Chapter 48 (Forty-Seventh Chapter)

As the start of the school year approached, Sasuke twisted his ankle due to excessive excitement.

The two happened to run into Xue, who was returning to her hometown after get off work. Sasuke saw Xue holding documents from afar, even from Itachi's back.

Waving and greeting, her voice was loud: "Auntie!"

Xue was taken aback at first, but as she approached, her gaze fell on Sasuke's bandaged ankle.

She smiled helplessly: "How did you twist it? Does it still hurt?"

A few blushes appeared on Sasuke's face as he pouted and said, "The thought of going to the Ninja Academy almost tomorrow makes me so happy..."

"What are you laughing at, you guy who twisted your ankle?"

"Isn't it because you want to be lazy that you made me memorize it?"

Itachi teased, but his smile was very gentle.

"No, that's not true! My brother is making fun of me in front of my aunt again!"

Xue accompanied the two of them slowly back to their clan's territory, listening with a smile as they bickered.

Sasuke, clinging to Itachi's back, thought to himself, "I have to do my best at the Ninja Academy. That way, my father will definitely approve of me."

Just like with my older brother, I have expectations for him.

"Auntie, aren't you going home to stay today either?" Sasuke looked at Yuki with his big black eyes, and Yuki shook her head.

She said, "Yes, I'm going back to my own house for a while. Work issues... are getting more and more complicated."

As she spoke the latter part, Xue's voice gradually faded, and Sasuke couldn't hear the second half clearly.

"Hey, why? My aunt has been living with us ever since I can remember," Sasuke muttered, somewhat dissatisfied.

That's probably the reason, since he's no longer serving in the Konoha Police Force.

Having already spoken to Mikoto beforehand, Yuki reached out and pinched Sasuke's chubby, round face.

"Brother, why? Can't Auntie live with us in the same house forever?"

Yuki was somewhat amused and exasperated, but Itachi eventually spoke up to help her out of the predicament.

Itachi said, "Once Yuki and I get married, the three of us can live together forever."

Young Sasuke smiled brightly as he reached out and took Yuki's empty hand.

Xue frowned slightly, but said nothing in the end. She simply squeezed Sasuke's small hand back.

The setting sun on a summer evening cast long, slanted shadows of the three people.

Sasuke loves these kinds of days the most, the time he spends with his brother and aunt.

-

Working under Shikaku wasn't particularly busy, and occasionally Shikaku would come to deliver meals to Lord Shikaku.

Time continued to pass by as usual, and Shikaku would sometimes ask Yuki about it.

What are your thoughts on the village and the Uchiha clan?

Yuki didn't quite understand what Shikaku wanted to say.

“The Uchiha clan… I am from the clan that gave birth to my mother and father. I know some clan members are indeed a bit extreme. But Fugaku has always been a radical, and Shisui, Itachi, and I are all serving Konoha.” Yuki paused for a moment, then continued, “So… what do the village's higher-ups think of the Uchiha clan?”

Shikaku looked at the woman who seemed largely unaware of the precarious relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village, and simply sighed.

Changing the subject, he said, "It seems that the third generation's youngest son has run away from home."

"Sarutobi Asuma?"

“Well, that child’s relationship with the Third Hokage has always been rather ordinary,” Shikaku said.

"Is that so? I'm not quite sure about these things..."

Shikaku rested his chin on his hand, leaning against the desk. He gazed at Yuki's slender figure and her increasingly beautiful and outstanding appearance.

No wonder Asma made a point of saying goodbye to him before leaving the village.

"If you need any help, just let me know, your boss."

Yuki looked up, somewhat bewildered, and said, "Ah... okay, Master Shikaku."

Xue tidied up the documents in her hands, head down in thought. Lately, the clan gatherings had become increasingly frequent. They used to be held every three months, then once a month... and now they'd turned into weekly meetings. The content of each meeting was largely the same: making decisions within the village and the clan.

Xue was somewhat annoyed by these things, and only when she walked out of the Hokage Building did she realize that it was already completely dark.

Upon arriving at the Naka Shrine, where the Uchiha clan held their gathering, a considerable number of clan members had already gathered.

Because only a very small number of clan members have awakened their Sharingan, Ritsuka, who possesses two tomoe, naturally joined the elders' council and became a future reserve member. Meanwhile, Aki, who married Ritsuka, became pregnant. Aki's personality was still largely unchanged from her time at the Ninja Academy. She smiled and waved at Yuki, who nodded in response.

"How many months pregnant?" Xue's gaze fell on Xiao Qiu's prominently protruding belly.

Xiao Qiu smiled and replied, "You'll be giving birth soon, probably in the next two months or so."

She took Xue's hand through the thin fabric. Xue could feel the slight movement of her baby. She frowned slightly: "Then why did you come to the gathering? What if something happens?"

"Hehe, Xiaoxue is still the same as before." Xiaoqiu led her into the gathering: "People of the Uchiha clan are not that fragile! Sister Mikoto is also pregnant with the young master and is also on a mission."

