A figure flashed into the Uchiha Clan Grounds' clan head's courtyard, passing through the shadows beneath the eaves and casting slender streaks of light across the wooden corridor.
Itachi entered his room and began preparing the equipment he would need for the journey.
Before him lay a neatly arranged ninja tool pouch: Kunai, shuriken, wire spools, signal flares, emergency medicine, and a large number of Explosive Tags—
Each item was checked one by one before being placed in its proper spot.
His movements were quiet, as if afraid of disturbing this peaceful scene. Several minutes later, once he had finished preparing, Itachi stood in the room and looked at himself in the mirror. He could not help but sigh inwardly. It was finally going to end.
The occasional chirp of birds drifted in from outside the window, carried by the breeze as it circled through the corridor before floating farther away.
Footsteps came from the end of the corridor. Mikoto Uchiha appeared at the doorway, carrying a tray with a cup of tea and a small plate of rice balls on it.
She did not knock. She merely stood by the door, quietly watching Itachi's profile for a while. Whenever her son went off to war, a mother's heart was always reluctant to let him go.
Yet there was little she could do. Before the battle, she could only give him a moment of peace. Then she walked in and set the tray on the corner of the table.
"Is your equipment ready?" Mikoto asked in a gentle, calm voice.
Itachi nodded and tightened the straps of his ninja tool pouch. "Yes, Mother. More or less. Where is Father?"
"He's still attending the combat mobilization meeting," Mikoto said. She crouched beside a low table and neatly folded the spare clothes