Reikei was immersed in deep remembrance of Asuku, his heart full of regret and sorrow.
However, what comforted him slightly was that today, Uchiha Nagi had finally gathered the courage to face reality.
The memorial ceremony proceeded solemnly and gravely, and time seemed to become especially slow at this moment.
Ryoei gazed at Uchiha Asuku’s name on the gravestone, his heart filled with grief.
Smoke filled the air, and the sound of killing shouts was deafening.
The sky was covered by rolling thick smoke, showing a stifling dim yellow.
On the battlefield, blades and sword shadows crossed, and blood splashed everywhere.
Uchiha Ryoei was trapped in a heavy encirclement.
The enemies’ attacks surged toward him like a tide, gradually making it difficult for him to withstand them.
His figure looked somewhat disheveled.
Sweat soaked his clothes and mixed with blood.
The enemies’ attacks rushed at him like a storm, and Ryoei gradually became powerless, his steps beginning to stagger.
In the fierce battle, Uchiha Asuku caught sight of Ryoei’s danger, and his heart abruptly tightened.
Without the slightest hesitation, he resolutely abandoned the enemy before him and rushed toward Ryoei.
His speed reached the extreme.
The ground under his feet was stepped into shallow pits one after another, and the dust that splashed up scattered in the wind.
At the critical moment when Ryoei was about to be stabbed by an enemy’s sharp blade, Uchiha Asuku’s body slammed Ryoei aside, while the sword in his hand forcefully blocked the enemy’s attacks.
“Clang!
Clang!
Clang!” The sound of metal colliding rang across the battlefield, sparks flying everywhere.
However, there were too many enemies.
Under a fierce round of attacks, one sharp blade broke through his defense and stabbed deeply into his abdomen.
Reikei was not far away, locked in fierce combat with enemies.
He keenly sensed the crisis here and instantly burst out with powerful strength, swiftly cutting down the enemies around him before running toward Asuku and Ryoei without regard for anything else.
Ryoei held the dying Asuku, his eyes full of disbelief and despair.
“Why?” His voice trembled, as if his soul had been pulled away.
Asuku’s face was pale as paper, and every breath seemed incomparably difficult.
“Cough, cough, cough…
Ryoei, you are worth me doing this.” Asuku struggled to squeeze out a faint smile, but blood gushed out in large mouthfuls with his coughing.
Using the last of his strength, Asuku raised his hand, dug out his own two-tomoe Sharingan, and handed them to Ryoei.
“Protect the Uchiha.”
Those eyes were still stained with his blood, looking especially tragic.
“Reikei, tell Big Sister not to…” His voice grew weaker and weaker.
Before he could finish, the breath of life had already scattered from his body, and his head tilted weakly to one side.
Uchiha Reikei and Uchiha Ryoei looked at Uchiha Asuku’s body gradually losing vitality, and tears burst from their eyes.
Their cries echoed across the battlefield, filled with endless grief and despair.
Ryoei tightly held Uchiha Asuku’s corpse, his body trembling continuously.
His heart was filled with self-blame and regret.
He kept blaming himself for why he was so weak, why he had allowed Uchiha Asuku to die saving him.
Uchiha Reikei knelt to the side, both hands clenched into fists.
His nails sank deeply into his palms, and blood flowed down between his fingers.
His heart was full of anger and sorrow: anger at this cruel war, and sorrow at the departure of his close friend.
The shouts of killing around them seemed to gradually fade away, and the whole world seemed to contain only them and the Asuku who had already left.
Ryoei tightly held Asuku’s corpse, as though if he did not let go, Asuku could still come back.
His tears kept dripping onto Asuku’s cold face, mixing with blood.
“Asuku, wake up!
We agreed we would go back together!” His voice was already hoarse, yet he still kept calling.
Reikei hammered the ground with both hands, blood dyeing the earth red.
“It’s all my fault!
I should have come sooner!” he roared in self-reproach.
When the clan members arrived, what they saw was the scene of two youths holding Asuku’s corpse and sobbing until they could not speak.
The two hours of the memorial slowly passed, and the clan members left Uchiha Asuku’s gravestone one after another.
Their figures gradually disappeared into the rain, leaving only silence behind.
Only after everyone had left did your figure slowly walk out from the shadows of the woods.
You came before the gravestone, slowly crouched, and sat down lightly.
You lowered your eyes, and tears silently dropped onto the cold gravestone.
All your coldness and indifference vanished completely in your deep remembrance of your younger brother.
