They discussed the plan a while longer.
Most of the talking was done by Hiruzen and Minato; the others simply listened and occasionally nodded.
"Evan."
When things had settled, Hiruzen suddenly turned toward him.
"Is there some… special condition to practicing your sword style?"
He tapped his pipe lightly on the edge of his teacup.
"I've reviewed your Sword Manual these past few days. My swordsmanship has indeed improved, but it still feels… off."
"Even with the form polished, the power is nowhere near what you demonstrate."
"Pff—"
Evan couldn't help it. The sip of sake he'd just taken sprayed straight out.
Sitting directly opposite, Kakashi was caught full in the blast, his face and mask both splattered.
"Sorry, Kakashi, wrong pipe," Evan coughed hastily.
Kakashi froze for a second, then wordlessly pulled a napkin over his face and wiped down.
"No… it's fine," he said flatly.
Hiruzen frowned slightly.
"Is there a problem?"
"Evan-kun, is there something important we're missing?" Minato added.
"I tried training with it as well. The further I went, the stranger it felt…"
He thought a moment, brow creasing.
"It's like… there's something in my body actively blocking my progress, like resistance from within."
All eyes turned toward Evan.
Waiting.
Evan's expression went complicated.
Of course he knew why.
To truly complete the Demon-Banishing Sword Art, there was one… non-negotiable prerequisite.
If you wish to master this art, you must first… remove certain attachments.
He wondered absently just how many people in Konoha had that kind of resolve.
"I'm not sure either," he lied calmly. "Maybe it's a physique issue."
He shrugged.
"It might take testing it on more people to find the pattern."
Hiruzen and Minato exchanged a look and dropped it.
In their minds, this sword art was something Evan had forged in blood, tailor-made through his own path.
It was only natural others couldn't reach his level easily.
Perhaps, as he said, they'd have to experiment.
Use more people.
Try more bodies.
See who broke first.
After a while, seeing the details were mostly settled, Hiruzen rose.
"Then we'll leave it there for tonight."
"Kushina, Minato."
Biwako stood as well, giving Kushina a steady, almost motherly look.
"Use these next two days to prepare yourselves. We'll come personally to escort you on the day."
"Yes."
"Thank you, Lady Biwako."
Minato and Kakashi walked them out.
Evan stayed where he was.
As the door closed and footsteps receded, he turned to the pregnant redhead beside him.
He couldn't help sighing.
"Minato really is going all out for you."
"Hmph."
Kushina didn't bother hiding the annoyance on her face.
"Have you touched enough yet?"
"Why's my Kushina-nee suddenly all fierce again?" Evan chuckled softly, slipping an arm naturally around her waist.
He pulled her in close.
"Let go," she hissed, panicking.
"Minato'll be back any second."
"Shh. Just let me hold you for a bit. I've missed you."
"Missed你个头!"
Kushina glared, cheeks blazing.
"At dinner, in front of Minato and Lord Third and Lady Biwako, you actually dared to—"
She broke off, too embarrassed to say it out loud.
"It's not like they saw anything," he said innocently.
"You—!"
Under the warm yellow light of the room, Evan's arms tightened around her.
He pressed his cheek against her fiery red hair and inhaled deeply.
Her scent was warm, bright, and faintly sweet—
a fragrance he had learned to associate with stubborn resolve and hidden softness.
"Good sister," he murmured, "you remember our little agreement, right?"
Kushina's body trembled.
Memories flashed through her mind—
that night he'd backed her into his arms and teased her breathless, making her use her hands to "negotiate"…
Her heart pounded, her face burned.
"Don't… don't do this. Minato will be back any moment," she whispered.
"They'll be talking outside a while," Evan said, hand stroking her back in slow circles.
She breathlessly protested, voice as thin as a mosquito's wing.
"I said… only after it's all over. After Minato and the baby are safe… only then."
"Alright."
His hand slipped briefly over the curve of her hip, giving a light squeeze.
Soft. And stubborn.
"I'm not in a rush. What I want…" his voice dropped, "is a willing Kushina."
She bit hard on her lip, forcing herself not to react.
"Then when will you tell Minato about the attack on Konoha?" she demanded.
Evan's gaze shifted, calm.
"When he comes back, I'll tell him."
Finally, relief loosened the lines in her face.
Only if Minato knew what was coming could she rest easy at all.
No matter what she'd already compromised, Evan was still a man she didn't dare fully trust.
"Good sister," he said, eyes flicking to her lips, "seeing how cooperative you're being…"
"Don't you think I deserve a little reward?"
Kushina's expression tightened.
"What… what do you want?"
"You tell me."
She understood the implication immediately.
