[Hokage] A rose in mourning for the summer moon

After the war, the streets of Konoha were somewhat depressed.A large amount of resources have been poured into the war before, and the vitality of the village and the country has been greatly damaged. However, the situation of this war is very special. There is no compensation for the defeated country, and the country cannot be replenished in time. It seems that it will take a while Time is hard.

If there is any good news, it is probably that all countries have been dragged into varying degrees of poverty, and they have no strength to launch another war of aggression in a short period of time.The village has already started negotiating new cooperation with the upper echelons of the country, discussing how to put military industry into civilian use and increase economic supply and output.

The impetus for this is largely due to Itachi. "Xiao" has a large amount of the most advanced technical materials in his hands, and Itachi has already mastered "Akatsuki"'s inventory during his nine-year undercover career; That's what countries are most interested in.

Konoha naturally became the biggest beneficiary.With tangible benefits, the village gradually greeted Uchiha's brothers with smiles.They were mentioned in the newspapers, downplaying the bloody events of the past, and focusing on their achievements in the Fourth World War and their post-war contributions.If an uninformed person reads the newspaper, how can he think that the words and sentences that have been written in one stroke are the most real and heavy past of those people.

Uchiha's family land has been sealed for nine years, and now it is finally unsealed.The streets are empty and deserted, except for dust stumbling and chasing each other.The dilapidated lanterns kept shaking, and the family crest carved on the wall had already faded and peeled off.The corpse has long since disappeared, and the blood has been washed away. Only when you look carefully can you see blackened old blood stains on the doors and windows, silently telling the past.

These too will soon be gone.After consulting the descendants of Uchiha, the village decided to build a new school here to systematically teach knowledge other than ninja.Before that, they can take what they need first.

Sasuke was walking down the street.He has been away from Konoha for almost four years, and he has been away from the clan for even longer.During those days of hatred and pain, he hardly ever came back.Only now did he realize that this place was far smaller and darker than he had imagined.The bright memories of childhood have long been dusted.

He found his former home.There is a pair of shoes in the entrance, and the floor has been scrubbed clean; there is moist water vapor floating in the air, and there is a faint chakra.

"...Wiping the floor with water escape ninjutsu, Itachi, I really can figure it out."

Sasuke went upstairs to the former bedroom.The one on the left belongs to him, and the one on the right belongs to his brother.He pushed open the door and saw the man standing in front of the dusty bookshelf, looking at something in his hands.

"Sasuke. Ninjutsu was originally invented for convenience. It is also a convenience for cleaning." Seeing him coming, the man glanced up and spoke.Calm and flat voice, with a hint of condescension without knowing it.Sure enough, he was still the brother in memory.

Sasuke stared at the book in his hand.

"Did you come here specifically to find this?" He walked over, "What is this? "Compilation of Ancient and Modern Fairy Tales"... Why does Itachi read this kind of book, Xia Yue only reads it."

This inadvertently blurted name brought a moment of silence, and even the time seemed to pause, before he held his breath and quietly slipped away.

"……Feel sorry."

"No, it's not something that needs an apology. Xia Yue shouldn't be a name that isn't mentioned."

Itachi slowly turned a page of the book, paused for a while, and then turned back to the title page.There seemed to be something written on it, he looked at it, and suddenly smiled slightly, and his expression became dazed again.

Sasuke watched his brother.After Xia Yue left, Itachi's behavior quickly returned to normal.He still looks like Uchiha Itachi, calm, restrained, tough, frighteningly sharp, and can do everything well.But when he was alone in silence, he would show this look from time to time.He didn't seem to notice it himself, because he was only in a daze, ignoring the world, and even himself.

"Really." Sasuke lowered his head, "Itachi, will Xia Yue blame me?"

"Sasuke?" Itachi came back to his senses, and laughed dumbfounded, "How could that be?"

"Why is Itachi so sure? Do you really understand Xia Yue's thoughts?"

This sentence must have made my brother feel pain.The subtle changes in expression, speechlessness and silence, and dimmed eyes all tell this point.He looked down at the book in his hand, and his fingers lightly traced the edge of the title page.

"That's right, I don't understand." There was no emotion in his voice, "I just thought I understood."

Sasuke fell silent.

Itachi stared at his younger brother for a moment, then returned to the pages of the book.Uchiha Natsuki, Uchiha Itachi—the two names on the title page are written in pencil, and after so many years, the handwriting has faded and almost disappeared.She also disappeared.

That's right, Itachi thought indifferently, he just thought he knew Xia Yue.

After the war, he thought about it for a long time.He visited everyone in the village who he knew well with Xia Yue one by one.He wanted to know about Xia Yue's past life, and what Xia Yue looked like in the eyes of others.