At this moment, you were only an elder sister who had lost her younger brother.
Tears and rain intertwined, clear tears sliding over your pale cheeks, impossible to distinguish from the rain.
Just then, a warm palm gently wiped the tears from your face.
You were slightly startled and slowly raised your head.
Then you saw Uchiha Madara holding a black umbrella, looking at you with concern.
The fine rain was blocked outside the umbrella, forming a small, quiet world.
“It’s getting late.” Uchiha Madara’s voice was gentle and firm.
He extended a hand toward you, his eyes full of care.
You did not know why Madara was here, but in this sorrowful moment, his appearance made a trace of warmth rise in your heart.
You quietly gazed into Madara’s eyes.
After a moment, you placed your hand in Madara’s palm.
Along the way, neither of you spoke.
There was only the sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella and footsteps.
Rainwater fell on the umbrella and splashed up.
A breeze blew over, and a little mist also clung to your eyes.
At this moment, the two of you were so close it seemed you could hear each other’s breathing.
Madara’s sense of smell was sharp, and the faint bitter medicinal scent brought him back to the scene of your first meeting.
Falling in love with someone did not require too much explanation.
One startling glance was enough to make a person accept it gladly.
Just like his love for you: he did not know where it began, but it went ever deeper.
Madara brought you back to his own residence.
“Dry your hair first, so you don’t catch cold.”
You accepted the towel and silently looked over everything in the room.
The furnishings inside were very clean and orderly.
Every object was placed just right, revealing the owner’s rigor.
In a corner of the living room, a stack of draft formulas was piled on an old-fashioned table.
When you walked closer, you saw that the writing on those drafts was neat.
Madara stood quietly to the side, watching you curiously examine everything.
The corners of Uchiha Madara’s mouth lifted slightly, revealing a faint smile that was difficult to notice.
He let your gaze wander around the room without stopping you at all.
You walked into the study.
The bookshelves were packed with books and scrolls, arranged by category, age, and importance, so neat it was astonishing.
You lightly pulled out an ancient book and opened it.
Inside, the notes were dense yet clearly organized, and every annotation showed the owner’s reverence and persistence toward knowledge.
After roughly looking around, you returned to the living room and sat opposite Madara.
Madara bent slightly, picked up the teapot, and poured steaming tea into your cup.
The fragrance of tea instantly spread.
“Thank you.” Your voice sounded especially clear in this silent space, yet carried a trace of distance.
Uchiha Madara gently put down the teapot and leaned forward slightly.
“Really just a thank you?”
His eyes locked tightly on you, his gaze so scorching it seemed about to burn.
Feeling that intense gaze, you subconsciously lowered your eyes.
Your long lashes cast a shadow beneath your eyelids, avoiding Madara’s eyes.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the room became subtle.
The relationship between you and him seemed at this instant like a transparent veil—seemingly clear, yet difficult to grasp.
Madara laughed softly.
That laugh carried a bit of playfulness and self-mockery.
“All right.
I was abrupt.”
His voice echoed through the quiet room, carrying a trace of helplessness and loneliness.
The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly ambiguous.
Outside the window, the rain still fell in a patter, striking the glass and forming winding streaks of water.
Putting down the teacup in your hand, you looked at Madara.
“I should leave.”
Hearing this, Uchiha Madara only silently stood and walked closer to you.
You sensed Madara approaching and turned your head to look at him, only to see deep affection and desire in his eyes.
That gaze was like a bottomless dark pool.
One careless moment, and a person would sink into it.
Uchiha Madara tightly embraced your slender waist.
His embrace was warm and powerful.
He buried his head in the hollow of your neck, his breath spilling over your skin and bringing a tingling sensation.
“Madara!” You had long since guessed that Madara’s feelings toward you were not ordinary, but his actions were still bold beyond imagination.
“You said that day that you liked me.” Madara’s voice was not loud, but in this quiet atmosphere, it sounded especially clear.
“I was only joking.
You can’t take that seriously!” You instantly panicked, never expecting that one teasing sentence you had casually said would make Madara take it so seriously.
Madara, however, seemed not to hear your explanation and said to himself, “Do we count as lovers now?”
Your heart jolted, and you tried to make Madara wake up.
“I only said it casually at the time.
Don’t take it to heart.
Besides, you’re still young!”
“I’m not young.
I know my own feelings.” Madara interrupted you.
You frowned, your heart full of regret.
You knew well that you had unintentionally provoked trouble you should not have.
“Perhaps this is just a momentary impulse.
