Nine years passed like a fleeting white colt, slipping away soundlessly through the cracks of the ninja world.
Over these long nine years, the smoke of war had long since cleared, and no flames of conflict rose again.
There were no battles between the Uchiha and the Senju.
But the other ninja clans still had their own.
And beneath this calm, in the shadows of the ninja world, secret rumors about Uchiha Katsu continued to circulate.
This powerful Uchiha, who once stirred up storms across the ninja world and carried a fearsome reputation, had, since several years ago, completely shut himself away, locking himself deep within the Uchiha clan head's residence, never seeing outsiders all day.
All matters of the clan, big and small, were handed over to the current Uchiha clan head and the rising young talents within the clan.
Uchiha Katsu seemed to have completely withdrawn from the world, leaving behind not the slightest trace of news.
Rumors followed one after another.
Some whispered that Uchiha Katsu had long since been sidelined by forces within the clan and had become a prisoner under house arrest.
Others went even further, secretly speculating that he had already passed away, and that the Uchiha clan, in order to stabilize internal affairs and prevent turmoil in the ninja world, had chosen to keep the death secret and deliberately conceal the news.
All kinds of speculation fermented in the shadows, yet no one dared to truly seek out the truth.
No one dared to make a move either.
Everyone knew the methods. Uchiha Katsu was a master of feigning death.
He had done it before, crossing the river in white robes, and later in battles, he would always use strange, unpredictable abilities to come back to life after death.
———
[Deep Within The Naka River]
[Naka Shrine]
This was the sacred ground of the Uchiha clan. Only the clan head, elders, or those who had made unparalleled contributions to the Uchiha were allowed to be buried here.
But today, before a gravestone deep within the shrine, sat a solitary figure.
The name engraved on the gravestone, Senju Mio, was the only exception in the thousand-year history of Naka Shrine.
This was a result Uchiha Katsu had fought for with near stubborn insistence.
Katsu had insisted on burying Senju Mio here, in the most sacred place of the Uchiha.
In Katsu's eyes, his success had all been thanks to Senju Mio.
"Mio…."
Uchiha Katsu slightly lowered his head, his clearly defined fingers gently brushing over the cold gravestone.
"Mio, I'm about to die… In this life, the one I've wronged the most has always been you."
His voice was so light it seemed it could drift away with the wind.
"In the next life, then. In the next life, we'll love each other properly… In this life, it's already too late. I failed you."
The moment his words fell, a faintly cool breeze suddenly swept past, lifting the scattered leaves on the ground, gently stirring the hair at his temples and brushing across his pale face.
Uchiha Katsu's brows knit slightly as he was about to speak.
A distant yet familiar voice suddenly sounded beside him, catching him completely off guard, "Little friend Katsu, thirty years since we last met. Have you been well?"
The instant the voice reached his ears, Uchiha Katsu's body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.
If Uchiha Katsu still had his eyes at this moment, they would surely be surging with extreme shock and disbelief.
This voice…
It was a memory buried for thirty years.
An aged figure stood quietly beside him. It was that old man who had once fished by the riverbank thirty years ago and had engaged him in a bizarre, almost incomprehensible battle.
"It's… it's you."
Uchiha Katsu's voice carried a faint tremor as he forced out the words.
Arisu gave a slight nod, his gaze resting on him, his tone calm yet seeing through everything. "Your fate has come to an end. I came to see you one last time."
In his heart, Arisu sighed. He had already arranged for Asura's reincarnation in advance, yet Uchiha Katsu had somehow gone through two at once.
A person like this… he still wanted to see him one last time.
At the same time, he felt a bit sorry for Uchiha Katsu.
"..."
Uchiha Katsu fell silent for a long time, the storm in his chest gradually calming.
"Who exactly are you?"
Katsu raised his head toward the other, his tone steady but carrying a stubborn insistence.
With his hands behind his back, Arisu asked indifferently, "Who I am... does it really matter to you?"
Uchiha Katsu didn't speak, only gave a slight nod. The answer was obvious.
After pondering for a moment, Uchiha Katsu spoke first, guessing, his voice carrying a trace of uncertainty, "Are you the ancestor of the Sarutobi clan… Sarutobi?"
Arisu gently shook his head. "No."
"Then the ancestor of the Senju clan?"
"No."
Uchiha Katsu's heart sank sharply, his breathing halting for a moment as he asked again, both shocked and doubtful, "Could it be… you are the ancestor of our Uchiha?"
"Not that either."
The successive denials made something explode in Uchiha Katsu's mind. A ridiculous yet terrifying answer suddenly surfaced.
He was seen...
Uchiha Katsu trembling as he raised his hand, his thin fingers pointing straight toward the depths of Naka Shrine.
...that was the place where the Sage of Six Paths was enshrined.
"You… you are Him?"
"..."
Arisu looked calmly toward the Six Paths temple.
This time, Arisu did not answer.
The surroundings instantly fell into dead silence. Even the sound of the wind disappeared, leaving only the plants by the gravestone standing quietly.
Uchiha Katsu slowly lowered his trembling hand. The tension in his body suddenly loosened, and a relieved smile actually curved at the corner of his mouth, carrying a hint of desolation and a trace of understanding.
"Doing all this… what exactly is your purpose? Why go this far?"
Uchiha Katsu asked softly, his tone no longer holding even a trace of fear.
Arisu slowly turned around, his back facing him, his voice gentle. "I have a disciple, and another disciple's descendant."
"Because of worldly matters, they made an agreement and asked me to come here, to witness everything in this place and record the cause and effect of a lifetime."
Uchiha Katsu frowned tightly, full of confusion.
Arisu naturally knew that Katsu didn't understand the mysteries of reincarnation and karmic fate, so he only spoke gently, "Katsu, a thousand years from now, you and I will meet again. By then, you will understand everything that happened today."
"A thousand years later?"
Uchiha Katsu grew even more puzzled, murmuring as he repeated, "What do you mean? I'm about to die right now, my body and soul will be gone. A thousand years later…"
Halfway through speaking, Uchiha Katsu suddenly stopped, then let out a light laugh, one filled with relief.
If this was how fate had arranged things, what else could he say?
Not far away, behind the pine and cypress trees, two Uchiha guards peeked out, their faces full of confusion as they looked in Katsu's direction and whispered to each other.
"Brother, what's going on with the clan head? Talking to the air for so long… it's kind of creepy."
A younger guard scratched his head, completely puzzled.
The older guard beside him sighed and spoke in a low voice to comfort him, "Maybe he's talking his heart out to Mio's grave… My grandma does the same every year when she visits my grandpa's grave, always muttering to the headstone. Probably just missing her too much."
Their whispers faded into the wind, while deep within the shrine, that patch of space remained filled only with solitude and the lingering trace of fate, quietly lingering.
Uchiha Katsu slowly closed his eyes, his breath fading away, and then he died…
Arisu looked at the already dead Uchiha Katsu in silence.
After a long while...
"You've worked hard, Katsu."
Arisu patted Uchiha Katsu on the shoulder.
———
[Mount Myoboku]
Arisu buried Uchiha Katsu's body together with Senju Mio's.
It could be considered a way to make up for what he owed Uchiha Katsu.
Originally, Arisu had planned to bury Indra's reincarnation and Asura's reincarnation separately.
Just like Senju Shuichi and Uchiha Izumi.
But considering the relationship between Uchiha Katsu and Senju Mio, and the fact that Uchiha Katsu's life had truly been too bitter...
Even if it disrupted the arrangement, Arisu chose to bury the two of them together.
'So fate is still a kind-hearted person after all'