A Little Maid

Mn... Where is this? Water... water... Gen thought weakly as he tried to open his eyes, murmuring with a blurred consciousness.

Ah, Lord Gen, you're awake. Wait, I'll pour you some water right away.

Vaguely, Gen heard a nervous voice beside him, sounding rather crisp and quite pleasant.

Before long, he felt someone gently raise his back, resting him in a small embrace as a faint scent of cherry blossoms drifted into his nose, involuntarily relaxing his mind and spirit.

A cup of fresh water was brought to his lips, and Gen could not care who was attending to him as he eagerly drank in large gulps. He emptied it in two swallows, making his throat feel somewhat better.

My lord, I'll pour you another cup.

Gen felt himself being gently laid back down while the person behind him hurried away with pattering footsteps, returning shortly with another cup of water. After repeating this three times, she finally stopped.

Lying back down, he carefully assessed the condition of his body. The slash wound beside his heart had already been bandaged, and all the cuts and bruises across his body had been treated. Some of the minor knife wounds had already scabbed over, appearing to have been treated with medical ninjutsu.

During the final clash between Gen and the Hyuga Jonin, Gen chose a do-or-die tactic. The moment before the opponent was about to pierce him, he forcefully shifted his position away from his heart, deflecting that blade. Only then did he use the Rasengan to finish off the enemy. Back then, if he had possessed even a smidgen of hesitation or made the slightest mistake, Gen likely would not have gotten up today.

Dozily, a pair of cool little hands pressed against his temples, gently massaging them. He could tell the owner of the hands was extremely careful, terrified of waking Gen up.

After a short while, Gen slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that came into view was a petite face with delicate facial features and very long, silky hair that smelled faintly of cherry blossoms. A pair of hands were pressing on his head to massage him, and she looked quite young, roughly around his own age. She wore a pink kimono, giving anyone who looked at her a deeply comforting feeling.

Who are you? Gen asked in confusion. The moment he spoke, his hoarse voice startled even himself.

Seeing Gen wake up, a clear flash of pleasant surprise appeared in the little girl's eyes. She hurriedly placed his head back on the pillow, scurried to the side, and knelt down formally. Lord Gen, my name is Chiyo Hotaru, and I was sent by the patriarch.

A maid? Gen turned his head to look her over carefully. This time he looked very closely, until a flush crept onto her cheeks and she quietly lowered her head, whereupon he finally withdrew his gaze.

Not bad at all. It's fine if you follow me from now on. Has my uncle already returned? Gen asked softly. Although she was a bit young, one could still tell she was a budding beauty who wouldn't look too bad once she blossomed further. Having her follow him as a maid wasn't bad either; most people wouldn't refuse being waited on.

Joy surfaced on Chiyo Hotaru's face as she hurriedly said, Yes, the patriarch returned yesterday.

Gen nodded slightly and continued to ask, How many days have I been unconscious?

Counting today, Lord Gen, you have been unconscious for a total of three days.

What about Uchiha Madara? How is he?

Madara-shojou's injuries are slightly lighter than Lord Gen's. He is recuperating in his own room and is already out of mortal danger.

A smile hung at the corner of Gen's mouth. He keenly noticed that Hotaru addressed Madara as shojou, while addressing him as lord. This indicated that in her heart, his status was higher than Madara's.

Since my uncle is back, what is the situation on the battlefield? Gen thought for a moment and asked again.

This maid does not know. Matters of the battlefield are not things lowly maids like us can understand.

Gen nodded and asked her a few more questions, most of which she knew nothing about regarding the clan's ninja.

As for why his uncle would suddenly send him a little maid, Gen could still guess a thing or two. It was likely that the news of him awakening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and fighting a Jonin to a standstill had already reached his uncle's ears, which was why he gave him a maid as an acknowledgment of both his strength and his status.

Subconsciously, in his uncle's eyes, he was no longer a member of the younger generation needing protection, but an Uchiha ninja capable of standing on his own. Perhaps there was another meaning as well: once his injuries healed, he would finally start taking on missions in the capacity of a ninja. Of course, there was also the possibility of being sent to the battlefield, but Gen estimated the chance of going to the battlefield was low. He was still too young, and the battlefield was far too dangerous. Judging by the genius level he had displayed, unless his uncle was truly foolish or the Uchiha were facing a life-or-death crisis, he figured he still wouldn't end up in a place like the battlefield.

After pondering these thoughts, Gen began asking his little maid some personal questions, such as:

Xiaoying, how old are you this year?

Six.

Uh, you're a year older than me. I couldn't tell. What about your parents?

I don't know. I never saw them after I was born. From as far back as I can remember, I lived among a group of refugees, worrying about meals every day. Later, when I was three, I ran a high fever and passed out, and they abandoned me. Luckily, I was picked up by the clan's ninja, and I've lived in the clan ever since, being raised as a maid.

Chiyo Hotaru spoke very indifferently, her tone devoid of the slightest fluctuation, as if she were not talking about herself at all.

Gen frowned, wanting to say something, but in the end, he didn't voice it. This was the Warring States Period, and such matters were common knowledge. Outside were cruel bandits everywhere, major nations attacked one another, and the ninja clans were an absolute mess. He had no idea how many people starved to death every day. Scorched earth for a thousand miles was certainly no exaggeration; Chiyo Hotaru was already very lucky to have been picked up by the Uchiha Clan.

In fact, the Uchiha Clan had many people like this, of both genders. The males were made to farm the land and grow crops, producing food to support the Uchiha Clan—after all, you couldn't expect a bunch of murderous ninja to farm.

The females engaged in lighter work, such as weaving hemp and cloth. Some pretty ones would also be taken in marriage by certain ninja and brought home. After all, as long as the male partner possessed the Uchiha bloodline trait, the next generation could inherit it; the female partner's lineage didn't matter. Of course, whether they could awaken the Sharingan was a separate matter.

Xiaoying, come massage my head.

Yes! Xiaoying hurriedly got up, gently lifting Gen's head to rest on her lap, and her small hands massaged Gen's head tenderly.

Xiaoying, didn't you say you didn't know who your parents were? Why do you have the surname Chiyo? Gen asked with his eyes closed, seemingly speaking offhandedly.

Chiyo Hotaru's hands paused slightly for a moment, and then she said as if nothing were wrong, Chiyo is the surname of the person who adopted me before. I have no parents, so naturally I took his surname.

Then where is he now?

When I ran a high fever at three years old, he was the first to throw me away!

Although Chiyo Hotaru's tone was very calm, Gen still clearly felt the strength in her hands increase by a fraction. He chuckled softly and said, Is that so? How about you take my surname, Uchiha?

Chiyo Hotaru's hands stiffened, and she forced a smile. Lord Gen, you're joking.

This time, Gen looked into her eyes very seriously. I'm being serious.

Chiyo Hotaru stopped speaking and fell into a quiet silence, yet Gen could clearly feel that her hands had grown much lighter, massaging him with exceptional comfort.