Naruto was eating ramen in a ramen shop, and said vaguely, sister Xia Yue is very gentle, cooks deliciously, and is strong, always smiling, and invites him to eat delicious ramen.but……

He put down the bowl that had been cleaned from the soup, wiped his eyes, and said, but ah, sister Xia Yue always has a sense of distance, and sometimes he wonders if sister Xia Yue is actually lonely.

Kakashi was lounging in the woods, Yamato was with him.That kind of leisure is somewhat similar to Xia Yue, so they probably get along well.After hearing his reason for coming, the former senior Anbe covered his face with the book and didn't speak for a long time.When Itachi thought that the other party didn't want to talk to him, Kakashi said that Xia Yue was the most wronged child in the group, because she was the only one who couldn't cry or complain, and could only smile and make things go away. Do it well, and then secretly cry alone.

Then he said, Itachi, in fact, you are also this kind of person, you are very similar.

Yamato said that Xia Yue is his junior in Anbe, smart, hard-working, and easy to get along with, she always looks capable and has no problem with everything, but in fact she is very soft-hearted, easy to feel sad for the people who are killed, and thinks that others are can not tell.

Itachi also went to find the third Hokage.The old man had retired for several years, and when Itachi came to visit, he was studying the latest fish farming magazine with his glasses on.Hearing that he came to inquire about Xia Yue, he thought for a long time, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and sighed, that is a lonely child.

"People who hold on to their memories tightly are often the loneliest. Uchiha seems to be such people." The old man took out his hidden pipe and took two deep puffs, "But he is a good boy. I I can always think of her standing in front of me and asking me to promise to bring back a man who was carrying darkness to the light. People of my generation always feel that a medal in the dark is a medal even if it is not known or misunderstood , and have to grit your teeth and bear all this. Endure everything, bear everything, even though tens of thousands of people will go to me-this is a ninja. But Xia Yue can't accept it anyway. She said that she would risk her life to let that person escape from the darkness. Come back."

"She was standing...Itachi, that's where you are standing now."

Later, he went to Nanhechuan alone.When wandering outside, "Konoha" is a sign and anchor, reminding him of who he is; when he really returns here, the buildings and streets only seem familiar and strange.Only the water flow of Nanhechuan is constant: the waves hit the river bank, the green grass and trees sway, the sky is reflected on the river surface, and there are railings on the side.

He saw his own reflection in the river.There were no scratches on the Konoha mark on his forehead, and this face that belonged to him was actually a little strange.He never thought that there would be a day when he would be able to return to such an attire; it looked as ridiculous as a man in his twilight years disguised as a child.

Standing for a long time, watching for a long time, until someone greeted him.

"Excuse me... do you know that girl?"

A woman dressed at home held a vegetable basket and looked at him tentatively.There are red tomatoes in the basket.He suddenly thought of his mother.

"Girls?"

"Yes, a girl. Sorry, I don't know why, but seeing you standing here for a long time reminds me of that child. She also often stays by the river for a long time." The woman replied in a panic.

He holds onto the railing.Cold metal, no temperature.

"Would you please tell me something about that girl?" he said. "About that girl."

For a while, I often saw that child by the river.It's a ninja, wearing a forehead protector, with boyish broken hair, dressed like a boy, but with a clear and gentle voice.She always took flowers to the river, threw them petal by petal into the river, and watched them go with the waves.Sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, sometimes in the afternoon.No matter what time it is, it is always alone, lying on the railing, watching the river quietly.

As the years passed, the child grew up and stopped appearing so often.But when I saw her occasionally, she was still so quiet, watching the river carry flowers away alone, and it took a long time to watch.Once the sun was setting, she took a dandelion and blew in the direction of the sunset, blowing out a fluffy fluff.

"At that time, I felt that the back was really lonely. I made up my mind to ask her name when we saw each other next time, but I haven't seen her since then. Sometimes I wonder whether I missed it because I didn't speak for a long time, or because Decided to ask her name, will I never see her again? The fate between people is so thin, just like a dandelion in the sunset, it disappears when the wind blows."

The woman smiled sadly: "I said something strange. When people get older, they tend to be overly sentimental."

She wears a black veil on her arm, which is a symbol of death in the family.

Itachi bowed his body. "Nothing," he said, "thank you for telling me that."

"Where... I didn't do anything. I should thank you for being willing to listen to me talking about these trivial old things." The woman looked at him and smiled hastily, "You two are really similar. That kind of The quiet, lonely but gentle back is really similar."

What is Xia Yue like?

Peaceful, warm, optimistic...

No. After the age of 13, Xia Yue is just a lonely child.

