Mentor and Student

Kou smiled as he handed the basket to Karin.

It was woven from bamboo strips, and droplets of mist from the market clung to its handle.

Karin took the basket, her big, dark eyes curving into crescents.

She said, "Master just restocked the house not long ago. There was no need to buy all this," but her little hands clutched the basket tightly, as if afraid someone might take it away.

Her smile was impossible to hide, and happiness was written all over her little face.

Looking at Karin, Kou's smile deepened.

He reached out and ruffled the top of her head.

"Have you been keeping up with your training while I was away?"

Karin gave Kou a helpless look and couldn't resist grumbling, "Your Shadow Clone has been home supervising my training the whole time. Why ask something so obvious?"

Kou coughed awkwardly, but his face quickly shifted to an earnest expression.

He straightened his back, cleared his throat, and announced in a loud voice, as if delivering important news, "Well... to celebrate your progress, we're having a feast tonight!"

"Yay!"

Karin's eyes lit up at once. Hugging the basket, she jumped, her red hair tracing a joyful arc through the air.

"I'll go wash the vegetables!"

Before the words had left her mouth, she was already bouncing toward the kitchen like a little red rabbit.

Watching Karin hop away, Kou couldn't help smiling with relief.

In these four years, he hadn't just stayed in the Mist Village, quietly building up his strength.

About three years ago, Obito had either come to trust him completely or had more important matters to deal with. He stopped coming by so often.

The chilling sensation of being watched gradually faded, too.

Taking advantage of that hard-won freedom, Kou left a Shadow Clone behind in the Mist Village and took his real body elsewhere. He planned to try his luck at Mount Sumeru,

to see if he could find Hiruko, who had defected from Konoha during the Third Ninja World War.

After all, the Chimera Technique was a powerful secret technique, and it held considerable appeal for someone like him, who was desperate to grow stronger and protect himself.

However, when he reached Mount Sumeru, he searched every peak and found no sign of Hiruko.

Concluding that Hiruko might not have established a base at Mount Sumeru yet, and knowing Obito could return to the Mist Village at any time, Kou had no choice but to give up for the moment.

But after coming all this way, he couldn't bear to leave empty-handed.

After thinking it over, he remembered that Mount Sumeru lay near the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass. Considering the current timeline, he thought of Karin and her mother, who might already be in Kusagakure.

So he set out for Kusagakure.

He arrived just as Karin's mother had died.

The Kusagakure ninja who had been cruelly exploiting the mother and daughter were preparing to turn their hands on the little girl, who was clutching her mother's body and sobbing.

He killed every Kusagakure ninja there.

He did it both because their actions disgusted him and to vent the emotions he'd kept bottled up for so long.

In the end, he saved Karin, who was still clutching her mother's body and sobbing.

Considering Karin's Uzumaki Clan bloodline and her special abilities, Kou didn't raise her openly alongside Kimimaro, Haku, Hozuki Suigetsu, and the others. Instead, he took her on as his student and let her live at his base. She had stayed there ever since...

Watching Karin walk away, Kou couldn't help sighing.

"Time really flies..."

The little girl who had once curled up in a pool of blood, sobbing, had grown into a girl who smiled and threw herself into his arms, who helped him wash vegetables and cook.

Without realizing it, he had come to think of Karin as a little sister.

Only in front of this child, as pure as a blank sheet of paper, could he let down his guard and show his truest self...

"Master! Can you get me a stool? I can't reach the cutting board!"

Karin's voice came from the kitchen, carrying a hint of urgency.

Kou's thoughts returned to the present. As he headed toward the kitchen, he said, "All right, all right. Go play. I'll take care of dinner."

"No way!"

Karin poked her head out of the kitchen doorway, her big eyes wide and her voice full of defiance.

"I want to help you!"

"Good grief..."

Kou sighed helplessly, but his sigh was full of affection.

In the little kitchen, the two of them squeezed together. Their occasional bickering mingled with the steam from the pot, filling the cave surrounded by rock.

"Master, should I peel this potato?"

"What do you think?"

"Then I'll peel it!"

"...That's ginger."

"Huh?"

