Far away from Konoha…
Inside the Tsuchikage's office of Iwagakure.
Several elite Iwa shinobi stood around the conference table while intelligence reports regarding Konoha's disaster lay scattered across the desk.
And in the center of it all...
Ōnoki laughed loudly, completely unable to control himself.
"Hahahaha—! Good! GOOD!"
The old man nearly slammed his tiny fist onto the desk while laughing so hard his shoulders shook violently.
The surrounding shinobi stared at him with stunned expressions.
None of them had seen the Tsuchikage laugh like this in years.
One jōnin finally hesitated before speaking carefully.
"Tsuchikage-sama… what happened?"
Ōnoki wiped tears from the corner of his eyes, his face full of undisguised delight.
"What happened?" he barked. "Konoha got torn apart by the Nine-Tails! That's what happened!"
The room immediately became restless.
Another shinobi frowned slightly.
"But according to the report… the village survived."
"Of course it survived!" Ōnoki snorted. "That monster Shiki was there."
The old man's expression twisted slightly at the mention of the name clearly remembering the trauma that man had caused to him.
Honestly…
When he first heard the Nine-Tails had rampaged through Konoha, a tiny part of him had truly hoped Shiki would finally suffer for once.
Maybe lose an arm… or better yet, end up crippled entirely.
Maybe die together with the beast.
Anything.
As long as that terrifying bastard finally disappeared from the shinobi world.
One Iwa ninja slowly raised his hand.
"Then… should we perhaps use this chance to—"
Slap!
Before the sentence could even finish—
Ōnoki vanished from his seat.
The old man instantly appeared beside the speaker and smacked him across the face hard enough to send him crashing onto the floor.
Everyone froze, unable to understand why their Tsuchikage had suddenly lost his mind.
The shinobi who got hit held his burning cheek in complete confusion.
Ōnoki glared at him furiously.
"Use this chance?"
"Are you stupid?!"
The office instantly fell silent.
Ōnoki pointed toward the intelligence report on the desk.
"Shiki is still alive and perfectly fine."
"He defeated the Nine-Tails without even being injured."
The old man's voice grew heavier with every word.
"Do you idiots understand what that means?"
The surrounding shinobi gradually calmed down.
Only then did they realize their mistake.
They had focused too much on Konoha's losses…
And forgotten the real monster was still standing.
The atmosphere immediately became much colder.
Kitsuchi felt a drop of sweat slide down his face.
He was glad he had not opened his mouth just now.
Honestly, he had almost suggested the same thing. The hatred and desire for revenge in his heart had nearly blinded him to the situation.
Ōnoki clicked his tongue irritably before floating back toward his desk.
"That man alone is enough to overturn an entire war."
He still remembered the pressure Shiki had brought during the previous conflicts.
That overwhelming force.
That absurd speed.
That monstrous level of swordsmanship that completely ignored all common sense.
Even now, merely thinking about it gave him a headache.
Ōnoki exhaled deeply and waved his hand dismissively.
"Forget Konoha."
"Focus on our own village."
"As long as Shiki is alive…"
"We cannot involve ourselves in any wars."
...
Meanwhile, far across the sea…
Inside the Mizukage's office of Kirigakure, the atmosphere was far less tense than in the other hidden villages.
The sound of waves echoed faintly outside the tall windows while several Kiri shinobi stood around the office holding fresh intelligence reports regarding Konoha's disaster.
At the center of the room sat Terumi Mei.
Unlike the others who reacted with caution or expectation after hearing the news…
Mei simply smiled.
A beautiful, charming smile capable of making most men lose their minds instantly.
"Oh my…"
She lightly crossed her legs and rested her chin against her hand.
"Should I use this opportunity to visit him, perhaps?"
Several Kiri shinobi immediately lowered their heads awkwardly.
At this point, almost everyone in Kirigakure knew who the "him" she referred to was.
Shiki.
The terrifying Golden Lion of Konoha.
Ao, standing beside her, wiped sweat from his forehead before carefully speaking.
"Mizukage-sama… what should we do regarding Konoha?"
"Should we perhaps send someone to investigate…?"
Mei blinked once.
Then slowly turned her gaze toward Ao with visible surprise.
"Ohhh?"
Her tone rose slightly.
"Ao… I never knew you had such courage."
Ao froze.
For some reason…
A strange sense of pride appeared in his chest.
As expected, the Mizukage-sama still recognizes my abilities—
Then Mei continued with a deeply touched expression.
"To think you wanted to attack Shiki while he was weakened~"
"How bold."
