Hikaku × Clan Grounds

In the end, Madara still couldn't put his mind entirely at ease.

After breakfast, he sat quietly beneath the eaves for a while. The more he thought about it, the less reassured he felt. After much hesitation, he changed into dark casual clothes that allowed him to move freely and left home.

Like a swift melting into the shadows, he followed far behind Izuna.

With his Strength, following someone without being noticed was easy.

He watched Izuna walk briskly over the stone paving of the clan grounds, passing through the residential district and turning onto the main road, exchanging familiar greetings with clan members setting up their stalls early.

"Fresh vegetables! Oh! Izuna! You're up early today!"

"Morning, Uncle Tanaka. Hope business is good! I have something to take care of, so let's talk when I get back!"

"Izuna, have you had breakfast?"

"Thanks for asking, Grandma Keiko. I've eaten!"

The conversations flowed naturally, as if the past six months had never happened. When the clan members saw Izuna, they acted as though he had simply returned from a mission, as usual.

There was no surprise or wariness whatsoever.

This wasn't something they could have managed immediately after being told last night. The usual clan member's reaction to his orders...

Madara looked at a middle-aged man passing by over there.

That was right. That was the expression they should have.

An expression of suspicion, indifference, and a desire to put what they couldn't see out of mind.

Then why could these older people act so naturally?

Madara thought about it and realized why. When Izuna had first "returned," he had taken Madara shopping with him.

It seemed that during those brief encounters, his appearance and his utterly natural manner toward Madara had already made the shopkeepers and stallholders remember him.

On his later shopping trips, he hadn't been timid either. He had exchanged greetings naturally and established some superficial relationships.

That social ability felt familiar to Madara.

Madara could even picture the gentle yet slightly distant polite smile on Izuna's face—the expression he often wore when dealing with ordinary clan members.

That's my little brother for you.

But Madara's doubts hadn't entirely vanished.

Exchanging pleasantries was one thing. Getting deeply involved in clan affairs and facing the more difficult clan members was another.

He quietly rose, changed into dark casual clothes that allowed him to move freely, and followed far behind Izuna, his figure like a shadow melting into the sunlight.

With his Strength, following someone without being noticed was easy.

He saw that Izuna had a clear destination in mind. Rather than lingering in the bustling marketplace, he headed straight for the Administrative Council Office in the center of the clan grounds, where the Uchiha Clan handled its day-to-day affairs.

Sure enough, Izuna paused briefly at the entrance to the office, straightened his collar, and stepped inside.

Madara silently leaped into a nearby tree with dense foliage and observed the room through a gap in the window.

Hikaku clearly hadn't expected Izuna to come straight to him like this.

When that familiar yet unfamiliar figure appeared in the doorway, Madara clearly saw every muscle in his usually composed deputy's body tense. A flash of undisguisable shock crossed his face.

The scroll he was sorting nearly fell to the floor.

"Morning, Hikaku," Izuna's voice came through clearly, casual in tone. "Have a moment? I'd like to talk about what's been happening in the clan lately."

It took Hikaku about two seconds to bring his expression somewhat under control.

He took a deep breath. Madara saw his chest heave sharply before he replied in as steady a voice as he could manage, "L-Lord Izuna... you're here. Of course, please sit."

The conversation that followed sent Madara's emotions on a roller coaster.

Izuna didn't beat around the bush. He got straight to the point, asking about details mentioned in several files he had annotated.

Who exactly were the two parties in the border dispute? Was there any long-standing resentment between them? What kind of reputation did the person involved in the unclear procurement accounts usually have? What were the exact models of the new targets at the training ground, and how did their prices compare with market prices? Who was responsible for dealing with the Yamanaka Clan, and what was their attitude? And so on.

At first, Hikaku's answers were somewhat halting and cautious. His eyes were full of scrutiny and suspicion, and his expressions were a sight to behold.

At times, Izuna's directness brought a look of nostalgia to his face. At others, the bizarre fact that the person before him had returned from the dead made him tense with suspicion again. The two emotions pulled and twisted at his features, making his face look as though it were locked in a fierce, silent struggle.

Madara grew anxious. Hikaku! Get your expression under control! Are you putting on a face-changing act? Losing your composure like that is outrageous! What if Izuna notices something?

Madara saw that Izuna seemed amused by Hikaku's deeply conflicted expression. Unable to help himself, he covered his mouth with a fist and chuckled softly.

Although his expression soon returned to neutral, that slight change was like a bucket of cold water waking Hikaku from his confusion.

