Haruto Saito's Dark Humor!
He didn't actually want to marry Uchiha Mikoto. Besides, their ages weren't appropriate. He was merely using his own unique way to refuse the Uchiha Clan so that they would stop bothering him in the future!
Uchiha Mikoto's expression froze.
This time, she was truly stunned.
She couldn't believe her ears. This outsider brat actually dared to make such an outrageous request. Absolutely shameless! Completely unaware of his own insignificance!
A wave of fragrance filled Haruto's nose.
"Ah… Achoo!" Haruto suddenly sneezed, unable to hold it back.
Uchiha Mikoto felt something wet land on her face.
"Ah! My bad, sorry. I have an allergy to certain fragrances." Haruto quickly explained, leaning back and pulling out a clean handkerchief to wipe his nose.
Uchiha Mikoto's eyelashes trembled. She looked as if she was on the verge of an explosion.
Several ninjas emerged from behind Uchiha Mikoto, surrounding the dining table. They were all Uchiha ninjas, and among them was an elite jonin with a reputation score of over 13,000 points. They had been sitting at the table next to them the whole time.
Clearly, they had overheard what Haruto said. Otherwise, their faces wouldn't have darkened like that.
Uchiha Mikoto sat in her chair like a queen, surrounded by a group of tall, strong male ninjas, all of whom were staring at Haruto with sharp eyes.
Haruto suddenly felt a bit concerned. Would Mikoto suddenly wave her hand and say, "Chop him up!" and then all these ninjas would draw their swords and turn him into minced meat?
However, sticking to his "If you don't seek death, you won't die" philosophy, Haruto added, "If you don't agree, then don't bother me in the future. Thank you!"
Uchiha Mikoto continued to glare at Haruto without shifting her gaze. At the same time, she pulled a handkerchief from her robe and slowly wiped her face.
She was furious!
Though she didn't show it openly, the way she clenched her hand around the handkerchief revealed her anger—her knuckles had turned white, and it seemed like she was about to tear the cloth apart.
"The Hyuga Clan will kill you," Uchiha Mikoto finally spoke, gritting her teeth. "I'll collect your body."
"Does your Uchiha Clan have a tradition of collecting bodies?" Haruto asked instinctively, remembering that Uchiha Fugaku had said the same thing earlier.
"We're leaving!" Uchiha Mikoto didn't waste any more words. She stood up and led her people out of the restaurant.
"Such a hassle," Haruto muttered as he watched them leave. Then he looked at his bowl of noodles—he had lost his appetite again.
"Brother! You're a warrior! We need to drink to that!"
A figure suddenly appeared in the seat across from Haruto, looking at him with admiration—no, absolute reverence!
It was a young ninja, about twenty years old, named Umino Toshi, a chunin. Haruto recalled seeing him earlier at the table to his right, eating noodles.
"Uh… what do you mean?" Haruto blinked.
"Waiter, bring a bottle of sake!" Toshi snapped his fingers at the waiter before turning back to Haruto, looking at him like he was a rare treasure. "Brother! Seriously, you are the boldest person I've ever met! We need to drink to that! My treat!"
"What do you mean?" Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"Look, first, you offended the Hyuga Clan by killing Hyuga Renji," Toshi began counting on his fingers. "The Hyuga Clan definitely won't let you go. No one can stop them."
"Then, the rumor about you harassing Uzumaki Kushina has spread everywhere. It's only a matter of time before Lady Tsunade comes looking for you to 'discuss life.' And just now, you told Uchiha Mikoto to marry you? Hahaha! Brother! Do you know how many admirers Lady Mikoto has? I respect you! Now, you've offended both of Konoha's ancient noble clans and the one person in the village you absolutely should not mess with—Lady Tsunade! If you weren't about to die, I'd swear brotherhood with you!"
Haruto's lips twitched. This guy was insane!
A twenty-year-old ninja calling a twelve-year-old ninja "brother" like this? His personality was something else.
The waiter brought the sake along with two cups.
Toshi immediately grabbed the bottle, poured two cups, and raised his own.
"Come on, brother, drink with me!" Toshi said sincerely. "A warrior like you only appears once in a hundred years! Enjoy yourself while you can. Soon, you won't have the chance! I won't say much—bottoms up!"
Toshi downed his sake in one go and even turned the empty cup upside down to show Haruto.
Haruto just stared at him with dead fish eyes, completely motionless.
"Brother, drink up!"
"Brother, give me some respect."
"Brother, enjoy yourself… I won't bother you anymore!"
Feeling unnerved by Haruto's stare, Toshi quickly set his cup down and scurried back to his own seat, acting as if nothing had happened.
"What the hell…" Haruto muttered under his breath, grinding his teeth. He suddenly stood up, slapped some money onto the table, and strode out of the restaurant.
He needed to do something—this was getting ridiculous!
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
Morning sunlight painted the sky red, like a curtain of blood.
By the lake, in front of a wooden cabin.
Haruto sat cross-legged on the grass, facing the lake, unmoving like a statue.
This was his eighteenth day in the world of shinobi. After the initial chaos of his arrival, his life had settled into a strange peace. No one bothered him anymore. The Hyuga Clan made no moves, the Uchiha Clan stopped sending people after him, and even Tsunade—who had supposedly wanted to find him for gambling lessons—never showed up.
It was as if everyone had forgotten about Haruto.
But this eerie calm felt more like the silence before a storm.
In Konoha, the rumors about him hadn't died down. In fact, they had only grown wilder. Even the gambling houses had started taking bets—on how Haruto Saito would die!
Behind the wooden cabin, deep in the forest, ANBU Captain Chikawa watched Haruto closely.
Whoosh!
A whirlwind kicked up white smoke, and a ninja suddenly appeared on a tree branch beside Chikawa.
"Captain Chikawa, the autopsy report from yesterday is out. The intel team has confirmed their identities."
"And?" Chikawa asked without looking back.
"Of the five people Haruto killed yesterday, only one was confirmed to be from Amegakure. Two were from Kirigakure, and the remaining two couldn't be identified but were definitely foreign spies."
"As long as he didn't kill the wrong people, that's fine. Dismissed." Chikawa waved the ninja away.
The ninja vanished instantly.
Chikawa narrowed his eyes at Haruto.
This boy was becoming more unpredictable by the day.