Konoha Notes

Chapter 447 An Ordinary Snowy Day

After the snow fell, the number of people at the Joint Affairs Bureau actually increased.

The corridor was packed with people, their breath lingering briefly under the corridor lights before dissipating. There was so much to do, yet time kept ticking away.

What's urging everyone on is the upcoming New Year holiday.

The secretariat arranged for people to take turns resting, but their respective villages would not let them go back until the handover of their duties was completed.

After the Ninja Academy went on holiday, the special training class also went on holiday at the same time.

Sasuke then had more time to spend at the secret service in addition to arranging his personal training.

Despite his reluctance, Nara's son still came to report for duty. After Shikamaru arrived, Sasuke no longer just sat there.

Perhaps considering Shikamaru's feelings, Itachi arranged some errands for his younger brother before Kakashi could express his opinion.

Compared to the Nara clan, the Uchiha children are much more ambitious. Sasuke has no objection to starting work, but he doesn't quite approve of Shikamaru's laziness.

On December 27th, in the afternoon, the snow outside the window had thickened again.

Shikamaru had just finished filing some verified reports when he heard Itachi's voice.

"Shikamaru-kun, starting tomorrow, you don't need to come anymore."

"Really?! Itachi-senpai!"

At this moment, Shikamaru's expression was the widest he had ever seen his eyes open.

"You've worked hard these past few days."

"That's great..." Shikamaru relaxed completely, his voice even sounding a little unsteady, "Finally, I can sleep until I naturally wake up..."

He stood up unsteadily and moved toward the door as if sleepwalking.

Just then, Shikamaru was suddenly hit hard on the back.

"Hey, hey, it's a holiday and you're still so listless? Show some energy, Shikamaru!"

Anko appeared at the doorway, and her slap was so powerful that Shikamaru fell forward, his face hitting the cold floor.

"If you have to be motivated during a holiday... then what's the point of a holiday?" Shikamaru uttered a muffled lament.

Red Bean laughed heartily and looked at Itachi: "Ready?"

"Just a moment, it will be ready soon."

Itachi neatly gathered the last few documents, got up, and put on the coat hanging on the back of the chair.

Anko turned her gaze to Sasuke: "If Sasuke is here too, do you want to come along? We're going to Shuuji's house today."

"There are people you know here too."

Mr. Shuuji's home?

People he knows?
Sasuke was stunned for a moment.

Anko didn't explain further, but simply smiled and winked at him. Sasuke looked at his brother; Itachi had already put on his coat, and his face showed no objection as he quietly awaited Sasuke's response.

"Sorry to bother you."

Sasuke muttered something under his breath and picked up his own things.

The three left the still noisy secret service building and embarked on the road leading to the western outskirts of Konoha.

It was still early, but the winter sunlight was already thin. The snow on the roadside had been cleared and piled up to form a long, white wall. After walking for quite some time, the view gradually opened up.

Then Sasuke saw it.

An astonishingly spacious mansion appeared in front of them.

Before we even reached the door, the sounds from inside could already be heard.

The boy's shouts, the girl's voices, and the indistinct sounds of something being moved.

The gate to the courtyard was open.

Sasuke followed Itachi and Anko inside, and the first thing he saw was the busy scene in the courtyard.

Naruto was carrying a stack of cushions, swaying as he walked down the corridor. Fu followed beside him, holding a rag, urging him on, "Hurry up, hurry up."

Gaara stood to one side, arranging several low tables neatly. Temari and Kankuro were on the other side, with the older sister directing her younger brother to adjust the position of the stone lanterns in the courtyard.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks.

Why are all these people here?
"Sasuke?!"

Naruto spotted him. The blond boy nearly dropped the cushion in his hand, his finger pointing straight at the door.

"How did you get here?!"

Sasuke said coldly, "I'm here to visit Mr. Shuji."

"Sasuke-kun!" Fu turned around, her orange eyes lighting up. "Welcome! Ah, Naruto! Don't just stand there! The cushion's going to fall off!"

She greeted everyone warmly while reminding Naruto.

Why are there so many students from other villages in Mr. Shuji's family?
"Let's go, Sasuke."

Itachi's voice came from ahead. He and Anko had already headed towards the main house.

Sasuke looked away and followed his brother.

The sliding doors of the main house were open, letting in warm light and the aroma of food.

Sasuke followed him into the house, through a corridor, and into the kitchen.

The kitchen was filled with rising steam. Shuji stood in front of the stove, holding a bowl and pouring in egg mixture mixed with broth. Beside him stood an elderly woman with gray hair, slowly and steadily preparing ingredients.

"Grandma Taohua, we've arrived."

Red Bean's voice was much lighter than usual. Itachi also bowed respectfully, saying, "Excuse me."

