Early in the morning, Senba walked along the street, feeling the cool autumn breeze and watching the neighborhood gradually grow more bustling. He couldn't help thinking of the ruined scene just a few hundred meters away. Comparing the two, all he could do was sigh: self-righteous lunatics were truly terrifying. If this world had karmic retribution, then Uchiha One-Eyed's deeds would probably earn him a turn through every torture in the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
If a family got either Uchiha One-Eyed or Uchiha Ferret, you could say they'd committed a terrible sin. The Uchiha were truly blessed—they got both. If their clan didn't fall, it would be an insult to their ancestor, the Sage of Six Paths.
As Senba glanced around, he suddenly noticed someone approaching from the other direction, so he dodged to the left. But the other person dodged left too. Thinking they'd had the same idea, Senba reluctantly moved right, only to find his way blocked again.
"Looking for trouble?" Sensing the other person's hostile intent, Senba reached for the Ninja Tools pouch at his back and gripped the handle of a kunai. But the next moment, he stopped. There was no other reason: the person in front of him was a comrade he knew all too well.
"Hahahaha! Senba, it's been so long! Have you and Iruka missed me?"
Watching the cheerful fellow laugh heartily, Senba relaxed. His gloomy mood of late eased as well. "Tsuki, long time no see. You're allowed to leave the clan now?"
That's right—the person who had blocked Senba's path was the last member of their three-person team, Uchiha Tsuki.
She had long, dark hair and large, bright eyes. Her lively nature showed in her expression, and a beauty mark beneath her right eye gave her face a unique charm.
Senba hadn't known Uchiha Tsuki's name at first, since he'd never heard of her in the original story. But one day, when he learned that her younger sister was named Uchiha Izumi, all he could do was marvel at how small Konoha really was. No matter how you looked at it, everyone seemed to have some connection to a character from the original story.
Since they'd run into each other, Uchiha Tsuki walked alongside Senba, telling him about what had happened to her lately. They both tacitly avoided mentioning the Uchiha clan's confinement. It wasn't something they were in a position to get involved in yet.
"I was training at the clan's training ground when a huge explosion suddenly rang out, accompanied by a dazzling burst of light. A moment later, a powerful gust swept up clouds of dust and smoke and sent me flying. I passed out on the spot."
"When I woke up, my clanmates had rescued me. What reassured me most was that Izumi was there with me. She'd been lucky enough to follow the clan head's son, Itachi, and get to safety early."
"After everything had settled down, I wanted to come find you, but I couldn't leave."
"We were only allowed out of the clan yesterday, so I came to find you as soon as I could. Oh, Senba, I heard about Teacher Kurasuke and Iruka too. When you have time, do you want us to visit Teacher Kurasuke together? Mmm, this is delicious."
As Uchiha Tsuki recounted what she'd been through, Senba suddenly offered her a snack. The takoyaki's crisp outside and tender inside, paired with the fragrant sauce, made her eyes narrow with delight and drove away the heaviness in her heart.
"Iruka's easy. Tomorrow, we can go find him and take a mission together." Senba held the box of takoyaki and smiled at Uchiha Tsuki, who was looking thoroughly pleased with her food. "But Teacher Kurasuke isn't at the hospital anymore. We went to visit him again a few days ago, and the doctor on duty said he'd already left."
"Mmm, so good. Then let's go look for Teacher Kurasuke at his house! Aren't you going to have any, Senba?"
As she spoke, Uchiha Tsuki held up a takoyaki on a toothpick and offered it to Senba, smiling at him.
"I'm not hungry yet. I'm going to a clan gathering to meet the elders. It'd be a bit improper if they noticed another smell on me." Politely declining her offer, Senba continued, "We went to Teacher Kurasuke's house too, but nobody was there. The neighbors said he hadn't been home in a long time."
At that, Senba felt a faint worry. After losing both legs, Teacher Kurasuke had taken it hard. If he couldn't bear the blow, he might do something drastic.
Of course, there was another possibility: Teacher Kurasuke had found hope of recovery and gone to get his legs treated. That was even more troubling to consider. In Konoha, nine out of ten treatments of that caliber were related to Hashirama Cells. So where could he be?
Senba wasn't making baseless suspicions. While chatting with Shizune, she'd mentioned that lately, many severely injured and disabled people had left Konoha Hospital, almost all at the same time. Their discharge paperwork hadn't been handled through the usual procedures either.
Hearing that, Senba had thought of Pot Kage Danzo. As for whether the Third Generation was involved, all he could say was that the Third Generation cared about appearances. He wouldn't allow himself to get his hands dirty.
The two continued walking along the street and chatting, occasionally buying dango or sushi. Most of it ended up in Uchiha Tsuki's stomach.
The smile never left Uchiha Tsuki's face. She'd known Senba for two years, and what she liked most was that he never seemed surprised by how much she ate. In fact, he always went out of his way to buy her snacks.
Since she'd always felt a little self-conscious about her big appetite, that made Uchiha Tsuki feel cared for.
But even the best food eventually left you full, just as even the straightest road eventually came to a fork. Looking at the two roads stretching off in opposite directions, Senba knew their reunion had come to an end.
"Take these home for Izumi. If she smells the food on you and sees you didn't bring her anything tasty, she'll get upset." Senba handed over all the snacks he had left: dorayaki, dango, and grilled corn.
"Hey, Senba, are you sure you don't want to keep some? Clan gatherings usually take a long time. It'd be good to have something to tide you over if you get hungry."
Uchiha Tsuki gave him the well-intentioned advice born of her own clan-gathering experience. But when she saw him shake his head, she said no more. After agreeing on a time to meet the next day, she bounced away.
Watching Uchiha Tsuki's cheerful figure disappear, Senba headed in the opposite direction. As a junior, it would be improper for him to arrive late.
But when Senba reached the Senju residence and heard everyone talking, he immediately regretted not keeping some food.
Good grief, wasn't this supposed to be just a clan gathering? Why had the Third Hokage come too? With his status, he'd surely arrive at the last moment, and with all the formalities afterward, Senba felt like he might pass out from hunger.
Sigh. I shouldn't have skipped breakfast just to save room for the feast. What am I going to do? I'm starving.
Senba rubbed his stomach, which was burning with hunger, and thought to himself.
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