Chapter 26 (C26)

Witnessing one's own funeral is a novel experience that most people will never have.

A disdainful look can ignore the surface barriers constructed of cement, steel bars, wood, flesh, and other materials, and peek inside, but it can never see through the human heart.

Just as she couldn't discern the emotions beneath the facade of those people at "Hyuga Kana's" funeral, whose eyes and noses seemed to converge.

Those people's hearts were still beating vigorously, and their meridians were still functioning normally. Under the X-ray vision of the White Eye, the various human figures of different heights were actually just puppets pieced together from light blue silk threads, and there was not much difference between them.

So after watching for a while, Kana started to get a little bored.

Because this mission was of a high level and involved top secrets of another country, the Hokage would not have gone to such lengths to send two small teams of elite Anbu members to act separately and support each other. You have to know how many people a village can accommodate, so those who can enter the Anbu and be called the elite among elites are naturally very rare.

Therefore, she and those who sacrificed themselves in this mission have the honor of having the Third Hokage personally attend and have their names engraved on the memorial stone. After all, for most ninjas, this is an extremely high honor.

Kana sat high in a tree on a distant cliff, her branches and leaves intertwined, carefully keeping the distance so that she was not easily noticed.

People like to say "respect for the dead".

The implication is that since the person is already dead, past grudges should be let go, otherwise you are narrow-minded.

Therefore, bystanders will show as much goodwill as possible when someone dies in order to demonstrate their tolerance and satisfy their sense of moral superiority.

Kana had seen this in her previous life. At the funeral of the husband of one of her clients—a domestic abuser and scumbag—who died in an accident, the neighbors who had previously accused him of being short-tempered and ill-mannered during her investigations all began to list the "good" qualities he had that didn't exist.

Kana thought that she, who was presumed dead, might now be in this awkward situation of being overly romanticized.

After such a grand display of grief for someone's death, the discovery that this person has come back to life will not elicit joy from people. Instead, they will feel that their emotional investment was not worthwhile, that they have been deceived, that they are angry, and that they will rebound and start criticizing and blaming others.

This is too much trouble. Maybe I should just fake my death.

These kinds of ideas that drive the system crazy did indeed cross Kana's mind, but fortunately they didn't linger for long.

She glanced down at her bandaged arm and left foot, her chakra beginning to gather. Thin blades sliced ​​and pulled at the tissue fibers, while her chakra slowly healed them. This repeated process, leaving the wounds in a state that was more severe than the injuries she had deliberately torn open after returning to this world from Qishan, yet they didn't appear to be new wounds.

As he leaped from the branch, the impact on his left foot, which made hard contact with the ground, caused the wet blood to spread rapidly down his calf.

Since the best option of fleeing is not feasible, we can only try the self-inflicted injury strategy.

However, it turns out that the self-inflicted injury tactic only works on people who care about you.

After recounting the story—which he had already meticulously rehearsed countless times—that he was chased by the enemy and fell into a ravine, was lucky enough to survive, was forced to recuperate for a period of time due to severe injuries, and returned to his village while barely alive and evading the secrets of other ninja villages, he offered a somewhat forced explanation for why he didn't die but only reappeared two months later.

But that doesn't mean she's completely cleared of suspicion from higher-ups.

If it weren't for Hiruzen Sarutobi protecting her, the old men and women in the higher-ups would have almost called in the Yamanaka clan to crack open her head and torture her severely.

"We have already lost some outstanding children; we cannot let the remaining children leave us as well."

The third generation was not tall; to put it bluntly, he was short and thin.

But a figure about the same height as her at that moment blocked her way, shielding her from the piercing, scrutinizing gaze.

In a daze, Kana remembered reading somewhere that the original meaning of the name Hokage was "protection".

Instead of succumbing to various high-sounding reasons to casually sacrifice others.

However, Kana, whose skepticism of "not being able to easily trust others" is ingrained in her DNA, was not overwhelmed by her inexplicable emotions. She even managed to set aside some space for thought for another question—why would those who are already hardened as stone fall silent and give in because of such a statement that is not about interests but is full of emotions?

Until she found out who the so-called "excellent child" was.

Kana initially thought it referred to her fellow ANBU members who had sacrificed themselves in this dangerous mission, but it had a unique, specific meaning—Uchiha Shisui.

Two lines of text remained on the communication scroll that had not been erased in time.

