Shisui's face was beaming with a proud smile, his triumphant expression evident: "How about it? My sister is very outstanding, isn't she?"
Outside the wooden house, several birds flew past the eaves. Itachi withdrew his gaze, pushed the door open, and walked out.
He stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the sunlight, his hazy shadow quietly cast upon the wooden table, forming a mottled pattern.
"This matter is still pending discussion. I will continue to monitor the movements of the clan and Konoha. As soon as I have news, I will discuss it with you."
After speaking, he turned to look at Shisui, who was sitting at the table, his gaze falling on his tightly closed eyes.
He gently raised his hand, and a crow landed on his arm.
Upon closer inspection, the crow's left eye was engraved with mysterious red patterns.
"Shisui, I have transplanted your eye onto this crow. Now it is back where it belongs."
His arm lifted slightly, and the crow used the momentum to lightly fly onto the wooden table. Its glossy black feathers fluttered once, and it curiously pecked at Shisui's hand with its sharp beak.
"I will visit often."
After a deep look at the girl caressing the crow, Itachi turned and walked out.
In the dim light, his figure, surrounded by gradually appearing black crows, dissipated with the wind.
After Itachi left, Xiao Wang slowly woke up. As it rubbed its sleepy eyes and saw the crow staring menacingly at it, it let out a roar that did not belong to a turtle.
.........
After the rest day, it was back to normal school hours.
After the tempered glass demonstration in the small wooden house, Chizhao took out the blank tempered glass recovered from Shukaku and handed it to Shisui.
This was so they could communicate promptly in case of an emergency.
Her tempered glass could anchor multiple pieces, but only one round-trip transfer was possible between two pieces of tempered glass. After the transfer was complete, both pieces of tempered glass would return to Chizhao's hand simultaneously.
Unless she placed another one in advance, she could not continue the next transfer.
However, unless there was a special reason, Chizhao usually chose to walk. Relying too much on teleportation was not a good thing either.
The bell for the end of class pulled her back from her thoughts, and the quiet classroom suddenly became lively again.
Naruto, beside her, wiped the liquid from the corner of his mouth, his cheek still showing obvious indentations.
He stood up unsteadily like a marionette and walked out of the classroom.
Based on Chizhao's experience of being Naruto's deskmate for so long, this kid was most likely going to the restroom.
Just as she was about to rest her head on the desk for a short nap, a figure, bringing a crisp breeze, quietly appeared beside her.
"You're back so soon?"
Chizhao looked up in confusion, but when she saw the ink-black hair and dark eyes, the unfinished tail end of her sentence was swallowed back.
"I need to talk to you. Come outside for a moment."
Sasuke, in front of her, still exuded a cool aura, and his clear tone revealed an undeniable certainty.
This couldn't help but reduce Chizhao's sleepiness by more than half.
She pointed to herself with her finger in confusion, confirming with him again:
"Me?"
"Ah, yes, you. Hurry up and come out. I'll wait for you outside."
Sasuke's impatient tone made Chizhao wonder if this kid was in an over-aggressive state 24 hours a day.
However, he was still Itachi's younger brother, so there was no need to make their relationship so stiff.
Chizhao stood up from her seat and walked out of the classroom, watched by the other students.
Chizhao, trailing behind Sasuke, casually looked around. Suddenly, the body in front of her stopped.
She also bumped straight into him, covering her sore nose, and looked at the back in front of her with a chiding expression.
"Why did you suddenly stop...?"
Sasuke, who hadn't moved, looked at the flowers on the ground, slowly took a breath of the scent of grass and trees, then turned around, his face displeased:
"Are you and my brother on good terms?"
"Huh?"
Stunned by Sasuke's question, Chizhao tried hard to understand what he meant.
What kind of relationship was he referring to?
Sasuke's inquiry was not without reason.
Just the day before yesterday, Itachi suddenly called him over and asked about a girl named Shiratori Chichao.
Sasuke was initially surprised, wondering why his brother was suddenly concerned about someone else, especially someone he had a slight grudge against.
He unhappily told Itachi that he wasn't familiar with that Shiratori Chichao.
Sasuke thought that was the end of it, but to his surprise, Itachi actually patted his head, with a peacemaker's expression:
"It's fine to talk to her more often. Chizhao is a good child..."
His beloved brother, in front of him, praised another child. How could he tolerate that?
So, after struggling for a whole day, out of curiosity about her and the stirring emotions in his heart,
He finally made up his mind to ask her for a clear explanation.
"My brother asked about you the day before yesterday, and even told me to get along well with you..."
Then, with a stubborn expression, he turned his head away to avoid eye contact with her: "It's just too strange."
After thinking for a while, Chizhao scratched her head in distress, looking a bit flustered.
How should she explain this?
Facing Chizhao's silence, Sasuke narrowed his eyes and let out a questioning hum:
"Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything?" He leaned forward, closing in on her a little more. A delicate fragrance instantly wafted around his nose, causing him to pause and not move further.
"Maybe it's because... I happened to meet him on the street before, and I asked him for some Shuriken techniques."
At this moment, Chizhao truly admired herself; even in this situation, she could still fabricate a plausible reason.
Sasuke lightly coughed, pulling himself away from the fragrance, and awkwardly crossed his arms:
"Is that all?"
"What else could there be?"
To make herself seem more convincing, Chizhao firmed her tone, and mimicking Sasuke, she crossed her arms and provocatively lifted her chin.
I really don't understand why brother wants me to get along with her.
She always goes against me and constantly smiles foolishly at everyone, especially when she's with that dead last, it's even more of an eyesore.
Perhaps even the tsundere Erzhuzi himself didn't realize that, unknowingly, he had already been silently paying attention to the girl in front of him.
"Forget it, it's just big brother's conclusion anyway, it has nothing to do with me."
After learning the truth, Sasuke deliberately reverted to their usual unfamiliar state, hands in his pockets, and walked towards the classroom.
It was as if he had put on a mask again, isolating himself from others.
Chizhao felt tired for him. Why would a child pretend to be unapproachable?
"Then how about we try to get along well?"
A soft voice floated from behind, and Sasuke's footsteps paused.
He hesitated inwardly, and an involuntary feeling of joy and anticipation arose within him.
His handsome little face remained calm, but his heart had already begun to beat faster.
For a moment, he didn't know how to answer until his gaze swept over Uzumaki Naruto's figure running down the corridor ahead.
His heart was again covered by some inexplicable emotion, and his brows furrowed:
"No."
He blurted it out, his voice carrying a hint of firmness he himself hadn't detected.
Sasuke was stunned, not understanding why he had said such a thing. He turned his head anxiously to look at the somewhat disappointed girl, wanting to say something to make up for his slip of the tongue.
But the words were on the tip of his tongue, only to be interrupted by the sudden ringing of the class bell.
Although rejected, Chizhao's face immediately returned to its usual gentle expression.
"Then let's go back to the classroom first."
After all, there was still plenty of time, and they had enough time to get along slowly.
His gaze followed the girl, and that faint fragrance brushed past him. Sasuke instinctively reached out, wanting to grasp something.
However, his fingers only lightly touched the corner of her clothing and could not go any further.
He dejectedly withdrew his fingers into a fist, gritting his teeth.
He angrily flicked his sleeve and ran after her towards the classroom.
Looking at the back in front, his heart was filled with complex emotions.
He was really too pathetic!