Chapter 240 Hibiscus Flowers Still Blooming (Ch 240)

…

Uchiha Itachi has not been very happy recently.

Because not long ago, his favorite brother Naraku seemed to have left the village because of a very important matter, leaving only a letter for his mother.

Before my mother finished reading the content, she knocked over the teacup, and the hot water flowed onto the tatami, forming a dark water mark.

The next morning, his mother changed into an outfit he had never seen before, handed him over to the care of his sister Shizune, and then left the village with many adults.

He and his sister Shizune waited and waited, and after two or three days, their mother finally came back with their brother Naraku, and even their father came home to play with him.

But after my brother returned home, he kept sleeping and didn’t wake up for many days.

Including his parents, everyone who came to visit told him that as long as Naraku-nii got enough rest, he would wake up very soon, very soon…

But how long is “soon”?

Time passed day by day, and Uchiha Itachi’s young brain could no longer count the days, but he still could not see the end of “soon”.

Until one night, the cold moon in the sky was casting silver light on the earth as usual. He was having snacks with his mother and saw a little bird falling from a branch of a tree in the yard.

He walked over and picked up the bird, and found that the bird’s feathers had lost their luster and its strong wings could no longer fly, and then he vaguely realized something.

Mom seemed to know what he was thinking, her eyes were gentle and sad.

He hurried over to Naraku’s brother to make sure that he wasn’t as cold and stiff as Kotori.

Feeling the warm breath and body temperature, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, threw himself into the arms of his mother who followed behind him, and said that his brother was not a bird.

Mother touched his little head and smiled, saying, “Yes, my brother can’t be a bird.”

Itachi lay on his side in the quilt, curled up into a small ball, closed his eyes and counted sheep, hoping that when he woke up early the next morning, he would be able to see his brother Naraku saying good morning to him.

…

In the early morning, Itachi opened his eyes and still didn’t see Naraku. He couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. He lay in the quilt and didn’t want to get up.

Mikoto finally coaxed her little son out of bed, got him dressed and fed, and told him that brother Shisui would come over to play with him in a while and would bring new toys.

Itachi’s eyes suddenly sparkled. After finishing his meal, he sat in the corridor, staring at the entrance expectantly. The moment he saw Shisui, he quickly stepped forward with his short legs to greet him.

“Brother Shisui!”

“Itachi, are you waiting for me?”

Shisui squatted slightly and smiled at Itachi who was running towards him. The indigo headband on his head glowed with a psychedelic light in the morning light.

He bent down and picked Itachi up with one hand, and with the other hand he pulled out a very small kendama from behind his back, singing a nursery rhyme while showing Itachi how to play with it.

Itachi soon became addicted to the kendama. He fought and failed again and again, but kept fighting, with his mind and eyes fixed on completing this challenge.

Shisui quietly gestured to Mikoto to go find Naraku, and after receiving a smile in response from the other party, he left the living room and went to the room where Naraku was recuperating.

“Naraku-senpai, good morning, I’m here again.”

Sitting on the stool beside the bed, Shisui looked at Naraku’s increasingly thin face and the small diamond-shaped curse seal on his forehead, and unconsciously touched his headband.

There is also a kite-shaped mark under this piece of cloth.

That was the sealing technique that Naraku had implanted in him last fall—the Healing Seal·Modified.

Even though Shisui did not suffer from a bloodline disease due to opening his eyes too early, Naraku still insisted on using this technique on him to prevent him from being unable to withstand the overly powerful eye power like him when he opened his eyes to two magatama later.

There was no way to refuse, Shisui had to accept the kindness.

But probably no one would have thought that this seal would play a crucial role just one year after it was planted.

After deciding to reinforce Mount Kikyo, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen did not announce the battle plan to the outside world and suppressed public opinion in order to avoid causing panic, so most of the villagers in Konoha were unaware of this matter from beginning to end.

The students of the Ninja School had no idea about this.

It was not until the war was over and the survivors were evacuated back to the village that the relevant details slowly spread from the eyewitnesses.

It was also at that time that Shisui heard from Inuzuka Hana that Naraku also appeared on the battlefield of Kikyo Mountain.

Just like that night, the pure white Susanoo stood like a god among the sunset clouds, and in the fierce mountain wind he drew his sword and split the Tailed Beast Ball of the One-Tail.

Inuzuka Hana’s face was full of excitement as she talked incessantly about the stories she had heard from her mother.

But Shisui just felt cold all over.

The Inuzuka clan did not understand the Uchiha’s bloodline disease, but he knew very well that with Naraku-senpai’s poor physical condition, fighting with the Mangekyō was tantamount to starting a countdown to death.

Shisui, who had always been obedient and sensible, skipped class for the first time in his life and ran all the way to the courtyard where Naraku lived to look for someone.

It was empty there, as if no one had lived there for a long time.

Finally, it was Mikoto who heard the noise and came over to check what was going on. Seeing that he was so anxious that his eyes were filled with tears and his speech was incoherent, she sighed helplessly and took him to see Naraku who was still in a coma.

Shisui lay in front of Naraku’s bed and couldn’t understand why things turned out like this.

By the time Mikoto noticed something was wrong, Shisui’s eyes had already turned blood red, and sealing spells covered his cheeks and upper body, locking the surging pupil power and preventing the Sharingan from evolving into two magatama at the last moment.

“…I always come here to bother you. I hope you don’t think I’m annoying.”

Shisui took his hand off his headband, forced himself to maintain a gentle smile, and chatted with Naraku in a low voice, telling him some little things that had happened to him.

Maybe after he finishes saying something, he will hear a response from Naraku-senpai?

“I have already completed the school curriculum, so I want to graduate early like my predecessors and become an independent ninja sooner.”

“Amei’s meatballs have a new flavor. Many people say they are delicious, but I haven’t tried them yet. I wonder if they are particularly sweet…”

“Yesterday I finally learned the art of teleportation, but I’m not as fast as you… Hey, senior, what’s the secret?”

He talked a lot but it was just a monologue. Shisui buried his face in the quilt, and his voice became dull after coming through the fabric, mixed with a little sob.

“The weather is nice today, Senior.”

“The hibiscus flowers are still blooming. Please come with me to see them.”

After a long while, he heard a hoarse reply from above his head.

“……good.”