At the village gate, the not-so-tall Sarutobi Hiruzen stood with his hands behind his back, the pipe in his mouth flickering in the darkness.
Behind him, ANBU in white coats and masks followed closely behind the Third Hokage.
Across from Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Shisui wore a Hidden Rain headband and a navy blue short-sleeved shirt. The Uchiha clan's fan was embroidered on his left sleeve, while the Uzumaki clan's spiral crest adorned his right sleeve.
Unlike the red spiral on the back of Konoha jōnin vests, the spiral on this kid's right arm had a blue background.
A short sword the length of his arm was strapped to his back. His young, handsome face had sharp features and an imposing presence.
Looking at Shisui's outfit and appearance, Sarutobi Hiruzen was momentarily stunned.
Similar! Too similar!
Not only did he look alike, even that resolute gaze seemed carved from the same mold!
This kid was practically identical to young Kagami!
The only difference was this kid's dark red, neat short hair, unlike the Uchiha's typical black hair.
Blocking everyone's path, Shisui waited patiently.
Before long, torchlight gradually approached as Kagami and Fugaku walked shoulder to shoulder, leading the vehicle to the village entrance.
The next second, Kagami's neither cold nor warm voice rang out.
"Hiruzen, long time no see."
Hearing this, a trace of shame immediately welled up in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart.
However, having been village chief for nearly forty years, his psychological fortitude was extraordinary - he instantly suppressed that emotion.
"Long time no see, Kagami."
After that, neither spoke, and the air fell into silence.
Kagami didn't expect to take away half the Uchiha without paying any price.
This was Konoha, after all - the Third Hokage's stronghold for over thirty years.
But having Sarutobi Hiruzen personally block the village gate caught him somewhat off guard.
During the silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen broke the frozen atmosphere.
"Uchiha Fugaku can leave with you, but you must leave me one Uchiha!"
As soon as the words fell, a sharp retort rang out.
"Never!"
Kagami stepped forward, his bright red Sharingan fixed firmly on Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"The First Rainlord's orders were to bring them all back - not one less! Wealth, power, allies, stability - Hidden Rain can give you everything you want, but people..."
Here, Kagami shook his head firmly and slowly.
"Not a single one!"
As his resolute words fell, thick killing intent instantly filled the air.
Ever since he'd knelt before his teacher and cried until he collapsed, Konoha had no connection whatsoever with Uchiha Kagami. In his heart, there was only that peaceful, prosperous Hidden Rain Village.
Rinjin's fist was the biggest, but Rinjin's fist was always aimed at outsiders.
The village chief and daimyo only wielded power when protecting villagers.
Hidden Rain was the Uchiha's future - he believed this without doubt.
Having already clarified his heart, he was now utterly resolute.
Raindrops only had the power to wash away everything when they flowed into the sea!
Tonight, even if he and all the Uchiha clansmen behind him died here, they would die on the road rushing toward the shore, not at the hands of their own people.
On the other side, Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart had already fallen into torment.
Go to war with Hidden Rain???
This thought was strangled before it could even form!
Iwagakure's Ōnoki was pretty arrogant, right?
The Third Raikage was unreasonable, right?
The Third Mizukage was very devious, right?
The Fourth Kazekage... uh... let's not talk about that one.
A man's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Rinjin had dominated the ninja world for decades, already looming like a sky-covering demonic shadow behind Hidden Rain's curtain of rain.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed possessed, absolutely determined to keep the child Uchiha Sasuke!
While struggling internally, a child's low voice suddenly rang out.
"I... will stay as a hostage!"
"Who?!" Kagami's brow furrowed sharply as he instantly turned toward the source of the voice.
Fugaku, very familiar with that voice, felt his heart skip a beat.
"Itachi?!"
As soon as the words fell, Itachi walked down from the vehicle with a calm expression, his eyes showing neither joy nor sorrow.
Seeing this, Fugaku immediately frowned and quickly stepped forward. Walking to Itachi's side along with him was his close friend Shisui.
"Itachi, get on the bus. Hidden Rain has no precedent for individual sacrifice, and never will!"
Shisui pressed Itachi's shoulder, trying to push him onto the vehicle, but Itachi struggled free.
Itachi stubbornly shook his head:
"Shisui, I'm already a Konoha chūnin. If not for all this chaos, I might already be ANBU!"
Hearing this, the equally stubborn Shisui retorted:
"So what if you're chūnin? So what if you're ANBU? Grandpa Sakumo was even Konoha's ANBU captain!"
In front of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shisui didn't speak explicitly, but his meaning was still crystal clear.
Itachi looked up at Shisui, who was half a head taller with a serious, resolute expression, his eyes slightly moist.
He didn't want to leave his parents, leave his little brother, leave his clansmen and friends either, but he couldn't accept his family bleeding, getting hurt, or dying because of this.
His love was too heavy - it had become his burden.
He didn't want the two villages to cross swords, and even less did he want his family to get hurt.
If he could choose, he was willing to sacrifice himself.
Silence. Deathly silence shrouded the night.
After who knows how long, Itachi slowly raised his head, took a step forward, and gently embraced Shisui like a brother.
"It's okay, it's okay." Itachi's murmured comfort rang out.
"In the future, we two brothers will maintain peace between Rain and Fire Countries together."
With that, Itachi gently released Shisui and looked at his father, his face showing a rare smile.
Just then, a child's shouting suddenly erupted from the vehicle.
"Big brother! I want to stay with big brother! I'm not going anywhere - I want to stay with big brother!"
Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded.
How did another kid pop up?
Fugaku, what's wrong with you? Can't you even control your own children?
Seeing Uncle Kagami's somewhat reproachful gaze, Fugaku scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.
This wasn't really his fault - his pair of brothers were like this.
One had strong opinions from childhood, while the other was like a little tail, always sticking to his big brother.
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