Read ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv at unhinged_uchiha
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Patriarch's Mansion, Uchiha Compound, Konohagakure
Having spent a 'fruitful' night with Natsuhi, Kanzou left the hot spring town early in the morning after taking a morning dip in the hot water. Since the town itself wasn't too far from Konoha, he was back within the next few hours and was currently making his way toward his house.
As soon as he walked through the entrance, he spotted Mikoto wearing a maid uniform, watering the flowers in the garden. Of course, as he noticed her, she too turned her head and spotted him.
"Kanzou-sama!" she exclaimed, her voice a mix of relief and excitement that he was finally back. She dropped the watering can in her hand and rushed toward him.
"You are back..." she murmured, coming to his side. She hesitated for a brief moment before burying her face in his chest, hugging him tightly.
Kanzou's lips curved into a small smile as he greeted her, caressing her back. 'Having a devoted woman wait for your return home is also very pleasing...' he thought, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Of course, it wasn't just Mikoto who sensed his arrival.
High up in one of the tall trees surrounding his mansion, a figure wearing a mask remained perfectly still, hidden among the branches and leaves. Their eyes followed Kanzou's every movement as he walked through the entrance and greeted Mikoto.
But that figure did nothing. They remained where they were, observing quietly without making a single sound or movement.
Meanwhile, Kanzou led Mikoto into the house, "Come on, let's go inside."
"Hmm," she hummed in response, and allowed herself to be led by him.
As the door of the house closed behind them, Mikoto took the travel cloak he was wearing.
While he removed his shinobi sandals, she looked through the cloak to see if it was dirty or needed cleaning. She didn't notice the presence of dirt all that much, but she noticed a few distinct marks on the cloak.
'These are...' she frowned in doubt and suspicion as her heartbeat became rapid. She looked closely at those reddish marks and even pressed the fabric close to her neck to smell the faint scent coming from the red marks.
"Lipstick... marks...?!" she murmured.
Being a woman herself, how could she not determine that those marks were? Noticing them on his cloak, Mikoto's heart thudded violently as she turned her eyes to him.
Feeling her gaze, Kanzou raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong...?"
"Kanzou-sama... you... w-why do you have these marks on y-your cloak...? Were you... were you with a..." she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, too afraid and unwilling to hear the answer.
Kanzou tilted his head slightly and noticed the lipstick marks.
"I guess they got on my cloak, huh?" he murmured casually.
"These marks... they must have gotten here as an accident, right?" Mikoto asked, her voice trembling with fragile hope. She desperately wanted him to agree, to say it was just an accident, that he had bumped into someone, or give any weak, suspicious excuse.
Even if it was obviously a lie, she would still believe it and accept that answer rather than hearing what she was truly afraid of.
But Kanzou shook his head. "It was not an accident."
He could see the hope in her eyes, the silent plea for him to lie or soften the blow. But he had no intention of hiding what he did with Natsuhi from Mikoto. Therefore, without hiding anything, he told her the truth directly, "I was out at a hot spring with one of my women. These must have been left when we were making out..."
"With a... woman... at a hot spring... making out...?" Mikoto mumbled. Her lips quivered as her heart sank heavily at his admission of what he was doing.
She didn't need to think too much about what he and the woman who stayed with him had done. Well… he didn't particularly sugarcoat it or leave anything to the imagination. He had made it pretty clear to her exactly what the two of them had done.
Her fingers tightened around the cloak as she stared at the faint reddish lipstick marks. The faint scent from them now felt suffocating. Her throat tightened painfully, and for a moment, a sharp sting burned behind her eyes.
She stood frozen in place, her fingers clutching his cloak tightly as a complicated mix of emotions surged inside her: jealousy, pain, humiliation… betrayal...
Without her even realizing it, tears welled up in her eyes and started to fall down her cheeks, tracing silent paths along her skin.
But... those tears were really useless.
As his maid, as a canary locked in a cage, she is nothing more than his possession. What Kanzou did, where he goes, and which women he sleeps with. These things are not under her control.
He had made it absolutely clear to her that she had no right to demand fidelity, no right to complain, and certainly no right to stop him.
She was simply one of the many women who warmed his bed. Nothing more.
She knows that if she wishes to stay with him, she has to accept his rules; otherwise, she could leave. He had no intention of keeping her.
