Wait for Me to Come Back! Farewell to Aunt Mihui

Yuan stood on the roof of the tallest bell tower in the Uchiha Clan Compound, the hem of his black trench coat snapping in the wind.

From here, the lights of the entire Hidden Leaf Village looked like a quiet sea of stars, with only the lights of the Uchiha enclave shining especially bright.

Behind him came the faintest sound of footsteps.

Mihui carried a wooden tray and climbed up the bell tower's old wooden stairs. On the tray was a steaming bowl of white porridge, with a golden-fried egg resting in it, and a few small dishes of simple pickles on the side.

"Have a bowl before every campaign." Mihui set the tray down on a flat spot beside the roof ridge, then picked up the porridge and handed it over.

Yuan did not refuse. He took the bowl, did not even use a spoon, and tilted his head back. In a few gulps, he poured the scalding porridge and the egg straight into his stomach. The warm food slid down his esophagus, barely suppressing the restless chakra stirring inside him because of the slaughter to come.

He put the empty bowl back on the tray and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Wait for me to come back." Yuan's voice was hard, as if he were issuing an order that allowed no defiance.

Mihui lowered her head and cleared away the bowl and chopsticks, her movements swift and practiced. She did not show worry or weep like an ordinary woman. She simply held the tray in her arms and looked calmly at Yuan.

"I'll guard the compound. Go without worry." Mihui's voice was just as steady.

Yuan looked her over carefully. By the moonlight, he saw that at some point, a few strands of silver had appeared at Mihui's right temple. The aunt who, on the night of the massacre, had only known to shield the children with her own body now stood perfectly straight, her eyes carrying a resilience that came from having seen life and death too many times.

"You've changed," Yuan said faintly.

Mihui smiled. Fine lines gathered at the corners of her eyes, carrying fatigue she could not hide, yet an extraordinary firmness as well. "When you're not here, someone has to hold things up. I have to let these children know that even if the sky falls, the Uchiha's name won't collapse."

Yuan said nothing more. He only gave a slight nod.

The night wind blew past again. Yuan closed his eyes and combined Jiraiya's Sage Art Sensing with the spiritual power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, releasing it without the slightest reservation. Invisible ripples of perception swept over the mountains and forests like radar.

In the direction of the Sound Ninja Village far to the north, he clearly caught an extremely violent chakra, filled with the cold, venomous aura of a snake. That was Sasuke's chakra, and the intensity of that fluctuation was more than just one level stronger than when he had left the Hidden Leaf.

He's getting stronger. Good. Yuan thought to himself. As long as Sasuke could nurture those Mangekyo to the limit, he could do whatever he wanted.

Just as he was about to withdraw his senses, the edge of his spiritual power suddenly swept across an extremely faint fluctuation, so faint it could almost be mistaken for an illusion.

That chakra was very cold, carrying the stale reek of blood and the aura of crows. Although it only flashed by and was immediately covered up by some kind of high-level barrier, Yuan would never mistake it.

A tangible killing intent instantly erupted in Yuan's eyes. His hand clenched hard around the hilt of the short blade at his waist, and the scabbard gave a strained creak.

"Itachi... you're still alive." Yuan stared fixedly at the eastern night sky, his teeth grinding audibly. "You can't escape. Even if you hide in hell, I'll dig you out!"

Yuan took a deep breath and forcibly pressed the churning killing intent back into the depths of his heart. He turned and looked toward the rear mountain of the compound. That was where Uncle Cheng's grave lay.

Uncle, I'm almost there. Yuan silently recited in his heart. Once he crushed all these Shadow Villages and the Akatsuki that stood in his way, the debt the Hidden Leaf owed the Uchiha would finally be truly collected.

The horizon gradually turned pale like a fish's belly. The first ray of dawn pierced the darkness and shone on the tiles of the bell tower.

Yuan leaped down like a black night hawk spreading its wings, landing steadily on the broad bluestone plaza below.

In the center of the plaza stood fifty fully armed Uchiha Shadow Guards in perfect formation. They wore uniform black combat suits, ninja blades strapped to their backs, and each of them had a plain half-mask over their face. These were the elites Mihui had selected from among the survivors and those who had submitted. After being directly baptized by Yuan's violent chakra and put through extreme hell-style training, their current combat strength was no weaker than the Hidden Leaf's elite jonin, every last one of them.

Fifty pairs of eyes stared at Yuan with fanatical intensity. It was absolute submission to absolute power.

Yuan gave no pre-battle speech. He did not even say a single word of nonsense. He drew the short blade from his back, its tip pointing straight toward the Land of Wind beyond the Hidden Leaf's gates.

"Move out."