Kikyō Mountain, midway up the slope—
a hunter's mountain lodge.
The wooden house was simple.
The lamplight was dim.
Soon, the main hall was crowded with more than a dozen people. Beside the round table lay a "mummy-like" wounded man.
"Hahaha, Captain Yinyue, please take a seat!
It's been five years since you saved us.
Time really flies!"
Jaeger was brimming with excitement. Holding a teapot, he flipped over teacups and poured tea for the Uchiha seated at the table, inviting Yinyue to sit in the main seat.
Yinyue sat down. Beside him, Mikoto studied his profile with an unusual gaze.
In her heart, Mikoto was evaluating Yinyue.
Back in the forest, the Uchiha squad could have eliminated these five rogue ninjas, yet because Yinyue knew them, he chose not to act.
On the road of escape, exposing one's trail essentially meant inviting enormous trouble.
The optimal solution would have been to kill them all, dispose of the bodies, and leave silently.
"He still has a bottom line."
Mikoto noticed Yinyue suddenly turn his head toward her. She calmly withdrew her gaze, composed and confident, maintaining the dignity of a noblewoman as she lifted her teacup.
"Hiss… hot!"
Her jade-like fingers touched the cup, and she quickly pulled them back. In Yinyue's eyes, much of her noble aura instantly vanished.
Ever since Yinyue had forcibly fed her, the last shred of her dignity had been trampled.
Mikoto felt as though she had returned to her youthful days after graduating from the ninja academy—unsure what mindset or attitude she should adopt when facing a man who ignored her pride, whose cold and aloof nature stood above her own.
Clearly, he was younger than her.
Yet under the misunderstandings and strange attitudes of the other Uchiha, Mikoto found herself unable to help but subconsciously pay attention to this man.
Even though Fugaku had only just died.
Her brows drooped, her expression dim. Her slender hands tugged lightly at her skirt hem, confusion filling her again.
Yinyue withdrew his gaze and noticed that the other Uchiha were all looking at him.
They quickly averted their eyes—each of them curious about what kind of past Captain Yinyue shared with the clan matron… and with these Kirigakure rogue ninjas.
"Hehehe!"
Jaeger grinned honestly.
Yinyue's expression remained calm as he looked at him.
Memories surfaced.
These so-called "rogue ninjas" were, in truth, ordinary refugees who had fled from the Land of Frost during the Third Great Ninja War.
Their homeland had been destroyed by the war between the Five Great Nations. Their food supplies were forcibly requisitioned by Konoha after it invaded the Land of Frost.
Farmland was trampled repeatedly by ninja forces from various villages. After autumn, not a single grain was harvested. Of Jaeger's family of five, only Jaeger survived.
Five winters ago, he drifted to the borders of the Land of Fire.
He gathered over a dozen people.
Driven by war and starvation, they planned to band together and rob other refugees.
At that time, rogue ninjas were rampant along the Land of Fire's borders. Even the captain of the Uchiha Police Force had been dispatched by Konoha's higher-ups to suppress them.
By coincidence—
That was also the first time Jaeger had led ordinary refugees to pose as "rogue ninjas."
And they ran straight into Yinyue, who was wearing plain clothes but was in fact the captain of the Police Force.
Yinyue did not kill them.
Instead, he patiently listened to their stories.
Take Jaeger, for example—
When he first fled, he still had money. But he was tricked by a neighbor into "investing" in a financial product issued by a Kirigakure bank, hoping to profit from the war.
It turned out to be a ninja-world financial scam.
The neighbor ran off with the money.
Jaeger was reduced to a refugee. Harboring resentment toward the rich, he planned to rob merchants and become a bandit.
But when he truly charged into a shop with a kitchen knife, he saw a filthy, emaciated mother breastfeeding an infant no bigger than a monkey.
Gritting his teeth, Jaeger put down the knife, painfully caught a rat instead, and cooked a pot of rat meat soup for the mother and child before leaving.
After that,
Jaeger fled to the Land of Fire's border. He thought that robbing foreigners might ease his conscience. Just as he was about to expand his operations—
He encountered Yinyue and his group.
"Are you still the same as before?"
After a long silence, Yinyue finally asked.
Jaeger placed the Kirigakure rogue ninja forehead protector on the table and laughed heartily.
"How could we be, Captain Yinyue!
After being moved by you,
we followed your advice and came to this mountain, becoming hunters and living by hunting.
This place is incredibly rich.
There are many animals in the mountains.
We're living quite well now!
It's all thanks to your guidance.
You saved us!"
"Wait—Mr. Jaeger, you should explain what happened back then first. You're chatting away and we don't understand anything!"
