Chapter 159: Worth Remembering, That's All
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo stood near the center of the office, their features drawn tight with lingering dissatisfaction.
"For intelligence of this magnitude, you should have brought it to the council," Danzo said, his lone visible eye narrowing. "We could have analyzed the variables together instead of you hiding it in the shadows."
If Kato Dan hadn't stumbled upon the aftermath of Uchiha Kou's death, the village elders would likely still be wandering in the dark.
Stelle met their hardened gazes without blinking. "And what difference would it have made if I told you?" she countered, her voice smooth and unbothered. "It would only add more names to the list of people losing sleep. Whether we are dealing with the Masked Man or Black Zetsu, these are entities that demand absolute caution. If you so much as sensed their presence, you would have painted a target on your own backs."
She wasn't entirely lying. Black Zetsu was a remarkably devious parasite. If Stelle hadn't possessed her own overpowered, rule-breaking cheats, she would have been assassinated ages ago simply for bearing the title of Uchiha Madara's disciple. Even in the past, Black Zetsu had lurked in the periphery, coveting Kagami's Sharingan on countless occasions. If she hadn't kept a vigilant watch over the shadows, Kagami would have fallen victim to those ancient machinations long before today.
Uchiha Kagami broke the heavy silence, his brow furrowed in deep thought. "So, those Rinnegan... they truly evolved from Madara-sama's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?"
"Based on the intelligence Kou secured, that is indeed the case," Stelle replied, nodding solemnly. "Though the exact catalyst and process of that evolution remain entirely unknown."
She turned her gaze to the Uchiha clan head, letting a perfect trace of regret soften her features. "I am sorry, Kagami. Given the volatility of the situation, I couldn't risk returning those eyes to the Uchiha Clan. I had no guarantee they wouldn't be tracked and stolen even if you enshrined them deep within the Ancestral Shrine. I kept it from you for your own safety."
Kagami shook his head, a bitter smile touching his lips. How could he possibly blame Stelle for such a decision? In his eyes, she was merely shouldering the immense danger alone to shield the rest of them from the fallout.
Stelle exhaled a slow, measured breath. "Now is not the time to dwell on the eyes. Let us return to the matter of Kou."
At the mere mention of Uchiha Kou's name, a suffocating silence descended upon the Hokage's office. The air grew thick. How could any of them remain indifferent knowing a comrade had thrown away her life to secure Konoha's future?
Hiruzen slowly sank back into his chair. The lines on his aging face seemed to deepen, his eyes clouding over with a deep, quiet loneliness. He had personally led Uchiha Kou on missions for an extended period, forging a genuine, albeit complicated, teacher-student bond with the erratic girl. Though their dynamic had begun on incredibly rocky terms, every ounce of his past frustration had evaporated the day Kou sacrificed her own arm to save Jiraiya from certain death.
The Third Hokage had suffered countless migraines over her unpredictable antics. Following Kou's sudden defection, Hiruzen had spent countless sleepless nights drowning in regret, wishing he had firmly forbidden his own disciples from ever interacting with the rogue Uchiha. Now, the source of his endless anxiety was permanently gone. Yet, sitting in the quiet office, he felt absolutely no relief. Only a hollow, gnawing grief remained. Regret for the life Kou could have lived, and sorrow for the brutal end she met.
With trembling fingers, Hiruzen pulled his pipe from his robes, striking a match and taking a long, heavy drag. Thick plumes of smoke curled toward the ceiling, carrying with them a ragged sigh that tore from the depths of his chest.
"We know the truth of her sacrifice now," he murmured, his voice hoarse. "She died a hero of Konoha. Her deeds... they should be known. The village deserves to know the truth. I believe we should—"
"Hiruzen!" Danzo's cane struck the floorboards with a sharp, echoing crack, instantly cutting off the Hokage. "Aside from the individuals standing in this very room, this matter cannot be spread. Nor should it be spread. Do not let your sentimentality breed naive thoughts."
In the privacy of his own mind, Danzo had to admit he had misjudged the girl's ultimate utility. When Uchiha Kou first materialized in Konoha, his instincts screamed that she was a walking disaster. Time had proven him entirely correct. The girl was a magnet for chaos; catastrophic problems sprouted like weeds wherever she stepped. There was a long period where Danzo had actively plotted to have Root assassinate her in secret. Stripping her corpse of a pristine pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan to use as experimental material seemed far more practical than leaving a volatile, uncontrollable variable wandering the streets.
Even if he wasn't the exact boogeyman lurking in the shadows that Kou had so often accused him of being, the cold ruthlessness etched into his bones remained absolute. Just like in this very moment. While Hiruzen and Kagami drowned in their distress and remorse over the girl's sacrifice, Danzo stood rigid, feeling nothing but a deep sense of fortune. He felt incredibly fortunate that Uchiha Kou was not actually a shinobi born of their world, but a displaced anomaly from another space-time.
No true citizen of their Konoha had bled out to secure this vital intelligence. No local family in the village would be weeping over a fresh grave today. They had acquired world-saving information, and his own military forces remained completely intact. Stripped of all emotional pretense, this was nothing short of a massive tactical victory. Naturally, he kept that clinical assessment locked firmly behind his teeth. He would concede, silently, that Uchiha Kou had been an exceptionally useful shinobi. She was worth remembering. And that was all.
