So she forced down her fear, filled a bucket with hot water, and hurried away. Kangetsu had already stepped into the wooden tub. He seemed to have been dyed red, and the instant he entered the water, it turned blood-red! Kangetsu frowned slightly and called, "Bring more water!"
The maid outside naturally obeyed!
But Uchiha Tajima and Uchiha Eiko, who had just arrived, also heard his voice!
Eiko looked at the two brothers, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Meigetsu, outside the door and asked directly, "Madara, how is your younger brother now?"
At his mother's words, Madara fell silent. Then, with dimmed eyes, he said, "Kangetsu killed so many people. Their blood dyed his clothes red! I'm useless as an older brother!"
He lowered his head dejectedly, then pointed at the blood-red clothes the maid had placed in a washbasin!
Then he watched the maid bring in bucket after bucket of clear water and carry away bucket after bucket of bloody water!
At that moment, Eiko could no longer hold back her tears. She turned to Tajima in anguish and shouted, "It's all your fault! All your fault! You insisted on teaching Kangetsu a lesson, on curing him of his arrogance, but look at what it's come to!
"My Kangetsu has become a demon with blood all over his hands! And his own father made him that way! If Kangetsu were grown, I wouldn't say anything, but he's only six! Only six!"
Kangetsu was bathing inside, but he could hear everything happening outside perfectly clearly.
A trace of warmth rose in his heart at his parents' concern for him!
Although his father, Uchiha Tajima, was partly the reason Kangetsu had gone straight onto the battlefield, Uchiha Tajima had done the right thing! An arrogant person would not survive long on a battlefield! But what Tajima considered arrogance was merely confidence in Kangetsu's eyes. That confidence came from the memories of his previous life and his knowledge of the Naruto World! None of that, however, was something Kangetsu could tell him!
So Kangetsu spoke up. "Mother, Father, please don't worry about me. A ninja's path has always gone hand in hand with killing. Even if I don't kill now, I'll still have to kill later! That's a ninja's fate. And in this dog-eat-dog Warring States era, the killing never stops. Without great strength, a person can never protect the warmth in their heart! Please rest assured, Father, Mother! I'll stay alive. I'll live to protect that warmth in my heart!"
His voice carried straight to Tajima and Eiko outside.
His words were deeply sincere. At least, Kangetsu himself felt that he meant them. That transformation of his heart had helped him understand his own feelings! A mere six years had flown by, yet in that time he had formed such deep emotional ties to this world! Kangetsu accepted that without reservation, for he would no longer question his heart, but embrace it!
And so Kangetsu truly accepted the father and mother standing outside. His two older brothers, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna, as well as his younger brother, Uchiha Meigetsu, also held places in his heart!
Sitting in the warm water, Kangetsu's lips curved into a faint smile as he thought, This feeling really is wonderful!
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