Big Kids Need Comfort Too

It was no wonder Genkawa Uchiha had thought that way. Orochimaru had kept an exceptionally low profile these past few years, especially after Namikaze Minato took office. Normally, Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen in the village, and later, there had not even been any news of him.

Genkawa Uchiha had once wondered whether the village higher-ups had deliberately concealed the news because Orochimaru had defected.

Now, it seemed that was not the case at all.

After all, Orochimaru was standing perfectly well among the crowd right now, with no intention of defecting whatsoever.

Right. Around this time, this guy should have already colluded with Shimura Danzō. The changes in Shimura Danzō's body are related to him too.

That was what he thought, but Genkawa Uchiha did not pay it much mind. He merely glanced over before withdrawing his gaze.

The farewell ceremony for the Fourth Hokage and his wife continued, solemn and silent. After offering his flowers, Genkawa Uchiha stepped back into the Uchiha ranks.

The entire ceremony lasted over half an hour. At the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward.

Today was not merely a farewell for the Fourth Hokage and his wife. Hiruzen Sarutobi had stepped out to announce that he would once again take control.

Of course, publicly, he was still only serving in an acting capacity. Once the Fifth Hokage was chosen, he would retire completely.

The villagers were naturally moved. With Hiruzen Sarutobi taking office again, the unrest that had lingered among them after the Nine-Tails Incident quickly settled down.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had served as Hokage for decades. He had lived through the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars and had maintained Konoha's stability well.

The villagers had grown accustomed to Hiruzen Sarutobi as Hokage. Now that he had stepped forward again, they instead felt that this was how things ought to be.

As for the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato...

He had been a hero, but unfortunately, he was gone.

The villagers' wishes were simple. They only wanted stability and a sense of security.

Genkawa Uchiha watched Hiruzen Sarutobi speak about the Will of Fire, his expression unchanged.

He did believe that Hiruzen Sarutobi had not returned to power for its sake. Otherwise, Namikaze Minato would not have taken office so smoothly back then.

But none of that had anything to do with him. He did not care.

As he coldly watched the crowd's emotions being stirred, Genkawa Uchiha's thoughts had already drifted elsewhere. He was thinking about the techniques he had learned over the past two days and mentally devising new ones.

Of course, he was only devising them. He had not yet reached the stage of developing them.

Genkawa Uchiha knew he was still some distance from that step. The most urgent matter now was learning all the techniques at home, then finding ways to master even more techniques. Only by laying a solid foundation could he begin developing ninjutsu.

In short, knowledge was important.

By the time he came back to himself, the farewell ceremony had already ended, and people were leaving in small groups.

The Uchiha Clan members also began to leave. Genkawa Uchiha did not go with them, instead departing alone.

His very presence attracted attention. During the farewell ceremony, it had been fine, but now that he ignored everyone as usual, those Uchiha naturally began whispering among themselves.

"That guy is acting like this again."

"Hmph. He's truly the shame of the Uchiha. He was born with such talent, yet he refuses to contribute to the Uchiha Clan's glory. He's simply a disgrace to the Uchiha Clan."

"Yeah. How does someone like that still have the nerve to stay in the clan compound?"

"Stay away from him. That guy is mentally unstable."

The voices were quiet, but with Genkawa Uchiha's abilities, he could still hear them clearly.

He had heard such words plenty of times. At first, they had angered him, but after he taught them lessons one by one, no one had dared say such things to his face anymore.

Still, the Uchiha people were stubborn enough. They did not dare say it to his face, but they still had the nerve to gossip behind his back.

He looked in their direction, his gaze calm.

The few Uchiha who had been whispering immediately froze as though someone had seized them by the throat.

Genkawa Uchiha raised a hand and ran his thumb from the left side of his neck to the right, making a throat-slitting gesture.

The corner of his mouth lifted as he gave them a cold smile.

At once, their expressions changed.

"Stop scaring them."

