Kikyō Mountain, mid-slope, a remote hunter's village.
The wooden cabins were simple.
The lighting was dim.
In a short while, the main hall was crowded with more than ten people. Next to the round table lay a "mummy"-like injured man.
"Hahaha! Captain Yu, please have a seat!
It's been five years since you saved us.
Time really flies!"
Yega looked thrilled, holding a teapot and flipping teacups, pouring for the Uchiha gathered at the table, and guiding Uchiha Yu to the seat of honor.
Yu sat down, and beside him, Mikoto glanced sideways at his profile with a strange expression.
Mikoto was sizing him up in her mind.
Back in the woods—
The Uchiha squad could have easily taken out those five rogue ninjas, but Yu had stayed his hand because he recognized them.
While on the run, revealing one's position usually brought serious consequences.
The best course of action—
Would've been to kill the group, dispose of the bodies, and vanish without a trace.
"Still, he's a man with a line he won't cross."
Mikoto noticed Yu suddenly turning to look her way. She calmly withdrew her gaze, maintaining her poise and the air of a noblewoman, raising her teacup to sip.
"Sss—hot!"
Her slender fingers quickly withdrew from the cup, and in Yu's eyes, much of her graceful aura seemed to evaporate.
Ever since Yu had force-fed her—
The last of her dignity had been trampled.
It felt to Mikoto like she had returned to that young and clumsy self, fresh out of the academy—unsure of how to behave around a man who disregarded her pride, even overwhelmed her aloof nature.
He was clearly younger than her—
And yet, with the way the other Uchiha misunderstood and treated her strangely, Mikoto found herself unable to stop watching him.
Even though Fugaku had just died—
Mikoto's elegant brows lowered, her expression dimmed, and her delicate fingers tugged at her skirt hem—lost once more.
Yu turned his eyes away—only to realize the rest of the Uchiha were all staring at him.
They quickly averted their gazes too, but they were clearly curious—
What kind of story was behind Captain Yu, the clan matriarch, and these rogue ninjas from the Mist?
"Hehehe!"
Yega chuckled sheepishly.
Yu looked at him with a calm gaze.
Memories surfaced.
This group of so-called "rogue ninja" were actually just ordinary war refugees who had fled from the Land of Frost during the Third Great Ninja War.
Their homeland had been razed in the conflict among the Five Great Nations. Konoha, having conquered Frost, had seized their grain supplies by force.
The fields had been trampled by one shinobi unit after another—leaving nothing to harvest in the fall. Of Yega's five family members, only he had survived.
In the winter five years ago—
He wandered to the border of the Land of Fire.
He gathered more than a dozen people—
People like himself, led by him. They had lost everything in the war, couldn't survive, and were planning to band together and rob other refugees.
That year, the border of the Land of Fire had become infested with rogue ninja. Even the head of the Konoha Police Force had been sent by the higher-ups to root out the problem.
By chance—
That same winter was when Jaeger and his ragtag group of refugees disguised themselves as rogue ninja for the first time and encountered a plainclothed man—who turned out to be none other than Captain Yu himself.
But Yu didn't kill them. Instead, he patiently listened to their stories.
Take Yega, for example—
When he first escaped, he still had money. But his neighbor scammed him into investing in financial products issued by the Hidden Mist's "bank," hoping to profit from war.
It turned out to be a ninja-world Ponzi scheme.
The neighbor fled with the cash.
Yega ended up a penniless drifter. Bitter and angry, he planned to rob wealthy merchants and become a bandit.
But when he burst into a shop, wielding a cleaver with full murderous intent, he saw a filthy, emaciated mother nursing a baby the size of a monkey.
In the end, Yega clenched his teeth, put down the cleaver, caught a rat instead, and made a pot of rat soup for the mother and child—then fled in pain.
After that—
He ran all the way to the Land of Fire's border, convincing himself that robbing people from other countries wouldn't weigh on his conscience. He was just preparing to build a real "operation" when he ran into Yu's team.
"Are you all still the same as before?"
Yu was silent for a long time before he finally spoke.
Jaeger removed the rogue Mist forehead protector from his head and placed it on the table, laughing heartily:
"Of course not, Captain Yu!
Ever since you enlightened us—
We followed your advice, came to this mountain, and became hunters. We live by hunting every day.
This land is incredibly abundant.
There are plenty of animals in the mountains.
So we're living very comfortably now!
All thanks to your guidance.
You saved us!"
"Hold on, Mr. Yega, maybe start from the beginning. You two are chatting, but we don't understand a word of it!" Izumi mumbled hesitantly, unsure whether she should speak.
The other Uchiha all nodded in agreement.
There was talk of rogue Mist forehead protectors…
Then suddenly they were mountain hunters?
It was all a bit too roundabout and confusing.
Izumi didn't dare ask Yu directly—but she knew he wouldn't mind her asking Jaeger instead.
"Alright, then I'll start from the beginning!"
