It was an ordinary scrap of paper—barely the size of two fingernails.
On its front, in tiny black characters, it read:
"Yotsuki Raizen, no matter what you choose, you are one of us.
Cloud Village will always welcome you home."
Raizen raised an eyebrow.
The message wasn't written using encrypted shinobi codes. No cipher.
No hidden marks. Just a normal sentence written as though for a civilian.
They must have realized he was still a student....he wouldn't understand complex coded messages.
He flipped the note over.
A street name.
An unremarkable shop.
A location.
"A Cloud Village spy node…?"
Raizen tore the paper into tiny fragments and dropped them into the toilet.
As the water soaked through, the ink dissolved instantly, fading as if it had never existed. He pressed the flush handle, watching the last traces swirl away.
Cloud Village must have regretted losing him when the truth of his Uchiha identity reached them. Now they could only resort to discreet invitations.
This was nothing like the future era....when the Cloud Village, confident in its strength, would dare attempt kidnapping the Hyūga heiress.
Back then, the Leaf had been exhausted and broken:
The suicide of White Fang, the death of the Fourth Hokage, the Nine-Tails incident, and a village too weak to retaliate.
But right now?
Konoha was stable....strong.
Cloud wouldn't dare move openly.
Still… the address on the note was proof of their sincerity.
Raizen had two choices:
Report the spy node to Konoha and earn reward and trust.
Use it as a bargaining chip, contacting Cloud in secret to gain benefits or leverage.
The third option—returning to Cloud Village....was nothing but a last resort.
If he returned, he'd be the lone survivor of a vanished Yotsuki branch.
They would never grant him genuine freedom.
He could already imagine it:
Constant surveillance.
Blood tests.
Cell extractions.
Endless "research."
And eventuall.....breeding.
Raizen snorted.
He liked women, yes.
But not like livestock being used as a breeding tool.
Not locked up and turned into a resource.
And even if Cloud treated him "well," they would never allow him to grow strong enough to become independent.
They would make sure he stayed useful and controllable.
Konoha, for all its dangers and the looming threat of the Uchiha massacre, still gave him what he needed most:
Time.
Freedom.
And the opportunity to grow stronger.
Everything in this world had a price tag hidden in the shadows.
To obtain something, you must accept its cost.
Life was nothing more than a series of choices.
Between Konoha and Cloud, both paths held danger....but only one gave him a chance to rise before the storm of the Third Shinobi War swept across the world.
Just as Raizen contemplated how to squeeze benefits from Cloud without revealing his position, a familiar voice sounded from outside.
"Raizen, are you home?"
Mikoto.
Of course.
This must be the Root Division's follow-up inspection.
Raizen placed his books aside and headed to the kitchen.
He splashed cold water on his face, washed away any signs of fatigue, and made sure he looked like a clean, well-behaved student.
He exhaled softly against his palm.....checking his breath.
Normal.
With wooden sandals tapping lightly on the floor, he went to the entrance.
The Uchiha compound was a separate district inside Konoha, inhabited solely by clan members.
Even as an outsider brought in recently, Raizen had been assigned a small, somewhat dilapidated house. Old, but spacious.
He slid open the door.
"Mikoto-sama."
Raizen bowed slightly, eyes lowered....timid, respectful.
Mikoto chuckled.
"Raizen, no need to be so formal."
Am I really that scary?
She wondered privately as she watched the nervous boy.
Raizen's hair fell slightly forward, covering his eyes...making it impossible for her to read his expression.
"Just call me Mikoto-nee."
"…Alright, Mikoto-nee," he replied softly.
She nodded with satisfaction and gestured toward the woman standing behind her.
The newcomer wore a medical-ninja uniform—but her voluptuous figure made it look… somewhat inappropriate.
"This is Yakushi Nonō," Mikoto introduced. "She's the captain of the medical division."
Nonō gave Raizen a warm, gentle smile.
"Nice to meet you. I'm here to check your eyes."
"Thank you, Nonō-sama," Raizen said politely, leading them inside.
They soon settled around the low table. Raizen went straight to the kitchen.
Standing on a stool, he rummaged through cheap tea packets, boiled water, and brewed two modest cups.
Nonō watched his thin, small frame moving around and felt a tug of pity.
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