It was another dark and windy night.
Hatake Kusuo was practicing his sword at the training ground and didn't realize how late it had gotten until the moon was high in the sky. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat on the ground to rest. Beside him was a bento box.
Kusuo lived alone and certainly didn't know how to make his own bento. This one had been made and delivered to him by Hinata.
About a month ago, Hinata had accidentally discovered his secret routine of coming here to practice late every night, and she had kept it in her heart ever since.
"Kusuo, if you practice so late every day, don't you get hungry?" Hinata had asked with a blush when she first found out.
"Ha! Hungry?" Kusuo had replied nonchalantly. "The training volume does make me hungry, but Ichiraku Ramen stays open pretty late. Three hot bowls of ramen are enough to fill my stomach."
How can he just eat ramen? Hinata had thought to herself. Even though it tastes good, it's not nutritious enough.
After that, using the excuse of thanking him for always taking care of her, she insisted on giving him a bento she had made. It had to be said, Hinata's cooking skills were no worse than some professional chefs, and Kusuo couldn't stop praising her creations.
From then on, a loving bento box became a part of Kusuo's daily routine after his training ended. It was always a complete meal with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, perfectly balanced in nutrition, color, aroma, and taste.
As he contentedly ate the bento from Hinata, Kusuo's mind wandered. He was six years old now. It had been just over a year since his system had awakened. In that year, his strength had skyrocketed. Whether it was his offensive techniques or his physical condition, he had undergone a qualitative improvement.
Furthermore, the shadow clone he left at the academy every day had, without him realizing it, become strong enough to easily defeat everyone in their grade. After another one of Sasuke's resentful challenges, the shadow clone had once again kicked him to the ground, leaving the latter in a state of deep despair. Sasuke knew very well that the one who had defeated him was just one of Hatake Kusuo's shadow clones.
When the clone dispersed at the end of the day and Kusuo received its memories, he couldn't help but smile. Why is it that every time I fight Sasuke, I have the urge to kick his butt? he wondered. Maybe I just have a little quirk when it comes to dealing with arrogant, stuck-up people like him.
Caw! Caw!
Suddenly, a massive flock of crows took to the sky. They flew overhead in a dark cloud, their cries filling the air.
Having become extremely sensitive to the presence of crows, Kusuo immediately shot to his feet.
"Itachi...?"
It seemed tonight was the so-called night of the massacre. He sighed internally. The village was likely already on a complete lockdown. There was no need to doubt Danzo's methods. When he orchestrated a conspiracy, he rarely left loose ends.
While the Third Hokage had chosen Itachi, Danzo, being a crafty old schemer, would never bet everything on one person. Root and ANBU had surely surrounded the entire village compound. This was partly to prevent any "fish from escaping the net," and partly to find Itachi's mysterious accomplice. After all, given the strength of the Uchiha clan—with rumors that Fugaku Uchiha had also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan—everyone knew that Itachi couldn't possibly annihilate the entire clan by himself.
"But that old fox Danzo... I bet he never imagined that Obito has Kamui, did he?"
The Uchiha Massacre... in the end, it still happened. The winds stirred by his butterfly wings had failed to change the course of the world. Of course, he had never intended to change it in the first place.
In a daze, he could smell the faint scent of blood in the air, and the nearly inaudible sounds of screams and shouts. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination.
Kusuo suddenly thought of the little girl Itachi had bought three-colored dango for. Then, he thought of Hinata.
To sacrifice those close to you, to resort to any means necessary for the sake of the village or a goal... he was sorry, but he couldn't do that.
At that moment, Kusuo's eyes became firm. He gently caressed the bento box in his hands. In his past life, his affection for Hinata was based on her appearance. But after coming to this world, he discovered that this girl had so many other gentle sides to her. When you experience that kind of gentleness firsthand, you become deeply captivated by it.
"For the sake of the so-called 'Will of Fire,' you'd even harm the woman you love?"
"Heh, if that's what it is, then what a bullshit 'Will of Fire' that is," Kusuo scoffed.
Although, Hinata is still too shy right now, he thought. I'll have to find a chance to 'train' her more thoroughly. She can't just blush and faint all the time. Otherwise... a lot of adult activities will be hard to manage!
With these complex thoughts swirling in his mind, Kusuo picked up his sword and the bento box and quietly returned home.
On his way back, he was surprised to find that the light in his cousin Kakashi's room next door was also on.
"Cousin's not asleep?" Kusuo was very puzzled by this. He wasn't sure if Kakashi, in the original story, knew about Itachi's mission. As someone from the Hokage's lineage, Kakashi should know more secrets than the average person. However, Itachi's true identity was classified as a top-level secret by the village.
"Kakashi probably knows something might happen to the Uchiha tonight, but he's likely ignorant of the specific details," he reasoned.
Shaking his head, Kusuo walked into his own room with a smile. He took a comfortable bath and lay on his bed, looking out the window.
Under his observation, the world was unfolding according to plan. His own strength was also steadily increasing.
Until one day... his sword could cleave mountains and sever seas with a single strike! A single strike to cut down the Sage of Six Paths!
At that time, he too could hold his sword up to Madara and say:
"Well? Do you wish to dance, too?"
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