Chapter 39

As Kakashi looked up, he caught sight of Uchiha Yuki turning away, the hem of her clothes brushing against his bare forearm. Her slender figure exuded a cold, aloof aura, even her hair seemed to radiate a distant light.

After the Fourth Hokage's death, Yuki Uchiha, who had disobeyed orders during the Nine-Tails' attack, was deliberately removed from Konoha's regular military system by Danzo Shimura. Now, Yuki is merely a figurehead in the Uchiha Guard.

Having witnessed the deaths of Minato Namikaze and Kushina, it is said that Yuki Uchiha has lost control of her uncontrolled chakra.

Hearing that even the Sharingan, the eye technique that the Uchiha clan was so proud of, was unusable, Kakashi clenched his fist.

Following the Nine-Tails incident, Konoha's leadership, citing security concerns, relocated the Uchiha clan to the edge of the village. The guard units were placed adjacent to the prison. Meanwhile, Kakashi, working for the Anbu, received orders from Danzo to strengthen surveillance of the Uchiha clan.

Uchiha Yuki did not break up with Kakashi, but the two were already like strangers.

No matter how hard Kakashi chased after her, he felt he could never get close to Yuki.

Xue raised her head and shielded her eyes slightly with her hand. Looking at the blazing sun, she felt no heat at all.

The underlying tone in her eyes was one of utter exhaustion and helplessness.

She was so tired.

When did I start to feel like I was just existing?

It had already exhausted all of his chakra.

-

The new clan headquarters of the Uchiha clan is far from the Hokage's residence.

After passing through the village center, the territories of the Shikara clan, the Sarutobi clan, and the Aburame clan, Yuki...

Upon arriving at the gate of their ancestral home, the white-and-red fan emblem still carried the scent of fresh paint.

"You're back, Xue."

"Yes, I went to the Hokage Building to handle some handover matters."

"Thanks for your hard work."

After a brief conversation with her tribespeople, Xue gave a polite smile.

However, the angle of her mouth is getting smaller and smaller.

When I returned to my new home, the interior was dark.

It was completely empty; there was no one there, and even the furnishings were different from the old house.

Without a mother or father, Obito.

Xue looked down and saw the water droplets on the ground, only then realizing that she was crying again.

Turning to the side, the mirror against the wall in the entryway reflected her solitary figure.

"Don't cry, Uchiha Yuki." As if to comfort herself, Yuki said this to herself.

Suddenly, the lights in the room came on. Xue was somewhat taken aback. She took a few steps forward and entered the hall.

"Auntie, you're back."

Feeling inexplicably lost, Xue didn't know who she was hoping for.

The young boy seemed to vaguely guess what the girl was thinking, and he smiled faintly.

"It's Little Weasel! Did you get out of school early today?"

Xue raised her eyes, trying to make her tone sound normal. She saw the still-steaming food on the table.

She sat at the dining table, mechanically picking at her food and swallowing it.

"Does Itachi not need to take care of Sasuke today?"

Itachi shook his head, picked up a piece of broccoli from the table and put it into Yuki's bowl, and smiled: "Mom is taking care of her, and I was worried about Auntie, so I came over."

Xue put down her chopsticks and swallowed the food in her throat.

Her tears fell into the bowl, and she whispered, "Will Little Weasel think that Auntie is useless, that she didn't protect anyone?"

Itachi paused for a moment, then stepped forward and took Yuki's hand without saying anything.

Xue looked at the boy's smooth, short black hair, his long, fluttering black eyelashes, and his delicate features, which were somewhat similar to Mikoto's.

She stopped crying, and a slight smile appeared on her lips: "Little Weasel looks a bit like Mikoto-neechan."

“It’s okay if you think of me as Uncle Obito… Auntie.” Itachi took Yuki’s hand and placed it against his cheek, looking at her with his beautiful black eyes, then smiled gently: “It’s alright if you think of me as Uncle Obito, Auntie.”

"Why?" Xue didn't understand.

