Hearing Qingguang praise her like that, the blush that had only just begun to fade from Mikoto's face deepened again.
Her whole face turned bright red, and her heart pounded faster and faster.
Qingguang-senpai, you hopelessly dense guy! Could you stop saying things like that out of nowhere?!
I know you don't mean anything by it, but it's going to make me overthink things!
"Then you're too slow, senpai."
"I-I'll go wait for you at the training ground."
The words tumbled out in a fluster, and Mikoto hurriedly fled, afraid that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn't be able to handle it.
Qingguang could only shake his head helplessly.
Were kids in the Shinobi World really so precocious? They were only twelve or thirteen—how had things gotten like this?
I was just making normal polite conversation...
After training, Mikoto leaned against a tree trunk, utterly exhausted. She opened her mouth wide, her tongue almost hanging out, and fanned herself with both hands to cool down.
"I told you to gather Chakra in your throat when using the Great Fireball, but you just had to try it in your mouth out of curiosity."
"That's a technique you only need when learning Ash Pile Burning."
"See? You burned yourself."
Qingguang's merciless teasing made Mikoto feel a little embarrassed and annoyed.
Idiot senpai! He doesn't even know the basics of treating a girl gently!
"Hmph! I hate you the most, Qingguang-senpai!"
Mikoto turned her back to him, fuming.
A few minutes later, she finally calmed down. When she saw that Qingguang still hadn't moved, she turned around to look.
"Where'd he go?"
"What?"
His familiar voice came from behind her, and a large hand waved a popsicle in front of her.
"Here. Cool off."
Mikoto snatched it from him and put it in her mouth, savoring the cold in an instant.
She knew senpai wouldn't leave her here all alone~
After all, Qingguang-senpai was an incredibly, incredibly kind person.
The summer evening breeze swept past, carrying waves of heat. Sweat soaked the girl's body, outlining her delicate figure.
"As expected, nothing beats a popsicle after training in the summer~"
The coldness in her mouth made Mikoto happy, and her upper body swayed gently from side to side.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned toward him and pulled the popsicle from her rosy lips.
"Senpai, my father said he wants you to come by tonight. He said there's something about the clan meeting he wants to discuss with you."
"Uncle Shifang wants to see me? Then I'll go with you tonight."
"It's been a while since I've had a proper visit with him, too."
That evening, the two grabbed a few sesame flatbreads at Uchiha Teisho's place, then headed to Mikoto's home.
As soon as Qingguang entered the lavish courtyard, he saw Elder Shifang sitting beneath an old tree, enjoying the shade and drinking tea.
"Mikoto, go wash up first. You've been training all day, so take some time to relax. I'll chat with Uncle Shifang for a while."
Mikoto glanced at her father, then at Qingguang, and muttered, "Senpai, if my father gives you a hard time, I'll pour salt water into his tea jar!"
Then she darted away.
Shifang had naturally heard her, and the corners of his mouth twitched twice.
"Uncle Shifang, it's been a long time."
Sitting cross-legged opposite Shifang, Qingguang poured him a cup of hot tea.
Only then did Shifang open his eyes and look at Qingguang.
Ever since the boy had learned the Great Fireball at six, that bastard Third had taken him away. Only now had he let Qingguang return to the clan compound.
Didn't he just want Qingguang to become like Kagami had been?
Those bastards in Konoha didn't treat the Uchiha Clan like people at all!
His dear friend Kagami was already dead. Did they really have to turn his son, Qingguang, into a puppet of Konoha High Command, too?
Thinking of this, Shifang felt nothing but anguish. The Uchiha had no way to resist now, and they didn't have the strength to fight back, either.
Ever since Konoha was founded, no new Mangekyo had ever awakened...
"Qingguang, in the blink of an eye, all these years have passed. You've grown up."
"Now that you've returned to the clan compound, what will happen with Sarutobi? After all, he's raised you with great care for all these years. It couldn't have been easy for him."
Shifang sipped his tea, using the question to probe Qingguang's attitude.
Qingguang shook his head slightly and smiled. "Uncle Shifang, I'll never forget Lord Hokage's kindness in raising me. But now that I'm nearly an adult, it's only right for me to return to the Uchiha."
"After all, Uchiha blood runs through my veins."
As Shifang had expected, that damned monkey had treated poor Qingguang as Kagami's replacement—as a tool!
"Alas..."
The sigh held all kinds of complicated emotions.
Shifang raised his eyes to Qingguang. For a moment, time seemed to blur, and he felt as if he were looking at that innocent, kind boy from long ago, eyes full of curiosity as he asked what Chakra was.
"Qingguang, only the Uchiha Clan's elites can attend the clan meeting. You've been almost entirely cut off from the family for all these years."
"You know how the family feels about the Hokage faction. Even I, as an elder, can't do much to help you."
"I don't want to go through what happened to Kagami again. Promise me that when the time comes, you won't say anything at the clan meeting that might make the clan members misunderstand you, all right?"
Shifang's voice held a request so subtle it was difficult to detect.
At that moment, Qingguang lifted his eyes. His dark eyes spun rapidly, turning bloodred as three Tomoe appeared.
"Uncle Shifang, I was born into the Uchiha and grew up under the clan's care. How could I forget what you've done for me?"
"If you hadn't looked after me back then, how could I have grown up safely to this day?"
"Lord Hokage has been kind to me, but I've never forgotten the bloodline running through my veins."
"I know the clan's situation. I came back to change things, so everyone can live better lives."
These heartfelt words made the hand holding Shifang's teacup tremble slightly.
As expected, even a kind child tainted by that damned monkey couldn't lose the sense of belonging to the Uchiha deep in his bones.
That sincere gaze was proof enough!
Thinking of this, Shifang let out another weary sigh.
"Qingguang, I understand how you feel, but the clan isn't what it used to be."
"Over the years, the clan has become divided to an almost unbelievable degree."
As he spoke, Shifang smiled ruefully, his face full of shame.
"Do you know?"
"The Uchiha, once united as one and at odds with the Senju Clan for over a thousand years, are now divided into three factions, each constantly fighting and trying to win the others over."
"I understand your talent—you've awakened the Three Tomoe. But if that's all you have, it's still nowhere near enough."
"The Uchiha's decline is inevitable."
Admitting this aloud seemed to drain all the strength from Shifang. In an instant, he looked more than ten years older.
Suddenly, he saw Qingguang's Three Tomoe change again. The three Tomoe converged and merged.
At last, they formed a lotus-shaped pattern.
"Uncle Shifang, if the Three Tomoe aren't enough, then is this?"
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