On the title page of the fairy tale book, two names are written side by side.But when she wrote her name, she didn't know that another name would follow.He didn't tell her either.The fate between people is indeed too thin, and the wind blows away.

He traced the name with his finger.

"Sasuke," he called out his younger brother's name, "do you know Xia Yue?"

The younger brother was stunned by this rhetorical question.

"No... I don't understand either." He whispered back.

Sure enough.Itachi thought, the closer you are, the more distant you are.None of them really knew Xia Yue.

The understanding is too shallow, the fate is too thin.

Sasuke saw his brother's silence.Just like the past years, he saw Itachi's silence, but he couldn't touch the thinking behind the silence.What is itachi thinking again——what is brother thinking again?About Xia Yue, about the past, what did he think of?Always keep silent.

"When I left Konoha, Xia Yue asked me to keep me." Sasuke told his brother about himself, "She asked me if I was leaving her too. I should have found out that she was not in the right mood at that time."

Who would have thought that?Xia Yue has always seemed to be an optimistic person.Always with a smile, as if he can figure out a solution to everything he encounters.Sasuke always felt that Xia Yue was very powerful. She was also a victim of that incident. She could quickly cheer up, smile, and take care of herself while working, becoming an excellent, respected and respected ninja.In comparison, how weak and ineffective I am who is always having nightmares and feeling scared.

That's why he eagerly wanted to break free from her wings.Therefore, when he knew that Xia Yue was also hiding the truth from him, he would be very angry.He felt that Xia Yue's optimism was originally because she knew it well, but she forgot that at the very beginning, Xia Yue would hug him and cry helplessly.

"No, it's not your fault." The elder brother stared at him with tenderness, "Sasuke, you've done a good job."

He was really to blame - Sasuke read what Itachi hadn't said.But what else can a ferret do?Even if everything has become a thing of the past, what happened to his relatives and family will still stir up a trace of grief in Sasuke's heart: If he were in Itachi's position, he would not be able to do better.

And Xia Yue... No one can do better than Xia Yue.

If no one is at fault, why is it the way it is?The teenager is already very precocious, but he still feels that the world is full of unanswerable doubts.

"I want to ask Xia Yue personally." Sasuke said a little stubbornly, a little stubbornly, "If you don't understand her thoughts, just ask her."

The elder brother held the book and looked at him quietly.The sun now intensifies; a cloud has moved away.Next to the bookshelf is the window, the light and shadow become extremely distinct, and the air is full of clear dust.Sasuke tried to recall his childhood. Once he sneaked into his brother's room, leaned over the window and looked out, and inadvertently felt a scratch on the window frame.It was a few characters carved out of the shuriken: Xia Yue.He was taken aback, thinking that his elder brother would also hand-carve letters like those naughty and noisy classmates, but it was his elder brother.When he looked up again, he saw his elder brother and Xia Yue coming from a distance. The elder brother who taught him that ninjas should always pay attention to their surroundings kept his eyes on Xia Yue, but he didn't even notice him sneaking around.

At that time, he thought, he had discovered a shocking secret, and he had to hide it well, otherwise his brother would definitely be angry.

He discovered a secret: his brother must like Xia Yue very, very, very much.

He carefully hid the secret he discovered by accident, and kept it firmly, never mentioning it to anyone, and even slowly forgot it himself.

"Itachi, after Xia Yue buried her body, Pharmacist Dou found her. Their laboratory once cloned Xia Yue's heart."

"Oshemaru said that she is still alive."

His elder brother had already fallen into the dazed state of being isolated from the world, but in an instant his eyes became focused.The "Compilation of Ancient and Modern Fairy Tales" in his hand trembled as it was pinched.

"……Where?"

Sasuke didn't know why Orochimaru and Dou wanted to save Xia Yue.One of them said they found it interesting, and the other said it was to repay the favor.No matter what, Sasuke silently remembered in his heart that he owed them a sum.

Xia Yue has been transferred to Muye Hospital, in a single ward, with a ventilator, and an infusion needle on her wrist. She is skinny, weak and pale.She slept peacefully on the bed, only breathing up and down, and the monotonous ups and downs of the electrocardiogram beside her.

The elder brother rushed all the way, almost throwing him away.When he reached the door of the ward, he stopped and walked slowly for a long time.Such a powerful ninja walked a little staggeringly in just a few steps.

Sasuke thought he would at least call Natsuki's name once.The elder brother is naturally reticent, and the few times he talked too much, it seemed that he was pretending to say something against his will. If he was allowed to do what he wanted, he would always be more inclined to keep silent.But he would always pronounce Xia Yue's name, even if he didn't say more.

But no.

He just walked over, stood by the hospital bed, and kept looking at her.She can only breathe, and he can only breathe.It's like having two patients.