The message she sent to Itachi after falling off the cliff was: "I'm not dead yet, I'll be back later... If possible, keep an eye on Neji for me."

The punctuation mark before the second half of the sentence appears heavily emphasized due to its placement.

Another line was written at some unknown time. At that time, she was breaking through a key stage in her cultivation and had no time to be disturbed by anything else, so she did not see it—When will you come back?

The incongruity lies in the fact that he didn't use a question mark, but rather a declarative sentence.

"Let's meet," she wrote.

Since she didn't "fake her death" without any prior notice, Kana felt no guilt about the deception, so she made the promise with complete honesty.

The weather is still very nice.

The moon is bright and the stars are few; the wind is gentle and refreshing.

The flowing milky white moonlight cast a faint silver glow on people, and the light color always softens the sharp edges and excessive emotions on people.

So Itachi Uchiha didn't seem very sad. Even though he wasn't in a good mood, he seemed too calm, so calm that it made people think that Shisui hadn't actually died.

"Shisui committed suicide?"

"yes."

To be honest, Kana wasn't entirely convinced.

People with ideals and inexhaustible inner drive are like the blazing sun. Even though they are invisible for twelve hours a day due to the Earth's rotation, they never actually fall.

Within ten seconds of hearing the news of Shisui's suicide, Kana quickly highlighted the important point about "no body found"—the Sharingan, a bloodline that must be destroyed to prevent its leakage even if one has to use explosive tags to self-destruct upon mission failure, was now being ignored by everyone.

She had even mentally filled in the whole story of how Shisui had accepted a top-secret S-class mission and needed to "die" in the eyes of the world, including the fact that "his suicide as a super genius with outstanding abilities had no impact on the village, which must have been deliberately suppressed by the higher-ups," to ensure the integrity of the entire logical chain.

As for why Itachi was so calm, it was because he knew.

If you were to ask how Itachi knew about such a top-secret mission, you might...

—Everyone thought she was dead, but didn't she secretly send him a message?

Kana dipped her rolled-up trouser legs into the cool water, simultaneously activating her Byakugan to sense that no one was around. Just in case, she subtly hinted, "Suicide seems like something only someone like me would do..."

He was interrupted sharply, which was not in line with his usual upbringing: "Don't talk nonsense."

His voice softened again, almost pleading, "Don't say such things."

The wind stopped breathing. The air was completely swallowed by silence.

Something was being ripped out of my lungs and throat, and the pressure difference caused my eardrums to be pushed out from the inside. A sharp, piercing sound, like a fingernail scraping glass, followed by a sudden, deafening roar, exploded in my brain.

It felt so familiar, like the feeling of being reaped by the scythe of death in a plane crash in a past life.

Kana tried to separate her upper and lower lips, then closed them again.

Repeatedly several times.

She stared at his profile and suddenly noticed that the soft flesh on the cheeks of the boy, who was about ten years old, had quietly receded, and a more angular shape was beginning to emerge.

People who are too familiar with each other are unlikely to notice the changes brought about by the slow passage of time. It is only when they suddenly feel a sense of unfamiliarity due to some event that they can intuitively feel the ruthlessness of time and the impermanence of life.

The fish at the bottom of the lake, driven by an almost suffocating environment, burst forth with a will to survive, struggling to leap out in search of a glimmer of hope. As she turned to look, they crashed back onto the surface with a thud, ripples spreading outwards in circles. Kana saw that Itachi's reflection in the lake mirror was shattered, with blurry wrinkles on the face in the mirror, like misaligned marks left after the soul and body were torn apart.

She finally found her voice, "Is he dead?"

"Shisui is dead."

Itachi repeated, "He's dead. I saw it with my own eyes."

Kana didn't know how many times she had to practice before she could recite this so casually, as if saying, "The weather is nice today."

"No need to look."

Kana followed his gaze and looked down, only to find that her right hand had somehow ended up at her waist—the spot where she used to be a wakizashi. She paused, then belatedly realized that her current emotion could perhaps be described as anger.

Or perhaps, it's pain.

"Don't look for it."

Some truths should be buried along with the deceased.

"He was murdered, wasn't he?"

In fact, over the past two years, her interactions with Zhishui had become very limited due to their busy schedules and his intentional or unintentional distancing. Based on her experience from her previous life, the friendship between classmates who had been estranged for two or three years could fade to nothing more than polite familiarity with each other's names. Therefore, logically speaking, she shouldn't have had the irrational idea of ​​knowingly throwing herself into the vortex of things to investigate, even though she knew the matter was not simple.

