Withered wisteria

Moonlight streamed through the Japanese paper window lattices like mercury, casting patches of silver light across the study floor. Uchiha Aoi knelt at the low table, tomorrow's lesson plan spread out before her. The scent of ink slowly permeated the air, blending with the chirping of insects outside the window into a tranquil nocturne.

She was grading her students' homework for the day—among the childish handwriting, there were those of the Senju, the Uchiha, and other small clans. Seeing these children from different clans begin to learn from and appreciate each other, a gentle smile unconsciously curled up her lips.

"Did Kenta teach Xiaoying how to write this word?" She whispered to herself, her fingertips gently stroking the slightly awkward but very careful handwriting on the exercise book.

Remembering the Uchiha boy awkwardly guiding the Senju girl in writing in class that day, tears of relief welled up in Aoi's eyes. These were the seeds of hope, carefully nurtured by her, quietly sprouting in this land once ravaged by war.

She put down her pen and gently rubbed her sore neck. It was late, but she still wanted to prepare more for tomorrow's classes. She stood up and walked over to the bookshelf, her fingertips lightly tracing over the scrolls, finally stopping on a tome on botanical illustrations.

"Maybe I can teach the children about wisteria flowers tomorrow..." She thought, and the beautiful wisteria trellis in the Uchiha clan's land came to her mind.

It was one of her most cherished childhood memories. Every spring, the purple blossoms cascaded down like a waterfall, shimmering dreamily in the sunlight. Brother Ban always loved to practice beneath that flower trellis, and she would sit on a stone bench nearby, watching him diligently train while inhaling the delicate fragrance of the flowers.

Unlike other Uchiha clan members, Aoi showed little talent for ninjutsu and taijutsu from a young age. While other clan members were practicing shuriken and hand seals, she preferred reading books, learning etiquette, and flower arranging. Her father once lamented this, but her brother Madara always protected her:

"Xiao Kui has her own path. Not everyone has to be a warrior."

"Brother..." she whispered softly, a hint of worry in her eyes.

It has been three days since Madara and Hashirama went to the Land of Water. The power of the tailed beasts is too dangerous. Although she knows that her brother is very powerful, she still can't help but worry.

Suddenly, an inexplicable chill came over her, causing her to shiver involuntarily. The feeling of being watched returned, stronger than ever before. She turned her head sharply to look out the window, but all she saw were the shadows of trees swaying in the moonlight in the courtyard.

"Is it the wind..." she whispered to herself, but she felt her heartbeat quicken involuntarily.

As one of the few non-combatants in the Uchiha clan, her sense of danger was far less acute than that of other ninjas. But she could still sense that the atmosphere tonight was a little strange.

Forcing herself to calm down, she sat back down at the table and reached out to continue grading homework. However, just as her fingertips were about to touch the pen -

puff.

The oil lamp on the desk went out without warning.

It wasn't the kind of light that swayed and gradually disappeared like being blown out by the wind, but it was as if the light was instantly swallowed up by something and suddenly fell into darkness.

The room was suddenly shrouded in thick ink, with only sporadic moonlight filtering through the window paper, casting a few pale streaks of light on the floor.

Aoi's blood seemed to freeze at that moment. She held her breath, her heart pounding violently in her chest. In the darkness, she could see nothing, only a cold, sticky aura permeating the room. It wasn't the chill of the night, but the chill brought by something older and more sinister.

"Who?" Her voice was particularly clear in the silence, with an obvious tremor.

No response.

Only shadows were moving silently.

She instinctively stepped back, bumping into the bookshelf behind her. Several scrolls tumbled from the shelf with a dull thud. At that moment, she deeply regretted never having learned any ninjutsu—not even the most basic defensive techniques.

"Someone come!" She raised her voice, hoping the guards outside could hear her.

But her cries for help seemed to be swallowed by the darkness and did not elicit any response.

At this moment, she saw a distorted shadow slowly emerging on the opposite wall.

It didn't resemble the shadow of any living creature. It had no fixed form, like flowing ink or seething darkness, writhing eerily in the moonlight. Even more terrifying was that the shadow wasn't cast by any physical object; it existed independently.

"Uchiha's Princess..." A hoarse voice echoed in the room. The voice seemed to come from the depths of hell, with disgusting malice, "No, now I should call you the Senju's wife."

Aoi clutched her shirt tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms. She had no weapons, no ninjutsu to protect herself. At this moment, for the first time, she felt so deeply powerless.

"Who...who are you? What do you want?" She tried to keep her voice steady, but fear made her tone tremble slightly.

"I am the messenger who brings an end to this hypocritical world." Black Zetsu's voice was filled with sarcasm, "And you, my dear lady, you are blocking my way."

Before she could finish her words, the black shadow suddenly pounced towards her like an arrow.