Sasuke took a step back, wanting his brother to be alone with Xia Yue for a while.But just as he was about to close the door of the ward, he saw his elder brother bent down, carefully took her hand, and gently placed it next to his face.

Sasuke was stunned.He looked at the back.

Itachi... are you crying?

The brother who didn't cry when he was killed, the brother who didn't cry when he held Xia Yue in his arms and watched her disappear, the brother who calmly dealt with everything after returning to the village, and didn't cry no matter what...

Why did you cry after seeing Xia Yue?

It was crying silently, but judging from the back, tears must have flowed down his face.The constantly shrugging shoulders are undoubtedly a witness to a silent wail.

Sasuke closed the door.

On the other side of the corridor, several people were looking at him.In the former Class [-], there were a few teachers who seemed to be from other teams.Sure enough, Xia Yue is an excellent ninja who is highly regarded and respected.Be sure to tell her this when she wakes up.

"Sasuke! How is Sister Natsuki? I... eh? Kyuubi said that Erwei and Sanwei also want to see Sister Natsuki. No, no, no, the hospital is not that big."

"Sasuke-kun, I consulted the doctor, Miss Xiayue should wake up soon."

"It turns out that Miss Xia Yue is the interesting companion that my brother once said..."

"Asma and I haven't thanked her in person yet. We'll hold the wedding when Xia Yue wakes up."

really noisy.From the beginning, I felt that this group of guys in Konoha was really noisy.

At the corner, Shuiyue and Xianglin poked their heads out furtively, and Chongwu stood aside honestly, guarding them.

"Hey, I just said that I met Xia Yue at Orochimaru, and their relationship is so good."

"Idiot, Orochimaru did that for Sasuke."

"What about the bag?"

"It's to repay brother Sasuke's favor...ah! Sasuke is here!"

These guys are actually not too far behind when they quarrel.

Sasuke thought of his brother who was always silent, and Natsuki who was always smiling.They are always gentle, restrained, and polite, and they must add honorifics when addressing friends.Of those two people, one was cold and silent, and the other was smiling all day long, but they were all the same in essence, they were people who would not easily express their feelings.Maybe Xia Yue used to be able to speak out, but was forced to wear a mask by life, and then she really got used to facing everything alone.

In this way, there is no harm in being noisy.

"Sasuke, Sasuke? What are you thinking, why don't you speak?"

Naruto came over.This guy's energy seems to never run out.Sasuke thought in distaste, and took a step aside.

"You're too loud, Naruto."

But there's nothing wrong with that either.

This time, don't say nothing, but quietly carve her name on the window frame, brother.

The author has something to say: the finale√

If you look at it from the perspective of ordinary people, Sasuke is undoubtedly a person who can't communicate very well (the poor child has no chance to learn to communicate).But that's it, Brother Itachi said that Sasuke can connect with people better than him.

Brother Weasel's withdrawnness can be seen...【Hey

But just like the confession in "Silent Alliance", I think he just doesn't need too much interpersonal communication.Objectively speaking, there are people with this kind of personality, and there is no need to force everyone to enjoy socializing (otherwise, how can social fear exist).The same is true when I was a child. It is said that there are 4 regular friends besides my parents, and it is already saturated. All other new acquaintances must maintain a working relationship and do not have in-depth contacts.

Riman emphasizes that "bonds" are said to be related to village culture. Historically, small-scale gatherings have been used to fight against natural and man-made disasters. The power of groups is very important for survival, and it is derived from the emphasis on "collective" and "grouping".Even the samurai class is fixed by each feudal clan, and the ronin who leave the feudal clan are equivalent to criminals. Is this probably the prototype of rebellion?Being out of the group is a serious charge in itself.

In the second half of Hokage's Dirty Reincarnation plot, Brother Itachi lamented to Sasuke that he believed in others and struggled with his companions. The values ​​​​of the work are unified (probably the "political correctness" of Riman), but the portrayal of individual differences It's gone.However, the charm of the role of Brother Weasel comes from its tragedy, and its tragedy is based on strong contrast.Including the contrast between his own personality and ordinary people, the deviation between his own wishes and demands and his actual experience-it is these contrasts that shape this character.

Of course, the plot of Reincarnation of Dirty Earth is not useless, mainly because it supplements the portrayal of brotherhood and positively emphasizes the importance of Konoha to Brother Itachi, but it is still necessary to unify the values...emmm, anyway, I can’t give it a good review.

Brother Itachi is Brother Itachi, not Sasuke or Naruto, he has his own way of dealing with people.I want to keep this.

It's still the same old saying: colorful is the source of happiness.

There are two more post-war episodes and it will be over~