Kaien tightly gripped the small glass vial, as he thumb traced the smooth curve of the glass. Inside was Kamui Sharingan, suspended in a preserving solution, he plucked out from Kakashi. A wide manic grin spread across his face ear-to-ear. To anyone else, it was just a sharingan but to a true naruto fan. It was a most coveted cheat everyone wanted.
"I will just have to ask Grandma to implant it into me," Kaien whispered to himself. He had already cracked the problem on the chakra drain that usually crippled... non-Uchiha who wielded the eye. But now he knew he could handle the chakra drain as he is a four-tails jinchuriki. "But the mental strain... that's another problem. I'll need to wait until I'm at least thirteen or fourteen before I can use its true power."
For now, he slipped the vial securely into his inner pouch, turning his attention back to the situation around them.
The main group of Uchiha kids had already been escorted past the border, settling into a temporary refuge in the eastern valleys of Kumogakure. However, a few stayed behind at the Kumo border gate. Shisui, Itachi, Izumi, and Sasuke stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Kaien, waiting for the Raikage and the Uchiha elites. Dodai and others had already departed to tend to urgent war-related missions.
Hours went on as the atmosphere grew suffocatingly tense. Even Kaien, who knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful his grandparents were, found his confidence wavering.
"Brother... are Mother and Father ever coming back?" Sasuke's voice said as his dark eyes brimmed with tears before they finally spilled over.
Itachi, though terrified himself, didn't let his composure slip. He knelt, pulling his younger brother into a tight embrace. "Of course they are, Sasuke. You know how strong Mother and Father are. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Big brother is here."
But words lose their magic when time stretches too thin. Six hours passed.
By this point, no amount of Itachi's reassurance could comfort Sasuke's despair. The young boy was entirely convinced his parents were dead. Kaien wasn't doing much better; his foot was frantically tapping an erratic rhythm on the ground. This delay was unprecedented. This time had already lasted vastly longer than the previous three attacks combined.
"Is the fate balancing the scales? Whenever something good happens, disaster follows behind," Kaien thought.
The agonizing silence was finally broken by a figure who suddenly appeared. Killer Bee looked around, confused as to why Kaien hasn't returned while Dodai has already reported.
"Yo, why are you still clinging to the gate, when the danger's past the date?" Bee rapped.
Kaien didn't even look up; he had spent the last hour nervously picking at his fingernails. "Uncle Bee... please. Go check on Grandma and Grandpa."
Shisui and Itachi exchanged sharp glances. The casual familiarity with which Kaien addressed this new figure, showed the authority he held. Itachi stepped forward, and gave a respectful bow.
"Bee-san, I am Itachi Uchiha, son of the Uchiha clan head. Please, I beg of you, check on the status of Fugaku and Mikoto."
"Don't you fret, don't you cry, I'll be back in the blink of an eye!" Bee as his posture shifting into a aerial-ready stance.
"I want to come too!" Sasuke interjected, stepping out from behind Itachi, his small fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white.
Bee didn't argue as he understood their worry. With a flick of his hand seals, five ink clones erupted from him. Before the kids could say anything, the ink clones scooped them up as they sprouted massive ink-black wings and launched into the sky.
The wind whipped violently against their faces. Within barely five minutes of flight, Bee's sensory perception spiked. He picked up the chakra signature of the Raikage roughly after four kilometers of travel. Everyone was safe.
Then the ink clones descended and as they dissolved back into Bee, they landed right in the front of the returning Raikage, Benihime and Uchiha elites.
"Bee! What the hell are you doing here?" the Raikage said as his veins bulging with irritation. "You're supposed to be guarding the coast against the Mist Village!"
"Kushina's got the shore, holding down the floor!" Bee laughed unbothered by the Raikage's fury. "But Kaien and the Uchiha kids were throwing a fit, thought you all died and bit the grit!"
Sasuke's face flushed red with embarrassment. Breaking away from the group, he bolted straight toward Mikoto burying his face in her robes. Mikoto smiled softly, gesturing warmly for the others to join. Itachi, Shisui, and Izumi didn't need to be told twice; they rushed forward into a relieved emotional embrace.
Kaien suddenly feeling very self-conscious about his earlier panic, looked away and began to whistle a random tune, pretending he had been perfectly calm the entire time.
"Oh, look at my sweet grandson, losing sleep over us," Benihime teased with a joyful laugh, she scooped Kaien up right off his feet and hoisted him into the air.
"Grandma, put me down! This is humiliating!" Kaien protested as he started to squirm.
Benihime chuckled and set him back on the ground, only for the Raikage to step in with roaring laughter as he scooped kaien back into a bear hug. Surrounded by the warmth of loved ones, the tension was finally lifted off and the rowdy cheers of everyone gathered as they forgot about the battle they just fought.
"Raikage-sama, I apologize if it comes off as rude," Mikoto began softly with hesitation, but she still asked the question she had been keeping to herself for more than five years.. "Would you happen to know anything about Kushina?"
As fond memories of her dear friend came back... their shared late-night laughter, their secrets, and those playful, yet promises of one day marrying their future children to forever unite their families.
The Raikage raised his eyebrow, as an amused chuckle escaped his lips. "Heh... How are you related to my daughter?"
"Your daughter?" Mikoto tilted her head in disbelief.
"Ah, that is a long story for another time," the Raikage grunted scratching his beard.
Seeing her husband's distraction, Benihime stepped in to clear things about that brat. "She is doing just fine. At the moment, she holding her own against Kirigakure."
~~
A/N: Finally, a moment of peace for them. I let them enjoy their moment.
Itachi mind was definitely going through turmoil, he would have to become the future clan head at just 11 in foreign village, Fugaku and Mikoto were dead.
Mikoto hugging Shisui and Izumi as well the moment of the day.
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