As for leaving him...? Is that even a question? She has reached a point where she can't even properly function in his absence... what would she do with leaving him? So... staying with him is her only choice; anything else isn't even worth considering. To stay with him, she knew that she had no choice but to accept this reality of him coming home after sleeping with another woman.
Still, the pain in her chest that she felt when faced with his reality was sharp and heavy.
A deep sadness mixed with helplessness washed over her.
The thought of him passionately embracing another woman while she waited alone in his house, not having slept the entire night… it made her feel utterly distraught.
Yet no matter how much it hurt, she felt completely powerless. She had no agency, no authority, no choice but to accept it. All she could do was stand there, frozen against the wall, eyes lowered, unable to react or protest.
Kanzou noticed her reaction immediately. He reached out, cupped her chin, and lifted her face, ordering her, "Look at me."
She had no choice but to look at him with her wet, tearful eyes.
"What's wrong, Mikoto? Do you have something to say?" he asked, looking at her, wondering if she'd complain and bitch about it.
She bit her lip hard. She had many things to say... but what could she say?
"I… I know I don't have the right to complain…" she murmured, voice shaking. "You have made your intentions clear to me... but… knowing you were with another woman all night… I... I…"
She looked down again at the lipstick marks on his cloak, her fingers trembling in pain and distraught. It was really too difficult and painful to accept the man she intended to marry, involving himself with other women.
Kanzou's lips curved into a faint smile. He pulled her closer by the waist, pressing her body against his.
There was no resistance from her as she was embraced. But even with him wrapping his arms around her, that didn't stop her trembling or the silent tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Shhh... don't think too much about it. Let yourself slowly get used to this reality with time..." he whispered gently in her ear, his hand stroking her back in slow, soothing motions.
"..." She didn't know how to respond and accepted his words with a sigh. Kanzou himself doesn't intend to stop, and she can't bring herself to separate from him. This left her with no choice but to accept her reality. There really was no other way, and she could only leave things to time.
This kind of reality was indeed something she could only get used to with time.
"If it makes you feel better... I'll let you know that so far, among all the women I am currently involved with, you are the only one who has the option and potential of evolving from a canary to a black swan and becoming qualified to be my wife..." he added softly.
"I... only... me? Is that true?" she mumbled takenaback.
"Why would I lie to you?" he shrugged. "Of course, you aren't worthy enough yet... but you have the potential..."
Of course, there were other women as well… such as Hazuki, who was currently not his woman but would become one in the near future, and then there was also Kushina, whom he wanted to target… and perhaps more in the future. But they weren't his women at the moment.
Among the women who already belonged to him, Mikoto was indeed the only one with that kind of potential.
Mikoto's heart trembled violently.
For a brief moment, the sharp pain in her chest eased, replaced by a warm, fluttering feeling.
The thought that despite having other women, he only considered her a candidate for his future wife made Mikoto feel slightly less distraught.
It made her feel that he valued her more than any other woman around him.
While that wasn't exactly what she wanted, as being the only woman he valued would be infinitely better, considering the painful reality she was facing, it still gave her a small sliver of hope.
But that hope was quickly drowned out by helplessness. "But how do I even evolve...?"
She had been living with him for several days now, yet she still hadn't figured out how to evolve or what exactly he expected from her.
"What you are lacking the most is strength... You have to work on that..." he responded lightly.
Aside from strength, there were also several other factors, or rather, peculiar tastes that the current Mikoto lacked, things he'd like his wife to have. Such as an unhinged, Yandere-type personality, a broken and devoted mind that preferred his thoughts, desire, pleasure, and so on above everything else, including her own jealousy, anger, desire, wants, and so on. Still, those traits could be groomed slowly over time. The major flaw right now was still her strength.
"Strength, huh...?" Mikoto mumbled, feeling even more helpless. "I don't even know if I can get stronger from this point..."
In a sense, she had already reached her peak. Progressing beyond this point was not easy for her. Even if she trained a lot, at best, she would only maintain her current strength and improve by a little bit. Obviously, that wouldn't give her the kind of power she would need to be considered truly worthy in his eyes.
Kanzou's lips curved as he looked at her, and slid her sidelock behind her ear before leaning into her ear, speaking, "There is indeed a way... the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"The Mangekyō Sharingan...?" Mikoto's heart thudded again, quickening as she was reminded of the legendary eyes that the Uchihas have the potential of awakening in their blood.
"Right... the Mangekyō Sharingan..." she murmured, realizing that she was forgetting this.
