The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn

That afternoon, Uchiha Fugaku first went to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to arrange identification papers for Yin Jie, officially making him a member of the Uchiha Clan of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Afterward, Uchiha Fugaku took him around to visit the other clan members who had remained behind.

As expected, Yin Jie, this young child who had newly returned to the clan, received a unanimous welcome from all the Uchiha.

After all, people were born with a yearning for beautiful things. As the saying went, everyone loved beauty. A pleasing appearance would always unconsciously draw everyone's attention.

This was displayed most vividly in Yin Jie.

After all, Yin Jie's handsome features were remarkably striking even among the Uchiha Clan, whose members generally had high looks.

After that, Uchiha Fugaku took Yin Jie to the courtyard the Uchiha Clan had arranged for him, complete with a two-story pavilion.

However, Yin Jie refused it.

Of course, it was not that he was unwilling to accept the benefits the Uchiha Clan offered him.

It was simply that living alone in such a vast, empty courtyard felt rather unfamiliar to him.

Moreover, back at the frontline camp, he had promised Uchiha Yasashiro that once he returned to the clan, he would live in Uchiha Yasashiro's "luxurious" courtyard, which had a space for ninjutsu training.

The courtyard the Uchiha Clan had arranged for him did not have that convenience.

That was something Yin Jie valued greatly.

After all, he did not want to have to run separately to the clan grounds or one of the public training fields in the Hidden Leaf Village every time he wanted to practice a ninjutsu.

Night fell.

Uchiha Yasashiro's villa—though now, it belonged to Yin Jie as well.

In a bedroom at the center of the second floor.

Yin Jie lay quietly on his side in bed, gazing at the bright moon hanging high in the sky.

For a long time to come, this would be his home.

Outside the window.

Moonlight, silver as water, spilled across the earth.

It enveloped the entire courtyard in a brilliant glow.

Making the dim courtyard, with its lights turned off, seem clear and luminous.

The stars filling the sky poked through the curtain of clouds and blinked. Their faint starlight mingled with the bright moonlight, drifting unhurriedly through the half-open window and gently caressing every corner of the room.

The flowers and plants Uchiha Yasashiro had planted in his spare time reflected a faint silvery-white radiance beneath the moonlight, as though draped in a veil of silver.

They swayed gently in the breeze, rustling softly as the scattered chirps of insects from afar intertwined with the sound and lingered throughout the courtyard.

"Phew..."

Yin Jie let out a soft breath, shifted his body, and changed into a comfortable position on his back before slowly closing his eyes.

The soft touch of the mattress gradually sank his body into it. His knees bent into a natural curve, one leg unconsciously lifting before resting atop the other.

A sense of ease that could never have arisen at the frontline camp welled up within him.

At that moment, his thoughts began to wander.

"Although the beginning was hellishly difficult, things are getting better!"

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Yin Jie's mouth, but it quickly faded. His fists unconsciously tightened, only to loosen again the next second.

Because there were still many things he needed to figure out.

For instance, why had he, an Uchiha child, appeared in a place like the Land of Rain?

And why had he lost most of his memories from before the age of six in this life, remembering only basic information such as his own name?

Countless jumbled thoughts surfaced one by one in Yin Jie's mind and collided with each other. Amid his chaotic musings, Yin Jie gradually fell into a deep sleep.

One night.

Sweet dreams.

And at this moment, the gears of fate began to turn...

Early the next morning, at dawn.

The sun had just risen over the horizon when Yin Jie climbed out of bed.

After a quick wash, he headed straight to Uchiha Fugaku's home.

From their occasional small talk along the way yesterday, combined with his memories from his previous life, Yin Jie had already more or less figured out Uchiha Fugaku's personality.

With Uchiha Yasashiro acting as the intermediary, Yin Jie and Fugaku naturally grew closer very quickly, and their interactions became fairly casual.

After Uchiha Fugaku's vehement protests and reasoned arguments, Yin Jie's form of address for him changed from the "uncle" Yasashiro had hinted at before to "big brother."

According to Fugaku, he and Yasashiro were of the same generation, so there was no reason for him, the younger one, to be addressed as though he were a generation older, even if he did indeed look more mature.

Yin Jie readily agreed to Fugaku's request. After all, he knew his Brother Yasashiro had merely been joking with Fugaku at the time, wanting to enjoy the sight of Fugaku's embarrassed, impotent fury.

Of course, the title "big brother" still belonged exclusively to Uchiha Yasashiro, who had taken the initiative and shown Yin Jie enough kindness from the start.

Fugaku's home was not far from Yasashiro and Yin Jie's, so Yin Jie arrived within minutes.

"Brother Fugaku!"

Yin Jie knocked on the front door, an embarrassed smile appearing on his face. "I've come to learn ninjutsu from you!"

However, his actions showed no embarrassment whatsoever. The instant Fugaku opened the door, he slipped inside on his own.

That was because he had already caught the aroma of the prepared breakfast wafting from Fugaku's home, and he had also, very "coincidentally," not eaten breakfast yet.

Yet when Yin Jie passed through the entryway and entered the living room, he was surprised to discover a beautiful long-haired figure, her hair reaching her waist, emerging from the kitchen with two plates in hand.

"Big Sister Mikoto!"

Yin Jie froze for a moment, but quickly came to his senses.

Uchiha Mikoto was Uchiha Fugaku's girlfriend, and Fugaku had taken Yin Jie to visit Mikoto's home yesterday. Therefore, Yin Jie was not particularly surprised to see Mikoto at Fugaku's house.

It seemed that although the two had not yet married, their happy occasion was already drawing near...