Izumi spoke timidly, hesitating as she interrupted.
The other Uchiha nodded in agreement.
Kirigakure rogue ninja headbands.
Hunters in the mountains.
It was all far too convoluted.
Izumi didn't dare question Yinyue directly, but she knew he wouldn't mind her asking Jaeger.
"Alright, then I'll start from the beginning!"
Jaeger perked up, recalling his memories before laying out the story for everyone.
During this time, Yinyue instructed Nanfeng to take two teammates into Kikyō City before it grew too late, to "invite" a doctor over.
They were also to purchase medicine, long-lasting food, essential supplies for the escape, and a mountain map of the Land of Fire's borders.
Nanfeng wanted to stay and hear the story, but duty came first. Reluctantly, he left with his men.
About the time it took to drink a cup of tea,
Jaeger finished his story, proud of himself, convinced he had talent as a film director or scriptwriter.
Only then did the Uchiha fully understand Jaeger's impoverished, difficult, ice-walking, tragic, and unlucky life.
Mikoto glanced sideways at Yinyue's profile and added another note to her internal evaluation of him:
"Kind?"
The other Uchiha felt the same.
Meeting Yinyue had been Jaeger's luck.
Had it been them—or any other Konoha ninja—no one would have cared about Jaeger's past. They would have killed them as rogue ninjas and collected the mission reward.
Therefore—
Captain Yinyue truly was gentle and kind.
"So those Kirigakure headbands were picked up from the battlefield?
Honestly, with luck this bad, what are you even proud of?"
Izumi raised her brows. She felt this guy was just as bad at decision-making as she was!
Always making the worst possible choice at the critical moment—
Until he met Yinyue.
"Captain Yinyue, are you leaving right away?"
Jaeger looked at him seriously.
"It's already so dark. Stay here tonight. I'll make dinner for you. Leave tomorrow morning!"
Yinyue swept his gaze over the people at the table.
The Uchiha were exhausted—dusty, sleepless, and on the run for nearly three days. Weariness showed clearly in their eyes. They longed to rest for a night.
"Thank you, but we must leave immediately."
Yinyue looked at Jaeger, his tone calm.
The longing in the Uchiha's eyes instantly faded. No one spoke.
They were fugitives.
Not on a picnic.
If they stayed, trouble would come—and it would drag these refugee hunters down with them.
Besides, these people were unlucky enough already.
Yinyue hated bringing trouble to others. Originally, he had planned to part ways with Jaeger directly in the forest.
But Jaeger's hospitality had been hard to refuse.
Moreover—
They truly needed a place to rest briefly.
"Rest quickly. Once Nanfeng returns, we move out again."
Yinyue said lightly.
"Alright, I'll prepare some food for everyone."
Jaeger smiled in relief and headed toward the kitchen.
Izumi suddenly asked,
"Mr. Jaeger, when you go out hunting, why do you wear Kirigakure rogue ninja headbands?"
At this moment, the weak Tamao, lying on the floor, spoke up:
"What else could it be for? Obviously to intimidate enemies!"
Hearing this, the Uchiha all turned their heads in unison to look at the forgotten Tamao.
Jaeger laughed loudly.
"This gentleman is right. There are still many vicious war refugees nearby. If we don't disguise ourselves as rogue ninjas, we can't intimidate them when we run into them."
With that, Jaeger entered the inner room.
"Waaah—waaah—waaah!"
Suddenly, a loud, piercing baby's cry shattered the quiet night, echoing through the wooden house.
The Uchiha were startled.
When Mikoto heard the cry, something deep within her was triggered. She abruptly looked toward the bedroom.
Her sorrow deepened—she missed Sasuke.
Izumi frowned.
Yinyue remained as steady as a mountain, calmly drinking tea. From the moment he entered, he had already judged from the shoes, furniture, and baby cushions that this was a household of three.
"Sorry, sorry."
Afraid of disturbing the guests, Jaeger quickly returned from the bedroom, leading a woman into the hall.
She had delicate features, wore a red scarf, and had waist-length black hair partially covering her clean face. She anxiously soothed the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.
"Captain Yinyue, this is my wife, Sanli, whom I married last year. The child hasn't been named yet—it's a boy!"
Jaeger introduced his family with a blissful expression.
Yinyue smiled back at them.
"Heh… you're this unlucky and miserable, yet you still managed to get married and have a child.
Me? I proposed to a Hyūga clan nurse at Konoha Hospital. She didn't even acknowledge me—just told me to get lost.
Is it just because I'm mentally ill?
Who are you looking down on, huh?!"
Uchiha Tamao cursed loudly.
(End of Chapter )