“I feel like most of Rei-kun’s clothes are in lighter colors. Maybe trying out some darker styles would give you a pleasant surprise?”
Uchiha Mikoto counted off Shiranui Rei’s usual clothing styles on her fingers.
After reaching that conclusion, she smiled brightly.
“Actually, I find the purple kimono you’re wearing quite appealing, Mikoto-san. Maybe trying this kind of style next would be nice.”
“Really?”
Mikoto froze for a moment.
Once she realized what he meant, the tips of her ears turned slightly red, and her hands instinctively came to rest on her thighs.
If she wore clothes of the same color and style as him, wouldn’t that basically make them… matching couple outfits?
Just as the two were chatting and laughing, approaching footsteps suddenly brought their conversation to a halt.
A young man in his early twenties approached their table.
He wore the dark-blue clothing favored by the Uchiha clan, complete with their distinctive fan crest embroidered on it.
His expression was dark.
When his black eyes landed on Shiranui Rei, they revealed undisguised hostility and disgust.
But when they turned toward Mikoto, they were filled with barely concealed passion.
“Mikoto, why don’t you come over and eat with the rest of the clan?”
Uchiha Ryosuke stared intently at Mikoto and spoke in the gentlest voice he could muster.
The artificial, affected manner made Shiranui Rei’s skin crawl.
“Uchiha… Ryosuke?”
Mikoto looked uncertainly at the vaguely familiar face.
After searching her memories for a while, she finally recalled his name.
Her brows instinctively furrowed.
Although they were technically members of the same clan, people from a large clan did not necessarily have any relationship with one another.
If they had no dealings in their daily lives, they might only see each other once or twice during clan gatherings.
Their relationship could be even more distant than that between ordinary acquaintances.
She had no idea why this man thought she should abandon the person she had chosen to have lunch with and instead eat with a group of clan members she barely knew.
“Mikoto, I didn’t expect you to remember my name.”
Uchiha Ryosuke grinned, a strong smell of alcohol escaping with his breath.
After Mikoto recognized him, he stepped forward again, attempting to move closer to her.
“Wait.”
The gentle smile Mikoto had worn while talking to Shiranui Rei completely disappeared.
Her brows drew together slightly, and a sharp glint flashed through her eyes.
The aura of a jonin tempered through countless battles to the death instantly washed over Ryosuke.
A chill ran down his back.
He froze where he stood.
“Uchiha Ryosuke, I don’t recall being close enough to you for you to call me by my given name.”
Mikoto’s voice was cold.
In this world, directly addressing someone by their given name when the two weren’t close was considered a serious breach of etiquette.
Under normal circumstances, if an unfamiliar peer addressed her that way, she might feel surprised or uncomfortable, but she wouldn’t deliberately embarrass them by pointing it out.
But this time, there were two reasons she didn’t hold back.
First, Ryosuke clearly looked like he had come looking for trouble.
Second, Rei-kun was the one who had invited her to lunch.
She didn’t want him to misunderstand.
Hearing Mikoto’s blunt words, and noticing that quite a few people nearby had begun watching them, Uchiha Ryosuke felt his blood surge.
The final thread of reason in his mind snapped.
Bang!
He slammed his right hand onto the table beside Shiranui Rei.
Unwilling to provoke Mikoto directly, he vented all his anger on the young man in front of him.
“Mikoto, you actually humiliated one of your own clansmen for some outsider brat!?”
Uchiha Ryosuke glared at Shiranui Rei with bloodshot eyes and snarled,
“That pretty-boy who looks like he hasn’t even grown all his hair yet!?”
Mikoto’s expression changed instantly.
Her brows shot up, and she was about to stand.
But Shiranui Rei had already moved first.
He stepped away from his seat and positioned himself between Uchiha Ryosuke and Mikoto.
At the same time, many of the customers nearby who had nearly finished their meals and were merely chatting saw what was happening.
Not wanting to get dragged into trouble, they hurriedly stood up, paid their bills, and left.
“Hey, Ryosuke! How can you talk to Miss Mikoto like that?!”
“Uh, kid, don’t take it personally. Ryosuke just drank too much today!”
The other three Uchiha who had come with Ryosuke realized that the situation was getting out of hand and hurried over to smooth things over.
They weren’t particularly concerned about Shiranui Rei.
There was no clan insignia on him, so he was most likely just a civilian-born shinobi with no significant background.
The person they truly feared was Uchiha Mikoto.
Her strength and family background were both far beyond what ordinary Uchiha like them could compare with.
Besides, the Uchiha clan had its own rules.
If Mikoto reported to the clan head that Ryosuke had harassed her while drunk, he would receive severe punishment from the clan.
Seeing this, Shiranui Rei let out an unabashedly contemptuous snort.
The three men appeared to be restraining Ryosuke, but their apologies lacked any genuine sincerity.
In reality, weren’t they simply backing him up?
Their attitude was essentially saying:
“We have the numbers, so don’t make a fuss. Just swallow this little loss and let it go.”
If they had been dealing with some other civilian-born shinobi, perhaps he really would have endured it for the moment and allowed the matter to pass.
But Shiranui Rei had never been the type to swallow his anger.
He had spent more than a decade working his way upward.
He had become the disciple of Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, and a direct member of the Hokage faction.
He had reached jonin rank and become one of the village’s elite shinobi.
And now they expected him to swallow his anger and endure it for the sake of temporary peace?
Then what the hell had he been working so hard for all these years?
Shiranui Rei stared directly into Uchiha Ryosuke’s bloodshot eyes and coldly rebuked him.
“You Uchiha idiot. Stop using alcohol as an excuse to bark like a rabid dog!”
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire restaurant fell silent.
A strange light flickered in Uchiha Mikoto’s eyes.
She stared at Shiranui Rei standing protectively in front of her, seemingly lost in thought.
The spectators nearby also changed expressions.
Realizing that the situation was heading in a very bad direction, they hurriedly settled their bills and left.
As for the four Uchiha directly facing Shiranui Rei, their expressions darkened in unison.
A cold chakra aura emanated from their eyes.
Their previously black eyes had all turned crimson.
All four shouted coldly at the same time.
“Brat, apologize!”
Being viciously stared down by four Sharingan would make most shinobi feel as though needles were pricking their backs.
But Shiranui Rei nearly burst out laughing.
What was this?
Four people.
Two pairs with one tomoe.
Two pairs with two tomoe.
The four Uchiha together couldn’t even scrape together a single Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
The thought was too funny.
Shiranui Rei couldn’t hold himself back any longer.
He burst out laughing.
That laugh finally made the four Uchiha lose their composure.
“Brat, what are you laughing at!?”
“I’m laughing because the four of you are such arrogant Uchiha, yet when you put all four of yourselves together, you can’t even produce a single Three-Tomoe Sharingan.”
Shiranui Rei laughed as he spoke.
Then he turned toward Uchiha Mikoto and asked,
“Mikoto-san, I remember you told me that you awakened your Three-Tomoe Sharingan when you were thirteen, right?”
“Mm. You actually remembered that?”
Mikoto smiled softly and nodded.
Awakening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at thirteen was exceptionally early, even among the Uchiha.
It had to be said that she truly lived up to her reputation as the mother of Itachi and Sasuke in the original story.
Mikoto’s own talent was likewise among the very best in the clan.