"Residential blocks, military and civilian quarters, and administrative offices."
Kimimaro explained as they walked.
Sasuke kept nodding. The unease and unfamiliarity he had felt at first gradually faded.
Halfway there, Karin dragged Hozuki Suigetsu and Jugo toward the stalls on either side of the street.
Sasuke glanced over and saw a vendor selling candied hawthorn skewers.
Jugo wore a smile. Suigetsu, looking resigned to his fate, took a money pouch from his robe and handed it to Karin with a mournful expression.
"That's the administrative district."
"The statues behind it honor those who served the village before us."
Sasuke looked ahead.
A cluster of towering statues came into view.
The largest statue at the front depicted a middle-aged man. At a glance, Sasuke thought he looked somewhat like Kakashi.
"Who is that statue of?"
Sasuke sounded puzzled.
"Lord Sakumo Hatake, the first Rain Shadow!" Kimimaro said with a smile.
"Hatake," Sasuke murmured.
"Yes. I've heard he was the father of Jōnin Kakashi from Konoha," Kimimaro said, nodding.
Sasuke froze, surprised.
He had never expected Kakashi's father to have been the first Rain Shadow of Hidden Rain Village.
He recognized the second and third statues at once.
They were his father and Uncle Xia Le. He did not know the people depicted farther back.
"Where is the Uchiha Clan?" Sasuke asked.
That was what mattered most to him. How many of his clan were still alive, and what was their situation in Hidden Rain Village?
Kimimaro smiled. "The Uchiha Clan Grounds aren't far from those of my Kaguya clan. I'll take you there shortly."
"Thank you."
Sasuke nodded.
A little later, he spotted a group of buildings ahead with fan-emblazoned banners hanging at their entrances. His heart gave a sudden thump.
"This is the Uchiha Clan!" Kimimaro said.
Sasuke stared ahead,