Madara was in the courtyard showing you his skill at training hawks.
Under his command, the hawk soared vigorously through the sky, then returned precisely to his arm.
You stood quietly to the side and watched, a trace of curiosity unconsciously showing in your eyes.
Madara keenly caught that instant, and, pushing his luck, held your hand.
“I’ll teach you.”
You were somewhat unused to Madara coming close, and your body stiffened slightly.
But aside from holding your hand to guide your movements, Madara made no other excessive moves.
Gradually, you felt you had overthought it, and allowed Madara to hold your hand while you focused on learning the techniques of hawk training.
As for Madara, at this moment, his heart and eyes were full of only you beside him.
He enjoyed this rare time alone with you, as if all the troubles in the world had vanished in this heart-stirring instant.
A gentle breeze blew past, stirring the hair of the two of you, and an ambiguous yet peaceful atmosphere spread through the air.
However, this beauty was soon broken by Uchiha Kakunetsu suddenly barging in.
“Young clan head!” Kakunetsu’s voice shattered the quiet.
When he saw Madara and you tightly holding hands, he instantly realized he had come at the wrong time, and his words stopped abruptly.
Madara, who had been interrupted, instantly darkened in expression.
The look he gave Kakunetsu was full of sharpness.
Kakunetsu knew very well that he had ruined Madara’s good moment, and hurriedly said, “I didn’t see anything!” Then he turned and fled like a gust of wind.
Realizing Kakunetsu’s misunderstanding, you hurriedly pulled your hand from Madara’s palm.
“It’s getting late.
See you tomorrow.”
Madara watched your departing back, and a trace of disappointment rose in his heart.
He stood where he was, savoring the physical contact from just now.
That gentle touch seemed still to remain in his palm, making the desire in his heart for Uchiha Nagi grow even stronger.
Uchiha Madara’s eyes gradually became firm and obsessive, and a determination to obtain what he wanted quietly rose in his heart.
“You can only be mine…” Madara looked at his palm and murmured softly.
The afterglow of sunset fell over the Uchiha clan grounds’ training field, coating everything in a faint golden red.
The three of them finished a hard day of training and were preparing to go back and rest properly.
But they discovered Uchiha Kakunetsu was still on the training field, sweating like rain.
The kunai in his hand flashed with cold light as he threw it toward the target again and again.
Izuna had always been lively and loved joking.
Seeing Kakunetsu like this, he could not help teasing, “Yo, Kakunetsu is working so hard!”
His voice carried a trace of mockery, and his eyes were full of laughter.
When Kakunetsu heard Izuna’s words, he stopped his movements, wearing an expression like he wanted to cry but had no tears.
He threw the kunai aside, walked toward the three of them, and began complaining.
“At noon, I originally wanted to find the young clan head to play.
Who would have thought Elder Nagi was there too!”
As Uchiha Kakunetsu spoke, he helplessly shook his head, as if merely recalling the scene made him incomparably depressed.
“So what happened afterward?” Ryoei’s curiosity was hooked, and his eyes shone with gossip.
In this relatively dull training life, such a little incident was like a fresh breeze, drawing everyone’s interest.
Kakunetsu described it vividly.
“Do you know?
At that time, the young clan head’s hand was holding Elder Nagi’s hand just like this!”
As he spoke, he stretched out both hands, wanting to imitate Madara and Elder Nagi’s actions at the time.
His expression was extremely exaggerated, and he deliberately raised his voice, trying to create that ambiguous and astonishing atmosphere.
Seeing this, the three of them tacitly took a step back at the same time, their faces showing a bit of disgust.
Kiya frowned and said, “Enough, enough.
Stop gesturing.
It’s gross.”
Kakunetsu did not care about their reactions at all, and continued shouting, “The young clan head said if I don’t train until dark today, I can forget about eating!”
His voice was full of resentment, as if he had suffered the cruelest punishment in the world.
Ryoei, Izuna, and Kiya exchanged glances, and very quickly understood the whole story.
As Madara’s younger brothers, how could they not have noticed his feelings toward Elder Nagi?
The corner of Izuna’s mouth lifted slightly, and he gave a light scoff.
“You actually dared ruin Madara-nii’s good moment.
Just obediently do your training!”
After saying that, he pulled the other two brothers along, preparing to leave.
“Hey, don’t go!
Train with me!” Kakunetsu shouted from behind.
“Do your best by yourself!” Ryoei turned back, waved, and said with a smile.
After a day of training and fooling around ended, they returned home.