He drew a sharp breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, most of the struggle had faded from his face. Though his gaze was still complicated, he had at least regained the professionalism and composure he usually displayed when handling official business.

"My apologies, Lord Izuna. I lost my composure." Hikaku's voice steadied. "As for the questions you asked, the details are as follows..."

Izuna was taken aback. He had been about to ask Hikaku whether his stomach was bothering him or if something was wrong, and leave him alone if there was, but now it seemed he was better?

Never mind. Maybe it was a cramp. That happens too—sometimes your stomach hurts for a while and then gets better on its own.

Izuna nodded inwardly in understanding.

Their conversation began to get back on track.

Izuna listened attentively, occasionally asking follow-up questions,

while Hikaku answered in detail and added background information that wasn't in the files.

Madara watched from a distance, his heart filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand, he was relieved for Izuna. On the other, Hikaku's momentary breakdown and the composure he had forced himself to regain afterward left him feeling a painful ache.

The clan members... are they suffering in their longing, just like me?

It seemed he wasn't the only one who had been mourning Izuna these past six months.

Hikaku looked at the person before him. It was as though an invisible hand had seized the heart in his chest, leaving it aching and swollen until he could barely breathe.

He's so alike.

Sunlight slanted through the council office's window lattice, casting a soft, pale golden glow around Izuna.

He sat quietly, his posture straight as a slender bamboo stalk. His black, high-collared robe made the skin at his neck look all the more pale and translucent.

His features were undoubtedly striking, with the delicate contours distinctive to the Uchiha Clan.

His brows and eyes looked as though they had been painted in ink, and his long, thick eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath his eyes.

His nose was straight and high, and his lips were a healthy pale red, their shape graceful.

The corners of his mouth always held the faintest hint of a smile, almost imperceptible. It wasn't deliberate, yet it naturally conveyed composure and gentleness.

But beneath that gentleness lay an unmistakable sense of distance.

It was a quality the Izuna of the past had possessed as well—kind to his clan members but not close to them, diligent in his duties but unwilling to invest too much personal feeling, always maintaining just the right distance.

Hikaku remembered that when Lord Izuna used to smile, his brows and eyes would curve slightly, but that smile rarely reached the depths of his eyes. It was always as though a thin layer of ice lay between them, beautiful but making its warmth hard to reach.

The "Izuna" before him—the curve of his smile, the flash of amusement in his eyes at Hikaku's earlier conflicted expression, even the slight movement of his head as he tilted it to listen—all overlapped perfectly with the image in his memories.

Even his tone when asking questions, that calm but unquestionable probing, and the methodical way he went about it were exactly the same.

But... how is that possible?

Hikaku dug his nails deep into his palm, using the stinging pain to keep his reason.

He had seen the cold coffin with his own eyes, seen Lord Madara place Lord Izuna's remains inside and cover him with the first handful of earth himself.

Returned from the dead? No. I went to the cemetery to check last night. Izuna's coffin was still in its place, undisturbed, and his remains were still there.

The person before him could not possibly be him.

But why are they so alike?

Shock and longing surged like a tide, nearly drowning him.

No wonder Lord Madara took that attitude. Even knowing he's a fake, he can't help believing.

How he wished he could believe this was Lord Izuna, that the second-in-command he had admired, followed, and mourned for half a year had truly returned.

But reason screamed that it was impossible, and fear and suspicion wound around him like poisonous vines. Could this be the enemy's most vicious plot? Did they use Lord Madara's and every Uchiha's longing to slip in a perfect imitation?

No, stop thinking about it. Hikaku lowered his eyes. The only thing he had to do now was play along with the person before him, as the clan leader had instructed.

Don't let your feelings lead you by the nose, Hikaku. This is just a mission. Calm down.

The conversation lasted about half an hour.

Afterward, Izuna and Hikaku left the council office together. Judging by their direction, they intended to follow the main road and inspect the important areas of the clan grounds in person.

Madara continued to follow from a distance.

He watched Izuna, accompanied by Hikaku, first inspect several Uchiha-run ninja tool shops and medicinal herb stores. Izuna asked about their recent revenue and customers, and even picked up a few ninja tools to examine their quality.

At the clan grounds' public square, he stopped for a while to observe the clan members coming and going, paying attention to their expressions and interactions with one another.

In the warehouse district, he briefly checked the supplies in storage and the records of goods coming in and going out.

Throughout the tour, Izuna acted both like a leader conducting a routine inspection and like a newcomer with a sense of novelty and a desire to observe.

Hikaku accompanied him and offered explanations. His manner had become much more natural, and at least on the surface, there were no major flaws to be seen.

Finally, they arrived at the training ground.

