaze swept over the various 'distinctively styled' female dancers, pausing for a few seconds.
Then he withdrew his eyes and emotionlessly commented:
"Good..."
"Just good?"
Itachi remained silent for a moment, then replied:
"A ninja should not indulge in desires. Those outfits may look nice, but they're far too sensual."
Shimoku: "Should ninjas suppress all their desires? Who decided that?"
Itachi: "That's the way of the ninja..."
Shimoku: "Ninjas certainly endure pains ordinary people cannot; but nobody said they must restrain themselves constantly—from morning till night, from birth until death!"
"One must acknowledge one's own desires, manage them wisely, and allow themselves to enjoy them—which actually promotes better mental and physical health..."
"Besides, these seemingly mundane things you look down upon can sometimes unleash unimaginable power!"
"You're still too traditional-minded, Itachi!"
"Just imagine, if back in Konoha, our Uchiha clansmen had worn such outfits and displayed more of our strengths—our physical advantages—"
"We would've charmed countless Konoha ninja by now."
"So when the higher-ups decided to eliminate the Uchiha clan, there surely would've been people opposing that decision..."
"Don't you think so?"
Itachi: "..."
Yet again, Itachi found himself at a loss for words.
Often, he realized, his cousin Shimoku's talent for argumentation really was formidable!
Yet strangely enough, everything he said somehow made sense—
making rebuttal nearly impossible.
Almost like a Genjutsu...
Thinking of that, Itachi instinctively turned his gaze once more toward the dancing girls in the center of the square.
As if preparing to examine those garments anew—with a judge's critical eye...
Meanwhile, seeing Itachi yet again glancing toward those 'corrupting' dancers,
one person finally couldn't hold back any longer.
With a loud "Bang—",
Quan quickly approached, slamming a perfectly roasted suckling pig—crisp on the outside and tender within—onto the table.
She placed her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffing out indignantly.
Glaring fiercely at the two of them, he snapped:
"What are you staring at?!!"
There was actual killing intent in his eyes!
Shimoku flinched, instinctively shrinking back and edging closer to Konan on his right.
Feeling that soft presence behind him for a moment, he suddenly felt a surge of confidence.
"Miss Quan, Itachi, why don't you bring some food and good wine to visit Fugaku?"
"He didn't come to the banquet, so we can bring him something instead."
Upon hearing this, Miss Quan quizzically raised her eyebrows.
She immediately agreed:
"Sure!"
"Oh right, Shimoku — happy 11th birthday!"
"This is a bracer I made — it's a gift for you!"
Quan handed out a gift box. Inside were a pair of exquisite bracers, clearly a carefully prepared present.
Shimoku accepted the bracers happily.
"Thank you, Miss Quan!"
"You're welcome. Be sure to eat more as well. If that's not enough, my mother will prepare more delicious dishes later!"
"I'll go with Itachi first to deliver the food to Fugaku."
With that, Miss Quan directly dragged Itachi and left the banquet.
"Phew——"
Seeing that Quan had left, Shimoku finally relaxed.
He then resumed enjoying the graceful dance performance in the square.
Right!
Let the music keep playing! Dance on!
He should really treat himself to a proper celebration too...
At the same time, Shimoku snuggled even closer to Konan.
Totally oblivious to Miss Nanjie's look of disgust, as if he were nothing but a nuisance.
...
The banquet lasted until very late.
In the end, Shimoku left with his belly full, using the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport home.
He never thought that this esteemed S-rank Space-Time Ninja technique would one day be used like this...
Originally, at the end of the banquet,
Terumi Hazuki, blushing and slightly drunk, suddenly rushed toward Shimoku.
Unfortunately, she was blocked by Yueji, who had been watching him all night.
For some strange reason,
It felt like since receiving that pendant, Yueji had become more proactive?
Honestly, Shimoku had originally planned to live it up in style for once,
Then take a hot spring bath,
And ask Miss Hazuki, the Fifth Mizukage, to scrub his back — truly indulging himself.
But with his stomach already full, he had no choice but to let that idea go...
No help for it — Auntie Hazuki's cooking was just too amazing.
It was truly incredible, making it hard to pull yourself away!
Anyway, overall,
Tonight's banquet was quite satisfying.
Tested the new outfit; convinced Itachi; and most importantly, properly relaxed...
Sweeping away all the accumulated fatigue from recent days.
That night, Shimoku slept very soundly.
...
Early the next morning,
Shimoku got up.
After taking a morning bath and enjoying a delicate breakfast service, he became even more energetic.
And quickly started doing important work.
Together with Riyō and Kurenai Yuhi, he swiftly left the village,
Arriving at Orochimaru's underground facility in the Oto Village.
As soon as he saw Shimoku,
Orochimaru greeted cheerfully:
"Shimoku-san, why did you come so early?"
"Oh right, congratulations on your 11th birthday."
"I didn't have time to prepare a gift — feel free to take whatever you'd like from here!"
Orochimaru said joyfully.
After all, he was already so close to Lord Shimoku. No need to bother with formalities anymore.
Better to just crank out a couple more useful projects!
"Tsk—"
Lord Shimoku pouted.
Still, it felt pretty good hearing the Lady Serpent's compliments.
As for gifts?
All these items and research outcomes already belong to him anyway.
Was there any need to take anything else?
"Where's Sasori now?"
"He's assembling puppets in the next lab! That guy really is a Puppet Master!"
"His mastery of Puppet Art is genuinely remarkable!"
"And these past few days, he's been working nonstop, day and night."
"I'm really curious, Lord Shimoku—what exactly did you promise him to get him working this hard?"
Few people earned Orochimaru's praise in person.
Even if it was only about Puppet Art, it still proved how incredibly skilled Sasori truly was.
As for why he worked so hard—
of course it was for his parents!
Apparently, during these past few days, Sasori had also learned through Orochimaru's intelligence network
about the revival of old figures from a previous era like Hashirama Senju, Tobirama, and Madara Uchiha.
Especially Lord Madara—who had truly returned from death!
With those guys coming back, how could Sasori NOT get excited?
How could he NOT look forward to it?
Of course, he threw himself completely into his puppet research,
desperately hoping to succeed soon and resurrect his parents…
Obviously, he'd turned into exactly the kind of 'perfect worker' that Lord Shimoku loved.
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