Before long, the two of them had dinner ready.

The dishes covered the small wooden table.

Braised fish, stir-fried vegetables, pork ribs stewed with potatoes, miso soup, and the tofu-skin sushi and Three-Color Dumplings Karin had been craving.

"Wow!"

Karin stared at the dishes on the table, her eyes shining like stars.

Amazement filled her little face, and her mouth formed a small "O."

"Master, you're amazing!"

Kou raised his chin smugly, the corners of his mouth curling in mock modesty.

"Nothing special. Just a little technique, a little technique."

"All right, all right. Eat up before the food gets cold."

"Okay!"

Karin nodded vigorously, then dug in without hesitation.

She picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out like a little hamster.

Her eyes narrowed into slits, and her face was full of contentment.

Watching her, Kou couldn't help remembering the days when he'd gone to Kakashi's house with Obito and Rin to mooch a meal as a child.

Konoha. The living room of Kakashi's house.

He and Obito sat at the dining table, plates piled high with the food Kakashi had made.

Obito was wolfing it down, his mouth stuffed full. Kou wasn't much better, his chopsticks flying.

Kakashi sat across from them, staring with a dark expression. His usually cool face wore a rare look of helplessness.

Rin stood quietly to one side, covering her mouth as she watched them with a little laugh.

Those days were gone for good...

"Master, you should eat too!"

Karin's voice brought him back from his memories.

Kou smiled, the faintest hint of bitterness in it.

"Okay."

He picked up his chopsticks and ate with her.

But he barely touched his food, only occasionally picking up a few greens and chewing them slowly.

Most of the time, he watched Karin eat, watched her contented expression, watched her eyes sparkle in the lamplight.

After dinner, the two of them sat in the living room and chatted.

As they talked, Kou realized it was getting late. He stood and patted Karin on the head.

"All right, time for bed. Go to your room."

Karin stood reluctantly, hugging a cushion as she headed toward her room.

At the doorway, she stopped and turned around. Her big eyes fixed on Kou.

"Master, could you tell me more of the story you didn't finish before... about your time in Konoha?"

Her voice held a hint of pleading and anticipation.

Kou walked over and gently tapped her forehead with two fingers.

"It's too late tonight. I'll tell you another time. For now, be a good girl and go to sleep."

Karin nodded reluctantly. A trace of disappointment flashed in her big eyes, but it soon gave way to understanding.

"All right..."

She opened her bedroom door, climbed into bed, and pulled the covers over herself, leaving only her eyes visible.

"Good night, Master."

"Good night."

Kou replied softly. After watching Karin close her eyes, he turned and left her room.

The door closed softly behind him with a faint click.

In the darkness, Karin opened her eyes.

She stared at the ceiling. The innocence and excitement from earlier had vanished from her big, dark eyes, replaced by a quiet worry far beyond her years.

She turned over, pulled the covers up to her chin, and murmured, "Master seemed a little down today... He barely ate anything."

She paused, a thoughtful look flickering in her eyes.

"What... happened?"

Worrying silently about her master, Karin slowly closed her eyes.

After closing the door, the smile faded from Kou's face.

His expression became very calm, almost cold.

It was the restraint of someone who had turned inward, pressing every emotion deep down.

He walked silently toward the end of the corridor.

There was a hidden door there, disguised as an ordinary rock wall.

He reached out and pressed his hand against the wall, letting his chakra stir faintly.

The jutsu inscribed on the wall activated, and the runes carved into the stone glowed with a faint blue light.

A moment later, the hidden door slid open without a sound.

Kou walked inside.

It was an underground chamber. Wooden shelves were built into all four walls, lined with scrolls and all kinds of ninja tools.

Every one of them was a rare treasure in the Ninja World.

But he ignored them.

He walked slowly through the chamber to the far corner.

There stood a small gravestone.

It was just an ordinary stone, roughly polished and set in the corner.

A small incense burner sat in front of it, with ash from incense that had not yet burned away inside.

A few words were carved into its surface.

The handwriting was uneven, as if the hand holding the chisel had trembled or the carver had been overcome by emotion.

Uchiha... Shisui.