Chapter 68: Eye Drops

________________________________________

By the time they arrived home, it was already dark. The sun had completely set behind the distant mountains, leaving only a faint glow in the sky above Konoha, marking the end of another day.

Seeing Kurenai Yuhi hurriedly bringing Yuichi Yuuki home, Yuhi shinku jumped up from the sofa, thinking something serious had happened.

"What's wrong?" Yuhi shinku asked urgently, her tone filled with concern as she looked at the two of them.

Out of breath from running, Kurenai couldn't speak right away. But Yuichi gave a reassuring smile and said, "We're fine. Kurenai was just worried that the mental backlash from my shadow clone training earlier might have lingering effects."

Hearing this, shinku gave Yuichi a once-over and shook her head. Mental trauma doesn't cause physical injuries and doesn't really recur. If there were no immediate issues, there was nothing to worry about.

"The food's ready," Shinku pointed to the covered dishes on the table, "go and eat quickly."

Yuichi observed the food on the table and, with a nod, pulled Kurenai over, who was still trying to explain his condition to her father. After a peaceful evening, morning arrived in no time.

Yuichi only had the afternoon off, but Shinku thought he was well enough to continue training and practically kicked him out of the house.

"Are you really okay, Yuichi?" Kurenai was still concerned.

She vividly remembered how Yuichi's face had turned red so suddenly the previous day, and in her mind, this had to mean he was still in some discomfort from the earlier training.

"I'm fine," Yuichi replied with a sigh. He couldn't exactly admit he'd been considering how sealing techniques might aid in certain… personal matters. It would be easier to joke about it with someone like Kakashi, but explaining it to Kurenai would be mortifying.

As they walked toward the Hokage Rock training ground, Yuichi began to notice something odd about the people around them.

"Kurenai, do you see that? There's something strange about those people."

He leaned close, gesturing toward the passersby, and Kurenai nodded in agreement. "I've been noticing that too," she said, puffing up with pride. "I figured it out! The people acting weird are all wearing Uchiha clan clothing."

Kurenai pointed to someone ahead of them, where the Uchiha clan symbol was clearly visible.

The behavior of this Uchiha member was peculiar. He kept glancing around, attempting to appear nonchalant yet looking suspiciously out of place.

"Hey, Ode! What are you doing being so sneaky?" Just as Yuichi and Kurenai observed the man, a voice called out behind them.

"Ah? I'm not doing anything!" The Uchiha named Ode seemed flustered at first but quickly recovered, laughing it off. "Hey, Yumiz! Shouldn't you be on duty today?"

Yuichi looked back, noticing two Uchihas talking to each other.

"Our captain believed that rumor and actually gave us the day off to go buy eye drops for his kids," Uchiha Yumiz laughed loudly, draping an arm around Ode's shoulders. "Imagine actually believing that using eye drops can awaken the Sharingan. Ridiculous!"

"No way, no way. Who would be foolish enough to fall for that?" Ode replied with a forced laugh, awkwardly hiding the eye drops in his pocket.

Yuichi was at a loss for words. Certain keywords—Uchiha, eye drops, Sharingan—were enough to tell him what was going on.

"Kurenai, let's leave quickly," he muttered, and hurriedly pulled her along.

Kurenai had also understood the situation; she was well aware of how Yuichi had accidentally activated his Sharingan through eye drops. Overhearing the two Uchiha members, she realized why so many of them were acting strange today.

When they arrived at the base of Hokage Rock, Yuichi seemed to remember something and turned to Kurenai, scratching his head.

"Kurenai, do you still have any money left?"

Surprised, Kurenai fished around in her pocket and pulled out a 1,000-ryo bill. "I have 1,000 ryo left. Do you need it?" she asked, placing the money into Yuichi's hand without hesitation.

Looking at the note, Yuichi sighed. This wouldn't be enough for his needs. He realized he'd have to find another way to make some money.

Handing the note back to Kurenai, he said, "I just wanted to ask. I need to buy some equipment for training, but it seems I'm short on cash."

"Oh?" Kurenai's face fell. "What are we going to do?"

"Should we go back and ask Dad for some money?"

Kurenai looked serious, "Dad has plenty of it."

Yuichi shook his head. "It's fine; I'll figure something out. Going back now would only waste time."

With that, he walked into a nearby ninja tool shop, and after a moment, emerged holding two heavy-looking dumbbells. Seeing him struggle, Kurenai quickly offered to help but was surprised to find they weren't as heavy as they appeared.

She gave Yuichi a curious look, but he only signaled for her to wait until they reached the training ground.

Once they were out of sight, the shop owner's smile faded, though he still looked pleased. Holding a slip of paper, he turned to an assistant and said, "Take this to the Yuhi household and give it to Jonin Yuhi shinku. Make sure you're respectful."

"Of course, boss. I know the drill," replied the assistant, taking the paper and heading out.

________________________________________