Uchiha Patriarch !

Shisui walked back into the diner, which was still open for business, passing through the curtain. The young girl who greeted customers froze mid-sentence, her "Welcome!" caught in her throat. Seeing this bloodied customer who had returned, she turned pale with fear. 

He's a ninja. 

This customer is a ruthless, heartless ninja! 

The girl's heart filled with dread. The Mist Ninja had a terrible reputation in the Land of Water, known for their cold-blooded methods. It wasn't much better than how the Uchiha clan was once treated in Konoha. Especially in remote areas like this, ninja, not just Mist Ninja, were demonized. 

They were seen as ruthless, merciless killers who enjoyed eating children… That was all the girl knew. 

Terrified, she stood frozen like a rabbit caught in a tiger's jaws, trembling uncontrollably. 

"The stir-fried udon I ordered hasn't gone cold, has it?" Shisui sat back down at his previous seat, placing the unconscious Kimimaro, who was still under genjutsu, across two chairs. "Could you please bring my udon quickly if it's ready?" 

Shisui flashed a gentle smile. 

He knew he looked frightening, covered in blood after his battle with Orochimaru, but he was hungry, tired, and in pain. Plus, he had Kimimaro to deal with now. All he wanted was a hot meal and some soup to soothe his aching body. 

The girl, still pale, nodded stiffly in response to Shisui's smile. 

She moved mechanically into the kitchen. After about ten seconds, an elderly man with white hair and a slight hunch came out with a tray. On it were steaming stir-fried udon, red bean soup with mochi, grilled pork, and fried chicken. 

"Please enjoy your meal," the old man said, his attitude extremely respectful. 

"I'll leave town once I finish eating," Shisui said, understanding why the old man was so deferential. He had encountered similar situations on missions before. Rather than trying to explain that he wasn't a bad person, that he had no ill intentions, or that he just wanted to eat, it was more effective to simply assure them he'd be leaving soon. 

The old man bowed silently and backed away. 

Shisui sighed softly and turned his attention to his long-awaited meal. 

Kimimaro, still lying on the chairs, let out a faint groan. His eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes slowly opened, revealing confused green irises. After a few seconds, his memories returned, and he saw Shisui eating the red bean soup across from him. 

Kimimaro bolted upright, his hands producing sharp bones from his palms. 

But before he could strike, Shisui calmly looked up and, without any visible sign of preparation, activated the Kotoamatsukami, freezing Kimimaro in place. Shisui swallowed his bite of mochi and spoke. 

"If you want to keep sleeping, I can guarantee you'll dream for a very long time. But if you don't want that, put away those bones of yours. The choice is yours." 

With that, Shisui released the genjutsu and returned to eating. 

Kimimaro didn't move. The phantom pain from the genjutsu lingered, but that wasn't what stopped him. He had no desire to sleep again, and he knew that this man who had defeated Orochimaru was far beyond his ability to fight. 

His earlier attack had been a reflex, an instinct. 

Kimimaro didn't understand the concept of a reflex, but he knew his thoughts. His sharp mind had quickly concluded that this opponent was invincible, and as Orochimaru's chosen vessel, he couldn't afford to risk his life. 

So, Kimimaro sat down quietly across from Shisui. He stared intently as Shisui ate, his serious gaze making Shisui uncomfortable. His table manners while eating the mochi soup weren't exactly graceful, and now he had an audience... 

"Are you hungry?" Shisui asked. 

"No. I ate earlier," Kimimaro replied quickly. 

Since he couldn't fight, Kimimaro decided to try another approach. He would befriend Shisui and wait for an opportunity to escape. His plan, though simple, was the best he could come up with as a child who had never received proper education. 

"Alright then. Just wait a bit. We'll head out once I'm done," Shisui said. 

He didn't dislike Kimimaro. After reading his memories, he understood that Kimimaro wasn't insane—just a child who had been abused by his clan and led astray by Orochimaru. 

Shisui had also learned from Kimimaro's memories about Orochimaru's experiments and his obsession with immortality. Orochimaru's technique was one that transferred his soul into another's body. 

A forbidden technique among forbidden techniques. 

Realizing this, Shisui decided to take Kimimaro with him. 

Killing him wasn't an option. While Kimimaro had killed people, they were all other ninjas, and it had always been under orders. Shisui didn't blame him for that. 

The world was cruel, forcing people to live in such ways. 

Letting Kimimaro return to Orochimaru, only to be used as a vessel, was worse than taking him along. Shisui figured he could hand Kimimaro over to his clan's leader, Fugaku, who would know how to handle a child like him. 

Shisui had his plan, but how it would play out remained to be seen. 

"Where are we going?" Kimimaro asked. 

"The Hidden Mist Village," Shisui answered between bites of mochi. 

"Crack!!" 

As the silver lightning disappeared, the deafening roar of thunder echoed across the sky. It was as if the gods were angry, and after a morning of dark clouds, the heavens finally opened up, releasing a torrential downpour. The raindrops were as large as soybeans and stung when they hit the skin. 

A young girl in ill-fitting clothes hurried through the storm back to her home. 

Her home was an abandoned, rundown shack in the corner of the village. The roof had a hole in it, but there was a small, dry corner that served as her "bed"—really just a pile of old cotton and cardboard. 

"So cold!" the girl murmured, wrapping her tattered clothes tightly around herself as she burrowed into the pile of cotton to keep warm. 

At that moment, she felt something cold and slimy beneath her fingers. Being a brave child, she immediately realized she had touched a snake, likely one also seeking shelter from the rain. 

Unlike most girls her age, she wasn't afraid of cold-blooded creatures like snakes. 

If it was poisonous, there was no escape. If it wasn't... well, it could make a good meal. She was still hungry, having found no food before the rain started. 

She grabbed the snake and pulled it out of the cotton. 

"So beautiful!" the girl exclaimed as she held the small, snow-white snake. Her wide, dark eyes sparkled with wonder. The snake's beauty made her hesitate; even though she was hungry, it wasn't unbearable yet. 

Besides, her name was "Haku," which meant "white." 

After a moment of hesitation, the girl decided not to eat the snake. She placed it gently on the pile of cotton. The little snake seemed weak, lying limply, barely moving except for an occasional flick of its tail. 

It looked like it hadn't eaten in a while. 

Unfortunately, the girl had no food to offer it. Her stomach was growling loudly, a reminder that she hadn't eaten either. 

As she watched the snake, she failed to notice its golden eyes, with vertical pupils, peering at her from beneath half-closed lids. The snake studied her intently, sensing that she possessed chakra—strong chakra at that. 

"I'm luckier than I thought!" 

The snake, which was actually Orochimaru in disguise, was pleased with its discovery. After losing Kimimaro, Orochimaru had stumbled upon another potential vessel, this girl with remarkable chakra. 

(End of chapter)