"You have this temper."

Upon entering the gathering, Xue's expression darkened as she looked around at the tribespeople present.

Those pairs of black eyes, brimming with ambition and cunning, gave her a headache.

Upon hearing that Itachi and Shisui were absent from the meeting, Yuki walked out of the shrine and looked up at the completely darkened sky.

Not a single star, not a glimmer of light. She felt as if she had forgotten something.

Back at the house, she opened Obito's room, where everything was arranged and decorated as usual.

Even after moving from the village center to the suburbs, she kept the bedroom with the soil on it. It's still on the second floor, the first room on the side from the first floor to the second.

Even the photo of Team Minato on the table was exactly the same as before. Yuki's fingertips landed on the last photo of Obito, his parents, and himself when Obito was three years old. She sat on Obito's bed, which she cleaned regularly. The blankets smelled of sunshine, along with a slightly unfamiliar scent. Yuki frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed.

I think I contracted it by accident sometime during the day.

When Xue woke up again, she was surprised to find that it was already noon the next day.

A rapid knocking came at the door, and it was Lidong who came.

Li Dong looked serious, with two young clansmen following behind him.

He said, "Shisui... is gone."

News of Shisui's disappearance quickly spread throughout the clan, and it was said that a suicide note left by him was found in Shisui's house.

But the police have never found any trace of Zhi Shui, including... his body.

Xue was still a little dazed; everything had happened so suddenly.

Just a few days ago, Zhishui was pinching her cheeks and chatting and laughing with her.

She was taken by Li Dong to the police force minister's office, where she opened the door to find Uchiha Fugaku with a gloomy face.

“Shisui is dead,” he said.

Xue felt her head throbbing more and more. She frowned and asked, "Clan Chief Fu... has Zhishui's body been found? Are you just jumping to conclusions and confirming Zhishui's death like this?"

Fugaku turned his back and looked out the window at the lush forest.

That's the direction of the Naga River, and the upstream of the Naga River is located in Konoha Village.

The upstream current is very rapid, while the downstream section is a transverse section, as if cutting the river in half. The edges of the section are steep and smooth, and the river water cascades down from the high point of the section.

"The village's higher-ups are afraid of the Uchiha clan, which is why they persecute us."

“Starting with Shisui, they feared the power of the Sharingan.”

"But in order to avoid the use of force, I have always kept the fact that I have the Mangekyou Sharingan a secret."

“The Mangekyou Sharingan possesses the ability to control the Nine-Tails.” Fugaku turned around, revealing a pair of crimson Mangekyou Sharingan eyes. Yuki closed her eyes to resist the genjutsu Fugaku was casting. Fugaku continued, “If people find out, the clan will do something even more terrible.”

"Yuki, you know. Many of the clansmen have always harbored resentment towards the village. But, as long as you and Itachi are here."

"Itachi is in the Anbu, which allows him to take control of high-ranking officials when they are not paying attention."

"And you, as Shikaku's most trusted subordinate, have united the Nara clan and possess your political abilities."

"A bloodless revolution can succeed."

Xue was stunned; a bloodless revolution.

She remained silent, whether it was pointing her sword at the village or rejecting Fugaku.

She couldn't do it, seemingly recognizing the woman's indecisiveness.

Fugaku Uchiha stepped forward and approached her.

"Help your clan, Xue."

"All you can do is help after Itachi makes his move."

"I'll handle persuading Itachi."

Once outside the Konoha Police Department, Yuki could feel the ever-present gaze upon her.

They were members of an assassination squad, and the village intensified its surveillance of the Uchiha clan.

She neither agreed to Uchiha Fugaku's request nor refused him.

Looking up at the sky, it seemed like it was about to rain.

Dark, gloomy clouds hung over Konoha Village, and Yuki felt a chill.

Summer is almost over, and early autumn is just around the corner.

-

Before the bloodless revolution that began at some unknown time, Xue still went to and from get off work as usual.

Occasionally, she would see Kakashi, who had been promoted to Jonin instructor, at the Hokage Building. With his silver hair, he was already a notch taller than her.

As the two passed each other, he, holding the Intimate Paradise, kept his drooping eyes fixed on Xue.

Tianzang saw his former captain like that, his gaze fixed on the slender figure that had long since left, like a madman.

Tenzo: ...Captain Kakashi, you seem like a pervert.

"There's a diplomatic mission coming up, it's about signing a contract for Asuma to serve as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire." Shikaku gently patted the document on Yuki's head, and Yuki, who was always lost in thought, snapped out of it and took the document from above her head.

"Go out for a walk to clear your head. Besides, you and Asuma get along pretty well," Shikaku said.

Xue closed the file and shook her head.

"Lord Shikaku, please forgive me for not being able to accept this mission."

Yuki had been hiding her health condition from the village's higher-ups; even Fugaku Uchiha was unaware that she was now rarely taking the prescription medications given by the clan hospital's doctors. She didn't know whether this secrecy was a good thing or a bad thing.