But the three lying in bed were completely sleepless.
In their minds, the matter Uchiha Kakunetsu had mentioned during the day about Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Nagi kept surfacing.
“What do you think is going on between Madara-nii and Elder Nagi?” Izuna was the first to break the silence, asking softly in the darkness.
Ryoei turned over. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“I’m curious too.
Madara-nii is usually strict, but he rarely punishes people over this sort of thing.
There must be some hidden reason.”
Kiya sat up excitedly and said, “I think there must be something else going on here.
We should go ask Madara-nii.”
This suggestion instantly received unanimous approval from everyone.
And so, under cover of night, they sneaked toward Uchiha Madara’s room.
Arriving before Madara’s door, Izuna reached out and gently knocked.
Uchiha Madara’s voice came from inside the room.
“Who is it?”
The three of them looked at one another and did not answer.
Madara was somewhat puzzled, got up, and opened the door.
When he saw that the ones standing at the door were actually his three younger brothers, surprise appeared on his face.
“You…?” Before Madara could finish, Izuna, like a clever little imp, poked his head inside.
Ryoei and Kiya followed closely after him and squeezed into the room.
“Onii-chan, just tell us?” Izuna immediately hugged Madara’s arm and began acting spoiled.
Uchiha Madara was made somewhat at a loss by their sudden action, and for a moment, could not figure out what was going on.
“Tell you what?” Madara asked with furrowed brows.
“Of course, what happened between you and Elder Nagi today?” Kiya put both hands on his waist and asked his big brother with a proud face.
Hearing Uchiha Nagi’s name, Madara’s eyes unconsciously grew a little tense.
He pretended to be calm and said, “Why are you curious about this?
Could it be that you have too little training?”
Madara’s tone became somewhat fierce, trying to make his three younger brothers retreat in the face of difficulty.
But Ryoei would not be frightened so easily.
He smiled and said, “Madara-nii would never punish us!
Just tell the truth.
What is going on between you and Elder Nagi?”
Madara only felt a splitting headache.
These three younger brothers were simply here to make trouble for him.
He sighed helplessly.
“There really is nothing between me and her.
Go rest early.”
“I don’t believe it.
The way Onii-chan looks at Elder Nagi is practically like you want to…” Izuna had not finished speaking.
Madara hurriedly covered his mouth and said through gritted teeth, “Now, you are all going to sleep immediately.
You are not allowed to talk about me and Elder Nagi anymore!”
At this moment, Madara emitted a powerful pressure.
The three younger brothers sensed that their big brother was truly angry, and immediately became obedient, nodding one after another.
“Got it, Big Brother.”
“We’ll go right now.”
“We won’t dare ask more.”
They did not dare stay any longer.
In a short while, the three of them had quickly run out of sight.
Madara looked at their departing backs and helplessly shook his head, his resentment toward Uchiha Kakunetsu increasing by several more degrees.
“That Kakunetsu really knows how to choose his timing,” Madara muttered to himself.
On the other side, after Ryoei, Izuna, and Kiya ran back to their room, they gathered together to discuss it.
Izuna panted, “Big Brother looked so scary.
He almost frightened me to death.”
Kiya smiled mysteriously.
“But I think Big Brother definitely has feelings for Elder Nagi.”
Ryoei nodded in agreement.
“There is definitely something going on.
Big Brother just isn’t willing to say it.”
“Then we’ll secretly observe in the future.
We’ll definitely discover something.” Uchiha Izuna’s eyes turned.
“Good, but don’t let Big Brother discover us, or we’ll be scolded again,” Kiya lowered his voice and said.
After the three of them finished discussing, they gradually entered dreamland with curiosity about their big brother’s feelings.
The walls around gave off an old and damp smell.
Dim torches flickered unsteadily on the walls, as though they might go out at any moment and completely release the endless darkness.
When you walked into the depths of the dungeon, you happened to see Uchiha Reikei standing before a cell.
Inside the cell, the captured Senju Itama curled up in a corner.
His eyes revealed fatigue and vigilance, but even more than that, there was the urgency brought by hunger.
Uchiha Reikei held a tray of food.
He bent down slightly and passed the food through the gap in the cell door.
Senju Itama’s gaze was instantly drawn by the food.
His eyes widened, and longing light flashed within them.
Driven by intense hunger, he had no time to suspect whether the meal was poisoned.
He hurriedly reached out to take it, then began wolfing it down.
You slowly walked to Uchiha Reikei’s side, your gaze silently watching Senju Itama the entire time.
