The land of the Uchiha clan.
The faint evening light filtered through the compound's stone walls, casting long shadows across the courtyard. Uchiha Yun had just returned home from another mission, his expression unreadable as always. As he stepped through the wooden gate, he noticed a familiar silhouette seated quietly on the engawa.
(T.L Note: An engawa is a Japanese architectural feature that is a wooden, covered corridor or veranda running along the outside of a traditional house, acting as a transitional space between the interior and the garden. It serves as a hallway, sitting space, social area, and a means to connect with nature, offering a flexible and adaptable zone that blurs the boundary between indoor and outdoor living)
Uchiha Shisui sat there, calm but clearly waiting.
"No one was at home." Shisui said lightly, turning his head with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "So I thought I'd wait for you in the yard."
Yun raised an eyebrow, his tone casual. "The Patriarch is so busy every day. How rare for him to find time to sit at my place."
He pushed open the door and gestured for Shisui to come in. The two sat opposite each other in the sparsely furnished room. Yun didn't bother with tea, just poured a glass of cold water and handed it across the low table.
Shisui accepted it, but the silence between them thickened quickly. He could hold back no longer.
"Orochimaru defected." he said in a low voice. "Did you use Susanoo?"
Yun didn't flinch. He simply nodded, replying in his usual detached tone. "That guy lives up to his name as one of the Sannin. Even Susanoo's arrows might not be enough to kill him. But… I think you've already guessed why I did it."
*Bang!*
Shisui slammed his palm on the table. The cup tipped over, spilling cold water that spread across the surface like veins of glass.
"I told you before!" Shisui's voice trembled slightly, frustration and concern mixing together. "The power of the Mangekyō isn't something to be used so easily! This eye of mine—" he gestured sharply at his left eye "—can barely see clearly anymore. Do you even understand that?"
Yun didn't argue. He calmly picked up the fallen cup, wiped the table dry with a cloth, and poured another glass. His tone was cool, deliberate.
"Squad Six. Anbu." he said. "You know who's in it, right?"
Shisui exhaled heavily, forcing himself to regain composure. "The Fourth Hokage's direct Anbu division. Kakashi was the captain once. Later, he left due to reassignment to the regular forces. After that, Kinoe took command."
Yun gave a faint nod. "Exactly. Zou, Raito—two men connected to Konoha's noble clans. Using Susanoo once for that kind of mission isn't a loss."
Shisui lifted his cup and drank the cold water in a single gulp, closing his eyes briefly. "Even so," he said, quieter now, "you have to be careful. The price of blindness… it's too great for a shinobi."
Yun's lips curved slightly, though it wasn't quite a smile. "Just like you said, political struggle isn't won by killing people outright. But politics without strength?" He leaned back, gazing at the ceiling. "That's just a joke waiting to be erased."
He turned his eyes back toward Shisui. "Two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan in the Uchiha—no matter what, they must remain as deterrents."
Shisui frowned but didn't interrupt.
Yun finally sighed. "Don't worry. I have a sense of proportion. For someone who plans to live long enough to 'eat and die peacefully' in this village, I wouldn't burn out my sight so easily."
For a moment, Shisui just looked at him in silence—like he was trying to read what lay behind that steady gaze. Finally, he stood. "There's still much to handle with the Police Force. I have to go. Yun… you're the one who worries me the least."
He paused at the doorway, the sunset at his back. "Don't make me start worrying about you now."
With that, he slid open the door and disappeared down the corridor.
The house fell silent again.
After a long while, Yun's eyes shifted to the open door. The wooden frame creaked faintly as the wind stirred the air. Outside, in the dim light, a tiny insect crawled across the courtyard stones. Its body quivered, wings thin as cicada glass, before it took off—darting toward the trees.
Yun watched it vanish.
'Reduced vision, huh?' He almost smiled to himself. 'As if there's any chance of blindness when the Mangekyo resides in a body with the Sage's chakra flowing through it.'
He rose, walked back to his room, and crouched beside the bed. From beneath the floorboards, he pulled open a hidden compartment and retrieved a small scroll wrapped in black cloth. The seal on it pulsed faintly.
The remnants of Orochimaru's discarded cells—his "peelings".
