Awesome! Elder Shana!

A fine drizzle fell, and the night wind had softened at some point. Though it still carried the chill of spring, hope unfurled in that moment.

The Third Hokage's pipe glowed and dimmed, its flickering light strikingly bright in the night. The Hyuga ninjas followed behind the village's shinobi.

They stood near the Hyuga Clan's main gate. Light from the courtyard spilled over them, but they kept their faces hidden in shadow...

The Third Hokage and the shinobi he had brought remained as silent as ever, but their silence now signified approval.

Only when smoke enveloped the Third Hokage's entire face did Qing Xuan speak. "True leader of the Hidden Cloud, let's make a deal!"

Water gathered on Dodai's hat brim and trickled down past the corners of his eyes. He narrowed his eyes. "Let's hear it."

Qing Xuan spoke loudly. "Do you remember the Battle of Iwaban Plain?"

Everyone present narrowed their eyes.

Dodai was even more shaken. His eyes narrowed further, and as if he'd suddenly realized something, a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Your father died there."

The killing intent gathered around him surged in an instant. The prickling sensation made Dodai's scalp crawl. He was certain that if young Uchiha Qing Xuan so much as nodded, the Uchiha would swarm him and tear him to pieces.

But what happened next was beyond his expectations. The usually hotheaded, volatile Uchiha were strangely quiet.

They simply stared at him in silence, like...

A pack of wolves led by an alpha!

When Dodai realized this, he looked at Qing Xuan again, his heart growing heavier.

"Your Third Raikage died even earlier!"

Qing Xuan clicked his tongue. He sounded like a heartless, despicable villain as he taunted, "Do you know what that old man looked like when my old man found him?"

His scarlet eyes brimmed with malice.

"Pretty pathetic!"

"Bastard!"

A roar came from behind Dodai. Before he could react, a figure had already dashed through the rain toward Uchiha Qing Xuan, who stood there laughing with his hands on his hips.

"Wait! Stop!"

Facing the pairs of malicious Three Tomoe Sharingan across from him, Dodai roared, trying to stop them—but it was already too late.

"Clatter..."

Amid the chains' soft, rainlike clinks, a gleam suddenly coiled up from among the Uchiha. It writhed like a serpent, climbing viciously over the kunoichi's body. Then, under everyone's gaze, it gave a gentle tug.

An old voice rang out, teasingly, like a hymn.

"I bloom amid slaughter, just like a flower in wind and rain..."

The chains retracted. Blood blossomed like flowers, and the corpse fell into the cold rainwater, splashing mud and water.

[Minor Character: Hidden Cloud's Nosai has changed fate. Reward: one Bronze Treasure Chest. Congratulations, host—you have obtained one book of Hidden Cloud intermediate taijutsu and swordsmanship experience!]

"Damn, Elder Shana!"

Qing Xuan cheered toward the people behind him, drawing a chorus of approval from the Uchiha.

In the cold rain, Dodai's face turned ashen. He stared at the pale face in the muddy water, its eyes still fixed on him, like a declaration of war from the Uchiha.

They seemed to be telling Dodai: from this moment on, the person they were negotiating with had changed.

From the Hyuga to the Uchiha.

Dodai clenched both fists, his palms full of rainwater.

Sharingan!

Those bastards had used genjutsu!

"Drip, drip..."

In the flickering light, the Third Hokage continued to smoke in silence. The Konoha shinobi behind him remained just as quiet as ever.

"This is just a warning."

In the thick darkness, the six-year-old Uchiha stood protected by a pair after pair of scarlet eyes, speaking coldly in a language Dodai knew well.

"No one insults my father!"

A chill settled over Dodai's heart once more. He looked at the face that almost seemed to overlap with Ryuu Uchiha's, and finally let out a sigh.

This boy had come into his own.

Though he had reminded himself from the very beginning not to underestimate Ryuu Uchiha's son, he had still underestimated the boy.

"Uchiha Qing Xuan, what do you want to trade with the Hidden Cloud?"

Dodai had finally come to his senses, just like the Cloud ninjas behind him.

"Where was I?"

Qing Xuan spoke again. He seemed to have become the same cheerful, optimistic child from before, one who knew nothing of the world's cruelty. Perhaps that was where he felt most at ease.

"Oh, right! They fought side by side. My old man admired the Raikage's bravery, and the Raikage likewise respected my old man's sense of responsibility. They understood and admired each other, and then the Third Raikage suddenly had a bold idea."

"Guess what he wanted to do?"

His sly smile made Dodai frown, but he had no choice but to answer. "Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!"

The blatant spoiler ruined Qing Xuan's desire to keep telling the story. He pursed his lips, his tone turning colder. "Wrong. It was Three-Finger Nukite. The Third Raikage seemed like a straightforward man, but he was stingy even on the verge of death. My old man had all three tomoe activated and only managed to copy that move."

Dodai's eyelid twitched. His teeth ground together, but he didn't dare talk back anymore. He was afraid the next one might be Four-Finger Nukite.

He seemed to have guessed the answer. "Ryuu Uchiha also died in that battle, so I'm curious: how did you learn all this?"

Qing Xuan raised an eyebrow, almost saying, "Guess." But that would've been dragging things out, so he simply said, "My old man explained it all in the letter he left me."

"He did die in that battle, but his shadow clone made it out."

At last, Dodai's suspicions were confirmed. He let out a long breath, thinking, Just as I thought.

In the flickering light, the man's eyes shone brightly, but his tone remained flat.

"So, you want to use this to get the Hidden Cloud to forgive the Hyuga?"

Qing Xuan was displeased. "Why should I?"

He glanced at the Uchiha behind him. "The Hyuga became the Uchiha's rivals the moment they competed with us for the title of strongest clan. We Uchiha don't help our rivals solve their problems."

Mocking laughter immediately came from behind him.

The Hyuga shinobi lifted their heads angrily. Their eyes had light in them once more.

Dodai's brows drew together even more tightly. He opened his mouth to say something, but Qing Xuan no longer wanted to drag things out with him. Perhaps he also felt the time was right, so he waved a hand. "All right! Go figure something out, old man. You're no longer qualified to decide what happens next. Bring your leader here."

The Cloud ninjas were baffled, but Dodai understood. He was still hesitating, though.

Then another peal of thunder rang out.

In the season of awakening, spring thunder stirred, and all things came back to life.

Amid the thunder, a voice even more stirring than the rumble rang out softly.

"Have you found the Third Raikage's body after all these years?"

Lightning flashed, bright as the Third Hokage's pipe!

In the glow, the shock on the Cloud ninjas' faces seemed frozen in place.