Emotions in battle can make people have illusions.” You tried to persuade Madara.
“No.
“If you insist on thinking that way, at least…
wait until the day of your coming-of-age ceremony,” you said, changing your approach.
There were still three years…
Madara pressed close to your ear and murmured softly, “So you mean you will accept me on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony.” He bit especially hard on the last few words, as if carrying a trace of warning.
Remembering that today was Uchiha Asuku’s death anniversary, sorrow and exhaustion seemed still to linger in your heart, making you feel deeply tired.
Yet Madara’s embrace at this moment also made you feel a long-lost warmth, like finding a trace of dawn in a cold night.
Your heart was extremely conflicted.
On one hand, you feared Madara’s intense feelings would swallow you.
On the other, you coveted this brief warmth and comfort.
You were probably mad.
Knowing clearly it was dangerous, you still could not extricate yourself, and even had such a selfish thought: wanting to stay a little longer in Madara’s embrace, even if only for a brief instant.
Uchiha Madara released his hands.
You looked back at him deeply, containing a trace of attachment almost impossible to notice.
Turning around, you firmly left Madara’s residence.
Madara stood where he was.
His hands still retained the lingering warmth from the embrace just now, and the unique bitter medicinal scent on you seemed still to linger at his nose.
When you left Madara’s residence, the night was deep.
Moonlight plated the clan grounds’ stone road with a layer of silver frost.
You pulled your black cloak tighter around yourself, the tips of your hair still carrying the scent of incense from the residence.
When you returned to your dwelling at the edge of the clan grounds, you saw a familiar figure.
Uchiha Reikei was leaning against a mottled wall with his arms folded.
Hearing footsteps, he slowly raised his head, his eyes reflecting a cold light under the moon.
“I thought you would not appear on Asuku’s death anniversary.”
Your fingertips trembled slightly.
Looking at the faintly visible curse mark at Reikei’s neck, you remembered the time when the two of you worked together in the old faction many years ago.
Back then, you had talked about everything, until Asuku’s death changed it all.
You did not answer Reikei and directly pushed open the door.
The door hinge made a piercing creak.
“By the way,” Reikei suddenly spoke, his voice especially clear in the silent night, “regarding the old faction’s Cold Poison, do you really not want to solve it?”
Your body abruptly stiffened, and you turned back to look at Reikei.
“What did you say?”
The Cold Poison followed you like a shadow and had tormented you for years.
To find an antidote, during the five years after your betrayal, you had crossed countless dangerous places, yet had always found nothing.
“The Land of Wind royal family’s Crimson Flame Spirit Grass.
This is all I can help you with.”
You stared at the place where Reikei disappeared, and the image of the Land of Wind’s sky full of yellow sand appeared in your mind.
Taking a deep breath, you quickly adjusted your emotions and immediately went to the hawk faction’s council office.
Relying on your status as an elder, you summoned hidden agents.
“Go to the Land of Wind immediately and investigate news of the Crimson Flame Spirit Grass.
You must act cautiously and not alert the enemy!”
Moonlight passed through the council office’s glass windows, casting mottled light and shadow on your face.
The footsteps of the hidden agents accepting the order disappeared into the night.
When you returned home again, you heavily shut the door.
The candle flame inside the room swayed in the draft.
Looking at Asuku’s portrait on the wall, you knew the Cold Poison not only corroded your body, but also tormented your will.
To protect the Uchiha, for your younger brother’s final wish, and to search for true power.
Everything that happened today was so fantastical: Madara’s feelings, the clue Reikei brought.
Fate was reminding you at every moment that you had to break the ninja world’s chaotic situation.
You sat before the desk and spread out parchment.
At present, the Land of Wind’s situation was complex, and the royal family was locked in open and hidden struggles.
To obtain the Crimson Flame Spirit Grass, you had to personally enter the game.
What identity should you use…
“You’re saying the clan head wants Lord Nagi and me to teach the young masters genjutsu together?” Uchiha Mami heard a startling piece of news from Yasumichi.
“Yes, Mami.” Uchiha Yasumichi’s expression did not change.
Uchiha Mami suddenly felt a headache.
“The young masters are famous geniuses.
I’m afraid they understand genjutsu even better than I do.
What is there to teach?
Also, does Lord Nagi know about this?”
Yasumichi was silent for a moment.
“Currently, she does not know.
This arduous task is entrusted to you.”
“Ah—!”
Uchiha Mami wished he could smash his head into the wall and die.
What virtue or ability did he have to encounter this sort of thing?