One week later.
Under a gray, overcast sky, the Uchiha clan's residential district lay at the edge of Konoha.
When the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara founded the village together, the Uchiha had lived intermingled with ordinary villagers. But as time passed and political tensions rose, the clan was relocated several times. Eventually, under the Second Hokage, they were assigned to the outskirts of the village and placed in charge of the Konoha Military Police Force.
They had lived here ever since.
More than twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Which meant that when Shimizu first transmigrated into this world, the Uchiha clan was already settled here.
And Sawei had been born here, had grown up here...
"I'm sorry!" Shimizu knelt on both knees, bowing deeply before Sawei's parents.
"Shimizu, you need not blame yourself. This was my son's fate…" Sawei's father, Uchiha Shiya, said in a low voice. He forced back the tears in his eyes. He could not cry—if he broke down, who would his wife and daughter rely on?
"If anything… if I hadn't let him leave the Military Police…" Shiya took several deep breaths to steady his trembling emotions. "So if there is blame, it lies with me."
"Our child died for Konoha. He died a worthy death! We should be proud!" Sawei's mother, Uchiha Yoko, sobbed as she clung to Shiya.
Yet, despite their child being gone, as parents, they couldn't even recover his remains or see his face one last time...
By now, everything seemingly had settled. Shimizu had submitted a comprehensive mission report, the Anbu showed no intention of further investigation, and Danzo's Root had not come looking for him again.
Everything had gone astonishingly smoothly.
So smoothly that it made Shimizu question reality.
Of course, someone as insignificant as him was likely beneath Danzo's attention—especially after the massive losses this mission had incurred.
What Shimizu knew was this:
Root had suffered catastrophic losses.
They had departed with four full divisions of shinobi.
Less than half returned.
The entire Eighth Division had been wiped out.
Officially, only a small number were confirmed dead. Most were marked simply as "missing in action." Konoha's higher-ups had sent ANBU back into the Land of Rain in attempts to recover bodies—but the Land of Rain had unilaterally severed diplomatic ties with the Land of Fire and imposed military lockdown.
Unless war was declared, large-scale searches were impossible.
And the list of missing was far too long.
Though the mission logs recorded only "missing during mission," so many days had passed. If they were alive, they would have returned by now.
After ANBU officially declared the other three members of Shimizu's squad deceased, he came personally to the Uchiha district to apologize.
"Sawei was always a stubborn child, even from a young age," Yoko murmured, holding a photo of him as a boy. "Did he… leave any final words?"
The truth nearly tumbled out of Shimizu's mouth.
Even in death, the ones he worried about most were you.
But he couldn't.
He had to conceal everything.
"The opponent possessed the Rinnegan... there simply wasn't enough time. That was the last I saw of him..." Shimizu replied heavily.
"I see…" Shiya did not press further. Instead, he thought of his daughter. How... how are we supposed to tell Megumi?"
"Let's… keep it from her… for a while…" Yoko sobbed, her voice trembling through her tears.
I'm sorry! Sawei, I will bring your remains back one day! I swear it!
Shimizu bowed deeply once more in apology, then left the Uchiha household.
Walking through the quiet streets of the clan district, he pondered how to handle Sawei's eyes.
Now that the urgency had passed, what to do with the Sharingan had become a difficult problem.
Sawei had made it sound simple—give the eyes to Shimizu, don't hand them to the village.
But how should he use them?
Blind one of his own eyes first, like Kakashi?
Of course he wanted the Sharingan.
But what if his body rejected it violently?
If that happened, the eye he sacrificed would never return.
Then he recalled Zero's masterful genjutsu.
He wanted it.
With even one Sharingan, he would leap instantly to the top tier in the field of genjutsu.
The temptation was undeniable.
Moreover, Shimizu had already realized something—
In battle, his reflexes and dynamic vision could no longer keep up with the speed of his own extreme instantaneous movement.
Whether it was his fierce fight with Nagato or the instant kill against Zero, he had clearly felt it. If Nagato had been a more seasoned combatant… if Zero hadn't grown careless…
That extreme speed would have become a double-edged sword.
But with the Sharingan, the problem of reflexes and dynamic vision could be perfectly solved.
Most importantly, the three-tomoe Sharingan could evolve further—into the mysterious and powerful Mangekyō.
Sigh… what a headache.
Dressed in full ANBU attire, Shimizu drew hostile looks from several Uchiha children. The Uchiha clan had never held much affection for Konoha's ANBU.
"Are you Uzuki Shimizu?" A steady middle-aged man's voice suddenly called out from behind.
Shimizu turned around.
Before him stood a composed man with neatly styled medium-length hair—
Uchiha Fugaku.
He had seen this highly respected clan head several times before. Fugaku was not only the head of the Uchiha clan but also captain of Konoha's Military Police Force.
"Yes. Greetings, Clan Head Fugaku," Shimizu nodded.
"There's no need to be so formal. Just call me Fugaku," Fugaku replied politely.
"I'll stick with 'Senior' then," Shimizu answered calmly, neither servile nor arrogant.
"...Fine." Fugaku did not insist over such trivialities. "I heard about Sawei. My condolences."
"A ninja's end is often no different. Sawei was an excellent shinobi. He understood that," Shimizu said slowly.
"I watched that boy grow up… I remember not long after I became clan head, he was promoted to jōnin…" Fugaku sighed. "Sawei was a genius."
"The Uchiha have lost another genius… And not only that—Konoha's losses this time were severe as well. Did you encounter a particularly powerful enemy?" Fugaku's tone seemed casual, yet the question was pointed.
"Yes. I have already submitted a full report to the Third Hokage," Shimizu replied flawlessly.
Fugaku seemed about to say more when a woman's voice gently interrupted.
"Ah, so you're Shimizu? I've often heard Sawei mention you. Fugaku, honestly—how can you let a guest stand at the door? Please, come in and have some tea."
The speaker was Uchiha Mikoto.
With long straight black hair and dark eyes, she appeared gentle and refined—the future mother of Sasuke.
Only then did Shimizu realize he had stopped right in front of the Uchiha clan head's home.
He smiled in response, quickly reminding himself not to be deceived by her gentle and beautiful appearance; the name of this young woman was on the list of active Jonin.
"Why not also take a look at our Itachi? He's such a cute child," Mikoto added, holding a sleeping baby in her arms.
In her embrace was none other than Uchiha Itachi.
So even the future "Itachi the God" once slept peacefully in someone's arms.
"No, thank you. I have urgent business," Shimizu declined directly.
"That's a pity…" Mikoto said regretfully.
"How old is Itachi?" Shimizu suddenly asked before leaving.
"One year and four months."
"Time flies." Itachi had been born about a month before Shimizu's promotion to jōnin. And now, over a year had passed in the blink of an eye.
"I truly hope Itachi grows up quickly and becomes an outstanding ninja," Mikoto said, her voice full of expectation.
But such hopes were common among shinobi clans.
"As for Itachi—I believe he will," Shimizu said firmly.
"Then I'll take that as a good omen. Perhaps in the future, we'll have to trouble you to give our Itachi some guidance," Mikoto said with a smile, half in jest.
"…If there's an opportunity," Shimizu replied.