northernbook Chapter 406 Thoughtful
Chapter 406 Thoughtful
Uchiha Yuzu.
She once placed "Shisui's last wish" and "the stability of the village" above everything else. For this, she was willing to push her entire family into the abyss with her own hands, and even use her parents' lives as bargaining chips to be sacrificed.
Satsuki was the only exception.
She held her younger sister, who had been in her arms since she was an infant and would run to her when she came home—she placed the importance of Satsuki before the "village".
Even if that protection had long since twisted into a morbid desire for control, even if she had unilaterally decided the path Zuo Yue should take, the pain she should endure, and the person she should become...
She never intended to hurt Satsuki.
However, "never thought of it" and "never caused it" are two different things.
Now, the only person she wanted to protect, with the coldest eyes and the most resolute words, personally severed the last thread of connection between them.
break.
A complete and utter break, leaving no room for compromise.
The girl who used to follow behind her and softly call her "sister" is now staring at her with her Mangekyou Sharingan, her eyes filled with nothing but hatred.
Even her mother's pleas and tears only gave her a sliver of hope. She couldn't let Zuoyue be trapped in the nightmare of "paternal homicide."
It felt as if an invisible blade was repeatedly piercing my heart, and the pain washed over my limbs and bones like a cold tide.
She wanted to curl up and let death take it all away—if even the meaning of living had been completely denied by the person she cherished most, then what was there left for this broken life to continue?
Just as she was about to be swallowed by the darkness, a warm hand, regaining some consciousness, gently grasped her wrist.
It's Shisui.
Uchiha Yu slowly lowered her head, her empty eye sockets facing the direction from which Sasuke's voice came.
She couldn't see anything, but she could sense the undisguised hatred. Tears seeped from under her tightly closed eyelids—a faint, blood-red hue.
She nodded stiffly and extremely slowly in the direction of Satsuki.
She accepted that she could never return to the identity of "older sister," accepted that she would live the rest of her life in the hatred of her younger sister, and accepted the fate that she had severed with her own hands and could never be reconnected.
------
"Sorry, I took these things back then..."
In the secret room, Naruto gently pushed a specially made storage container toward Fugaku. Inside the container, a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan eyes, gleaming with a faint light, floated quietly in the nutrient solution, their pupil patterns like frozen vortexes.
"But I hope you can understand... Now that Satsuki has awakened the Kaleidoscope, she needs this—"
"Alright, no need to apologize," Fugaku interrupted him. "When you took them back then... I no longer needed them."
He raised his eyes, his gaze complex as he looked at Menma. "Besides, you saved my and Mikoto's lives. Please... transplant it to Satsuki."
Fugaku looked somewhat exhausted. The huge weight that had been pressing on his heart for ten years had finally been lifted—he knew how the things he had cared about most over the past ten years were doing now, Itachi's situation, he knew Itachi's heart, and he also knew why Satsuki hated him to such an extent.
However, the two daughters became completely estranged and would never see each other again for the rest of their lives—as a father, his heart was heavy with a lingering, dull pain.
"Itachi, she..."
He opened his mouth, but ultimately shook his head.
"Never mind... let's leave it at that. This is better for her, for Satsuki... as long as she doesn't die... that's all that matters."
"Mm," Naruto replied softly, offering no further explanation, yet enough for Fugaku to sense the weight of that promise.
Fugaku was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke again. "Your identity... I will not tell anyone."
His gaze swept over the fox mask on Menma's face.
"But thinking about it carefully... it's actually quite scary."
He twitched the corners of his mouth, but it didn't really look like a smile. "So, this is why [Jin] attacked Konoha back then, but didn't kill a single person... Thank you."
Naruto was slightly taken aback. "...Hmm?"
He didn't understand why Fugaku suddenly thanked him.
"Without you... everything would have gone according to Danzo's plan—the entire Uchiha clan would have perished."
"Including me, including Mikoto. Without you... I would never have had the chance to watch Satsuki grow up."