Her cheeks were already scarlet from earlier; now they deepened further, a tangled mess of shame and resignation.
She looked at that infuriatingly smug face, thought of the due date looming just two days away—
Now isn't the time to push him away…
Her chest squeezed.
In the end, she raised herself up on tiptoe.
Evan felt the awkward clumsiness of her initiative and, for once, gentled his hands.
He brushed a thumb over the corner of her eye, wiping away the tears she hadn't even realized had spilled.
Then, step by step, he guided her.
Taught her how to kiss.
Properly.
Kushina's heart was in her throat, terrified Minato would walk in at any second.
She didn't dare let it go too far, keeping every movement restrained and brief, breath ticking like a countdown in her lungs.
After a moment that stretched far too long, she shoved his wandering hand away and broke the contact, breath shaky.
She wiped hastily at the faint shine at the corner of her lips, and shot him a lethal glare.
This man…
the moment he got a taste, his hands went everywhere.
Not only did he forget she was pregnant, he seemed to enjoy teasing her because she was.
Too much.
Evan ignored the resentment blazing in her eyes.
His expression was one of pure satisfaction.
Soft, warm, and sweet.
Definitely addicting.
A little while later, Minato and Kakashi finally returned.
If he'd stayed out any longer, Evan thought dryly, Kushina and I would've finished the "negotiations" entirely.
"Sorry, Evan-kun. Lord Third and I talked a bit longer than expected. I kept you waiting," Minato said apologetically.
"It's fine," Evan replied with an easy smile that still held a trace of contentment.
"Actually, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh?" Minato asked, curious.
"It's about Kushina's delivery in two days," Evan said softly.
"Minato, I've seen the future."
The Fourth Hokage's expression gradually grew tense.
Ever since the village had learned Evan could "see" fragments of what was to come, none of his premonitions had been good news.
And this one was no exception.
"I saw your death," Evan said quietly.
"And Kushina's."
Later that night, under the silent sky, Evan stepped out of the Namikaze house.
He walked away at a leisurely pace.
His direction, however, was very clear:
Uchiha territory.
After all, everyone preferred a warm bed to an empty one.
He'd only taken a few turns when he sighed.
If the "tail" following him didn't show itself soon, he was going to end up dragging someone right into a widow's house with him.
He cleared his throat.
"Alright, come out," he called without turning around. "Why are you following me?"
"Sorry, Evan-dono."
Kakashi stepped out of the shadows, looking faintly embarrassed.
"Just Evan is fine," he replied. "We're classmates, remember? Don't be so stiff."
"Alright… Evan."
Kakashi's face remained cold, but his tone carried a hint of hesitation.
"I…"
Evan watched him fumble for words and rolled his eyes.
For this famously popular prodigy, his interest level was particularly low.
Or rather, he had almost no interest in men at all.
"Spit it out. Don't dither," he said bluntly.
He had no intention of picking at Kakashi's past.
He knew it far too well already.
From the death of his father, to the death of his friends…
"Tragic" barely scratched the surface.
"I…"
Kakashi finally lifted his head, Sharingan eye half-shadowed.
"I want to ask you for guidance."
He bowed deeply.
"To see… just how far behind I really am."
Once, he'd believed himself the strongest of his generation.
Then Evan had risen from the battlefield slaughter with a sword in his hand and turned that belief into a joke.
And now, with his sensei's child about to be born, and an unknown enemy lurking in the dark, Kakashi realized with bitter clarity—
He could barely help at all.
Evan's gaze grew thoughtful.
He remembered a time in the Academy when he could barely take one move from Kakashi.
Back when his own power had still been sleeping.
Maybe it was time to get that round back.
"Alright," he said. "I'll accept."
"Thank you," Kakashi said quietly, bowing again.
In the shadows nearby, faint outlines shifted.
Several Anbu shinobi were hidden in the darkness, witnessing everything.
Soft murmurs began to ripple among them.
"Is Captain Kakashi… challenging Evan-sama?"
"Has he got nothing better to do? That's asking for a beating."
"I'll bet fifty ryō he lasts at least twenty moves."
"Hey now, don't underestimate Captain Kakashi. Don't forget he has a Sharingan."
"Good point. Thirty moves, then."
"I'll stick with twenty. You haven't seen Evan-sama fight. He's… brutal."
"Five."
The quiet, crisp voice cut through the chatter.
Silence dropped like a stone.
Every masked face turned toward the owner of the voice—
a slim figure with long, lavender hair.
"Yugao, are you sure?" one of them whispered, stunned.
Uzuki Yugao kept her gaze on Evan.
The memory of his "training" still lingered on her skin, as vivid as steel.
Her voice was icy.
"I bet 1000 ryō Captain Kakashi loses in five moves."
