Chapter 24: The Love of Chicken Breast smoothie

"I understand your strength now. Let's end our spar here for today. Take a rest."

Dan patted Itachi on the shoulder and walked towards the gym.

"Here, this is for you."

Samui handed Itachi an ice pack to put on his cheek.

"Thank you."

Itachi held the ice pack to his face. Although his cheek hurt, he was more concerned about the punch his uncle had thrown.

Why had he fallen under a genjutsu?

His uncle hadn't activated his Sharingan, nor had he made eye contact, yet he had managed to trap him in an illusion. It was inconceivable.

Could it be that Dan could release genjutsu with his fists?

Was that even possible?

Itachi furrowed his brows, unable to understand.

Just as he was deep in thought...

"Rest time's over. Let's start training."

Dan came over with a pair of dumbbells and said to his nephew, "Starting today, you'll train six days a week. Chest, back, arms, shoulders, legs - you'll rotate through all of them. No slacking."

With a thud, Dan dropped the dumbbells in front of Itachi and instructed Samui, "You'll be Itachi's trainer. Guide him through the exercises."

"Yes, Master."

Samui responded. She had been working with Dan from morning till night for three years, so she was practically a professional fitness trainer.

And so...

Under Samui's guidance, Uchiha Itachi officially embarked on his fitness journey.

Dan stood by, enjoying his steak, occasionally giving pointers.

Soon, two hours had passed.

"Heh...heh..."

Itachi lay flat on his back, his face flushed and his body drenched in sweat, his chest heaving with exertion.

Working out was much harder and more tiring than he had imagined.

During the training...

Samui had insisted that Itachi not use chakra, relying solely on his physical strength. She not only demanded that he perform each exercise correctly, but also continuously increased the weight.

Until he reached his limit.

After all that, Itachi's chest and arms were incredibly sore, accompanied by a strong sense of tearing.

He had trained well.

However, the "torture" for Itachi was not over.

Dan took a large piece of fresh chicken breast from the fridge, threw it directly into the blender, and after a bit of blending, it turned into a brown, viscous liquid.

At least a liter.

In the face of Itachi's surprised and slightly panicked gaze, Dan handed the large cup of chicken breast smoothie to his nephew.

"Children need to supplement their nutrition, especially protein, when they are growing. You can't eat because you lost your teeth, so this cup of chicken breast smoothie is clean and hygienic. Drink it."

Dan smiled.

This cup of rich chicken breast smoothie represented his uncle's love for his nephew.

"..."

Itachi looked troubled, but he still took the cup with both hands, lifted it, closed his eyes, and gulped it down in one breath.

This stuff... it tasted like chicken poop.

Itachi couldn't help but put on a "mask of pain". His stomach convulsed, and he looked like he was about to vomit.

"Don't throw up. If you do, it'll be a waste."

Dan held his nephew's shoulder and earnestly advised, "From now on, you have to drink a cup of chicken breast smoothie every day to strengthen your body. My poor nephew, only 11 years old and already working in the Anbu with high intensity every day. If you ruin your health and die young

, that wouldn't be good."

As far as Dan knew...

In the original story, Itachi seemed to have contracted a lung disease due to overwork, which eventually led to his demise.

And Dan, at 24 years old, had never even had a cold or fever from childhood to adulthood. The most direct reason was his robust health.

So, building some muscle would be beneficial for Itachi's health.

"Thank you, Uncle."

In response to Dan's concern, Itachi managed a smile. Although it was a bit strained, it was the first time he had smiled since he arrived here.

"Go take a bath and change your clothes. Don't catch a cold."

Dan helped his nephew up from the floor.

Ten minutes later...

Itachi emerged from the bathroom, wearing a white T-shirt with a cartoon pattern and a pair of black shorts.

It was a bit big.

"This is a shirt the Master wore when he was three. We don't have anything smaller. You'll have to make do."

Samui said, covering her mouth to suppress a laugh, trying to maintain her cool demeanor.

Itachi: "…"

No wonder the design was so childish.

Just then...

With a bang, the gym door was pushed open, and two masked ninjas walked in.

"Uchiha Itachi, come with us." The two came up to Itachi, speaking in emotionless voices, like robots.

Itachi's pupils contracted slightly, recognizing them as members of the Root. He nodded silently, then bowed to Dan and Samui:

"Uncle, Senior Samui, I'll be going now."

"Wait."

Dan stretched out his hand to stop Itachi, asking, "Are they your colleagues from the Anbu? I remember your colleague is a white-haired guy, named Kakashi, right?"

The two Root ninjas stepped forward, warning Dan coldly:

"Uchiha Dan, we advise you not to meddle."

"You know me?"

Dan was a bit surprised, then naturally replied, "As an uncle, what's wrong with caring about my nephew?"

As he spoke, he placed his hand on Itachi's head.

Itachi stiffened, the words he wanted to explain to his uncle swallowed back down.

The two Root members exchanged a glance, ultimately not making a move, seemingly aware that Dan was a bit tricky to deal with.

One of them finally revealed their purpose:

"We are ordered to take Itachi to see Lord Danzo, the advisor to the Hokage."

As expected.

Dan knew it, they weren't from the Anbu, but from the Root.

The Root was under the Anbu, nominally a training department of the Anbu, but in reality, they didn't answer to the Third Hokage, only to Danzo.

Regarding his nephew, Uchiha Itachi...

Dan had previously been too lazy to interfere, but now that he had decided to, he would see it through to the end. He wouldn't allow Danzo to harm his nephew any further.

So...

He patted Itachi's head and without hesitation, told the two Root members:

"Itachi is my sister's son, round it up, and he's practically my son. As a parent, I'm not comfortable with him going out alone this late, so I'll go with him."

"Impossible!" The two refused outright.

"What, is there something you don't want people to see? Then I must go. If you don't agree to my request, then get out."

Dan said expressionlessly. His tone was very calm, but it carried an imposing aura.

"Dan, don't push your luck!"

The two Root members couldn't take it anymore and were about to take action.

Just as the situation was about

to escalate...

"Mr. Dan, Lord Danzo has ordered that you and Itachi come for a meeting." A voice came from the doorway.

Dan looked in the direction of the voice.

The speaker was a man in a black cloak and sunglasses, with a purple mark on his right cheek.

Yūgao Aburame.

This man was one of Danzo's confidants, who had once served as Danzo's guard alongside Orochimaru. After Orochimaru's defection, Yūgao became Danzo's top general.

Hearing Yūgao's words, the two Root members immediately withdrew their hostility towards Dan and stepped aside.

"Then let's go."

Dan was very straightforward. He put his arm around Itachi's shoulder and walked out the door.

In the dark alley...

Yūgao, with his hands in his pockets, walked in front.

Dan and Itachi followed behind him, while the two Root members were on either side, subtly surrounding the uncle and nephew...