"Daisheng, Xiaomei... Xiaomei... boohoo..."
In Konoha's largest shelter, a boy with the Uchiha Clan Crest embroidered on his collar was crying.
Around him were young Uchiha roughly his own age.
Uchiha Daisheng, whom he had called out to, slapped his forehead in frustration and glanced at Tsunade nearby, who was holding Konoha's most famous "pretty boy"-Dan Katō.
Groaning inwardly, Daisheng helplessly patted his crying companion's back and said irritably:
"Come on, she can be resurrected later. What are you crying for?"
These Uchiha children were all thirteen or fourteen, members of the younger generation who lacked strength. Their elders had driven them into the shelter, afraid they would get hotheaded and rush out to cause trouble.
"Resurrected?" The crying Uchiha raised his head, the two tomoe in his eyes conspicuous.
"What if the Laboratory mixed up Xiaomei's backed-up body tissue?"
"What if the area storing the backups gets destroyed by the battle's shock waves?"
"And Xiaomei's body got blown away too! What if we can't find it?"
As he spoke, the Uchiha dropped to his knees, pounded the shelter floor, and cried out in anguish:
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
"I'm going to create a world with Xiaomei in it!"
After that shout, even Tsunade, who had been holding Dan Katō and constantly comforting him, looked over.
Of course, she was not shocked by the Uchiha's words. It was perfectly normal for a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy's head to be filled with romance.
What caught her attention was how the circle of previously quiet young Uchiha silently rose to their feet after hearing his cry, their chakra surging.
While Tsunade was puzzling over this, Uchiha Daisheng resolutely rose and stood before the crying boy.
"You just... said those words, didn't you?"
Daisheng straightened his collar slightly, revealing a flash