Sasuke followed his brother's example and bowed, using the same honorific title.

Shuji turned his head. He was wearing dark gray loungewear today, looking completely different from usual.

His gaze lingered briefly on Sasuke, but he didn't ask any questions. Instead, he took out another bowl from the cupboard and began preparing the tenth serving of chawanmushi.

"The steamed egg custard will take another seven minutes." Shuji placed the newly prepared bowl into the steamer and turned to Itachi. "Please note the time."

"Yes."

Itachi walked to the stove and his gaze fell on the timer above the steamer.

Hongdou approached Grandma Taohua and said, "Grandma, do you need help frying the chicken nuggets? I'll chop the scallions!"

"Then trouble you."

Suddenly, various sounds filled the kitchen—the rhythm of a knife blade hitting a cutting board, the soft sizzling of oil heating up, and the hissing of steam rising from a steamer.

Shuuji began preparing another pot. Sasuke smelled the aroma of sesame and soy milk, mixed with the scent of some kind of spicy seasoning, but it wasn't overpowering, as if it had been neutralized by something.

Sasuke stood there, watching the others each doing their assigned tasks, and suddenly realized that he seemed to have nothing to do. This feeling of being lost made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"Sasuke."

Shuji spoke while stirring the broth in the pot with a long spoon.

"Can you go outside and help out? The restaurant needs some setup."

With his own plans in place, Sasuke felt a little more at ease. He nodded, turned, and walked out of the kitchen.

Naruto had finished moving the cushions and was cleaning the railings under the eaves with Fu. Temari and Kankuro seemed to have finished their work as well, standing to the side talking about something.

When Gaara saw Sasuke come out, he walked over to him.

"The restaurant is over there." The red-haired boy pointed to a room on the other side of the main house. "We need to set up the low tables and arrange the cushions neatly."

Sasuke nodded and followed Gaara in that direction.

The two walked in silence for a while. When they passed through the corridor connecting the main house and the side wing, Sasuke finally couldn't help but speak.

Do you... come here often?

Gaara's steps did not falter.

“We live here.” His voice was calm. “Naruto and Fu come here often.”

Living here?

Mr. Shuji allowed these three from Sunagakure to stay in his house?

The dining room was a spacious Japanese-style room with the doors fully open, offering a direct view of the snow-covered courtyard. Two small charcoal stoves were placed in the center of the room, with two black earthenware pots beside them.

Sasuke and Gaara began making arrangements.

The work was not complicated and was finished in no time.

Sasuke originally wanted to ask if there was anything else, but then he heard a call coming from the courtyard.

"Sasuke-kun! Come outside! Come outside!"

Sasuke went outside and saw Fu hopping and skipping in the snow, spreading her arms and spinning around. "Let's build a snowman! Naruto said he wants to have a contest with me!"

Naruto pointed at Sasuke, a defiant smile on his face: "I'll make the best snowman, Sasuke!"

The second young master of the Uchiha clan was not interested in this.

“Boring,” he commented briefly.

The words had barely left his mouth when the sound of wind breaking came rushing towards him.

Sasuke tilted his head, and a snowball flew past his cheek, exploding into a white cloud on the pillar behind him.

Fu was making a face, and she had already made another snowball in her hand.

Sasuke frowned.

At that moment, another sound came from behind. Sasuke moved his body, and the two snowballs passed each other again.

He didn't even need to look to know who did it.

But Sasuke just looked at Naruto with disdain: "Idiot."

"Who are you calling an idiot!"

Naruto immediately created about ten shadow clones and began throwing snowballs at Sasuke. Sasuke initially just dodged, his figure moving nimbly through the snow, and the snowballs all missed their mark.

However, the next second, several snowballs flying from the side suddenly accelerated and hit his shoulder and back at bizarre angles.

Sasuke was startled and turned to see several of Naruto's shadow clones forming hand seals and blowing air from their mouths.

The cool snow powder crept into his collar, and Sasuke squinted.

Did he use Wind Release...?

A red light appeared in his eyes.

"Looks like you've been too confident, you bottom-of-the-barrel guy."

He bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, and quickly squeezed it into his hand.

"Then I'll let you experience the gap between us again, last place."

As soon as he finished speaking, the snowball flew out of his hand like a shuriken, accurately striking a shadow clone on the forehead. The clone vanished with a "pop," turning into white smoke.

"I'm not last anymore! You arrogant Sasuke!"

Naruto shouted loudly, and his shadow clones began to surround him from all sides. Sasuke dodged and counterattacked, snowballs flying through the air and exploding into white flowers on the snow.

Unbeknownst to them, the battle area had expanded.

A snowball that veered off course hit Kankuro on the back of the head.

"……Hey."

Kankuro turned his head, his face expressionless, but his fingers were already moving. Chakra threads extended from his fingertips, swirling up several scattered snowballs in the air and causing them to change their trajectories strangely, flying towards Sasuke.