Ao's face instantly stiffened.
Mei gently covered her mouth while smiling beautifully.
"Very well, Ao."
"This mission will be entirely under your command."
"You may handle it however you see fit."
She even clenched her fist slightly in encouragement.
"I'm cheering for your success."
"…"
Although the words sounded encouraging, everyone present could tell they were clearly a death sentence.
Ao stood there with an expression that looked as though he had just swallowed poison.
Mei however had already turned her head away dramatically, even wiping at the corner of her eye with exaggerated emotion.
"Ahh… how tragic…"
"I can already picture it…"
"A loyal subordinate sacrificing himself for the village..."
Several Kiri shinobi immediately looked away, their shoulders shaking slightly.
Ao's mouth twitched violently.
Drama queen.
This woman was absolutely a drama queen.
She was clearly enjoying this… and simply making fun of him.
'Why did I even open my stupid mouth?'
Mei ignored Ao's dead stare completely and lazily glanced back toward the report about Konoha.
Her beautiful eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
In truth…
Ever since that incident, she had never met Shiki again.
Nothing truly happened between them.
Well…
Aside from that kiss.
But in Mei's opinion...
That was already more than enough reason to make a huge deal out of it forever.
The corner of her lips curled upward again.
"That cold man…"
"He really is hard to approach."
...
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure…
The Kazekage's office was unusually quiet.
The wind outside carried grains of sand against the windows while several Suna shinobi stood waiting nervously for orders.
On the desk rested the intelligence report from Konoha.
Rasa read the final line once more before placing the scroll down slowly.
"The Nine-Tails was suppressed…"
"And Shiki was unharmed."
His brows furrowed slightly.
Beside him, Chiyo let out a dry snort.
"Hmph. Of course he was."
The old woman sounded annoyed more than surprised.
Unlike the younger shinobi in the room, Chiyo had personally witnessed Shiki's strength before.
And unfortunately—
The memory was unforgettable.
She still remembered that terrifying slash during the war.
The moment a Tailed Beast Bomb had been cut apart like paper.
Even now, thinking about it made her eyelids twitch slightly.
One of the Suna jōnin hesitated before speaking carefully.
"Kazekage-sama… Konoha suffered heavy losses during the attack."
"If we pressure them politically now, perhaps we can—"
"Pressure them?"
Chiyo immediately interrupted with a sharp glare.
"Go ahead then."
The jōnin froze.
The old woman folded her arms and sneered.
"You want to provoke the man who treated a Tailed Beast Bomb like a child's toy?"
The room instantly became awkwardly silent.
Chiyo clicked her tongue irritably.
"You brats keep looking at Konoha and forgetting the actual problem."
"That Golden Lion monster isn't the type you measure with common sense."
Rasa quietly nodded.
He did not like admitting it either.
But reality was reality.
The current balance between the Five Great Nations was already unstable enough.
And Shiki's existence had only made it worse.
The Fourth Kazekage lightly tapped the desk with his fingers.
"We gain nothing from provoking Konoha now."
One of the advisors frowned slightly.
"But if Konoha truly weakened after this—"
Rasa calmly interrupted him.
"Then Shiki would simply rebuild it again."
"Faster than the other villages could even react."
No one could refute that.
That man had already overturned too many impossible situations.
Chiyo suddenly let out a rough laugh.
"Hah. Tobirama's era, Hashirama's era… now this generation produces another ridiculous monster."
Then her expression darkened slightly.
"And this one's even more troublesome."
At least Hashirama Senju had acted like a proper leader and peacemaker and wasn't particularly cruel.
Shiki, meanwhile…
That bastard did whatever he pleased, and once angered, there was no doubt you would pay a terrible price.
Which made him even harder to predict.
Rasa leaned back slightly before speaking in a calm voice.
"Focus on strengthening Sunagakure."
"No reckless actions."
The surrounding shinobi immediately lowered their heads.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
...
Back in Konoha…
By the time the small messenger hawk reached the Uzumaki residence, Kushina Uzumaki was already preparing to sleep when the bird suddenly caught her attention.
Turning on the light in the dimly lit room, Kushina slowly opened the letter with a puzzled expression.
At first, her face remained calm.
But soon, her expression changed completely.
"Mikoto…?"
The paper in her hands trembled faintly.
Without hesitation, Kushina immediately stood up.
But the sudden movement caused her body to sway slightly.
Even so, Kushina ignored it completely.
Because the contents of the letter had already made one thing painfully clear.
Mikoto Uchiha was in trouble.
