Uchiha Izumi wore a purple dress, her pant legs rolled up, and her pale white feet stepped into the clear stream.
Her tender toes brushed against the smooth river stones beneath her.
Her large, expressive eyes glanced sideways at the water's surface, full of unease and nervousness—afraid that Yu might ignore her.
"Do you remember the first time we were on a mission, when we had to choose a path?" Yu asked in a calm voice.
"You made a suggestion then—do you recall it?"
As he spoke, he looked into Izumi's eyes.
She turned her face slightly, avoiding his gaze. Memories surfaced in her mind, embarrassing ones at that. Her cheeks flushed red in an instant.
During her first mission, she had been injured because of that very choice. Back then, she had confidently thumped her chest and insisted on a route, only for the team to walk right into an ambush because of it.
From that day on—
It was like she was cursed. Every time a choice came up, she would inevitably pick the wrong one.
"B-But… wasn't it because I chose to follow you… that we even managed to escape the village?"
Izumi lowered her head, face full of embarrassment, eyes flickering as she clasped her hands behind her back. Her toes kept nervously scraping a large stone beneath her, polishing it to a shine.
"I made that choice for all of you,"
Yu replied bluntly.
"We'll take the mountain path. Cut straight through Kikyō Castle. And we'll look for a medical-nin on the way.
Go tell the others—we leave in five minutes. Eat something and get ready to move."
His tone was calm, yet left no room for debate.
"Yes, sir!"
Izumi's face was still red as she answered firmly, snapping to attention. But her foot suddenly slipped—she lost her balance and fell backward.
"Ah!"
A flash of panic crossed her eyes. She let out a cry, trying to save herself. Just before she could hit the icy stream, she threw aside her sandals and tightly grabbed onto Yu's right hand, managing to steady herself.
"Whew…"
Izumi exhaled softly, her big eyes showing lingering fear, brows slightly knit in a delicate, pitiful expression.
She looked down at the large river stone she had polished smooth with her toes—just thinking about it made her heart race.
Yu glanced at her.
She looked like a frightened little deer—completely flustered.
He didn't overthink it.
Since she was still holding his hand, he simply helped her up onto the shore.
The hands holding his were soft and smooth like jade.
Yu thought, the feeling wasn't bad.
As his feet touched the dry riverbank, the texture of the gritty stones pressed against his soles. Izumi snapped out of it and quickly let go of his hands, her cheeks burning as red as the sunset.
By then, the other Uchiha had already been drawn over by Izumi's yelp and were looking toward the stream.
Izumi's face was like a blushing apple as she hurried to retrieve her shoes.
Yu didn't pay it much mind.
Izumi felt uneasy inside, but… she realized that when she held onto Yu, the very air around her felt safe and warm.
She didn't know why—
—but guilt suddenly crept into her heart.
She had once admired Itachi.
But after what he did to the civilians of the clan, it had become hard for her to accept.
Comparing him to Yu…
She recalled what Tamao had once said—
Captain Yu did what he did to give the clan a release. He used the inevitable deaths of some clan members to trade for the survival of the others.
But Itachi?
He had turned his blade on innocent people.
Izumi's face showed sorrow. She shook her little head, gathered her emotions, and temporarily put the decision aside. Then she quickly caught up to Yu.
The temporary camp was set up beside the stream.
The other Uchiha were gathered around a small campfire. Two wild rabbits were roasting over the flames, filling the air with a mouthwatering aroma. Fat dripped into the fire, creating a sizzling sound.
These were the spoils from a nearby hunt led by Minami and his two subordinates.
Ninjas had much stronger survival skills than ordinary people. Even a genin left alone in the wilderness wouldn't starve to death.
"Captain Yu, this one's cooked! Please, you have the first bite!"
Minami handed over a whole rabbit to Yu.
It was the fattest of the two—juicy and tender, with oil bubbling to the surface. The skin was golden and crisp.
Yu nodded to Minami and accepted the rabbit.
Minami quietly returned to his seat.
Seeing this, the other eight Uchiha finally began to divide up the second rabbit. In the blink of an eye, even the bones were gone from the spit.
Everyone's lips were greasy.
They ate heartily.
They had been hungry for a long time, and just a few bites of roast rabbit seemed enough to let them forget, even if only briefly, the pain of their clan's destruction.
"Hey, aside from Brother Yu—
Look at you guys scarfing it down like you've never seen food before! Seriously? You gave me a rabbit head and the butt? Minami, save me a little—"
Tamao grumbled.
He was lying flat on the ground, bandages freshly changed. Still weak, but awake.
No one paid him any attention.
Only his two subordinates tried to feed their captain some meat.
In a quiet corner by the fire—
Uchiha Mikoto sat motionless, watching it all unfold with a blank expression.
She hadn't received any food.
The other Uchiha had deliberately excluded her.
The Uchiha clan had been destroyed.
Mikoto herself hadn't really done anything wrong. Ever since marrying Fugaku, she had been a housewife.
Her daily life revolved around taking care of household matters—she had no say in clan affairs.
But in the eyes of these Uchiha...
Her "crime" was being the wife of a weak clan leader—
And the mother of the killer!
For the past two days, Mikoto hadn't eaten, hadn't even drunk any water. During the entire escape, she hadn't said a word. Her face was pale and worn.
"You're all busy stuffing yourselves—save some food and water for Sister-in-law!" Tamao suddenly shouted while gnawing on rabbit meat.
The two subordinates feeding him exchanged glances, clearly surprised.
They had no idea who their captain was calling Sister-in-law.
"Who's your sister-in-law?"
Uchiha Minami frowned slightly. Honest and simple as he was, he started thinking it over but couldn't make sense of it.
The others, however, were sharper.
They all turned their gazes toward Uchiha Izumi.
Everyone knew Tamao had only one older brother—Captain Yu.
But then, who was this "sister-in-law"?
There were only two women in the group.
Uchiha Izumi was the same age as Itachi—still young. She was even holding rabbit meat herself. No way she was the sister-in-law!
Izumi felt the gazes of her companions fall upon her like spotlights on a stage.
Her cheeks flushed once more. She lowered her head and silently chewed her meat.
But the next moment—
Except for the slow-witted Uchiha Minami—
Everyone's eyes shifted to Uchiha Mikoto. As if a lightbulb had gone off in their minds, they stared in shock, rabbit meat almost dropping from their mouths.
They took a closer look at Mikoto.
And were stunned to realize that this clan leader's wife, who usually remained secluded in the clan compound, was indeed breathtakingly beautiful.
Compared to the youthful and still-developing Izumi, Mikoto had an undeniable advantage—she radiated the elegance and allure of a mature woman.
She wore a simple dark home dress. Her long black hair flowed like silk. Her cold face, free of makeup, retained a natural, graceful beauty.
Her pale arms peeked from her sleeves—smooth and fair.
Her slender fingers were delicate, like carved jade.
Even the curves of her feet beneath the dress hem were elegant.
Faced with the direct stares of these younger clan members, Mikoto remained expressionless, maintaining the dignified air of a clan leader's wife.
The others quickly looked away.
None dared disrespect her.
They could feel the heavy aura she gave off—practically tangible—and deep down, they were intimidated by her presence. This was still, after all, one of the highest-standing figures in the clan before its fall.
Uchiha Minami blinked and asked dumbly:
"Who's your sister-in-law?"
Though weak, Tamao had no trouble shouting out: "Uchiha Mikoto, of course!"
°°°
A/N: More stones for more chapters like this
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