Quite a few young clan members were already working up a sweat there early in the morning. The sounds of Kunai cutting through the air and shouts from Taijutsu sparring filled the grounds.

Izuna and Hikaku's arrival caused a small stir, but it soon died down. The warning Madara had given beforehand had evidently worked.

Most of the clan members merely glanced at Izuna with curiosity or indifference before returning to their training. Only some of the younger ones continued to watch him openly.

At first, Izuna simply stood at the edge of the field and watched quietly.

His gaze swept over the young faces practicing Shuriken throwing and Taijutsu. His eyes were calm, revealing little emotion.

Madara's attention was also fixed on the training ground, particularly the reactions of the younger clan members.

He could sense curiosity and scrutiny, but also a trace of barely perceptible... hostility.

Several slightly older young men with decent Strength in particular looked at Izuna with barely concealed suspicion and killing intent.

But Izuna continued talking with Hikaku as if he hadn't noticed.

Just then, something unexpected happened!

At the edge of the training ground, a boy practicing throws at moving targets suddenly flicked his wrist without warning. A Kunai tore through the air at a tricky angle, shooting straight at Izuna's back!

That was no missed practice throw! The angle, the force, the spot it was aimed at—it was clearly meant to kill!

Madara's pupils contracted, and his heart nearly stopped.

He recognized the boy. Uchiha Takuma was talented and had indeed been one of Izuna's admirers before, but precisely because of that admiration, he might hate the "impostor" even more fiercely!

Hikaku's notice had evidently failed to fully restrain the impulsive, quick-tempered young man.

Izuna! Chakra erupted beneath Madara's feet as he prepared to rush over, heedless of everything else!

But the next instant, he forcibly stopped himself.

On the field, faced with the sudden sneak attack, Izuna didn't even look.

He simply leaned slightly to the left with perfect ease and pivoted lightly on his feet.

The Chakra-infused Kunai, swift as lightning, whistled past his right shoulder and buried itself deep in a wooden post nearby, its tail still humming and quivering.

The entire dodge was smooth and light. Even afterward, he kept his ear turned toward Hikaku, listening to him speak, as though he had merely brushed aside a falling leaf.

Hikaku's cry of alarm caught in his throat, and his face turned deathly pale.

Uchiha Takuma, who had launched the sneak attack, was also stunned. He apparently hadn't expected the strike he had been sure would land to miss.

As for Izuna, even as he easily dodged the Kunai, his gaze never left Hikaku's face. Only the curve of his smile seemed to deepen a little.

Only he knew that the instant Takuma's shoulder muscles tensed and his fingers closed around the Kunai, the prelude to music had already begun in his mind.

At the same time, Takuma's figure and the Kunai's trajectory were outlined in Izuna's mind by translucent "note tracks" and flickering "judgment circles."

Takuma in the distance was a small preset circle. The instant the Kunai was thrown, it became a note that needed to be "hit" or "dodged," and the moment the attack reached him, it became a full circle on the verge of judgment.

I see... Izuna understood. So this is how the Rhythm Game System works in actual combat.

It senses hostility and intent to attack, then turns them into visible rhythms and tracks...

Since the "game" has started, how could I not get a "Full Combo"?

The smile on Izuna's face widened, a hint of excitement showing through.

He looked away from the still-shaken Hikaku and turned to face the clan members on the training ground, some of whom had stopped because of the sudden attack while others had noticed something was wrong and were looking over. In particular, he faced Uchiha Takuma, whose face was flushed with shock and anger.

He looked around, ignoring the weapon rack. Instead, he picked up an ordinary iron shovel used to level the sand from a corner at the edge of the training ground and hefted it in his hand.

Then he raised his voice, its clear tones bold and provocative as they carried across the entire training ground:

"Takuma, sneak attacks aren't a good habit."

"But..." He flicked his wrist, and the shovel swept through a half-arc in the air, its blade pointing diagonally at the ground. His smile was brilliant, but his eyes were sharp as knives.

"Since you've already made a move—"

"Come on! All of you, at once!"

"Let me see just how much you little brats have grown while I've been away! You actually dared to challenge me!"

The training ground fell deathly silent in an instant. Only the faint sound of wind passing over the equipment racks remained.

Everyone stared openmouthed at the black-haired young man holding an iron shovel, his smile unabashed.

Hikaku covered his face, feeling as though he were about to suffocate.

In the treetop, Madara concealed himself and watched his younger brother, whose fighting spirit had been ignited by the sneak attack and who now perfectly overlapped with a spirited figure from his memories. Slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted.

That's my little brother for you!