Itachi looked at her and just smiled: "Because Auntie is Auntie, so I don't think it's a problem."

If we're family, we'll eventually become a family where we're all interconnected.

So it's okay, Auntie.

Xue shook her head, assuming it was just some unrealistic childish talk she'd heard somewhere.

She moved her hand up from his face to the top of his soft hair and said, "Itachi, no."

She said what Minato Namikaze once told her: "What you lose can't be replaced by someone else."

Itachi looked somewhat confused. He was puzzled, but his aunt clearly wanted Uncle Obito to come back to life.

Since the dead cannot be brought back to life, why not let them serve as a substitute in our emotions?

"Because it's not good for you, and it's not good for me either."

Xue kissed the tip of Itachi's ear and said, "You're still young. You'll understand when you grow up."

Itachi's arrival eased Yuki's heavy heart. Yuki asked him if moving from the village center to the suburbs had affected his studies. Itachi sat on the steps in the courtyard, looked up and said, "I think a new environment is actually quite nice. I really like the new training ground. My father took me there to practice new ninjutsu, and I've consistently maintained my top grades at school."

"Itachi is really amazing."

"Wasn't my aunt like this when she was in school?"

The wind chimes hanging from the eaves of the courtyard tinkled softly, and Xue shook her head.

She said, "My grades were just average in school. They weren't as good as Uncle Lidong's."

Itachi tilted his head and added, "But Uncle Ritsu isn't as powerful as Auntie."

After graduating from the Ninja Academy, Ritsu Dong was promoted to Special Jonin and has been serving in the Uchiha Guard ever since.

Unlike Yuki, who served under the Third Hokage before joining the Anbu and being transferred to the Fourth Hokage's elite forces.

Ritsu Dong's Sharingan has always been at the two-tomoe stage, while another Uchiha Aki of the same age hasn't even opened his Sharingan yet.

"Can I see it? My aunt's Sharingan."

As Yuki sat down beside him, Itachi reached out and touched her eyes.

With no reason to refuse, Yuki activated her Sharingan, revealing crimson pupils in her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.

The three magatama symbols rotated slowly and gracefully in my eyes, a truly magnificent and wondrous sight.

Itachi couldn't help but lean closer to take a closer look, practically pressing his eyeballs against each other.

Will I... also have eyes like these?

Yuki was somewhat reluctant for Itachi to understand these things too early, so she brushed aside Itachi's bangs with her fingertips and gently poked him with the pads of her index and middle fingers together.

"You'll understand when Itachi grows up."

Itachi glared at Yuki with some displeasure. He's grown up, grown up, grown up—

He always says that; he's no longer a child.

Only his aunt still treated him like a child.

He put his arm around Xue's neck, leaned close to her face, and said earnestly.

"Then when I grow up, Auntie should seriously consider marrying me."

Itachi buried his face greedily in the crook of Yuki's neck, the faint scent of lilacs making him feel very at ease.

-

Despite Xue's repeated efforts, she was granted guardianship to raise Naruto herself.

All of this was stopped by the Konoha leadership after the Third Hokage apologized.

Finally, the third generation made an exception and allowed her to visit Umino's home for one day each week.

Inside the Hokage's office.

"Why wouldn't you agree? You were all there! The Fourth Hokage's last will and testament was that I should take care of this child." Yuki stood up and looked directly at the Third Hokage, who was smoking and pushing the end of his pipe up his straw hat.

This was the first time Uchiha Yuki had disobeyed his orders, and the elderly man sighed.

"Xiaoxue, you should know. The Uchiha clan has neither the right nor the obligation to raise the Fourth Hokage's son."

Xue's brows furrowed and her almond-shaped eyes filled with anger. She clenched her fists, a feeling of helplessness washing over her.

"Then why let Naruto live in the village as the son of the demon fox? Why not reveal his identity as the son of the Fourth Hokage? Third Hokage—do you know how much discrimination Naruto suffered during his childhood? His father and mother are heroes who saved Konoha!"