Sasuke dodged the first two, but the third struck his arm. He looked at Kankuro, who shrugged.

"You're the ones who affected me first."

"Then don't blame me."

Sasuke's firepower began to spread out, with some aimed at Naruto and some flying towards Kankuro.

Just as the battle was becoming increasingly chaotic, Fu threw another snowball at Gaara.

The snowball hit Gaara squarely on the forehead. Feeling its coolness, Gaara looked at Fu.

Fu just chuckled and said, "Come play with me, Gaara."

Gaara glanced at her, then raised his hand.

The sand beneath our feet began to flow, carrying with it the surrounding snow and rolling it into dozens of small snowballs that floated in mid-air.

The next instant, the snowballs flew towards the people in the field at the same time.

"That's so unfair, Gaara!"

Naruto yelled and jumped away, but even more shadow clones were hit.

Sasuke didn't speak, but his Sharingan eyes darted around even faster. He swiftly dodged the snowballs manipulated by the sand, occasionally knocking a few down with the snowball in his hand.

Then, at a certain moment, he formed a hand seal.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique!"

Several small fireballs flew from his mouth, accurately hitting the snowball in mid-air. The snowball instantly vaporized, turning into white mist and dissipating.

Seeing this, Gaara raised his hands. Sand surged forward, quickly extinguishing the remaining sparks, and then swept up more snow, forming a new round of snowball attacks.

Just then, Naruto, using the cover of his shadow clones, circled around behind Gaara and grabbed a handful of snow to stuff into his collar.

The next moment, a huge snowball hit him squarely on the head, knocking him to the ground.

"I won't just stand by and do nothing, Naruto."

Temari withdrew her hand from the snowball, a smile on her face.

Fu cheered and started throwing snowballs at Temari.

The courtyard had completely transformed into a battlefield. Laughter, shouts, and the muffled thuds of snowballs exploding mingled together, echoing in the winter air.

Sasuke didn't know when he had truly become involved in this chaotic battle. He only felt something loosen in his chest, like he could finally exhale after holding his breath for a long time.

He threw snowballs at Naruto, occasionally retaliating against Kankuro's tricky chakra thread manipulations. Fu would occasionally launch surprise attacks from the side, and Temari's throwing accuracy forced people to dodge carefully. Gaara's sand snowball offensive was overwhelming.

"Wait! Why are they hitting me in the end?!"

Naruto's voice came from the snowdrift. The blond boy was covered in snow, with white clinging to his hair, collar, and even eyelashes.

Fu laughed and fell to the ground in the snow, while Temari also laughed out loud, panting.

Sasuke stood in the middle of the messy courtyard, looking at the group of disheveled people, and a smile crept onto his lips.

Just then, Itachi appeared under the eaves.

"Dinner is ready," he announced calmly.

Sasuke stopped what he was doing and brushed the snow off his clothes. Naruto and Fu were still fooling around until Granny Momoka came out of the house, and then the group finally quieted down.

Everyone took their seats in turn.

Sasuke discovered for the first time that his older brother wasn't always so taciturn. He would respond to jokes and even make sarcastic remarks.

Moreover, the atmosphere of this meal was completely different from that at home.

Red Bean, Fu, and Naruto always have so much to talk about, and their chopsticks are always gesturing in the air.

Too noisy.

Sasuke thought to himself.

But strangely enough, I don't dislike it.

"We'll come back here to stay up all night on New Year's Eve!" Fu turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun, would you like to come with us that day?"

Sasuke opened his mouth, but before he could refuse, Shuuji's voice cut in first.

"I prepared New Year's Eve dinner that day," he said as he put vegetables into the pot. "Speaking of which, how much should one usually give?"

"Nianyu?! Mr. Xiuji, are you going to give us money?"

Fu's attention was immediately diverted.

Grandma Taohua watched this scene with a smile and slowly said, "There would be no surprise if I told you in advance, Xiuji."

"One hundred taels?" Fu was already guessing. "Or one thousand taels? Ten thousand taels?!"

"Fu, calm down." Temari smiled and tugged at her sleeve.

Naruto also came over expectantly, having completely forgotten about the question he had just asked about Sasuke.

Sasuke watched this scene and suddenly felt a mix of emotions.

Relaxed. Envious. It's hard to say which feeling is stronger.

Dinner ended in a lively atmosphere.

Naruto and Fu stayed behind, while Anko went the other way. Sasuke and Itachi set off on their way home together.

Sasuke walked for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"Is this... what Mr. Shuji means to my brother?"

Itachi stopped in his tracks.

"Mmm," he replied softly.

After a moment of silence, Itachi added, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper:
"It's not just that."

(End of this chapter)