Day Three.
Clear skies.
Kin sat at a table outside a shop, staring blankly at the sky. These past two days spent cultivating his new internal art had nearly driven him mad. Now he needed a break.
Yashiro had left yesterday. The Uchiha compound was nearly empty now, with only civilians remaining. When the clan heir went to war, the Uchiha wouldn't send just a token force - nearly seventy percent of their ninjas had deployed. The mobilization had been massive, so much so that even ordinary Konoha citizens knew Fugaku had gone to the frontlines.
Only a handful of Uchiha remained to maintain order in the village. Kin couldn't shake the feeling this arrangement was deliberate.
Not that Konoha had much to worry about internally. Few would dare cause trouble now. The presence or absence of Uchiha made little difference - if anything, villagers felt more at ease without them. When Kin went out in plain clothes, he'd heard no kind words about his clan.
"Why are you lounging around when everyone else is fighting at the front?" Uchiha Nobi handed Kin a heated lunchbox while watching other clan members busily preparing for deployment. Even throughout the village, ninjas had become a rare sight.
Yet here Kin sat, the picture of relaxation.
"You think I want this?" Kin sighed helplessly. With the White Fang currently being kept in reserve by the village, as his teammate Kin was similarly grounded. Though things seemed safe now, whenever Hatake got deployed, the missions would undoubtedly be deadly. His time would come soon enough.
"Ninjas serve the village. What does 'want' have to do with it?" Nobi muttered.
Kin studied the girl who'd grown slightly taller, though not as noticeably as children do. "Why'd you drop your old way of speaking? It's weird not hearing it." She used to call him "trash" with such enthusiasm. What happened to that?
"You're the Uchiha genius now. Far from trash." Nobi turned her head away. Who could've predicted Uchiha Kin's rise?
"True enough." Kin shook his head, at a loss for words. He examined the lunchbox filled with carefully prepared side dishes. In the Uchiha clan, trash earned everyone's contempt while geniuses received only kindness.
"The weather's nice," Kin mused, gazing skyward. He wondered how much longer this peace would last.
Watching Kin's carefree demeanor, Nobi struggled to reconcile this image with the prodigy compared to the Second Hokage. He showed no signs of genius. Biting her lip, she produced a stack of papers.
"Can I get your autograph?"
"Huh?!" Kin cocked his ear dramatically. "Say that again?"
"I said can I get your autograph?!" Nobi shouted.
"No need to yell. And shouldn't you be more polite when asking favors?" Kin moved away disdainfully.
Nobi's face flushed red with anger. Why did this genius have to look so smug? Closing her eyes, she thought of her classmates' expectations. She never should've mentioned knowing Uchiha Kin.
"Brother Kin...may I please have your autograph?" She forced a smile. With Kin's current fame, his signature would be quite the bragging right.
Kin laughed heartily, slapping Nobi's shoulder. "Just ask properly! It's just an autograph!"
"So...?"
"No."
Poof!
Kin vanished in a smoke cloud, lunchbox disappearing with him.
Nobi stared dumbfounded at the empty seat. Soon, rage overtook her.
"UCHIHA KIN!!!"
Hearing the distant scream as he left the compound, Kin smirked. Did they think he'd forgotten past slights? "Autograph? Dream on."
Walking through the streets, he spotted a familiar figure approaching and immediately turned back. "Why's he here?!"
Only one person could make Kin retreat like that - the White Fang himself.
Unfortunately, Hatake soon cornered him in an alley. "Am I really that scary?" Sakumo scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Kin's cold laugh said everything. This man only sought him out when trouble loomed.
"Mission's come through."
Of course. Kin sighed in resignation. No escaping now. "What is it?"
Sakumo waved a scroll. "S-rank. Scout Kumogakure's movements."
Kin inhaled sharply, pointing at himself. "You think I can handle that?!" He'd expected danger but not this extreme. Scouting an entire village? They could encounter the Raikage, elite jonin, countless high-level ninjas...
"Relax, I'll bring you back safe." Sakumo's tone left no doubt he meant it.
"Thanks ever so much." Kin rolled his eyes. Resistance was futile.
"Don't mention it." Sakumo accepted the sarcasm as genuine.
Kin watched clouds obscure the sun. His brief respite had ended.
...
Land of Hot Springs.
Uchiha Fugaku led his clansmen through mountainous terrain, soon arriving at a concealed outpost within the foreign nation's borders. The hidden base lay tucked in a canyon.
"Lord Fugaku." All Uchiha present gathered to greet him while other Konoha ninjas kept their distance - not out of disrespect, but because Fugaku held no official rank above them. Only his clansmen offered such deference.
Though lacking elite commanders, the Uchiha contingent here rivaled any frontline force.
Fugaku nodded before they dispersed. One clansman approached quietly. "Young master, troubling news - Kirigakure ninja sightings have increased."
Grim expressions spread among the Uchiha. This boded ill.
...
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[End of Chapter]