“You shouldn’t do this! At least… at least, I should be the one taking care of him.”

"Naruto, he's still so young."

The third generation leader turned his back, and smoke filled the office.

"This is all to protect Naruto."

"Iruka will take good care of Naruto. You can go see Naruto today."

"Xiaoxue, you must remember. In the Nine-Tails' rampage, it wasn't just Minato and Kushina who died."

Xue was stunned, and only then did she vaguely remember.

The Third Hokage's wife, and many ninjas and civilians from the village...

However, suffering is not something to be compared.

She felt a burning sensation in her eyes again, whispered an apology, and left the office.

-

Xue looked up at the note in her hand and followed the address given by the Third Generation.

This is the Umino residence. Yuki doesn't trust Iruka; his parents died in the Nine-Tails' rampage.

She didn't know how the third generation had such confidence.

To have an ordinary ninja younger than himself take care of the Fourth Hokage's child.

She looked around; this place was very close to the Hokage Building.

Located in the center of the village, it enjoys plenty of sunshine.

It appears to be one of the first youth apartments built after the village was destroyed by the Nine-Tails.

As the doorbell rang, Iruka, who was busy taking care of Naruto, arrived.

He had no choice but to hold the baby bottle in one hand and Naruto in the other, pressing the doorknob down with his elbow.

Iruka opened the door and looked up. Before him stood a girl in a high-necked black short-sleeved shirt. Her expression was indifferent; her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she looked at him, and undisguised malice lurked in her eyes. But her expression changed swiftly when her gaze fell upon the baby in his arms. It softened into a gentle expression, and her thin lips said, "You must be Umino-kun. I am Uchiha Yuki."

Although he didn't know why he was disliked, the sudden appearance of the beautiful girl made Umino Iruka's ears blush slightly.

He took a few steps back and said, "Please come in. The Third Hokage told me that Uchiha-senpai would be coming to visit Naruto."

Xue raised an eyebrow and gave a cold laugh.

Iruka rarely interacts with women his own age, so he stared blankly as Xue bent down to take out slippers from the shoe cabinet in the entryway and put them on.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Xue lowered her head slightly, stepped into the corridor, entered the room, and sat on the futon.

Iruka's face was slightly flushed, and Naruto in his arms was fast asleep after finishing his milk.

The two sat together, and Iruka could even smell the faint fragrance emanating from the other.

Yuki's attention was entirely on Naruto; the boy looked a lot like Kushina.

However, his hair and eyes are the same color as Minato's, and the most striking feature is the six whisker-like markings on both sides of his cheeks.

These are the characteristics of the Nine-Tails. The girl frowned slightly and looked up at Iruka's gaze, which was fixed on her.

She said, "Is there something on my face?"

Caught red-faced, Iruka shook his head.

Xue glanced at the baby supplies scattered around the room, then her gaze returned to Iruka.

The boy had a signature pineapple hairstyle, somewhat similar to that of the Nara clan. The difference lay in his brown hair and a prominent scar running from his nose to his cheek. He wore a white short-sleeved shirt over a chainmail vest. His lower body was clad in ordinary casual shorts, and he appeared slightly shorter than himself.

Xue asked questions as if she were checking a census.

Have you graduated?

"Those who graduated the year before last are already genin."

"You've been a genin for three years now. How old are you?"

"I'm fourteen years old this year."

Fourteen years old...one year younger than Kakashi, Yuki took a sip of the hot tea that Iruka handed her.

"U-Uchiha-senpai, how old are you?"

Uchiha Yuki fell into deep thought, wondering what she could do to get Iruka...

"What's wrong?"

Iruka watched as the girl looked up, her almond-shaped eyes reflecting only his image.

He dared not look directly at her; she was too beautiful, too dazzling.

He could only lower his head and look at Naruto's sleeping face in his arms.

"It's just that Uchiha-senpai asked me so many questions about me—"

"Eighteen years old. What's wrong?"

Xue didn't say anything, but it was past December 16th of this year.

She is now truly eighteen years old.