Next Bonus, 100PS!!
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Nine years slipped by without a sound.
During those nine years, the wars faded away, and there were no more battles between the Uchiha and the Senju.
The Uchiha and Senju did not wage war.
Other clans did.
Underneath that uneasy peace, rumors about Uchiha Kitsune kept spreading through the hidden parts of the Shinobi world.
The once-famous Uchiha powerhouse, the man who had shaken the whole era, had shut his doors completely several years earlier. He sealed himself deep inside the Uchiha clan head's residence and no longer received visitors.
All clan affairs, large and small, were handed to the current Uchiha clan head and the rising young talents within the clan.
It seemed as if Uchiha Kitsune had disappeared from the world. There was no news, no sign of him.
Obviously, rumors started to spread.
Some whispered that Kitsune had already been stripped of power by factions inside the clan and reduced to a prisoner under house arrest.
Others went further, privately guessing that he had died long ago, and that the Uchiha Clan had hidden the news to stabilize their internal situation and keep the Shinobi world from stirring up trouble again.
All kinds of theories spread in the shadows, but no one had the courage to look for the truth.
No one was willing to make a move either.
Everyone knew Kitsune's tricks by now. Uchiha Kitsune was a master of faking his own death.
He had done it before, like when he crossed the river dressed in white for a funeral. After that, he kept using his strange power to return from the dead in battle, time after time.
..............
Deep within the Naka River territory.
Naka Shrine.
This was the sacred ground of the Uchiha Clan. Only clan heads, elders, or clansmen who had rendered extraordinary service to the Uchiha could be buried here.
But today, in front of one grave deep inside the shrine, a lonely figure rested in silence.
The name engraved on the tombstone was Senju Uzuki—
In the thousand-year history of Naka Shrine, she was the only exception.
This was the result Uchiha Kitsune had fought for with almost stubborn intensity. He had insisted on burying Senju Uzuki here, in the most sacred place of the Uchiha.
To Kitsune, everything he had accomplished was because of Senju Uzuki.
"Uzuki..." Uchiha Kitsune bowed his head. His thin fingers gently touched the cold tombstone. "I'm almost dead... In this life, the one person I wronged most was always you."
His voice was as light as drifting cotton on the wind. "Next life. In the next life, let's love each other properly... In this life, we ran out of time. I failed you."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cool breeze swept by, lifting leaves from the ground. It moved his hair and touched his pale cheek.
Kitsune frowned slightly and was about to say something.
Then, suddenly, a familiar voice spoke beside him. "Little friend, it's been thirty years. Have you been well?"
The instant that voice entered his ears, Uchiha Kitsune's body trembled as if struck by lightning.
"..." If he still had eyes, they would have been flooded with shock and disbelief.
THAT VOICE!!
A memory buried for thirty years.
An old man stood quietly beside him. It was the same man who had fished by the river thirty years ago, the one who had fought him in that strange, impossible battle.
"It's... you!" Kitsune's voice carried a faint tremor, each word forced out with difficulty.
Manji gave a slight nod. His eyes rested on Kitsune. "Your time is almost up. I came to see you one last time."
Inwardly, Manji sighed. He had even forced Asura's reincarnation to appear early, yet Uchiha Kitsune had somehow run through both of them.
A man like Kitsune deserved a proper farewell.
And Manji did feel a little guilty toward him.
"..." Uchiha Kitsune stayed quiet for a long time, slowly calming down inside.
"Who are you really??" Kitsune raised his face toward him, his tone calm but stubborn.
Manji clasped his hands behind his back and asked lightly, "Does who I am matter that much to you?"
Kitsune stayed silent and nodded. The answer was clear.
After a moment of thought, Kitsune made his first guess, his voice uncertain. "Are you Sarutobi, the founder of the Sarutobi Clan?"
Manji shook his head gently. "No."
"Then... the founder of the Senju Clan?"
"No."
Kitsune's heart sank. His breath halted, and his voice stiffened with shock and doubt. "Could you be... an ancestor of the Uchiha?"
"Not that either." One denial after another thundered through Kitsune's mind. Then a ridiculous answer, one so terrifying it felt impossible, suddenly surged to the surface.
Kitsune raised a quivering hand, his thin finger pointing straight toward the deepest part of Naka Shrine.
Toward the place where the Sage of Six Paths was enshrined.
"You... Are you Him?"
"..." Manji looked calmly toward the Six Paths temple.
This time, he did not answer.
Everything around them went silent. Even the wind stopped. Only the grass and trees by the tombstone stayed still.
Kitsune slowly lowered his shaking hand. His body relaxed, and a faint, sad smile appeared on his lips. It was the smile of someone who finally understood.
"What was the point of all this?" Kitsune inquired gently, no fear left in his voice. "Why did you do it?"
Manji turned around slowly, showing his back. He spoke gently. "One of my students and one of my grandstudents made a promise about mortal matters. They asked me to come here, watch everything, and record what happened in each life."
Kitsune frowned, his face full of confusion.
Manji naturally knew that Kitsune did not understand reincarnation, fate, and karmic consequence. He only uttered softly, "Kitsune, let's meet a thousand years from now. When that time comes, you'll understand everything that happened today."
"A thousand years from now?" Kitsune looked even more confused and repeated the words softly. "What does that mean? I'm about to die. My body and soul will disappear. A thousand years from now..."
Halfway through, Kitsune suddenly stopped.
Then he laughed softly, fully at peace.
If fate had decided things this way, there was nothing more he could say.
..............
A short distance away, behind the pines and cypresses, two Uchiha guards peered out, looking confused as they whispered to each other.
"Brother, what's going on with the Clan Head? He's been talking to empty air for a while. It's kind of scary."
The younger guard scratched his head.
The older guard sighed and lowered his voice. "Maybe he's saying what's in his heart to Lady Uzuki's grave... My grandmother does the same thing every year when she visits my grandfather's grave. She talks and talks at the tombstone. Maybe she just misses him too much."
Their whispers scattered into the wind.
Within the shrine's depths, that tiny corner was consumed by loneliness and the echo of destiny.
Uchiha Kitsune slowly closed his eyes. His breathing slowed and stopped.
Then he died...
Manji silently watched the dead Uchiha Kitsune.
"You worked hard, Kitsune." Manji gently patted Uchiha Kitsune's shoulder.
..............
Mount Myōboku.
Manji buried Uchiha Kitsune and Senju Uzuki together.
In a way, it was Manji's way of saying sorry to Kitsune.
At first, Manji had planned to bury Indra's and Asura's reincarnations separately, just like Senju Shūichi and Uchiha Senichi.
But because of Kitsune and Uzuki's bond, and how hard Kitsune's life had been, Manji decided to break tradition and bury them together.
Uchiha Kitsune: Fate turned out to be quite decent after all!!
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