A woman's voice came from behind him. It was Mikoto Uchiha.

She had watched the entire scene and had naturally seen Genkawa Uchiha frighten those people.

Others did not understand Genkawa Uchiha, but she did. No one knew better than her what the child before her was really like beneath his cold exterior.

Genkawa Uchiha turned around and saw Mikoto Uchiha dressed in fitted black mourning clothes that outlined her slender yet soft waist. Her collar dipped slightly, revealing a stretch of fair neck.

Her long lashes trembled faintly. There was a hint of reproach on her face, her shoulders drawn in slightly, giving off the gentle grace unique to a married woman.

It had to be said, despite already being the mother of two children, she had become even more charming than before.

Especially dressed entirely in plain black like this, she carried something of a widow's air. Even with Genkawa Uchiha's mindset, he could not help taking a few extra looks, the kind that traveled up and down.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"A beauty."

As he spoke, Mikoto Uchiha had already come to his side, and they walked forward together.

Hearing that, Mikoto Uchiha rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Don't talk nonsense. Mind the occasion."

Genkawa Uchiha caught a distinctive scent, something like a faint fragrance and something like musk. Before he knew it, he voiced the thought in his heart.

"Did you feed Sasuke before coming here?"

Mikoto Uchiha's face immediately turned red, and she hurriedly smacked him on the head.

Genkawa Uchiha only regretted being too young. There were so many things he could not do yet. What a pity.

"Where is he?"

Genkawa Uchiha took the initiative to change the subject.

Mikoto Uchiha naturally knew who he meant. Her eyes lowered slightly. "He's behind us, discussing matters with the clan members."

"Heh, he's really proactive. Isn't he ignoring how you feel, Sister Mikoto?"

"Don't say that. Fugaku has many things he needs to do."

Genkawa Uchiha curled his lips and said bluntly, "If you ask me, you should just separate from him and come to me. I kind of miss the feeling of holding Sister Mikoto while sleeping when I was little."

Mikoto Uchiha smacked him again. "Don't talk nonsense. You're already a big kid."

"What is wrong with being a big kid? Does being a big kid mean I'm no longer a kid? Big kids need comfort too. Big kids have weak moments too."

Genkawa Uchiha fired off three questions in a row.

"Cough, cough."

Someone suddenly coughed heavily behind them.

Genkawa Uchiha looked over and saw Fugaku Uchiha.

Several clan elites stood beside him. At the moment, Fugaku Uchiha's expression did not look good. It was somewhat gloomy and somewhat hostile.

"Tch."

Genkawa Uchiha clicked his tongue and waved to Mikoto Uchiha. "I'm leaving first."

Mikoto Uchiha seemed as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent and could only watch him leave.

Fugaku Uchiha stepped forward with a dark expression. "This is the good child you spoke of? Where is even a hint of steadiness in him?"

"He..."

Mikoto Uchiha wanted to explain something, but in the end, she could not say anything.

She knew her husband had issues with Genkawa Uchiha, and she also knew Genkawa Uchiha looked down on Fugaku Uchiha.

She had never thought much of it before, always believing she could mediate between them. But as Genkawa Uchiha gradually grew older, she realized how laughable her earlier thoughts had been.

It was not that Genkawa Uchiha looked down on Fugaku Uchiha. He looked down on the entire Uchiha Clan.

That left her deeply troubled. She had no idea how to change Genkawa Uchiha's view of the clan.

Genkawa Uchiha naturally did not care about Fugaku Uchiha's evaluation. By then, he had arrived at the Training Ground from before and begun his daily training.

But after only a short while, he stopped. Standing where he was, he spoke without turning around.

"Since you're here, how much longer are you planning to hide, Lord Orochimaru?"

He then turned and looked toward a distant tree.

A figure stepped out from behind it. It was Orochimaru, dressed in black.

"It has been a long time, Genkawa-kun. You truly surprised me today. It seems Genkawa-kun has already learned to master ninjutsu."