"How long are they going to 'talk' in there…"
Out in the small courtyard, Uchiha Mikoto sat under the eaves, her face a mix of irritation and unease.
When things were going well, he called her "sister-in-law" at every turn.
The moment there was someone else, she got "politely" kicked outside.
Wait… Mikoto, what are you thinking?
He has nothing to do with you. You can't betray Fugaku…
Smack.
Smack.
Smack.
"Huh? Is it raining?"
Mikoto heard a patter, then a steady "pa-pa-pa-pa" overhead.
She looked up and saw the sky had turned completely gray.
Bean-sized drops of rain began to cascade down in a sudden downpour.
She hurried out from under the open yard, lifting her skirt slightly as she jogged toward the door.
Just as she reached to slide it open—
Her hand froze.
Her eyes widened, her face draining of blood and then flushing bright red.
"They're…"
Already? That fast…?
"This bastard…"
She muttered under her breath, but didn't dare push the door.
The muffled, increasingly urgent sounds from inside made her bite her lip hard as she turned away and stared fixedly at the curtain of rain in front of her.
At that moment, a small figure came running in through the downpour.
Mikoto blinked, then quickly called out:
"Izumi, come here! You're soaked."
The little figure was Uchiha Izumi.
"Auntie, what are you doing at my house? Where's my mom?" Izumi asked, confused.
She instinctively tried to run past Mikoto toward the door.
Mikoto reacted quickly and pulled the girl into her arms, starting to towel off her wet hair.
"Your mother's… busy right now. We'll go find her in a bit. Stay with Auntie for a while first, okay?"
"Ah—okay."
Izumi was very polite.
If a guest came to the house and her mother wasn't there, then she should take over and be a good host. That was what her mother had taught her.
The two of them sat under the eaves, watching the rain and talking listlessly.
Mikoto wrapped an arm around Izumi and quietly fed a trickle of chakra into her to warm and dry the girl's clothes, avoiding a cold.
As they talked, Izumi's little brows furrowed.
"Um… Aunt Mikoto, I think I hear my mom crying."
Worry flickered plainly across her face.
"This…"
Mikoto's mind went blank.
How was she supposed to explain this to a child?
Tell her her mother is being hurt by a bad man?
Mikoto's silence only made Izumi more anxious.
Why is Mom crying?
I have to go see—
The girl squirmed, trying to slip out of Mikoto's arms.
Mikoto sighed.
No matter what, I can't let her see that…
Her eyes glowed red.
Sharingan. Genjutsu.
A soft illusion settled over Izumi's senses, and the little girl fell limp in Mikoto's arms, slipping into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"How long is he going to be in there…"
Mikoto muttered, cheeks burning, heart knotted with guilt and disgust.
But all she could do was continue to wait.
That wait stretched on and on…
At Uchiha Sakurako's house, under the eaves, the rain kept drumming its relentless rhythm.
Mikoto sat there with the sleeping Izumi in her arms.
She'd been standing guard outside for nearly three hours.
In that time, she could faintly hear odd sounds from inside the house—broken, intermittent gasps and stifled cries.
She wanted to burst in, but she didn't dare.
At one point she tried to call out to Evan, only to be met with his cold, mocking drawl:
"Want to come in and switch with her?"
Mikoto had bitten down hard on her tongue and said nothing after that.
As for reporting him, exposing him, begging someone for help—
She didn't dare.
There was still a sliver of hope in her heart that this man might prevent the clan's annihilation… might save her son, Itachi, from the bloody path she'd seen in his "vision."
She could not afford to completely antagonize him.
"Thank you for the hospitality, madam!"
A bright voice from inside finally broke the stillness.
Mikoto jerked awake.
The rain had stopped.
The sky was bright—already nearly noon.
Her face twisted.
It's already been that long…?
The door slid open with a soft creak.
Evan emerged looking refreshed and relaxed.
He noticed the way Mikoto's gaze skittered away from his and a slow smile curved his lips.
"Sister-in-law, thank you," he said lightly. "I'm very satisfied."
"You…"
Mikoto glared at him, eyes burning.
"Was Sakurako… did she want this?"
Evan looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"What do you think?"
Mikoto's expression crumpled.
Of course… no normal person would agree to this the first time they meet.
Sakurako had obviously been hesitant.
So it was forced after all…
How can Konoha have such a monster walking around free, hurting even civilians…
"You… you have to take responsibility for her," Mikoto managed, but the anger in her voice had softened into something almost pleading.
"Relax. I'm not the kind of man who 'walks away and forgets'."
Evan gave her a sidelong glance.
"Maybe I'll come by every day."
"Shameless!"
