Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 279

However, the angrier he became, the happier Konohamaru and the others laughed.

Under the setting sun, the laughter of the boys and the angry roar of a blond ninja echoed.

Chapter 299 Two Singles Picking Gifts

Konoha Village, at dusk.

Sakura dragged her leaden legs out of the gates of Konoha Hospital, looking utterly exhausted.

"Aha……"

She let out a long sigh of relief and rubbed her slightly sore neck.

As Tsunade's disciple, and having started her internship at the hospital three years ago.

She is no longer the girl who only screamed and had superhuman strength.

Instead, he became a full-fledged medical ninja capable of handling various emergency injuries independently.

Of course, the price of growing up is—exhaustion!

Especially today, after handling several highly complex surgeries, my chakra and mental energy have been greatly depleted.

Her only thought right now is to rush home immediately.

Throw yourself into a warm bathtub, then sink into a soft blanket and sleep soundly until the world turns dark.

However, fate seemed unwilling to let her rest so early.

Just as she turned into a relatively quiet alley leading to a residential area, a furtive figure caught her attention.

There stood a girl with beautiful long, straight black hair, wearing the high-necked traditional clothing of the Uchiha clan.

It was clinging to the corner of a dango shop wall in an extremely un-Uchiha-like and clumsy stealth manner.

He poked half his head out, cautiously peering towards the other end of the alley, muttering to himself.

Sakura recognized that figure all too well—Uchiha Izumi.

Itachi Uchiha's childhood friend, a gentle person who can occasionally become a little... because of someone.

My eccentric older sister.

"Sister Quan?"

Sakura called out in confusion, instinctively tiptoeing over: "What are you doing here? Playing hide-and-seek?"

"Sh-!!!"

Upon hearing the sound, Quan trembled violently like a startled rabbit, quickly turned around, and nervously put a finger to her lips.

Her beautiful, large eyes were filled with a guilty conscience and pleading: "Sakura?! Keep your voice down! Shh—! Don't be so loud!"

Her appearance only piqued Sakura's curiosity further.

Sakura lowered her voice and leaned closer to ask, "What's wrong? You look like you're following someone?"

Two red clouds instantly rose to Quan's cheeks, and she flinched slightly.

Unable to resist the urge to share, she whispered, "I...I'm stalking Itachi."

Sakura: "...Huh?"

That guy was promoted to captain of the Dark Division at only a teenager, and his strength was unfathomable.

Itachi Uchiha, whose perception was so abnormal that he could tell whether a mosquito 500 meters away was male or female?

Sister Quan, do you have some misunderstanding about the word "stalking"?

Or do you think Itachi's Sharingan is just an ornament?

Or... do you think I'm the one who misunderstood?

Sakura's lips twitched involuntarily a few times, and she mentally screamed in disbelief.

Looking at Izumi's serious and nervous expression, she couldn't bear to discourage her from this reckless act, which was comparable to "graffitiing on the statue of the First Hokage."

"Follow...stalk Itachi-san..."

Sakura chuckled dryly, her voice filled with helplessness: "Izumi-neechan, isn't this... a little too difficult?"

"There's nothing we can do!"

Quan pouted, looking aggrieved, and pointed to the other end of the alley with teary eyes: "Look over there!"

Following the direction she pointed, Sakura imitated Izumi, clinging to her back and cautiously peeking out.

Not far away, on the side of the street, stood an exquisitely decorated jewelry store.

Standing there were two tall, distinguished young men, both dressed in Uchiha clan attire.

It was Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha.

Itachi still had that icy expression, but his eyes seemed more focused than usual.

I was looking at a delicate silver bracelet adorned with pale purple flowers displayed in the shop window.

Meanwhile, Shisui stood with his arms crossed, a familiar, somewhat cynical smile on his face, talking to Itachi.

Izumi stared intently at the two people over there, especially at Itachi's focused profile.

She unconsciously bit the hem of her clothes hard, tears welling up in her eyes.

Her voice trembled with tears: "Yi—!! Look how serious he is! He's definitely thinking about which one looks better! And which random girl he's going to give it to! Waaah..."