But having such a good memory became a burden at this time. Whether it was when he touched her head and said that children should smile more, her curly hair was as warm and fluffy as melting cotton candy in the sunlight, or when he returned to the village after completing his mission, covered in dust, he still secretly placed a bouquet of flowers in front of her window as a birthday present at the last minute. He couldn't forget any of it.

"Shisui had his choice. This was his choice."

He couldn't resist Shisui's choice, and Itachi Uchiha understood that. And so could she.

"And what about you?" Her hand, which wasn't gripping the sword hilt, clenched into a fist, then quickly relaxed and fell to her side—she had already guessed his answer.

“I have the destiny of being an Uchiha, just like you, Kana.”

Just as he was not qualified to interfere with the Hyuga main family taking her away, just as he could not stop those people from carving the caged bird on her, just as she had a secret that could not be known to anyone.

Itachi and Kana can be honest and open friends.

But Itachi Uchiha and Kana Hyuga cannot.

An ancient and prestigious bloodline lineage, with a heritage even deeper and longer than that of Konoha.

Although they depend on Konoha, they are even more determined to restore their family's glory.

Konoha, on the one hand, needs their abundant military strength as leverage to deter other countries, but on the other hand, out of fear, it desperately tries to expel them from the center of power.

The higher-ups can accept clans like Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi forming groups based on secret ninjutsu, but they absolutely cannot tolerate the "Uchiha" and "Hyuga" being associated with each other, given the "Uchiha" clan's powerful bloodline limit.

Their surnames mean that involving the other could cause the future of both families to slide into an unpredictable and irreversible state.

None of the people they cared about could escape.

They all understood.

Because the sense of being bound by fate is so similar, they never explain too much to each other.

That is something that neither of them can or should touch.

It is something that you have to bear yourself, and it is something that only you can bear yourself.

They were able to maintain their contact without hiding it all these years because they were young and could use "youthful ignorance" to escape punishment.

But in the ninja world, the age of twelve, a milestone that carries the same weight as eighteen, is about to arrive.

From now on, they should drift further and further apart, just as those people hoped.

Just like Shi Shui and her in the past.

The wind, which had been silent for so long, began to stir.

A round fan made of clouds half-covers the moon, casting its shadow on the earth.

Uchiha Itachi placed his left hand on his bent knee, using it for leverage, and straightened up. After holding the position for a while, some parts of his body felt a little sore.

Perhaps because her complexion really wasn't good, Itachi even chuckled slightly to ease the tension, like patiently coaxing a poor little dog who was worried about being abandoned, "I'll still send you messages."

"Itachi".

The feet, already white from being soaked, stepped on the ground, leaving a chaotic, shapeless patch of dark stains that slowly seeped into the dusty soil. All the screams, pain, and resentment were silently swallowed up.

"If you don't need company, do you need a hug?" Kana stretched out her arms, awkwardly assuming a waiting posture.

Zhi Shui once stubbornly tried to get her to accept a hug, which he called "hug therapy".

Itachi stared at her for a moment, then raised his hand and waved slightly. "No need. Goodbye, Kana."

The Uchiha clan all grew up in the same mold, as Kana once complained.

At this moment, his departing figure intertwined with the figure of the deceased.

Suddenly, as if out of control, reason was left behind, unable to shout, yet unable to stop another version of herself from catching up with the boy and reaching out to hug him from behind.

More than accepting hugs, what Shisui really wanted to teach her was "initiating hugs".

"It's what I need." The words, devoid of reason, blurted out without any sense of decency.

His fingertips were already gripping her wrist, but upon hearing her words, he paused, ultimately not pulling her hand away.

The shoulders that had been tense with effort finally slackened, and collapsed in despair.

He looked up and saw the clouds and mist in the night dissipate.

The night she fell off the cliff and disappeared, the night Zhishui bid farewell and left, was just like now. Even though her vision was blurred, she could still make out that the full moon hanging there didn't care about the separation and death of mortals. It shone brightly on its own, illuminating the earth so that no one could hide from it.

The act of tilting his head back reduced the slight height difference between them, and the back of his head pressed against her forehead, just enough to eliminate all the remaining gap between them.

He seemed to have forgotten to tell her something very important.

"Thank you for coming back."