He stepped closer in one smooth motion and cupped her pale cheek, feeling her flinch.
"Sister-in-law," he murmured, voice dropping, "I really want to drag you inside right now and do to you exactly what I did to Sakurako."
"You're dreaming. I'd rather die than let you succeed!"
Mikoto's face went white, her eyes wide and trembling.
Evan's gaze cooled.
"Is that so?"
"Then I suggest you start picking out coffins for the Uchiha."
"You…"
Mikoto's heart stuttered, her mind flashing back to that nightmare vision:
Itachi standing in a corridor, blade dripping with his clan's blood.
Her lips trembled, all color washing from her face.
"Oh, right," Evan added casually, "she's… surprisingly resilient. For someone who isn't a shinobi, she lasted a long time. Impressive."
A warped grin tugged at his mouth.
"You… you animal!"
Mikoto's whole body shook.
"Hey now," he said lazily, turning toward the girl in her arms, "this little one must be Uchiha Izumi, right?"
Mikoto instinctively tightened her hold, pulling Izumi behind her.
"What do you want?"
Evan reached out and ruffled Izumi's hair.
"Grow up well, okay? Once you're older, you can marry me."
"You—"
Mikoto's composure snapped.
"You're not even human, are you?! You still want— you even—"
Her voice choked off as her eyes filled with tears.
It hit her like a brick to the chest:
She was the one who had brought this devil here.
All this misfortune… she had delivered it right to Sakurako's door.
Guilt and self-loathing crashed over her like a collapsing mountain.
"Shh."
Evan pinched her cheek lightly.
"Don't shout. Sister-in-law, I'm doing this for the Uchiha, you know?"
"For the Uchiha?" she repeated bitterly.
"Of course," he said, as if stating an obvious fact.
"Think about it. If I have ties with the Uchiha, and your son moves to wipe out the clan someday… am I really going to just sit back and watch? Of course not."
"I'm doing this for you, too. You really don't appreciate it."
"You're talking nonsense."
Right now, there was no way Mikoto could believe a single word he said.
"Anyway, I'll be off," Evan laughed, patting her face lightly.
He spun on his heel and walked out of the courtyard, humming.
Mikoto stood there in shock, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.
Inside the house, Uchiha Sakurako lay motionless on the tatami, long hair scattered loosely around her.
The gentle, tidy woman she used to be was gone.
Her mind was entirely blank.
How… how do I go on from here…
Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes and slowly trailed down her cheeks.
Everything felt unreal.
She had always thought of Evan as a heroic name she'd heard whispered in the village.
But the man himself—
young, handsome, outwardly polite—
had proven to be something else entirely.
Her attempts to resist had crumbled, one after another, against his strength and ruthlessness.
They had just met today.
And now…
Shame and humiliation flooded every corner of her heart.
"Sakurako? Are you okay?"
Mikoto's voice sounded from the doorway, full of strain.
Sakurako tried to answer, tried to sit up.
But her limbs were like water. She couldn't summon any strength at all.
The door slid open.
Mikoto stepped inside, closing it behind her and hurrying into the back room.
One look at Sakurako's state—and the mess in the room—and her face contorted with shock, anger, and raw grief.
"Sakurako!"
Mikoto fell to her knees and gathered her into a hug.
"I'm sorry. This is my fault… It's all my fault."
"Lady Mikoto…"
Sakurako's tears flowed faster.
"You've ruined me…"
Mikoto flinched as if slapped.
She clenched her fists hard enough for her knuckles to whiten.
She understood now, completely.
Evan had never had good intentions from the start.
"Lady Mikoto, please… don't tell anyone about this," Sakurako whispered, voice hoarse.
"If the others knew… I really wouldn't be able to go on."
Mikoto's heart twisted.
This was her friend. Another clan wife, someone she shared tea and stories and worries with.
"How could I ever blame you," Sakurako sobbed. "I know what he is. I know how much the clan values him."
"I'm… just an ordinary person. I have a child to raise. I can't afford to collapse…"
"I just… I just hope he won't come again."
Mikoto sighed bitterly, looking up at her friend's tear-streaked face.
She couldn't even force a comforting lie to her lips.
Sakurako saw her expression and understood immediately.
Her lips trembled.
So… he will come again…
A chill spread through her chest.
[Uchiha Sakurako – Hatred +10,000]
[Uchiha Mikoto – Hatred +20,000]
…
"Tsk, tsk…"
Evan walked down the street, tallying the hatred points he'd harvested from the pair of Uchiha wives.
His expression turned oddly thoughtful.
So far, Sakurako—the widow who had suffered the most directly—actually gave him less hatred than Mikoto did.
"That doesn't seem right," he muttered.
