The bustling crowd, flashes of metal shining on both sides.
On the streets of Konoha, Logan caught the coin in the air. There were the singing girl, the cold Samurai captain, the 'speechless' treasure... He gained a lot from those months of escort missions, not in showing off... But on his Railgun.
'But the 'Can't Be Bothered Team' sure is rich...' Logan recalled the commission share he received when completing the missions. Even a B-rank mission almost equaled the weight of an A-rank.
Of course, for a new era Ninja like him, the commission fee was not the main concern, the spiritual wealth gained from completing missions was the most valuable.
Logan bought some food and necessities. It had been a while since he had been home, so there probably wasn't anything left to eat inside... Carrying a bunch of things back to the yard, he opened the wooden door, and a musty smell wafted out.
After taking a look at it, Logan furrowed his brows and sighed, 'No, this place definitely needed a thorough cleaning, or it would feel like returning to a boys' dormitory.'
After a busy half-day of cleaning and tidying up, the place was finally livable again. Logan threw down the cloth and looked at the considerably cleaner spacious house. It did give him a sense of accomplishment. Indeed, he is a Ninja of the new era.
But as he looked around, he always felt like something was missing. While having dinner alone at night, Logan understood, 'It's still too spacious.'
Logan couldn't help but smile bitterly, and even his appetite had decreased a lot. The assigned house was suitable for Ninja with families. Living alone, he could only feel a faint sadness.
For some reason, Sumika's charming smile appeared in his mind, 'If she were sitting across from me and having dinner with me right now...' Logan was dazed for a few seconds, then quickly shook off the romantic notion in his mind.
Sumika was not a bad person by any means. The standard in modern society is clean, rich and beautiful, but this is not a modern society after all. According to Logan's idea, Ninja could never provide a happy ending for a woman, unless they are the protagonist, an important character who would always have luck on the battlefield, never dying no matter how dire the situation.
Ninjas died in the line of duty, their teammates bringing back their bodies. Sometimes, all that remained was their ashes, their wives holding their children, crying in grief. Logan had witnessed such scenes countless times.
Without dwelling too long on such matters, Logan finished his meal, took a walk outside, and went to bed early. After sleeping outside for so long, lying in his own bed felt quite comfortable.
In the following days, Logan didn't have much to do. Takeshi gave him a week-long vacation, during which he mainly focused on mastering the Railgun he had successfully developed.
Since it made quite a commotion, Logan had to go to a remote area far from Konoha where nobody would notice to train it. As for other matters, there was no need for him to invest too much effort.
Logan mostly rested these days, well, compared to Guy and Lee's behavior.
As he reintegrated into the village, Logan realized that his initial perception when he just returned to the village was correct. The atmosphere was indeed not good, and it seemed to be getting more serious day by day.
This kind of atmosphere cannot be felt among ordinary villagers and Ninjas. It's just that Logan has worked in the intelligence department for a long time and has an insight into the plot, so he could tell that Konoha's higher-ups were about to make a move against the Uchiha Clan.
Sometimes, when walking on the streets, some Uchiha Clan's members would look at Jonin like Logan in a strange way.
'Hey, why so hostile? It's not like I owe you money or something.' He couldn't help but complained in his heart on the sullen attitude of some Uchiha Clan's members.
But as Logan was preparing to stay away from this muddy water, not wanting to become a pawn in a political conflict, Itachi came to visit, when Logan's vacation was about to end.
It was very quiet at night, with no one on the street outside the door. Logan looked at Itachi standing at the door and holding something in his hand, feeling somewhat surprised.
Itachi's face was still as cold and indifferent as ever, just like his younger brother later on. However, since the time Logan went with him to the Amegakure, he has changed. The innocence was almost gone, and he even looked at Logan with a touch of maturity and even some world-weariness in his black eyes.
"I apologize for disturbing you, Senpai." Itachi bowed slightly and said with a smile. The way he smiled is very strange, as if it had been a long time since he last smiled.
"Wow... what a rare guest, Itachi, why are you here?" Logan was genuinely surprised. Now that it's already Konoha's Year 56th, he knew that the scarlet night will come soon.
Logan had met Itachi intermittently before in the ANBU's Headquarters, occasionally joking around regardless of their statuses.
Originally, Logan had harbored some wishful thinking, but when he saw the atmosphere within the village a few days ago, he realized that it was inevitable, given the circumstances between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.
"I remember I said that I would come to visit Senpai's home before, but I never followed through." Itachi gestured with the fruits in his hand, "So, here I am."
Logan looked at the furrowed brows on Itachi's face and could clearly see that there were many heavy thoughts behind them, "Well, that's great then. Come in, come in."
Logan ushered Itachi inside and led him to the entrance hall, then they both sat in the living room.
Since Itachi's sudden visit was unexpected, he seemed a bit embarrassed. He handed the fruits to Logan and appeared somewhat reserved all the time, curiously examining his surroundings once they entered the room.
"Senpai, do you live alone?" Itachi looked at the furnishings and couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, I'm still single, but I'm still young, so it's fine." Logan replied, adding a remark.
Itachi didn't quite understand Logan's additional comment. He could only sigh that this Senpai of his was still the Senpai in his memory. After thinking for a while, he said cautiously: "I hope Senpai will find someone you like as soon as possible."
Logan looked at Itachi strangely, "Why does it feel that these words sounded so awkward when it's coming from your mouth..."
After coughing twice, Logan poured some tea and said, "Let's not talk about that. What about you, Itachi? Do you have someone you like?"
"No." Itachi replied straightforwardly as he accepted the tea.
'Well, I know you only have your younger brother in your heart...' Logan sighed in his heart.
"Let me know if you want to come next time. We'll go out for a meal. Don't worry, I'll treat you." Logan said, realizing he didn't have much to offer. The problem was that hardly anyone had visited his home, and he led a very secluded life.
"No need for that... just sitting here for a while is fine. I've never been to Senpai's home before." Itachi was stunned, and then smiled. If other ANBU's members saw Itachi like this, they would definitely not believe it. After all, how can Itachi smile so much?
"I heard Senpai just finished a long-term escort mission. Was it tough?"
"It was nothing much, but it was quite rewarding." Logan waved his hand, briefly recounting the lackluster performance of the uninspiring envoy he had escorted. There really wasn't much to say, and it wouldn't be appropriate to mention Hanjirō's heroic feat of using his clan's secret technique, Tsubame Gaesi, to split a rabbit.
"What about you?" Yu Logan redirected the conversation to Itachi, looking at him intently, "I heard that you have been promoted to ANBU Captain. How's things… lately?"