There was no hatred in your eyes, nor pity, only a calm scrutiny, as if you were looking through him and seeing something deeper.
“Why didn’t the young clan head come looking for you?” Uchiha Reikei asked with his arms folded, some curiosity on his face.
Madara’s control and possessiveness toward Uchiha Nagi had long since become known to everyone in the clan.
It was practically a blatant obsession.
You were silent for a moment.
“Kakunetsu needed him for something.”
You truly could not understand why the clan members were always full of curiosity and attention toward matters between you and Madara.
“I see.” Uchiha Reikei suddenly understood.
He had thought that with the young clan head’s forceful personality, how could he let Uchiha Nagi have such leisure?
For a moment, the dungeon fell into brief silence.
Only the sound of Itama swallowing food was especially clear.
After that moment of silence, Uchiha Reikei seemed to suddenly remember something.
The smile on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by deep grief.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze somewhat hollow as he looked ahead.
In a low and hoarse voice, he said, “Tomorrow is Asuku’s death anniversary.
As his sister, you should go pay respects.
Always running away cannot solve anything.”
In Uchiha Reikei’s mind, the face of his dead close friend, Uchiha Asuku, surfaced involuntarily.
They had once trained together in the clan and carried out missions together.
Those beautiful memories had now become the past, leaving only endless pain and regret.
Your body trembled slightly, and your younger brother’s figure instantly appeared in your mind.
You had never attended your younger brother’s death anniversary.
In truth, deep in your heart, you had never accepted Asuku’s death.
You always felt that as long as you did not face it, your younger brother would seem to still be by your side.
Thinking of how your younger brother entrusted his Sharingan to Uchiha Ryoei before death, and of how you seemed recently to have developed different feelings for Madara, you knew it was time to say farewell to the past.
Your younger brother’s death naturally could not be forgotten, but you still had to face this cruel fact directly.
You slowly raised your head, looked firmly at Uchiha Reikei, took a deep breath, and said, “All right.
Tomorrow, I will arrive on time.”
Hearing your answer, Uchiha Reikei could not help being somewhat surprised.
Reikei had originally thought that this time, you would refuse as you had in the past.
In his impression, Uchiha Nagi had always avoided anything concerning her younger brother’s death anniversary, and he had even prepared himself to persuade you again.
He had not expected that this time, Uchiha Nagi had actually thought it through.
“If Asuku knew you could walk out of it, he would definitely be comforted,” Uchiha Reikei sighed softly.
You did not respond, only stood there quietly, your gaze becoming distant and deep.
After leaving the dungeon, you walked alone along the cold, quiet street.
Moonlight fell on you, pulling out a long shadow.
Your thoughts flew everywhere as you recalled every little moment you had spent with your younger brother.
When you were little, Asuku always followed behind you, calling “big sister” this and “big sister” that.
His childish voice seemed still to echo beside your ears.
You played together in the woods and trained ninjutsu together.
Those happy times had now become distant memories.
Returning to your residence, you lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Tomorrow, you would face the reality you had always avoided.
You did not know whether you truly had enough courage.
Fine rain fell like threads, weaving a net of sorrow.
Uchiha Ryoei and Uchiha Reikei stood solemnly before the gravestone of their close friend Uchiha Asuku.
The surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of raindrops sliding down remained, wetting the stone platform before the grave and chilling their hearts as well.
A damp smell filled the air, soaking everyone’s clothes and hair tips.
Raindrops lightly struck the ground, making fine, fragmented sounds.
During the preparations for the memorial, Uchiha Reikei’s gaze kept looking around uneasily, seeming somewhat distracted.
Seeing him like this, Ryoei felt puzzled and could not help asking, “Reikei, who are you waiting for?”
Reikei was thinking of Uchiha Nagi’s words last night, when she said she would come pay respects, and he worried she would break her promise and not come.
But when his gaze touched the shadows of a patch of woods, he saw the corner of a death warrior robe exposed behind a tree.
Since she had already come, she likely had not yet prepared herself to appear, Reikei thought privately.
He relaxed slightly, shook his head, and said to Ryoei, “Nothing.
Let’s begin.”
Reikei’s abnormality still made Uchiha Madara, standing to the side, suspicious.
Madara’s keen gaze followed the direction Reikei had just looked toward, into the woods.
Thinking that Uchiha Asuku was Nagi’s younger brother, he guessed that Nagi might also have arrived at the scene, only hiding alone.