With those legendary eyes, she'd have the power... and when she has the power, she'd evolve and become worthy of becoming his wife, right?
But how to evolve her eyes and awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan… that was not something she knew. That information wasn't all that well-known within the Clan. Fortunately for her, the man in front of her already had a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan and could tell her how to awaken them, right?
"Do you wish to know how to awaken these eyes...?" Kanzou asked, activating his Mangekyō Sharingan as he looked at her.
Mikoto gulped, feeling the immense pressure oozing out from those crimson eyes with their intricate patterns. She found it difficult to stare at them directly and trembled a little. If not for the fact that Kanzou was holding her, she might have even felt her legs go weak.
That's how much oppressive power they seemed to exude.
With those kinds of eyes… if she awakened them, she'd surely evolve from a powerless canary into a devoted Black Swan, becoming worthy of being his wife.
She felt certain of it. Tightening her fingers on his clothes, she nodded, her breath a little short. "I... I want to know... how to... awaken these eyes..."
"The Mangekyō Sharingan is usually awakened with the tears of blood that flow down our eyes with the death of people close to us..." Kanzou said, matter-of-factly.
"The death of people close to us..." Mikoto repeated softly, her voice barely above a whisper, as the weight of his words settled over her and the faces of people close to her flashed through her mind.
"That's right..." he continued, his tone turning darker, more intimate. "The death of someone very close to us emotionally… and would make us feel distraught could trigger the awakening... now this person could be anyone... let's say a friend... lover... sibling... parents... or perhaps someone older…" he paused, his voice becoming more devilish, tempting, "...like grandfather..."
"!!!" Mikoto's breath caught in her throat as the implication of his words sank in.
'So-Sofu-sama?'
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At the Hokage Building—
Hiruzen was listening attentively to Jiraiya's report.
In fact, Jiraiya and his squad had already returned to the village the previous night, but because it was already quite late, the mission report had not been given immediately, and they had dispersed. Anyway, it wasn't a particularly important mission, so the report was delayed until the next morning.
Now, Jiraiya had come alone to the Hokage Building to deliver it.
It was just that, much to his surprise, more than the mission details, Hiruzen cared about the other information Jiraiya had revealed to him.
"You spotted... Uchiha Kanzou with some woman in that hot spring town?" questioned Hiruzen with a deep frown, his pipe momentarily forgotten in his hand.
Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah..."
"Are you absolutely certain that it was... Uchiha Kanzou?" Hiruzen asked again, his tone serious.
Jiraiya shrugged, nodding once more. "I am quite certain that it was him..."
"Did you confirm it yourself...?" Hiruzen pressed for the third time. The reason he was repeatedly asking was that he hadn't received any report of Uchiha Kanzou leaving the village yesterday… and yet Jiraiya was telling him that the Uchiha Patriarch was outside Konoha?
Moreover, this was the second time already. Kanzou had left the village, and he, the Hokage, didn't even know!
How could this be tolerated?
Jiraiya looked a little unhappy. "Old man... are you doubting me? Although I didn't 'confirm' if it was him... still... how could I not recognize the Uchiha Patriarch?"
Hiruzen became silent for a moment before asking, "Who was he with? Uchiha Mikoto? Uchiha Hazuki?"
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head. "She was not Uchiha Mikoto..."
As one of the most famous beauties of the village, Jiraiya certainly recognized Uchiha Mikoto. As for Uchiha Hazuki… he wasn't entirely certain who she was. Because Hazuki is still quite young and relatively low-key, despite being a beauty herself, she hadn't yet entered Jiraiya's radar.
Hiruzen immediately ordered the ANBU, "Bring the files of the women who have been involved around Uchiha Kanzou..."
"Hai... Hokage-sama," The spider-masked ANBU nodded and soon returned with a few files.
Hiruzen opened one of the files and showed it to Jiraiya. "This is... Uchiha Hazuki..."
Looking at the photo of the teenage girl with dark grey hair, Jiraiya immediately shook his head. "No... It's not her. That woman had maroon hair... and she is probably a few years older than him."
"Maroon hair and a few years older than him?" Hiruzen murmured with a frown.
'Maroon hair?' The expression of the ANBU flickered underneath the spider-masked, but it was not noticed by Hiruzen or Jiraiya.
Hiruzen opened two other files. One was of a kunoichi with blonde hair and round spectacles, also a few years older than Kanzou and was part of the same squad as him, while the other was of a middle-aged purple-haired woman who was actually Kanzou's Jōnin Sensei, and had already been dead for a few years. Clearly, the woman Jiraiya had spotted was neither of them.