Uchiha Kagami's frown deepened at Danzo's callous interruption. His hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. Such critical, world-altering intelligence had ultimately been bought with the life of a junior from a completely different reality. She owed them nothing. She could have easily refused the burden, turned her back on the shadows, and lived a quiet life. Yet, she had embraced the darkness without a second of hesitation, walking a path of absolute ruin. She had truly, deeply loved this village.
Yet, as the reigning head of the Uchiha Clan, Kagami could not afford to disregard the delicate political balance just to soothe his own conscience. He couldn't demand Stelle make the truth public. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he asked, Stelle would tear the village apart to clear Kou's name. Whenever it came to protecting her fellow Uchiha, Stelle's moral boundaries vanished entirely. But he couldn't ask that of her. He couldn't risk the village's stability.
"Danzo is right," Kagami finally forced the words out, the taste of ash in his mouth. "Whether it concerns the Rinnegan or the truth of her origins from another world... none of this can ever leave this room."
Suddenly, Danzo pivoted. He lunged toward the entrance with the speed of a striking viper. His hand shot out, snatching a small, pale white snake that had been coiled discreetly near the base of the doorframe.
"O-ro-chi-ma-ru!" Danzo ground the syllables out through clenched teeth, his grip tightening on the struggling reptile. "Get into the office. Now."
Stelle didn't even turn her head. "Orochimaru. Tsunade is with you, isn't she?" Her voice was calm, cutting through the tension. "Both of you, come inside. There is no point in hiding anymore."
Within a few tense breaths, the heavy wooden doors swung inward. Orochimaru and Tsunade stepped into the light. Tsunade pushed past her teammate, her movements jerky and entirely devoid of her usual confident swagger. By the time she crossed the floor to stand before Stelle, her pale face was already entirely soaked in tears.
"So..." Tsunade choked on the word, her voice trembling violently. "Kou... she was actually an undercover agent this whole time? Did she leave the village back then just to complete a mission? Tell me, Hokage-sama!"
Stelle met the young kunoichi's devastated gaze and offered a slow, heavy nod. "That is correct. Kou was never enticed into defecting. She deliberately allowed herself to be taken by Black Zetsu to infiltrate his ranks and investigate his true motives from the inside."
"And... the days she spent suffering in the Interrogation Department?" Tsunade whispered, her hands shaking. "That was all just part of the process? A way to solidify her cover and gain the enemy's trust?"
"Exactly," Stelle affirmed, her tone perfectly layered with solemn grief.
An infinite, crushing wave of heartache slammed into Tsunade's chest, stealing the air from her lungs. To perfectly sell such a flawless betrayal, to gain the absolute trust of a monster like Black Zetsu... just how much agonizing torment had Kou silently endured? The brutal torture Tsunade had witnessed in those dark cells was likely only a fraction of the nightmare her friend had lived through.
Uchiha Kagami turned to face the two shattered prodigies. The weight of his position seemed to physically bow his shoulders. "You two will construct a grave for Kou near the Memorial Stone," he instructed, his voice thick with unshed emotion. "But... no name can be carved upon the marker. It must remain blank. This is the absolute limit of what I can allow as the leader of the Uchiha Clan."
Kagami's grim compromise aligned perfectly with Stelle's own theatrical script. She lowered her eyes, nodding slightly. "It is the best we can do for her."
Through Orochimaru's serpentine espionage, Tsunade had heard every single word exchanged between the village leaders. In the span of a few brief, clinical minutes, the matter had been entirely finalized. Uchiha Kou's tragic legacy had been neatly packaged and buried in the dark. Tsunade's logical mind, trained by years of shinobi doctrine, understood that for the sake of Konoha's stability and the security of the intelligence, this was the safest outcome.
But emotionally? Rationally? Her heart violently rejected every second of it.
She was no longer a naive little girl who would throw tantrums and scream at the unfairness of the world. Yet, the immense, suffocating cocktail of grief and raw indignation boiling in her veins made it physically impossible to remain calm. She slammed her hand down onto the Hokage's desk, her fingers digging into the polished wood. Involuntary chakra surged through her muscles.
Mottled, jagged cracks exploded outward from beneath her palm, spiderwebbing frantically across the solid oak surface. The splintering wood groaned under the unnatural pressure. A second later, the structural integrity failed. With a deafening crash, the massive desk shattered into hundreds of jagged splinters, collapsing into ruin across the floor.
Standing amidst the wreckage, tears spilling freely down her cheeks, Tsunade finally choked on a bitter sob. She couldn't hold the agony back any longer.
"So, that's it?" she screamed, her voice cracking under the strain. "Kou is to forever bear the title of an S-Rank Rogue Ninja? A traitor who abandoned her home and murdered her own comrades? With absolutely no way to ever clear her name?! She sacrificed everything for this village, yet she is denied even a fraction of the honor she deserves!"
Tsunade fell to her knees, the fight draining from her body as she wept for the girl who had played the villain to save them all. In her entire, miserable life, Kou hadn't been allowed to be happy for more than a handful of days. She had never known peace, and now, she never would.
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