After his wife's betrayal, compounded by his own dismissal and ostracization from the Police Force, even the ever-optimistic Uchiha Hokushin could not withstand the blows.
He withdrew from the clan, moving into one of the most remote corners of the Uchiha district, abandoning all contact with his kin. Day after day, he drowned himself in missions, forcing his body and mind into exhaustion in a desperate attempt to numb the pain. On days without assignments, he shut himself indoors, speaking only to his daughter Kuugetsu.
Over time, Hokushin managed to crawl out from the shadow of despair. Yet what he failed to realize was that his actions had pushed Kuugetsu into an even deeper torment.
In the Uchiha clan, no secret remained hidden for long. Word of Kuugetsu's mother's infidelity spread like wildfire. None pitied father and daughter. All they received were sneers, curses, and ridicule.
The shinobi world already leaned toward harsh male dominance, and the Uchiha revered strength above all else. To them, a man who couldn't even keep his own wife from running away was nothing but a useless fool. Hokushin became their laughingstock, and by extension, young Kuugetsu became the target of the children's bullying.
Yet she never breathed a word of this to her father. Whether Hokushin was home or away, she endured it all in silence—curling up alone in corners, treating her own wounds with trembling hands, and forcing herself to withstand every insult hurled her way.
If that had been all, she might still have endured.
But what shattered her was not the scorn of others—it was the cruelty of her own mother.
On one particular day, the scene shifted to the bustling main street of the Uchiha compound.
Kuugetsu, still so young, spotted her mother walking hand-in-hand with another man. Innocent as she was, she didn't fully understand the meaning of that night when her mother had left their home. Even so, she balled her tiny fists, summoned what little courage she had, and ran forward—grabbing hold of her mother's hand, desperate to salvage something, anything.
But what met her was nothing but disgust.
With a sharp, violent motion, her mother tore her hand away. The force sent the girl tumbling back onto the ground, her knees splitting open as she hit the stones. Even so, Kuugetsu refused to give up. Gritting her teeth, ignoring the blood trickling down her legs, she staggered back to her feet.
Once again she reached out—only to be struck across the face with a resounding slap.
Then came the words. Words so cold, so venomous, that even a child could understand them perfectly:
"The thing I regret most in my life… is giving birth to a worthless child like you with that pathetic man."
Kuugetsu collapsed where she stood. Around her, whispers filled the street, cruel eyes watching with thinly veiled delight. Her vision blurred, tears mixing with the pain, and in the depths of her gaze, a scarlet light began to swirl.
A single tomoe spun within her Sharingan. And behind her, unseen by the world, another self began to take form—a reflection with the same face, yet a heart entirely different.
Dan, usually calm and kind, could no longer contain himself. His fists clenched as he spat out furiously:
"Bastard…!"
He turned instinctively toward Inner Kuugetsu, as though demanding an answer.
She, however, merely watched the memory unfold with an expression of calm. Yet within her eyes, flames raged.
When she noticed Dan's gaze, her lips curled into a beautiful smile—one that carried with it an eerie, chilling edge.
"That's right," she said softly. "It was on that day that I was born. To protect Kuugetsu… to protect myself. From that moment on, I swore by a single creed—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Even for a seasoned jōnin like Dan, that smile made his heart skip. He swallowed hard, hesitation weighing on his voice as he asked:
"…So you… killed that woman?"
Watching from afar through the spiritual link, Hoshiyomi and Shinku both frowned at once. Neither spoke, but deep down, they knew—had they endured such cruelty themselves, perhaps they too would have chosen vengeance.
Inner Kuugetsu's face twisted into a complicated expression.
"If I had possessed the strength back then, perhaps I really would have killed her," she admitted. "But at the time, I was still too young. Even so… her death is tied to me."
As if words alone could no longer suffice, Inner Kuugetsu flicked her hand, reshaping the scene around them. The dark chamber gave way to another night from the past.
"At that time," she explained, "hatred already clouded our eyes. We even considered setting fire to her home. But in the end, we abandoned that thought.
"Still… abandoning revenge entirely? That was impossible. So in the end, I chose another path."
On the tatami mat, the young Kuugetsu stirred from slumber. Her eyes snapped open. Moving silently, she slipped out into the night, unseen by the patrolling guards.
She crept into the heart of the Uchiha residential district, easing her small body through a window. The sounds of her mother's indulgent laughter echoed from the next room. Unnoticed, Kuugetsu padded toward the corner where her mother's shinobi tools were stored.
From within the pouch, she drew a kunai, its surface gleaming faintly in the moonlight. She drew out a small saw she had hidden away, and with deliberate care, she tampered with the weapon—leaving the flawed edge turned inward, while the unmarred side remained outward, impossible to detect at a glance.
"I can't even say what I was thinking back then," Inner Kuugetsu's voice narrated over the scene. "Maybe I wanted her dead. Maybe I only wanted her to pay some price for casting me aside. I don't know. But three days later, news arrived: she had died on a mission."
The memory shifted again.
Kuugetsu sat frozen, staring at her trembling hands as the message sank in. Her single tomoe had already, without her realizing, evolved into two.
"She knew," Inner Kuugetsu whispered. "Kuugetsu knew what I had done—or rather, what we had done. Kind-hearted as she was, she could not accept that truth. Though no one suspected us, she could never escape the crushing guilt.
"So I separated myself fully. I sealed away that memory and bore the weight in her place."
The truth lay bare.
Neither Dan, nor Shinku, nor Hoshiyomi spoke at once. Silence weighed heavy in the air.
At last, it was Shinku who broke it.
"There's no point debating whether what happened was right or wrong," she said quietly. "It's already done. What matters now… is whether we should allow Kuugetsu to face this truth at her current age."
She turned toward Hoshiyomi.
"You are her teacher. Of all of us here, you know her best. What do you think?"
Hoshiyomi's expression darkened, caught in deep hesitation. Even he could not be certain. Could Kuugetsu accept such a reality?
After all, she had not directly struck the killing blow. The kunai's flaw may or may not have been the true cause of her mother's death. Rationally, Hoshiyomi understood that. But emotionally—was the girl truly prepared?
After a long silence, his gaze sharpened. His answer came firm and resolute.
"I trust her. Bring Kuugetsu forward. As my disciple, I believe she can face this. And make sure to tell her this: A blade cuts the flesh. The heart cuts the spirit. To wield the sword, one must first wield it within the heart. That is the true path of kenjutsu."
Shinku inclined his head in acknowledgment. He relayed Hoshiyomi's words exactly as they were to Dan.
Dan turned to Inner Kuugetsu and declared:
"Hoshiyomi says to bring Kuugetsu here. He believes she can face it."
Soon after, Kuugetsu herself stepped forward, nervous but determined.
Dan met her eyes and repeated the message solemnly:
"Hoshiyomi-sensei left you with these words—A blade cuts the flesh. The heart cuts the spirit. To wield the sword, one must first wield it within the heart. That is the true path of kenjutsu. Remember them well."
Author's Note:
This chapter took me quite a while to write. Originally, I planned for Kuugetsu to directly burn her mother alive. But some readers warned me that might get censored, so I revised it into the current form instead.