"I think she is not even a resident of Konoha..." Jiraiya added. If a woman with that kind of beauty and figure were a resident of Konoha, he would have most certainly remembered her. He knew every beautiful woman in the village… well, he had also peeked at a majority of them while they bathed. But he had clearly not seen that maroon-haired beauty before last night.
"Not a resident of Konoha..." Hiruzen murmured, his brow furrowing deeper. He leaned forward slightly in his seat and asked, "What was Uchiha Kanzou and this maroon-haired woman doing?"
Jiraiya scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Actually... I didn't follow them..." he was considering doing that, but in the end, he didn't...
Hiruzen looked visibly disappointed. "I see..." However, he still thought of something, "But... you were in that Izakaya... surely Uchiha Kanzou would have noticed you... So, how did he act upon spotting you? Did he try to cover up something, get worried, or something like that...
Jiraiya scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Actually... I didn't follow them..." He had considered doing that, but in the end, he hadn't.
Hiruzen looked visibly disappointed. "I see..." However, he still thought of something and asked, "But... you were in that izakaya... surely Uchiha Kanzou would have noticed you. So how did he act upon realizing that you spotted him? Did he try to cover up something, get worried, or something like that?"
Jiraiya scratched his cheek awkwardly again. "I was sitting in one of the corners, and I was also using transformation jutsu, so Uchiha Kanzou probably didn't even notice me..."
He also hadn't had any interaction with Kanzou the entire time. He had only been present for that brief moment when Kanzou arrived, slapped the yakuza men who were trying to harass the woman, and took her away from the izakaya. After that, what happened… he didn't know.
"Is that so?" Hiruzen was even more disappointed… and felt a little annoyed. If Jiraiya had spotted Kanzou with a woman, especially a beautiful woman who wasn't from Konoha, couldn't he have done something about it? But no, he had to act all saintly at that time...
What Hiruzen didn't know was that Jiraiya had indeed considered doing that… however, in the end he hadn't. And honestly, Jiraiya should be glad he didn't, because he might have actually died had he tried… or maybe been traumatized for the rest of his life.
Unaware of the fact that he had dodged a bullet, Jiraiya added after a short pause, "But... I don't think it's all that difficult to guess. Their brief interaction… it seemed to give the vibe of lovers or something..."
He still remembered the expression the maroon-haired woman had made when she was held by Kanzou, and the emotions visible in her eyes when she looked at him. That kind of look… he had seen it in Tsunade's eyes when she talked about or was with Katō Dan.
That expression made him feel sort of miserable, pathetic, and green... so how could he not recognize it? It was the expression of a woman in love and devotion.
"Lovers?" Hiruzen was taken aback, his eyes narrowing as he processed the implication. "Could it be... Uchiha Kanzou is having a secret affair?"
The idea of Uchiha Kanzou having a secret affair outside the village surprised him.
"That's what it looked like... and I thought I should tell you just in case..." Jiraiya said, shrugging lightly.
Hiruzen nodded slowly, his expression serious. "Yeah... you did well to tell me." Even if it turned out to be nothing, he felt the need to keep track of Uchiha Kanzou's movements. The Uchiha Patriarch's actions outside the village without any prior report were concerning.
"Well... I've given you the mission report, and I also gave you this information. Since there's nothing else to do, I'll take my leave..." A lecherous smile spread across his face as he thought about heading to the public bathhouse to carry out the research work he had failed to complete the previous night.
"Oh…" but before he left, he stopped and asked another question. "By the way... old man, when is Uzumaki Kushina returning to the village...?"
Hearing that question, the spider-masked ANBU's eyes flickered for a brief moment. The reaction was quickly hidden, but their ears perked up slightly, listening intently.
Hiruzen stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Should take some time..." He asked casually, "Why do you ask?"
Jiraiya shrugged again. "Minato has been looking forward to seeing her..."
Hiruzen smiled faintly. "He'll have to wait for a while..."
Jiraiya nodded. "I see..." He asked one more thing, "Is the training giving any result...?"
Hiruzen sighed. "Difficult to say... the reports haven't been positive."
"Well... I see..." Jiraiya murmured. Then, without asking anything else, he turned to leave. "Then I'll take my leave..."
Hiruzen didn't stop him.