"You're kidding."
"Come on, he's not that weak."
"Even against the Hokage, as long as he doesn't use Flying Thunder God, Captain Kakashi can still trade a few blows."
"I feel like I've heard that before… 'trade a few blows'…"
"Ha! Yugao suddenly turned into a rich lady. She's just giving us free money."
"Then let's raise the stakes. I'll put down 1000 on at least twenty moves."
"Count me in."
"Me too."
Yugao ignored their banter.
In her mind's eye, she saw again that day when Evan had used his hand like a blade against her—
the speed,
the precision.
A faint blush crept beneath her mask.
"Tch."
She quietly clicked her tongue and shook her head.
Her legs felt… oddly weak.
"Please, use your full strength, Evan-kun," Kakashi said earnestly, bowing again.
Evan looked at him, expression turning strange.
You want me to go all out?
If I summon the giant golden avatar and smash you with one punch, you won't even have a corpse left.
"Come on, then."
The words had barely left his mouth before Kakashi's figure blurred and vanished.
A split second later, Evan felt a heavy gust of wind at his back.
He wasn't surprised.
Kakashi wasn't some random jōnin.
He'd been in Anbu long enough that assassination was second nature, his instincts honed to a razor edge.
His Sharingan was already active.
Against that kind of explosive speed, most shinobi would be hard-pressed to react.
Evan, however, simply smiled and extended his hand—
not backward, but toward the darkness at an angle.
"Come."
Come?
Kakashi froze mid-strike.
The watching Anbu all blinked.
The only one who suddenly felt a bad premonition was Yugao.
She saw exactly where Evan's hand was pointed.
By the time she opened her mouth, it was too late.
The sword strapped to her back shuddered–
then flew free of its sheath in a streak of steel.
"…!"
Even she was stunned.
He knew we were here the whole time?
And he can control others' weapons as well?
What is this ability…
The blade whistled through the air, even faster than Kakashi's charge, and sailed obediently into Evan's hand.
His fingers closed around the hilt with casual familiarity.
Only then did he turn, bringing the blade around in a smooth, unhurried arc.
The strike went straight for Kakashi's throat.
Kakashi's own kunai slashed through empty air.
A moment later, the sword pierced his neck cleanly.
Puff.
The body burst into smoke.
A shadow clone.
"Whew. Scared me for a second."
"If that had been the real deal, I would've started to doubt Captain Kakashi a little…"
"That was so fast. There was no way to defend against that strike."
"Captain Kakashi probably anticipated that and used a clone in advance."
"Against Evan-sama, you really can't get close. You won't stop that sword."
The hidden Anbu whispered to each other in awe, trying to calm the anxiety creeping up their spines.
"Raikiri…"
Crackling lightning flared to life nearby.
Kakashi's voice echoed from another angle, low and focused.
Chakra roared through his arm as the high-speed thrust of his signature technique began to form.
"He's using Raikiri right away?"
"Well, his opponent is Evan-sama…"
"How's he going to respond? That's Captain Kakashi's best technique."
"Wait—where did Evan-sama go?"
The Anbu went silent again.
The last they'd seen, Evan had just skewered a clone.
In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
"There."
Yugao's lips twitched under her mask as she pointed.
The others followed her gaze—and froze.
Kakashi stood with Raikiri still blazing in his hand, lightning shrieking.
But he didn't dare move.
A sword was pressed to his neck, edge so close to his jugular there was barely half a finger's breadth of air between.
When did he…?
Why didn't I sense anything?
Kakashi's mind reeled.
"Nice technique," Evan said calmly.
"No hand seals, high penetration. The concept is good."
"Shame the wind-up is too long."
"And you have to stand there and charge it up."
Kakashi's shoulders slumped slightly as he let the Raikiri fizzle out.
"So I can't even get a ninjutsu off in front of him…"
Evan lowered the blade and spun it lazily in his hand, the metal singing.
"Why don't you use a sword, Kakashi?"
He tilted his head.
"If you had, at least you could've met my strike just now."
"I…"
Kakashi opened his mouth but couldn't push any words out.
"I remember your father," Evan said lightly.
"The White Fang of Konoha. A true swordmaster."
Kakashi flinched as if stabbed.
Silence spread like frost.
Evan clicked his tongue.
"If you want to beat me, ninjutsu alone won't cut it," he said, turning away.
"When it comes to killing—
nothing's faster than a blade."
"Think about it yourself. I'm heading off."
He tossed the sword up without looking.
It spun through the air like a flash of light and slid perfectly back into the sheath on Yugao's back, as if it had never left.
She shivered.
The Anbu fell utterly silent.
Somewhere in the dark, bets were being quietly recalculated.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
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