Chapter 11 – The Last Uchiha and the Deal in the Dark
In the end, Aike still dragged Izumi away from the Hyūga compound.
Hinata was simply too young right now.
Raising a loli sounded fun, but the hassle outweighed the reward.
After weighing pros and cons, he decided to postpone the recruitment until the canon timeline officially kicked off.
Of course, he didn't leave empty-handed.
While little Hinata was resting, he slipped a few light psychological suggestions into her mind:
Train hard.
Don't overthink useless things.
Oh, and here's some advanced Gentle Fist theory—taught by a kind, handsome big brother (visual included: Aike's own face).
Just planting the seeds for maximum favorability later.
With the Hyūga visit done, only two places in Konoha still interested him: the Hokage Tower and Danzō's Root base.
But the sky was already dark.
"Eh, we'll rob them another day. Back to the inn."
"By my count, Kakashi should be arriving any minute."
Izumi's gossip sensors instantly activated.
White Fang, the legendary Konoha hero who supposedly committed suicide, and the "dead" Uchiha Obito.
Two massive mysteries. Even she wanted to hear the dirt.
Back at the inn.
Kakashi was already waiting, seated in the shadows.
"Looks like you've been doing some homework."
Aike chuckled and closed the door.
Only then did Kakashi speak, voice low.
"What is the truth you mentioned?
And Obito… he's been dead for years."
He had too many questions.
"Relax. First, understand that I'm a merchant," Aike said, sitting cross-legged. "Everything is a transaction.
Information is merchandise.
And I don't accept cash—worthless paper."
Kakashi fell silent.
One glance at Izumi's pitying expression told him this was going to hurt.
"What do you want?"
"Your left eye."
"Absolutely not."
Instant refusal.
That eye was Obito's final gift, his last memento. No price could buy it.
"Don't reject me so fast. As a show of good faith—one free sample:
Uchiha Obito is still alive."
"…Impossible."
"Obito is alive…?!"
Kakashi's pupil contracted in shock. Even Izumi looked stunned.
"And the Obito who survived did something… let's call it morally flexible," Aike continued casually.
"Right now he's plotting to destroy the entire shinobi world."
Each word hammered Kakashi's heart.
"No… you're lying. Obito would never—"
"I have zero reason to lie."
In a blink Aike used Shunpo, too fast for even the Sharingan to track, and pressed two fingers against Kakashi's bandaged left eye.
"See? Taking it would be child's play."
Then he was back in his seat as if he'd never moved.
Kakashi hadn't even twitched.
At that moment he fully believed Aike held his life in one hand.
A man who could kill him at any second… really didn't need to lie.
So Kakashi fell into tortured silence.
Twenty long minutes later.
"Sorry, Obito. I have to do this."
Guilt flashed across his face, then hardened into resolve.
"I accept your terms. But you will give me everything you promised."
"Of course. Honesty is the best policy."
Aike snapped his fingers.
The golden scale appeared, painlessly extracted the Kamui Sharingan, and floated it into a preservation jar.
In exchange, he tossed Kakashi a small crystal.
"Press it to your forehead. Everything you want to know is inside."
A Kyōka Suigetsu + Kidō combo hypnotic memory crystal.
Touch it and live the truth in perfect illusion.
Five-star customer service.
Kakashi left immediately afterward.
He briefly considered reporting Aike to the elders… then remembered the suffocating spiritual pressure and ghost-like speed.
Current Konoha, already missing the Uchiha, was being watched by every major village.
One wrong move and the whole place could burn.
He vanished into the night, crystal clenched in his fist.
Room now empty, Aike turned to Izumi with a dangerous smile.
He still hadn't forgotten the Hyūga incident.
Questioning the captain's moral character? Unforgivable.
Time for some hands-on discipline.
Gulp.
Izumi swallowed hard, fear flashing across her face, and tried to bolt.
One hand pressed her gently but inescapably onto the bed.
"Lesson time ♡"
…
Same night, different location.
The Uchiha district lay silent and desolate.
An entire clan compound, now home to a single child.
Ever since leaving the hospital, Sasuke had sat alone in the main house from noon until midnight.
Every time he closed his eyes he saw the bodies, the blood, his parents lying in it.
"Itachi… I'll kill you.
I swear I'll kill you!"
His broken roars echoed like a wounded lone wolf.
Even the hidden ANBU watchers felt pity.
Next day.
Sasuke skipped the Academy.
He spent the entire day at the training ground, attacking practice dummies until his hands bled.
Unseen, a hundred meters away, Aike and Izumi watched quietly.
Izumi's gaze held both hatred and a trace of sympathy.
In the end, Sasuke was just another victim—perhaps even more broken than she was.
Finally the boy collapsed, panting, face twisted in frustration and powerlessness.
"Time to go."
Aike released the light camouflage and simultaneously cast Kyōka Suigetsu, hypnotizing every hidden observer in the area.
Then he strolled openly into the training ground with Izumi at his side.
"Who's there?!"
Sasuke snapped upright, kunai raised.
The moment he saw the person beside Aike, he froze.
"Izumi… nee-san?"
"You're alive… Izumi-nee!"
Tears welled up. He'd always been jealous that she was closer to Itachi, but right now she was the last living clansman he had.
He ran toward her, arms open.
Izumi stared back with cold, dead eyes.
Sasuke skidded to a halt, joy crumbling.
"Hey there, last survivor of the Uchiha."
Aike's warm voice cut in, drawing Sasuke's attention.
"Who the hell are you?"
Pure hostility.
Aike just smiled the gentlest, most predatory smile in the world and asked the six words every traumatized shōnen protagonist longs to hear:
"Kid… do you want power?"
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