After Jiraiya left, Hiruzen was left alone in the office. There was also the spider-masked ANBU, but that presence was largely ignored as Hiruzen stood up from his chair and walked over to the window, looking out at the village below.
'Uchiha Kanzou might be having an affair with a woman not of Konoha...' he thought, his expression turning grave as he stroked his beard slowly.
Whoever that woman is… if it's just a normal civilian woman from the Land of Fire, then that's not really much of a concern. But if that woman is from another shinobi village… a spy or an agent or something similar… then there was a real possibility that Uchiha Kanzou might be bringing danger to the village or even leaking sensitive information.
'If that is really the case… then Uchiha Kanzou might be a traitor…' Hiruzen had such an idea and felt that there were positives and negatives to the situation.
Although the village might indeed be in danger, it's also true that if Kanzou is a traitor, then his threat could be resolved at once. It's just that this was Uchiha Kanzou… who was not only unhinged and unrestrained but also the Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan. Therefore, he knew that he'd have to be extremely careful, because if not, the matter could backfire spectacularly. After all, accusing one of the heroes of the Second Great Shinobi War of being a traitor would require solid proof. Otherwise, it was very dangerous.
Yet, Hiruzen also thought that if played right, it could work greatly in his favor and completely resolve the threat of Uchiha Kanzou. Because if Kanzou was accused of being a traitor to the village… then… it would be easier to turn the entire village against him and his Uchiha Clan.
He stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment, contemplating whether to make that move, before making his decision.
He turned slightly and ordered the spider-masked ANBU standing silently in the corner, "Investigate that matter… find out who the woman is and if possible, gather some evidence of Uchiha Kanzou interacting with her. You may also capture her and torture out information if necessary."
"I see, Hokage-sama," the ANBU nodded once and vanished from the office, disappearing without a sound to carry out the order.
Hiruzen remained by the window, thinking more, carefully considering the alternate possibility, 'But if that woman is not a spy or an agent from another nation... instead, just an ordinary beautiful woman... then...'
He pondered if there would still be an opportunity to make use of this information… of Kanzou's possible secret… to bring him down somehow?
And for a mind of his calibre, it wasn't all that difficult to think of something.
'Uchiha Tadayoshi... he'd surely withdraw his support and turn against Uchiha Kanzou if he were to learn of Uchiha Kanzou's secret affair, right?' Hiruzen wondered.
Uchiha Tadayoshi supported Kanzou because his granddaughter and Kanzou were in a relationship.
Mikoto had publicly confessed her feelings for him, and he had accepted those feelings. Their relationship is so deep that Mikoto had even moved in with Kanzou and had been living in that same house despite not being married to him.
But if a crack formed between the two of them, because of a secret affair. If it turns out that Kanzou is a cheater secretly involved with other women behind Mikoto's back, then things would surely become difficult for him, right?
At that time, the Uchiha Clan, which had started uniting under Kanzou's banner, would also get divided...
'It would be a chance for someone else to take over the Uchiha Clan...' he thought, his eyes narrowing wit
Having made his decision, he summoned another ANBU ninja.
The Eagle-masked ANBU appeared instantly and kneeled before Hiruzen.
"Spread a rumor through the village," Hiruzen began, his voice low and deliberate. "Make sure it reaches the ears of the Uchiha Clan members, especially Uchiha Tadayoshi. Let it be known that Uchiha Kanzou has been seen being intimate with a mysterious woman in the hot spring town… a woman who is not Uchiha Mikoto. Imply that the Uchiha Patriarch is having a secret affair behind Uchiha Mikoto's back."
The ANBU remained silent, absorbing the order without question.
"Be subtle," Hiruzen continued. "Make it sound like idle gossip at first, but ensure it spreads naturally. I want the Uchiha... especially Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Tadayoshi to start doubting their young Patriarch."
"Hai, Hokage-sama," the Eagle-masked ANBU replied before vanishing from the office to carry out the task.
Hiruzen remained standing by the window, staring out at the village with a thoughtful, calculating expression. A quiet sigh escaped him as he murmured to himself, "Let's see how you handle this, Uchiha Kanzou…"
Unaware of what scheme was being cooked up in the Hokage Building, Kanzou was currently sleeping blissfully in the bedroom of his house while holding a naked, sweaty Mikoto in his arms, both of them catching up on the sleep they hadn't gotten the entire night.
Zzzzz... fuuuhh...
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A/N:
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Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv: unhinged_uchiha
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