After giving his instructions, everyone dispersed. Uchiha Yoru left the Hokage's office with Madara.
Naka Shrine.
The stream burbled, reflecting the two figures standing side by side.
Madara gazed silently at the water, his expression heavy. His brow bore a weight that did not belong to the present, as if he were looking back into the past—or at an era long dead.
Uchiha Yoru did not disturb him. He simply stood quietly at his side.
After a long while, Madara turned his head slightly and looked at Yoru, a hard-to-describe complexity in his eyes.
"You're saying..." he began, his voice rumbling low, "there was a little bastard in the clan who personally killed every one of his relatives that night?"
He spoke very slowly, as if forcing each word through clenched teeth. A murderous glint had already appeared in his eyes.
"He didn't even spare his parents, all to carry out the Hokage's orders?"
Uchiha Yoru didn't look away. He nodded.
Madara slowly straightened, dark shadows rising in his eyes. His killing intent was almost tangible, as if he might tear open the sky at any moment.
"Heh... utterly pathetic." He let out a low laugh, his hoarse voice cutting through the air like a blade.
"The Uchiha Clan had fallen so far that its own people stained their hands with the blood of their kin..."
He lifted his head, his gaze cutting through the night like a blade, then turned to face Uchiha Yoru.
"You took care of him, right?"
"Yes," Yoru replied calmly.
Madara fell silent for a moment, then gave a cold laugh.
"Good."
Just three simple words, yet they crashed like thunder, sending ripples across the water.
"Those who betray their ancestors, whatever their reasons, have no right to live under the clan crest."
He walked