The forest was lush with dense branches and leaves. Specks of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the foliage and scattered across the ground, spreading patches of warm light.
Uchiha Katsu walked slowly through the woods. Behind his back he hid a bundle of freshly picked flowers still carrying morning dew. A gentle smile rested on his lips, his heart full of anticipation.
There was no battle today. No smoke of war, no killing.
Katsu had deliberately come to this mountain forest and picked the most vivid flowers, just to give them to Senju Mio.
"When she sees these flowers, she'll definitely be happy.", Uchiha Katsu murmured silently to himself.
The smile at the corner of his mouth grew even softer as he quickened his steps toward the old place where the two of them met every day.
But just as he approached the ancient tree they had agreed upon, a suppressed, faint sound of sobbing suddenly drifted into his ears.
"What is this?", The smile on Uchiha Katsu's face instantly froze. His steps halted abruptly, his expression full of shock.
He lightened his footsteps and quickly moved closer. At a glance, he saw Senju Mio curled up against the tree trunk, her shoulders trembling nonstop.
Her head was lowered as she sobbed quietly. The bright and bold appearance she usually carried was gone, leaving only grievance and pain filling her heart.
"Mio? What's wrong with you?", Uchiha Katsu's heart tightened. He immediately stepped forward, his voice filled with urgency and concern.
Hearing his voice, Senju Mio lifted her head. Her tearful eyes crashed straight into his sight. Her eye sockets were red, and tears kept sliding down her cheeks.
The moment she saw Uchiha Katsu, the emotions she had been holding back for so long finally collapsed completely, and she cried even harder.
"Katsu… my father, and the head of the Senju clan… they've already decided. They're going to marry me off far away to the Uzumaki clan for a political alliance…", Mio spoke while choking on her sobs.
"What?"
These words exploded like thunder.
Uchiha Katsu, who had always been calm and steady and never revealed his emotions, suddenly had an extremely ugly expression on his face. The aura around him instantly turned cold.
The next second, his pupils shrank violently. A surge of wild chakra rushed straight into his eyes. A burning pain swept through them, and the originally pure black pupils suddenly turned a strange, crimson red.
The outline of tomoe slowly formed in his eyes. First a single tomoe rotated, but in the blink of an eye it split and expanded, transforming directly into two smooth tomoe that quietly spun within the crimson pupils...
The moment his eyes awakened, they were already the two-tomoe Sharingan.
"Katsu!? Your eyes…"
Senju Mio instantly stopped crying and stared at his eyes with a face full of shock. Those were the Sharingan, the bloodline limit of the Uchiha clan. He had actually awakened them at this moment, and directly to the two-tomoe stage.
"My eyes…"
Uchiha Katsu froze for a moment. Subconsciously, he raised his hand and touched his eyes.
It wasn't that he felt no joy from awakening them, but that joy was completely crushed by the news that Senju Mio was going to be married far away.
"No! That's not important!"
Katsu slowly lowered his hand. The crimson Sharingan continued to rotate in his eyes, but his expression was as dark as a freezing pool. His voice was low and solemn.
"Mio, what do you plan to do?"
"I can only…"
Endless struggle flashed across Senju Mio's face. Her teeth bit hard into her lower lip, and her fingertips dug deeply into her palms.
After a long time, she raised her reddened eyes. They were filled with bitterness and helplessness, yet also with a determination carved into her bones.
"For the sake of the Senju clan… I… can only do this."
"No! I have a way! Wait for me!"
Uchiha Katsu suddenly stood up, stuffed the flowers into Senju Mio's arms, and then left decisively.
Senju Mio watched Uchiha Katsu's departing figure and sighed softly in her heart.
Perhaps… this was also good.
At least it would prevent them from making an even bigger mistake in the future.
———
The predetermined wedding day arrived as scheduled. The day Senju Mio was to be married had finally come.
The Senju clan prepared for this alliance with great seriousness. The wedding procession set out fully arranged.
The clan had specially sent five battle-hardened Senju elites to escort the journey.
All five were Mio's uncles, her father's brothers and elder relatives. Their strength was formidable, and they were pillars of the clan.
The procession traveled along a remote ancient road through the forest. The surrounding vegetation was bleak and silent, leaving only the sounds of horses and wheels moving forward.
At that moment, a sudden change occurred.
The trap Uchiha Katsu had set in advance was triggered instantly.
Countless kunai gleaming with cold light shot out from both sides of the dense forest like a rainstorm, flying toward the procession.
Immediately after, several deafening explosions roared one after another. Explosive tags ignited blazing flames.
The shockwaves made the carriages and horses shake violently, and smoke and dust instantly filled the entire ancient road.
"Not good! It's an ambush!"
The expressions of the five Senju experts changed drastically, their reactions as fast as lightning.
Two of them immediately flashed beside Mio's carriage. Thick chakra gathered explosively and formed a solid protective barrier, guarding Senju Mio inside the carriage.
The remaining three shot outward like arrows, their eyes scanning the surroundings like hawks as they sternly searched for the enemy behind the trap.
"Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, what's going on?", Senju Mio spoke up and asked.
"Don't be afraid. It's probably an ambush by the Uchiha or the Hagoromo clan."
The smoke gradually dispersed, and a black-robed figure slowly stepped out from the forest.
The man wore a dark cloak that tightly wrapped his body. In his hand he held a cold, gleaming katana. A chilling and intimidating aura spread from his entire body.
"Which reckless fool dares to block the Senju wedding procession!", Mio's uncles shouted angrily. Seeing that the newcomer clearly had ill intentions, they no longer hesitated.
They simultaneously activated their chakra and charged toward the black-robed man with the powerful physical strength of the Senju clan.
Uchiha Katsu's eyes turned cold. Instead of retreating, he advanced. The katana in his hand left its sheath, its sharp sound slicing through the air.
In an instant, blade light and fist shadows collided violently. The surging sounds of chakra and the clashing of weapons rang out one after another.
The few of them instantly tangled together as an intense battle erupted in the forest.
"So it's an Uchiha! Damn Uchiha!"
"You actually dared to come alone?!"
After discovering Uchiha Katsu's Sharingan, the Senju experts' attacks became even more ferocious.
Senju Mio sensed the surging chakra outside, and her expression changed at the same time. She had sensed a familiar chakra.
It was Uchiha Katsu.
"How could he…"
Senju Mio no longer hesitated and immediately made a move.
In an instant she drew out a kunai and clashed with Uchiha Katsu.
"Is it you, Katsu?!", Senju Mio asked aloud.
"Mio, come with me! I'll take you away!", Uchiha Katsu said urgently.
"You're being ridiculous! Do you know this could cause hostility between the Senju and the Uzumaki?!", Senju Mio said angrily.
Uchiha Katsu didn't care. He glanced calmly at the others.
"If we silence them, won't that solve it?"
"They're my family! You can't do that!", Senju Mio said.
"Miss, do you know this Uchiha?", One of the Senju experts asked.
Senju Mio's expression struggled. She said nothing, but looked at Uchiha Katsu. The meaning in her eyes was very clear.
'Leave quickly!'
Uchiha Katsu's Sharingan glowed crimson, his gaze dark.
"Mio, come with me!"
"We'll leave all of this behind. I won't take you back to the Uchiha. I can abandon the Uchiha, and you can abandon the Senju. These clans aren't worth us sacrificing ourselves for!"
"We'll find a town and live properly. We'll go far away!"