Koharu Utatane narrowed her eyes and spoke calmly, "Hiruzen is the Hokage, after all. He wields the vast majority of the village's power."
"The great clans all support him."
"We cannot allow our relationship with him to become too strained."
"After all, we are old classmates, all disciples of the Second Hokage."
"The 'evil' Uchiha have already been broken by us; only two insignificant remnants remain, naively dreaming of reviving their clan."
"Actually, keeping them alive serves us well. They can be used as hostages to control the uncertainty that is Itachi Uchiha."
"Keeping one brat is enough," Mitokado Homura snorted coldly. "With Sasuke Uchiha in hand, it doesn't matter if Raizen Uchiha lives or dies."
Danzo's face remained shadowed. "Then it is settled."
"Eliminate Raizen Uchiha. Spare Sasuke Uchiha."
Koharu added, "And what about the other Uchiha in the compound?"
"Although we haven't sent anyone into the Uchiha district, the occasional sound of infant cries indicates that Raizen has fathered children. What should be done with them?"
Hearing this, Danzo's expression filled with murderous intent. He said coldly, "Kill them. Leave none alive."
"They will only grow up to be agents of evil. Only by eradicating them can Konoha know true peace."
"As for Sasuke Uchiha, we keep him for now to suppress Itachi."
Koharu fell silent.
Mitokado Homura fell silent as well.
Killing newborn infants...
"For the sake of Konoha, it is a necessary evil," Koharu finally sighed.
"Mhm," Homura nodded in agreement.
"Then we act tonight," Danzo said darkly. "I have the men prepared. Tonight, the Uchiha will truly become a thing of the past."
"Hmph! Dreaming of using 'heavy rewards' to revive the Uchiha? What a joke!"
Sasuke Uchiha and Karin arrived home.
Just as they stepped through the gate, they saw a woman in black holding a massive greatsword, standing fuming in the courtyard. Beside her were two others: Kakashi and Might Guy—the latter of whom had been tricked by Raizen into shaving his head bald.
Sasuke instinctively tried to turn and run, but the woman in black leaped forward, blocking his path.
"Where is he?!" She glared at Sasuke with fury.
Sasuke shook his head. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hmph! Brat, do you want to taste my Greatsword too?"
The woman raised her blade and slammed it into the ground right in front of Sasuke.
Sasuke jumped, terrified. This woman is likely my future aunt. Even if I could fight her, I wouldn't dare!
"Uncle... he... he left the village!" Sasuke lied through his teeth.
"Do you take me for a three-year-old, kid?"
"Do you really think I won't cut you?"
Clang!
The woman drew the blade partially from its sheath. A cold chill emanated from the steel, causing Sasuke to stumble and fall backward.
"I... I will never betray my uncle!" Sasuke gritted his teeth.
"Oh? The brat has some spine, I see."
"You two, tie him up for me!"
The woman commanded Kakashi and the bald Guy with a high-and-mighty air.
Kakashi and Guy exchanged a helpless glance. They had no choice; these were orders.
"Sasuke, just tell the Princess," Guy urged as he approached. "Tell her, and she won't make things difficult for you anymore. Kakashi and I are Jōnin; you can't escape us."
"Even if you are Jōnin, I will never sell out my uncle!" Sasuke declared firmly.
Kakashi sighed, flickered behind Sasuke, and restrained him.
Sasuke struggled. "Let go! You're a Jōnin and you're ambushing a kid? Have you no shame?"
"Hold him down and pull his shoes off," the woman said with a predatory smile.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Sasuke looked at her smile, an ominous feeling rising in his gut.
"Nothing much! You're a kid; you should laugh more."
The woman walked to the side and picked up a feather that had drifted in from somewhere. Guy had already exposed Sasuke's bare feet.
The Princess pulled up a stool, sat in front of Sasuke, and extended the feather toward his sole.
A gentle tickle.
Immediately, Sasuke burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha! Stop!"
"It itches! It itches!"
"Stop tickling me!"
"Are you going to talk?!"
"I'll... I'll talk! I'll talk! Uncle is at Auntie Kurenai's house!"
In the end, under the relentless tickling of the Princess, Sasuke Uchiha—who had sworn he would never betray his uncle—betrayed his uncle.
The Princess turned to Might Guy. "Go and bring that scoundrel back. I'm going to teach him a proper lesson."
"Yes!" Guy nodded and vanished in a blur of motion.
"And what's your name, little sister? Come and sit with me." After finishing her "interrogation" of Sasuke, the woman's face shifted instantly into a kind smile as she looked at Karin.
"My name is Karin," Karin said timidly, stepping forward.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not a tiger. Come here; I have candy." The woman pulled two pieces of candy from her pocket, popped one into her own mouth, and handed the other to Karin.
"You won't... torture me too, will you?" Karin asked cautiously.
"Do you really think I'm some kind of monster?" The Princess gently patted Karin's head. She pinched Karin's nose and said, "I'm only fierce toward certain heartless scoundrels."
Nearby, the disgruntled Sasuke muttered, "I'm not a heartless scoundrel! I'm just a kid, and you did that to me too!"
The Princess spun around, eyes wide. "That's because you were harboring a scoundrel!"
"Uncle isn't a scoundrel!" Sasuke defended Raizen. "He just accidentally forgot!"
The Princess snorted. "Hmph! Busy marrying other women at home while forgetting me? If that isn't a scoundrel, I don't know what is! You're just like him, kid. When you grow up, you'll probably be a scoundrel too—the type that gets married and never comes home!"
Sasuke snapped back, "I... I won't! I'm not going to get married at all! I'm going to become the Uchiha God of War and clear all obstacles for Uncle to revive our clan!"
The Princess burst out laughing. "Heh! Keep dreaming, kid! Look at how pathetic you look right now. 'God of War'? You're killing me! Hahaha!"
"You... you!!!"