"She was the first one hit."
"Could it be… she also has something else she needs?"
He shook his head with a crooked smile.
Just thinking back on those scenes made him a little lightheaded.
"Maybe I should come back tonight…"
After all, this was a flavor little Red Bean couldn't provide.
He pushed those twisted thoughts aside and made for the ninja prison.
"Looks like even civilians, if pressed hard enough, can yield a decent amount of hatred value… but EXP from kills doesn't work that way."
"Experience from killing is still bound by the target's rank."
"Once the Nine-Tails Night arrives, maybe I should slaughter a few elite Konoha jōnin and really rake it in…"
"And the prisoners in Konoha's jail could be useful too…"
He weighed his options as he walked.
With Ye Cang gone, he no longer had much reason to remain in the prison as a "guard."
Torturing hardened criminals didn't generate much hatred value anymore—
they just begged for death.
If he wasn't going to stay…
Then maybe it was time for no one to stay.
He'd known some of them for a while now.
You could almost say they'd "bonded."
Before he realized it, he had already arrived at the front gate of the detention center.
Just as he was about to step in, a familiar silver-haired figure appeared in front of him.
"Evan," Kakashi said respectfully, "the Hokage has invited you to his house tonight."
Evan raised a brow.
"What now?"
"In two days, it'll be October 10," Kakashi explained.
"Sensei's still uneasy. He wants to go over everything with you and the Third Hokage, just to be sure."
He looked a bit helpless as he said it.
In his eyes, the Fourth Hokage was making a fuss over nothing.
Who would dare cause trouble inside Konoha?
"October 10…"
Evan's eyes narrowed.
Kushina's due date.
The Nine-Tails Night was finally almost here.
"'Us'?" he asked. "Who else is going?"
"The Third," Kakashi replied.
"I got it."
Once Kakashi's back vanished around the corner, Evan turned and walked into the prison.
The rowdy howls from within died at once.
The entire place went silent.
Night fell.
Konoha finally quieted down.
But in the darkness, something ominous was brewing.
This peace felt fragile—
like the calm before a storm.
High above the village, atop the Hokage Rock, a spiral distortion twisted briefly in the shadows before vanishing.
By the time Evan arrived at Minato's house, Sarutobi Hiruzen and his wife, Biwako, were already there.
Warm lamplight filled the room, casting a gentle glow over the long table set for dinner.
Counting Kakashi, there were six people in all.
Hiruzen looked older than ever.
The deaths of his longtime comrades had weighed heavily on him.
"Kushina, I know I've said this many times already," he began, voice unusually solemn.
"But I must remind you again today."
"The seal on the Nine-Tails will be at its weakest when your child is born."
"This happened to your predecessor as well—Lady Mito of the Uzumaki clan."
"That's why, in order to prevent any accident during the delivery, you must give birth in a secure barrier, away from the center of the village."
Kushina's face was slightly flushed but serious.
"I understand, Lord Third."
"I think Lord Third is right," Evan said, nodding along earnestly.
Under the table, though, his hand had already drifted to Kushina's leg, fingers pressing lightly through the fabric.
"But don't worry," he added calmly, "I'll be guarding outside. Nothing will happen."
Kushina's body jolted.
She turned her head and shot him a fierce glare, her eyes practically sparking.
Minato, oblivious, smiled gratefully.
"Thank you, Evan. I really appreciate it."
Evan's hand inched a little higher, testing her boundaries, his expression never changing.
"Don't mention it, Fourth. It's only natural."
Kushina bit down on her lip so hard it hurt, her face burning.
She didn't even dare kick him under the table.
All she could do was press her knees together as tightly as possible and endure.
Minato felt his wife's tension.
He patted her hand gently where it rested on the table.
"Don't worry," he said softly. "I'll be there with you when you give birth."
Kushina forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
She nodded slightly, trying to ignore the unwelcome pressure against her leg.
Hiruzen pretended not to notice anything amiss.
He continued, voice level:
"I'll arrange for an elite Anbu detail to accompany you on the day."
"But…"
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"Minato, I want you to limit the involvement of the Uchiha Police Force."
"This matter is top secret. As the Fourth Hokage, you understand the importance of this. Not a word must leak. Once the child is safely born, everything will be settled."
Minato's expression grew serious.
"I understand, Lord Third. You can count on me."
He couldn't deny he felt troubled.
Kushina was close friends with Mikoto.
He'd met Fugaku, too.
To him, the Uchiha seemed no more suspicious than anyone else.
But from the way the village treated them…
Sometimes, it seemed the Uchiha were always standing under a spotlight of suspicion.
He had no idea yet how much that unspoken distrust would cost them all.
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