Journey to the Land of Waves

Itachi had left. From this day onward, he would become Konoha's S-rank Rogue Ninja, and the person his younger brother most wanted to kill.

Yamei flashed back to their meeting place, where Izumi was hiding in a corner with twelve children aged three or four.

Only when she saw Yamei arrive did Izumi step out. "Did you finish?"

"There's one more thing. Wait here. I set up a genjutsu around this place, so you don't need to be so alert." After speaking, Yamei turned and headed to Uchiha Fugaku's home.

Sasuke lay unconscious in the hallway, his face twisted in terror...

Yamei only glanced at him before walking toward the living room.

The moment he entered, he saw two bodies lying in pools of blood. They were Fugaku and Mikoto.

"Itachi really... He actually destroyed the Mangekyo! I don't even know what to say." Yamei shook his head as he looked at Fugaku's ruined eyes.

He clearly could have taken them and evolved his own eyes into the Eternal Mangekyo.

Yet he had chosen to destroy them. It seemed he truly loved his little brother!

Shaking his head, Yamei lightly snapped his fingers.

Mikoto's figure dissolved like a bubble, while the figure of a beautiful woman appeared on the living room sofa. Her expression was somewhat vacant, and she did not react even when Yamei approached her.

Aside from those twelve children, Yamei had left genjutsu marks on Mikoto and Izumi when he had come into contact with them. Uchiha Itachi had not known about this.

"Aunt Mikoto, now that you've died once, what will you choose? Will you continue to die to fulfill Itachi's ideals, or will you leave with me?"

Yamei reached out and lifted Mikoto's chin. Her unfocused eyes met his, slowly regaining a trace of life.

Tears slid from her eyes.

She was lost. The reason she had been willing to die was only because she did not want to see her flesh and blood kill each other, not for the so-called village.

But when the suffocation of death had enveloped her, she had been afraid after all!

No one could be unafraid of death. Even if they showed no fear before dying, the moment death truly arrived, they would still tremble.

And after the fear faded, she discovered that she had not died. She also learned Itachi's true reason for doing all this, and saw that Itachi had not even cared about her request for him to take care of Sasuke.

It seemed that the family bonds she cherished had become a joke at that moment.

Having died once, she seemed to have broken free from the shackles called family.

Before, she had lived for this family, for Itachi, and for Sasuke!

But she had died.

Now... perhaps she should live for herself once?

Seeing the change in Mikoto's eyes, Yamei nodded in understanding. "It seems you've made your choice. Then come with me."

"Everything that has passed is but smoke and clouds. Since you have been reborn, don't dwell on it too much. Everyone has their own path, and you've already done enough."

Mikoto silently followed behind him. Hearing Yamei's comforting words, she replied in a low voice, "Thank you."

Yamei said nothing more. Some things could only be understood by figuring them out oneself, and Mikoto was at such a moment.

It was just a pity that although Mikoto also had the talent for the Sharingan, she could not compare to Izumi and had failed to awaken the Mangekyo.

When Izumi and Mikoto met, they were both briefly stunned. But both had heavy thoughts on their minds, so they merely exchanged a simple greeting.

Yamei looked at the two women and said, "In a while, I'll take you out of the village and find somewhere for you to stay temporarily. In about three days, I'll find a suitable place for you to settle down."

"I'll listen to you." Izumi nodded directly.

Mikoto nodded as well.

The next morning, classes at the Ninja Academy proceeded as usual.

Only Sasuke had taken leave and was absent, while the atmosphere around Shikamaru and the others was somewhat strange.

"What's wrong with everyone?" Naruto and Sakura also sensed the odd atmosphere and lowered their voices.

"The Uchiha Clan was annihilated," Yamei explained to them.

They were still commoners, after all, and had no way of receiving such news so quickly.

"What!?"

The two cried out in shock, then remembered that Sasuke was absent. Worry flashed through both their eyes.

Although Sasuke and Naruto often traded barbs, their relationship after more than two years of special training was naturally not bad.

"Let's visit him at the hospital together after school this afternoon," Yamei suggested.

"No problem." Ino nodded.

"Let's go with what Yamei says." Shikamaru agreed as well.

That afternoon, everyone went to the hospital. Sasuke lay on his bed looking utterly lost, and merely thanked them when they arrived.

No one said much. After visiting him, they each left.

When night came, Yamei left Konoha and arrived at a small tribe within the Land of Fire.

"Yamei."

Izumi and Mikoto walked out from a courtyard.

"I've made all the preparations. Now I can take you to an entirely new place to live."

Yamei had already taken leave from the Ninja Academy that day and set up a genjutsu around his own courtyard, so leaving for a while would not be a problem.

"Thank you for the trouble." Mikoto spoke gratefully.

Over the course of the day, she had talked a great deal with Izumi. Seeing the twelve Uchiha Clan children had also made her think about many things.

Since she had already begun a new life, why cling to the past? She merely needed time to adjust.

"It's nothing."

Yamei waved his hand and took several skewers of dango from his pocket, handing them to Izumi. "Here. Dango for you and the children."

Izumi's eyes lit up, and the bitterness in her heart became much sweeter at that moment.

"Thank you."

After everyone made their preparations, they headed toward the Land of Waves under Yamei's lead.

As they drew closer, Yamei also activated the mark of shared perception.

There were simply too many children. Even though Izumi possessed considerable strength and Mikoto had Jonin-level strength, their travel speed was not particularly fast.

It took four days before the group finally left the borders of the Land of Fire and reached the coast.

"Huh!? There isn't a port on this side of the Land of Fire?" Yamei stared at the completely empty coastline in astonishment.

"Pfft..." Seeing Yamei's expression, Izumi could not help laughing.

Mikoto gently explained from the side, "Because the Land of Waves has no ninja village, it considers itself weak and rarely deals with other countries. Even when it does, it is only through trade routes."

Yamei froze, suddenly thinking of the future bridge the Land of Waves would build. Wasn't it meant to establish a connection with the Land of Fire...?

"There's no one around, and it's still early. Let's just build a boat," Izumi suggested.

"It seems that's the only option. There are no signs of anyone living nearby either." Mikoto nodded helplessly.

Yamei was about to agree when a thought suddenly struck him. He shook his head. "No need. Someone will come pick us up soon."

"Pick us up?" The two women were stunned at the same time.

They had not actually known why Yamei had chosen the Land of Waves. But Yamei was now their pillar of support, so they had never asked.

It seemed Yamei had already made arrangements in the Land of Waves!