"Should be useful." Yun murmured to himself, eyes glinting.
…
The next morning, dawn painted the sky with pale gold.
"Onii-chan, I'm going out!"
The cheerful voice came from the entrance. Yun glanced over and saw Izumi, already heading toward the Ninja Academy, her school bag bouncing against her shoulder.
"Be careful." he called back.
He dressed in silence, fastening his black undershirt and weapons pouch. As he adjusted his flak vest, his mother's gentle voice drifted from the kitchen.
"Yun, if you're going to the Memorial Stone," said Uchiha Hazuki, "stop by the flower shop first. Buy a bouquet of chrysanthemums."
Yun froze mid-step and turned back slightly. "...How did you know?"
Hazuki sighed softly, wiping her hands on a towel. "Most won't know which names are etched into the stone after Anbu missions. But you came home late last night, and I went to the monument early this morning and saw names getting added there." She met his gaze, eyes full of quiet understanding. "So... was it your teammate?"
Yun nodded faintly. "Yeah. He died during a mission. I can't tell you more than that, Mom. You know the rules."
Hazuki smiled sadly. "I do. But promise me this—be careful. No matter what happens in this village, I only hope you and Izumi grow up healthy."
"Mm."
Yun nodded heavily, then turned to leave.
The air outside was brisk, a faint mist hanging over the village streets. After graduating early, he had risen fast—recruited into Anbu by the Fourth Hokage himself. Lightning and sparks had followed him since then, but his mother's worry had never faded.
That was the price of being a shinobi. No parent could ever rest easy.
'Huff…'
Yun exhaled softly and lengthened his stride. Within minutes, he reached the Flower Street near Konoha Hospital—a lively row of small shops and glass-roofed gardens.
'The Yamanaka Flower Shop...' he thought, glancing at the signboard.
The bell above the door chimed.
*Ding-dong*
"Welcome!"
A woman wearing a pale green apron looked up from trimming a bunch of stems. Seeing the young Uchiha, she smiled kindly. "Do you need flowers, young man? Are they for a girl you like?"
Yun blinked, slightly taken aback. "...No."
"Then for a teacher at the Academy?"
He shook his head again, expression steady.
The woman squinted in mock suspicion. "Don't tell me… for a male classmate?"
Yun's silence only deepened her confusion.
At that moment, a blond man popped his head up from behind the counter. "Stop guessing. He's probably here for chrysanthemums."
"Chrysanthemums?" The woman's voice faltered. Her expression softened immediately—those flowers were always bought for the dead.
For a moment, maternal instinct overtook her teasing demeanor. "Oh, you poor child…" she murmured, wiping the corner of her eyes. "Wait here, dear. I just pruned some fresh ones this morning."
Before Yun could answer, she disappeared into the greenhouse.
Yamanaka Inoichi came out from behind the counter, scratching his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Your age throws her off. Back when Kakashi used to come here every week for chrysanthemums, she'd say the same thing."
Yun looked up at him. "Inoichi-senpai, no mission today?"
Inoichi chuckled. "Day off. I try to spend it with my daughter when I can."
As if on cue, a tiny whirlwind of blond hair burst from the back room.
"Dad! You're playing with me today, right?"
Yun turned toward the voice. A little girl—three years old, bright-eyed and full of energy—jumped into Inoichi's arms.
The Yamanaka family's heiress, Ino.
After the giggles subsided, the little girl peeked curiously at Yun, tilting her head.
"Ino, greet this big brother." Inoichi said gently.
"Hello, onii-chan." she chirped, smiling.
Yun gave a small smirk. "Hello, kid."
Ino's mom soon returned, carrying a bouquet of pristine white chrysanthemums. She handed them over with both hands, her eyes still misty.
"Poor thing… here you go. Do you—um—have enough money?"
"I do." Yun took out his wallet, paid properly, and accepted the bouquet. Then, almost as if to dispel the heaviness in the air, he reached out and playfully ruffled Ino's short hair.
"Thank you, auntie." he said lightly. "Goodbye, kid."
*****
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I am working on the following projects:
✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ Bleach: In My Second Reincarnation, I Became The Ninth Kenpachi
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]
✓ The Academy's Saint Is Too Popular, But He's Not the Protagonist [R-18]