Aoi instinctively dodged to the side, but her movements were clumsy and slow, as she had no physical training. The shadow easily caught up with her, grabbed her throat with a powerful force, and slammed her against the wall.

"Ugh!" The severe pain made her eyes go black and she almost lost consciousness.

It was a hand formed from darkness, cold and sticky, tightly gripping her neck, making it impossible for her to breathe. Even more terrifying, she felt a strange suction coming from that hand, greedily devouring her chakra and vitality.

"Why...why..." She uttered a few words with difficulty, her eyes full of pain and confusion.

"Because you are too much of a hindrance, my dear lady." Black Zetsu leaned closer to her, his cloudy eyes filled with malice. "You have caused your brother unnecessary worries and left him with weak feelings. This will affect his destiny."

Aoi's pupils suddenly contracted. She didn't understand what the monster was saying, but she could hear the threat to Madara's brother in it.

"Don't... hurt my brother..." she said with all her strength, weakly slapping the hand that was strangling her throat.

But her resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, completely unable to affect Black Zetsu. The strange suction grew stronger, and she felt her life force rapidly draining away. Her vision began to blur, her limbs gradually weakened, and even breathing became difficult.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt him." Black Zetsu's voice seemed to come from far away. "On the contrary, I will guide him to greatness. And you will be the catalyst for his complete awakening."

At the last moment when her consciousness gradually blurred, phantoms of the past began to appear before Aoi's eyes.

She saw her childhood self, sitting under the wisteria trellis in the Uchiha clan's territory, watching her brother Madara diligently training in the yard. The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the wisteria flowers, casting dappled spots of light on him.

"Brother, please play with me!" Xiaokui complained with a pout.

The young Madara stopped what he was doing and looked back at her helplessly: "Just wait until I finish practicing this technique, Xiao Kui, wait a moment."

"He always says that!" She stamped her feet angrily. "Brother is the most annoying!"

Madara sighed, sheathing his kunai and walking towards her, ruffling her hair. "Okay, I'll keep you company today. What do you want to play?"

"Hide and seek!" She immediately smiled.

The pictures of memories began to break and then reassemble.

This time, when she was a little older, Madara and her brother Izuna were about to go to war. She stood at the gate of the clan, looking at them worriedly.

"Be sure to come back safely." She said softly.

Madara turned around and gave her a confident smile: "Don't worry, Xiao Kui. Brother is very strong."

Izumi also smiled and nodded: "When we come back, we will bring you a gift."

Then came the last time, the night when Izuna's brother was carried back home seriously injured. Madara knelt beside his brother, holding his hand, his entire being seemed to have been drained of its soul.

She stood outside the door, looking at her brother's trembling back, but she didn't dare to go forward. At that moment, she realized for the first time that even a powerful brother like him could not protect something.

The screen changes again.

This time, it was her wedding. Madara took her hand and slowly walked towards the waiting Tobirama. She could feel her brother's hand trembling slightly, not out of fear, but out of reluctance and worry.

"If he dares to bully you, tell me." Madara whispered in her ear, "Brother will always stand up for you."

She just nodded slightly with tears in her eyes.

Memories flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern, finally settling on the moment before Madara left the village. He stood at the doorway, looking back at her.

"Wait until I come back, Xiaokui."

That was the first time after their marriage that he still called her the same way as when they were children. She just smiled and nodded, not knowing that it would be their last conversation.

"elder brother..."

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and slowly flowed down her pale cheek.

She felt her consciousness sinking into endless darkness, and her body became lighter and lighter, as if it was about to turn into a gust of wind and dissipate into the night.

In the last moment before her life completely disappeared, she seemed to smell the fragrance of the wisteria flowers in the Uchiha clan's territory again, and saw her brother Madara smiling at her under the wisteria flowers.

Then, everything fell silent.

Black Zetsu loosened his grip and watched Uchiha Aoi's body slide softly to the ground. Those eyes that were once filled with tenderness and hope now stared blankly at the ceiling, no longer reflecting any light.

It looked at its masterpiece with satisfaction and began to carefully arrange the scene. It made the room a mess, faked the traces of a fierce fight, but cleverly left a few doubts, making the truth seem confusing.

"By now, Madara will surely be completely despairing," it whispered hoarsely, "Having lost his last loved one, he will no longer have any reason to believe in this hypocritical world."

The black shadow slowly sank into the ground, as silently as it had come.

The only thing left in the room was Uchiha Aoi's cold body and the bright moon that was still shining through the window lattice.

Outside the window, a night breeze blew through the courtyard, and a few early-withered wisteria petals were picked up by the wind, swirled in the air, and then fell silently to the ground.

The wisteria flowers have withered.

Far away at the border of the Land of Water, Uchiha Madara, who was discussing a strategy for capturing the Three-Tails with Hashirama, suddenly felt a piercing pain. He clutched his chest, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning wildly and uncontrollably.

"Xiao Kui..."

A painful roar broke the silent night sky.