Upon hearing this, Sakura was both amused and exasperated, trying to salvage Izumi's collapsing imagination: "Izumi-neechan, calm down."

"It's also possible... that Mr. Shisui wanted to buy a gift for someone?"

After all, Mr. Shisui was handsome, had a good personality, and was very popular in the village.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Quan immediately denied it, his tone resolute: "Zhishui-ge? That eternal bachelor? I've known him since I was born, and I've never seen him show any interest in any girl beyond 'The weather is nice today'!"

"So it can only be Itachi! Itachi is going to give the present to someone else! Waaaaah..."

A lifelong single dog...

Sakura was taken aback by Izumi's sharp and apt description, and for a moment she couldn't refute it.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems... that's indeed the case!

Mr. Shisui is outstanding in every aspect, but it seems that there has never been any scandal about him.

In contrast, although Itachi is colder, he is not so "innocent" because of Izumi's presence.

Sakura could only awkwardly force a smile, unsure how to comfort her Uchiha sister who was caught up in her own imagined tragedy.

Her gaze inadvertently caught the movement of Itachi's lips in the distance.

As a doctor, lip-reading training is essential.

Therefore, she clearly saw that when Itachi slightly tilted his head to speak to Shisui, his lips gently opened and closed, silently uttering a clear syllable—

Sakura's eyes widened instantly, and then a knowing yet slightly mischievous smile quietly spread across her lips.

So that's how it is!

That brooding, secretly passionate Uchiha Itachi!

She glanced at Quan, who was still biting the hem of his clothes, engrossed in the "melodrama" he had created.

Then she glanced at the seemingly aloof but actually secretly picking out a birthday gift for his childhood sweetheart in the distance.

Suddenly, I found the scene... kind of cute.

"Alright, alright! Sister Quan!"

Without further hesitation, Sakura grabbed Izumi's arm and dragged her out of the alley without saying a word: "Stop looking!"

"If we keep watching, it might get discovered by Itachi or Shisui, and we'll be invited to the Konoha Police Department for questioning. That would be bad. Let's go!"

"Huh?! Wait! Sakura! Let me observe a little longer! Just for a second!"

Caught off guard, Izumi tried to struggle, but her strength was like an ant trying to shake a tree in front of the super-strong Sakura.

"No! Immediately! Right now! Go home!"

Sakura's tone was resolute and merciless.

Just kidding. If Izumi-neechan continues to "observe" like this, and they are actually discovered, Itachi-sensei probably won't say anything given his personality.

But Mr. Shisui's cunning... will definitely make me laugh for a whole year!

For the sake of Izumi's social life, this must be stopped!

"No! My Itachi! He might be taken away!"

Before Izumi could let out a desperate cry, Sakura kissed him during her afternoon nap.

She was like a cat being dragged to a bath, helplessly pulled away from the "crime scene" by Sakura.

All that remained were the mournful sobs echoing through the alley.

On the other side, in front of the jewelry store.

Shisui watched Itachi carefully selecting items, even occasionally frowning slightly at the prices.

Finally, he couldn't help but complain, "Hey, Itachi, what's the meaning of you dragging a grown man like me into this to advise you on buying Izumi's birthday present?"

"Wouldn't it be better to ask Aunt Mikoto for this kind of thing? Women are always better at judging than us two roughnecks, aren't they?"

Itachi's gaze remained fixed on the exquisite bracelet.

Her tone carried a hint of barely perceptible helplessness: "As for Mom... I'm afraid she won't focus on the gift itself, but will talk more about... other things."

At this point, Itachi's mind automatically conjured up the following: "Oh dear, our Itachi has finally come to his senses and knows to buy Izumi a gift. Is he planning to propose? When are you going to invite him to the wedding? Mom has been waiting for her grandson for so long!"

Just imagining it makes Itachi's scalp tingle.

My mother is great in every way, except that she gets overly excited when it comes to her son and future daughter-in-law.

Upon hearing this, Shisui immediately understood and patted Itachi's shoulder sympathetically: "I understand."

"Aunt Mikoto's pressure to get married is something most people can't handle."