Not long afterward—
Inside a small hidden room belonging to one of Kushina Uzumaki's private safehouses…
Mikoto Uchiha sat silently with Itachi Uchiha asleep in her arms.
The little boy's forehead was wrapped in bandages.
Even while sleeping, his small body twitched slightly from time to time, as though he instinctively feared someone might hit him again.
That sight alone made the entire situation feel even more suspicious in Kushina's eyes, and her expression gradually darkened.
"Mikoto…"
The moment Mikoto Uchiha saw Kushina Uzumaki enter the room…
She lowered her head almost instinctively, as though ashamed to even face her.
"…I'm sorry."
The first words out of her mouth were an apology.
Kushina froze for a moment before immediately frowning in displeasure.
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
Mikoto Uchiha bit her lip tightly.
"After the Nine-Tails incident…"
"Everything changed."
"The clan members started looking at us differently. As though we were criminals."
Her fingers tightened slightly around Itachi Uchiha's small body.
"They blamed Fugaku… and that hatred turned toward me and Itachi instead."
Mikoto bit her lip hard.
"I wanted to tell you. More than once… but every time I heard about your condition… I couldn't bring myself to burden you with this too."
"At first… I thought they would calm down eventually. I thought things would get better after some time passed…"
"But things only kept getting worse… and now here I am, without even an ounce of shame, asking for your help again…"
"I feel so useless…"
By the end, her shoulders had already begun trembling slightly.
Kushina Uzumaki stared at her silently for several seconds.
Then…
Smack.
"Agh?"
Mikoto Uchiha blinked in shock after being lightly flicked on the forehead.
Partly because it hurt a little… and partly because she could not understand the meaning behind it.
Kushina crossed her arms angrily.
"Idiot."
"That incident had nothing to do with you."
"Mikoto is Mikoto."
"Fugaku is Fugaku."
"And those clan idiots are those clan idiots."
Kushina spoke firmly without the slightest hesitation.
"I believe in you."
"And that flick was because you hid this from me for so long."
The simple words instantly made Mikoto Uchiha's chest tighten painfully.
Because Kushina truly meant them.
There was no suspicion or blame in her eyes.
They were still filled with trust as she looked at her.
And that only made Mikoto feel even worse.
"…Kushina…"
Kushina, meanwhile, suddenly puffed out her chest confidently and slapped it proudly.
"Leave it to me!"
"I'll go talk to him."
Mikoto froze slightly, her body stiffening as though her shameful thoughts had just been seen through.
"H-Him…?"
Kushina blinked at her friend's strange reaction but did not think much of it.
She simply assumed Mikoto was overwhelmed with guilt and nervousness.
"Shiki, obviously."
"Who else?"
Then she suddenly grinned mischievously.
"That guy acts cold all the time, but he's actually soft-hearted toward people he cares about."
"I'll handle it."
Kushina spoke with absolute confidence.
As though this was already settled.
As though Shiki helping Mikoto was the most natural thing in the world.
She felt that ever since the incident, Shiki had been oddly accommodating toward her, so he would likely agree if she asked him for this favor.
If Shiki spoke personally, then the Uchiha Clan and no one else in Konoha would ever dare treat Mikoto Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha like that again.
Mikoto lowered her head quietly.
Her long hair covered her eyes completely.
"…Why?"
Kushina tilted her head.
"Why what?"
"…Why are you helping me this much?"
Mikoto's voice became hoarse.
"After everything the Uchiha caused…"
"You almost died because of us."
Kushina fell silent briefly.
Then she walked forward slowly and gently placed a hand on Mikoto's shoulder.
"Because you're my friend."
That single sentence nearly shattered Mikoto completely.
For a moment, she almost wanted to confess everything.
The shameful thoughts she had toward Shiki.
And that disgusting plan to save herself and her child.
But reason still held her back.
She knew that if she told Kushina, Kushina might stop her… or even help her from another angle.
That might provide a temporary solution.
But not a way forward.
What Mikoto wanted was not temporary shelter.
She wanted a future where Itachi could live without fear.
'I'm sorry, Kushina… I'm really sorry.'
Author's Note: Yoho, Arthorain here!
I'll keep it simple and won't babble. I've started a new novel, and honestly, I could use some help with it. Since it's still new, every bit of support matters.
Naruto: Dracule Mihawk Template is now live—packed with aura farming, elegant disrespect, and an MC who handles problems the Mihawk way: stare first, slash second, explain absolutely nothing.
A Power Stone or even adding it to library would help more than you'd think. Doing both is, of course, highly encouraged. Tagged below 👇