Lines, swift and slow, broken and continuous, formed the scenery and characters.
An endless expanse of forest covered the mountains, white birds soaring high-
This stretch of greenery in the northern Land of Fire had been a battlefield just days ago. Various forces had clashed in the interplay of light and darkness, and the long-abandoned Uchiha Hideout had once again been visited by people… though all they brought was stubbornness and destruction.
The center of the hideout bore the worst of it. The earth, scorched by flames, lay like a charred carpet starkly contrasting the surrounding primal forest. The buildings had been reduced to ruins, with cracks and gaping holes in the walls as if a giant had vented its fury upon them.
The battle between the Uchiha brothers had been interrupted by Logan's intervention, followed by a series of new developments.
By the time things settled here, the clashes on the outskirts of the hideout, between Konoha's forces, Kisame and Hebi Team, had also reached their conclusion.
Konoha and their adversaries had fought to a standstill. In the later stages of the battle, the deafening explosions and blinding flashes of light from the hideout's center had given both sides pause.
A pillar of fire had shot into the sky, staining it red… a feat far beyond the capabilities of ordinary Ninja. Compared to that, their own skirmish seemed trivial.
This realization made many hesitate. The dense forest was littered with trees crushed by the berserk Juga, with the temple had partially collapsed, its wooden beams groaning under the strain.
By the stream, puddles dotted the ground as Naruto panted, facing off against Suigetsu.
Kisame, having withdrawn the snarling Samehada, wiped the blood from his face with a grunt. In the end, he and Hebi Team chose to retreat.
"Annoying as it is, I'll spare you the trouble for now."
Sweat trickled past the edge of his Sharingan as Kakashi watched them leave.
He held Naruto back with a glance, surveying his exhausted teammates. Their condition was too dire to press the attack.
The September wind rustled through the trees. The Ninja were spent, some resentful, others relieved to see their opponents withdraw unscathed.
White clouds drifted overhead, and something resembling a bird flitted past… Regardless of their individual wishes, they had witnessed overwhelming power and the truth tearing through the fog.
Whether they liked it or not, this fierce struggle had reached its end.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, like guests leaving a ruined banquet, the aftermath of shattered cups and plates remained.
Soon, Konoha would dispatch investigators, and other nations would take note of the disturbance, ushering in a different kind of hidden clamor.
Now, only silence remained.
…
A hundred miles away, a natural cave lay nestled among the gentle hills of a plain.
This was technically outside the Land of Fire's borders, a minor nation's neglected territory with no control over its rural outskirts. Thus, it was effectively wilderness.
A lone figure sat on a rock, occasionally sighing as he glanced toward the cave entrance.
The cave was naturally spacious, its sturdy rocks providing ample shelter. Outside, rolling hills painted in autumn hues stretched into the distance, the vast sky dotted with drifting clouds.
"Sigh… What a mess."
A half-crimson maple leaf fluttered down to his feet. He picked it up.
Logan stared at the leaf, his mood far from as pleasant as the scenery.
'Two months already… I wonder if Sumika thinks it's been too long…' As the wind rustled the leaves, he watched them dance away.
His gaze flicked back to the cave. The interior was well-lit, with multiple exits and good airflow, an excellent campsite. Yet here he was, sitting outside.
Footsteps approached. Logan turned to see Mai walking over.
"Hattori-nii."
The girl's body still had some bandages, but after two days of rest, her complexion had improved from the pallor of battle.
Two peaceful days had passed since the upheaval. Everyone had begun recovering from the ordeal, including the three who had fought the fiercest at the center of it all.
"Mai, you came out too?" Logan's expression was odd.
The word 'too' was telling. Mai nodded helplessly and sat beside him on the rock, "Just needed some air."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance at Logan's profile.
The atmosphere inside the cave was… complicated, to say the least.
Beneath the Uchiha Hideout's crest-carved stone tablet, the words, 'I want to hear it again, no matter how long the story is' had marked a concession between Itachi and Sasuke, whose fated battle had been interrupted.
For Logan, who had worked tirelessly to mediate, it had been a moment of profound relief.
But what followed hadn't gone as smoothly as he'd hoped.
Once they'd regained some strength, Logan, with Mai's help, had escorted Itachi and Sasuke away from the contested area, settling in this cave as a temporary refuge.
With no outside interference and the Uchiha brothers' attitudes slightly softened, Logan hadn't let the opportunity slip.
He'd pushed them together, hoping to make up for lost time as siblings. Ignoring their protests, he'd arranged everything with reasonable decisiveness.
As Logan had hoped, Itachi and Sasuke had finally talked at length.
After so long as adversaries, suddenly sitting down as family was awkward beyond words.
But thankfully, the ever-'reasonable' Logan had locked them in a confined space. With their Chakra still depleted, Itachi and Sasuke had no choice but to endure each other's company.
Stiff words, stiffer expressions, yet they had finally laid bare the truth behind the massacre.
But when the conversation ended, the heartwarming scene of brotherly reconciliation that stories often promise didn't materialize.
Logan was sure Itachi had told Sasuke everything by this point. Yet the rift between them was too deep, too hardened by time.
Expecting Sasuke to suddenly start calling Itachi 'nii-chan' with a smile was unrealistic.
At first, Logan had accepted this as normal. But once everyone had rested and regained mobility, Hebi Team and Kisame had somehow tracked them down.
This complicated things. With their Chakra restored, tensions had risen. Logan had braced for conflict, but none came, as Sasuke seemed to have truly understood the truth from Itachi's account.
But that was all. Afterward, Sasuke had grown distant, often retreating alone to the mountains to brood. Around Logan and Itachi, his demeanor had reverted to its usual coldness.
Logan felt that he was going through some kind of transformation.
With the group now awkwardly coexisting in the cave, the atmosphere had grown stifling.
"Itachi's the same, just says his piece and checks out. Like a block of wood." Logan grumbled, watching the vibrant hills in the distance. The hard-won progress had frozen over, leaving him frustrated, "Two Uchiha Tsunderes."