He reached out and patted Mianma's shoulder hard.
"From now on... I'm entrusting Satsuki to you."
"I will," Naruto answered without hesitation.
Fugaku nodded, but noticed that Naruto did not retract the Mangekyou Sharingan; instead, he quietly pushed it back in front of him.
"...You should take these eyes back. Actually...Satsuki already has eyes that can be transplanted."
"Already have one?" Fugaku frowned. "How is that possible? For a transplant to work, both parties must be blood relatives—"
His words abruptly stopped. A possibility suddenly popped into his mind.
His expression changed abruptly, and his voice trembled with disbelief. "...No way."
That night, the person who was most hurt in my heart... besides Satsuki, was Mikoto.
"Hmm," Menma confirmed in a low voice.
"Aunt Mikoto—no, my mother-in-law—she awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan back then."
Fugaku's breath caught in his throat for a moment.
Because of... Itachi?
Because of his own child, the killer turned against him—that soul-wrenching sorrow ultimately manifested in these bloodstained eyes?
Fugaku's hands clenched silently, his knuckles turning white from the force. He recalled how Mikoto had insisted on staying in the plaza to talk to Itachi—she had just protected Yuzu from Satsuki's murderous intent, yet she still couldn't let go of the daughter who had once tried to kill her.
She wanted to ask her how she had been all these years.
She wanted to touch her eyes, which she could no longer see.
Even after being hurt like that, her maternal love remained undiminished.
"...Don't tell Mikoto about this," Fugaku's voice was deep and hoarse.
"Don't worry," Naruto nodded gently, "I understand."
Fugaku remained silent for a long time before slowly reaching out and pulling the storage jar back into his arms.
His Mangekyou Sharingan rippled slightly in the nutrient solution, reflecting his somber expression. He ultimately said nothing more, only nodding deeply to Menma.
------
everything is over.
The bloody truth about the Uchiha clan was finally laid bare before Satsuki. There was no concealment; the past was naked, bloody, and unvarnished.
The end does not mean peace.
When the two returned home, it was so late that even the chirping of insects had ceased. The light in the entryway flickered, casting two silent shadows.
Naruto stood by the door, his fingers curling and relaxing. He wondered if he could still, like before, naturally lean into Satsuki's arms, feel the warmth of her embrace, and hear her loving voice.
He didn't know if he was still qualified.
Satsuki stood in the center of the living room with her back to him. Her head was slightly lowered, and her black hair fell down, covering most of her face. But Naruto could still see the redness in her eyes and the barely perceptible, suppressed tremor in her shoulders.
She was still crying, even though she was silent, even though she was trying her best to hold it in—but her red eyes couldn't lie.
Naruto felt a sharp pain in his chest. He mustered his courage, wanting to say something, when Satsuki suddenly turned around.
She raised her hand and rubbed her eyes hard. Then, she looked directly at him, and Ming instinctively avoided her gaze.
He lowered his head, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times, but he still couldn't speak. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would hear the tremor in his own voice, and he was afraid to see the hatred in her eyes—even if it was just a trace.
"Naruto...you..."
Satsuki's voice rang out, soft and slightly nasal. Naruto abruptly raised his eyes, as if he had made up his mind. He took a step forward, his voice low and urgent.
"I'm prepared... Please, I'll do anything... as long as you forgive me..."
He stammered, "I will explain everything... I will make amends... I will... I will dedicate my whole life to it..."
"Forgive...?" Satsuki repeated the two words softly, as if she didn't understand.
Naruto stood frozen in place, his heart almost stopping.
Then he heard her whisper.
"Why... should I forgive?"
Naruto's breath hitched, and his fingertips felt icy cold.
But the next second—Zuo Yue's slightly red, still watery eyes stared straight into his.
"Naruto, aren't you a victim too?"
(Would it be better to continue using this style of illustration?)
(Normally, the zipper in February is always properly zipped up, but it's only in front of the main character that it's like this.)