Jaeger perked up with interest. After a moment of reminiscing, he composed the start of his tale and began to recount it in detail to everyone.
Meanwhile, Yu quietly instructed Minami to take two squad members and sneak into Kikyo Town before nightfall to "invite" a doctor.
At the same time, they were to buy some medicine, non-perishable food, essentials for life on the run—and a detailed map of the mountain ranges along the Fire Country border.
Minami had wanted to stay and hear the story too, but duty called. He left reluctantly with his teammates.
By the time it took to finish a cup of tea—
Yega had finished telling his tale. Proud and animated, he fancied himself talented enough to be a movie director or screenwriter.
Only then did the Uchiha crowd finally understand—
This Yega had lived a poverty-stricken, misfortune-riddled life, barely scraping by, like walking on thin ice.
Mikoto glanced at Yu's profile from the corner of her eye, and in her mind, added one more line to her assessment of him:
'Kind-hearted?'
The rest of the Uchiha also felt that Ygea was incredibly lucky to have encountered Yu.
If it had been them—or any other Konoha ninja—
They wouldn't have cared about Yega tragic backstory. They'd have just taken him for a rogue ninja and cut him down.
Mission complete, reward earned.
So—
Captain Yu was truly gentle and kind.
"Wait a minute—so your rogue Mist forehead protectors were all picked up off the battlefield?
Seriously? You've been this unlucky, and you're still so full of pride?"
Izumi raised a brow, feeling like this guy could rival her when it came to screwing up multiple-choice questions—
Always managing to choose the worst option at the worst possible time.
Until he met Yu.
"Captain Yu, are you all leaving right after this?"
Yega looked at Yu, his tone sincere as he suggested, "It's already so dark—why not stay the night here? I'll cook dinner for everyone, and you can continue your journey in the morning!"
Yu glanced around the table at everyone.
The Uchiha were travel-worn, exhausted, and had been fleeing nonstop for nearly three days. Weariness was written on all their faces—they clearly longed for one night of rest.
"Thanks, but we have to leave immediately."
Yu looked at Yega, his tone calm and even.
The flicker of hope in the Uchihas' eyes immediately faded, but not a single one voiced a complaint.
They were fugitives—
Not on vacation.
Staying here would bring trouble and might implicate the refugee hunters living here.
Not to mention… these people had already been through enough misfortune.
Yu had never liked dragging others into his problems. Back in the forest, his original plan had been to part ways with Yega and keep moving.
But Yega had been just too insistent with his hospitality.
And, to be fair—
They really did need a place to rest, if only for a moment.
"Rest while you can. Once Minami and the others are back, we move out again."
Yu said this in his usual composed manner.
"Alright then. I'll go prepare some food for everyone."
Yega gave a relieved smile and turned to head into the kitchen at the back of the cabin.
Just then, Izumi asked:
"Mr. Yega, when you go out hunting, why do you wear a rogue Mist forehead protector?"
At that moment, the injured man lying on the ground—Tamao—weakly responded:
"Why else? Obviously to scare off enemies!"
At his words, all the Uchiha turned in unison, suddenly remembering the guy lying there like an afterthought—almost as if they'd forgotten he existed.
Yega laughed loudly:
"This gentleman is absolutely right. There are still a lot of dangerous war refugees nearby. If we don't disguise ourselves as rogue ninja, we'd get attacked the moment we're spotted."
With that, he disappeared into the back room.
"WAAAHHH—!"
Suddenly, a shrill, piercing cry of an infant broke the night's stillness, echoing through the wooden house.
The Uchiha were startled.
Mikoto, hearing the baby's cry, had a memory suddenly stirred—like a switch flipped. She looked sharply toward the bedroom, dazed. The sorrow on her face deepened.
She missed Sasuke.
Izumi frowned slightly.
Yu, unmoved as ever, calmly sipped his tea. From the moment they entered the house, he had already deduced—based on the shoes, styles, furniture, and a baby cushion—that this was a home for a family of three.
"Sorry, sorry!"
Yega hurried back from the bedroom, leading a woman into the hall, clearly afraid he had startled the guests.
The woman was strikingly beautiful. She wore a red scarf, and her long black hair fell to her waist, partially covering her delicate features. She held the wailing baby in her arms, trying to soothe him with a look of anxious concern.
"Captain Yu, this is my wife, Sani—we got married last year. The baby's a boy, but we haven't named him yet!"
Yega beamed with pride as he introduced his family.
Yu smiled gently at the three of them.
"Hah… Look at this guy—so down on his luck, and yet he still managed to find a wife and have a kid.
Meanwhile, I was working in Konoha Hospital, and proposed to a nurse from the Hyuga clan.
She didn't even acknowledge me—just told me to get lost.
All because I'm a 'mental case'?
Who the hell are they looking down on?"**
Uchiha Tamao muttered bitterly.
°°°
A/N: Throw some stones here to have goodluck.
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