Tamao's words, like thunder echoing on flat ground, jolted the team, their grief over the clan's fall momentarily forgotten.
Shock crossed their faces as they exchanged glances.
They'd guessed this whimsical guy might say something like this, but hearing it felt surreal.
Could Captain Tsukikage have long coveted the patriarch's wife?
It made sense—why else save Lady Mikoto?
Izumi's willow brows furrowed, a pang in her chest. She buried her face in her knees, adding branches to the fire, avoiding Tsukikage beside her.
In an unnoticed corner, Mikoto's cold face burned with anger. She could tolerate the clan's rejection—her family had failed the Uchiha—but not insults to her honor as patriarch's wife.
Crackle—the flames roared.
Tsukikage frowned, sensing the conversation veering oddly.
Minamikaze, ever earnest, asked, "How's Lady Mikoto Captain Tsukikage's… I mean, your boss's wife?"
His question echoed everyone's thoughts.
Izumi joined the others, eyeing Tamao, curious what this erratic comrade would spout.
Tamao rambled, "Can't you think for yourselves? Stop bullying me, making a whimsical guy solve problems! Think—Uchiha Mikoto's the patriarch's wife. Fugaku's likely dead. We're all that's left. Who's the new patriarch? My big bro Tsukikage, not you cowards! So, he's patriarch, and Mikoto, the patriarch's wife, is naturally the boss's wife!"
The team frowned, speechless at his bizarre logic.
To Tamao, was "patriarch's wife" a job title?
Minamikaze adjusted his glasses, retorting, "I'm not coward!"
The others glanced at the usually honest Minamikaze, inwardly scoffing—Captain, you're missing the point!
They now understood why Minamikaze and Tamao clashed most.
Tamao snapped, "Who cares if you're a coward? Stop dawdling—feed the boss's wife some rabbit meat!"
The team hesitated.
Knowing Tsukikage's supposed interest in the widow, they dared not provoke the former patriarch's wife, now "boss's wife."
They grumbled inwardly—after the clan's fall, with a new leader, why was Mikoto still the patriarch's wife?
Mikoto, hearing Tamao's earnest nonsense, lost her composure. Her cherry-blossom neck stretched, cheeks flushed, dark eyes blazing under curled lashes, glaring at Tsukikage as if to say, "Control your subordinate!"
Amid the silence, Tsukikage stood, tore off a rabbit leg, and approached Mikoto.
He didn't care what others thought, but until Itachi was dealt with, Mikoto couldn't die.
Seeing his move, the team marveled—Tamao's madness was genius, foreseeing this scandal!
Mikoto, neck outstretched, glared like a wary, flustered swan.
After a pause, facing the offered rabbit leg, she resisted the humiliation proudly, declaring, "I won't eat rabbit meat… mmph!"
As her mouth opened, Tsukikage, using Yachihoko, stuffed the crispy, tender leg inside.
"Mmph… mmph… mmph!" Mikoto's eyes widened, chewing furiously, gasping in protest, staring at the handsome youth.
How dare this junior treat her so rudely?
Her noble aura as patriarch's wife crumbled in fury.
"Eat," Tsukikage said flatly, his gaze like a deep well, unflinching.
Their eyes locked. Mikoto, seated, looked up at Tsukikage's imposing figure, her defiance waning.
The Uchiha gaped.
They knew Tsukikage had changed—ruthless now—but this? Trampling Mikoto's dignity?
A role model!
Tsukikage didn't linger. He moved to Tamao, slicing off the rabbit's rear with a kunai and shoving it into his mouth.
Realizing he'd overstepped, Tamao grinned sheepishly, his baby face innocent.
"Eat," Tsukikage said, returning to Izumi.
He kept a rabbit leg, handing the rest to Izumi to finish. Youngest in the team, she'd aided others, like bandaging Tamao, earning trust.
Besides honest Minamikaze, Izumi was Tsukikage's most reliable ally.
"Cap… Captain Tsukikage," Izumi said, warmed, nodding eagerly, about to share.
"You're still growing. Eat up—they're adults, they won't starve," Tsukikage advised.
The Uchiha fell silent, not daring to protest.
"O-Okay," Izumi said, eating alone, savoring his gesture.
Her thoughts swirled. She didn't believe Tamao—not a single word. Itachi's mother was beautiful, well-preserved, but seven or eight years Tsukikage's senior. They weren't suited.
In her mind, she sentenced their future to no union.
The others sighed inwardly. Tsukikage, gentle as jade, aloof as a cold breeze over snowy woods, hid such audacity—coveting a widow? Is this appropriate?
Yet some relented. The surviving Uchiha bore the duty to revive their clan's glory. Mikoto, with her graceful curves, seemed ideal for bearing gifted heirs with Tsukikage—as long as they avoided another Itachi. It'd bolster their cause.
Their rejection of Mikoto softened, their gazes now accepting, respectful, lingering on the "new boss's wife."
Mikoto, controlled by Yachihoko, devoured the rabbit leg, unable to stop.
Eat or not—she had no say.
"Mmph… mmph… ugh!" She swallowed, protesting with muffled whimpers.
Sensing the team's shifting attitude, she preferred their scorn over this misunderstanding, humiliation flooding her.
Tears welled, but her chewing and swallowing continued.
---
Kikyō-yama's peaks stood jagged under the descending black night, cloaking the range.
At its heart, the terrain dipped.
Kikyō no Sato nestled there, guarded by old walls, its main district aglow with countless lights under the night sky.
Upstream, on the river leading out, five shinobi and a ninja dog tread water.
"This is the only water route out. We'll wait for reinforcements, set traps, and let Uchiha Tsukikage's team walk into our net," Asuma said gravely to Kurenai and the others.
No objections.
Fleeing rogues, aware of pursuit, would choose the traceless water route.
With keen-scented ninja dogs, Asuma's team had tracked the Uchiha squad's trail that morning.
(End of Chapter)