"It really is the Sharingan."
To most ninja, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan looked dark and intimidatingly fierce—an unappealing sight to many. Yet Hyuga Soushu remained unfazed as he crouched in front of Mahiru Uchiha, examining her single-tomoe Sharingan as though admiring a rare treasure.
Its depth resembled an abyss—so profound it seemed to invite one into eternal descent. It also shimmered like a blood-red gemstone, glowing with eerie yet enchanting crimson light. Within those eyes floated tomoe seals, swirling mysteriously as if imprisoning infinite darkness and deadly chill, making anyone tremble involuntarily.
"How beautiful."
Hyuga Soushu couldn't help but murmur in admiration.
"Mm."
Mahiru Uchiha shivered slightly, somewhat uncomfortable with his intense gaze.
They were standing far too close—and getting even closer.
Warm breath from Soushu's nose brushed gently against the young girl's cheek, carrying a strange warmth and scent. In this moment, not only had physical space between them shrunk, but their breathing had begun synchronizing, their scents intertwining, creating a subtle and intimate atmosphere.
A faint blush spread across the girl's face. She dared not look directly at Soushu's eyes, yet unfamiliar emotions stirred within her heart.
"Oh no! I feel a little dizzy!"
Just as her head filled with silly, romantic fantasies beginning to bloom into a vivid daydream, Mahiru suddenly experienced dizziness. Her body weakened rapidly before she collapsed unconscious.
"You're awake? How are you feeling now?"
Not knowing how long she had been unconscious, Mahiru Uchiha slowly opened her eyes to hear the gentle voice of Hyuga Soushu greeting her first.
"Mm, I think I'm okay now," she murmured with a small nod.
Carefully tidying her clothes without drawing attention, Mahiru noticed nothing unusual about herself—no signs that any personal markings had been touched or disturbed. However, she was now moved from the Naha River bank to the shade of a forest.
"Truthfully, as a veteran Chunin who earned her rank through war, it would be totally embarrassing if anyone found out she fainted from getting too excited after awakening her Kekkei Genkai (a bloodline ability unique to certain clans)."
What troubled Mahiru most now wasn't just that, but whether Soushu had touched her at all while she was out cold.
"I knew it, so I gave you a Military Rations Pill."
Hyuga Soushu said with a smile.
Mahiru Uchiha instinctively licked her lips, savoring the lingering taste of the pill she had consumed while unconscious. Meanwhile, Soushu's eyes flickered slightly as he lowered his head slightly, averting his gaze from the tempting sight of those crimson lips.
"How long was I asleep?"
After hesitating briefly, Mahiru Uchiha quietly asked.
"Only about half an hour or so," Soushu responded somewhat uncertainly. "It should be somewhere between noon and one o'clock now."
"Oh."
Mahiru sounded a bit disappointed.
She worried both about possibly missing their afternoon date because of this unexpected fainting incident, and about having woken up precisely at a time neither early nor late enough for anything clear to do.
"Not like I can pretend none of this ever happened!"
"Did you stop fishing, Soushu?" Mahiru Uchiha couldn't help but ask.
As soon as the words slipped out, she immediately regretted them. Earlier, she'd made quite the scene—literally exploding at the fish in frustration.
Thinking about it, Mahiru almost smacked herself for bringing up exactly what she shouldn't have!
"Oh right, what's this?"
Quickly changing the subject, Mahiru pointed at a pile of gutted fish speared on sticks and left out to sun-dry not far away. "It looks kind of roasted—is this your special cooking method?"
Hyuga Soushu glanced in the direction Mahiru pointed. His normally calm expression softened into a faint smile. "They were roasted by your Fire Release jutsu earlier."
"Eh!"
Mahiru blushed once more.
"How's your chakra recovery going now?" Soushu asked, deciding to shift the topic instead of teasing her further.
"If you're up for it, we can light a fire and have a quick lunch," he added.
"Well, we could just go back to the village and grab some barbecue too," Mahiru muttered, her lips puffed up in a childish pout. Still, she promptly leapt up, picking out a few fish that looked only partially dried before gathering some firewood and returning under the shade of a tree to prepare their picnic.
During the two and a half years they spent serving in the Land of Rain, moments like these were among the few ways they could relax.
After all, in the perpetually rainy and humid Land of Rain, successfully lighting a campfire itself was already a small but certain joy.
Meanwhile, activating his Byakugan, Soushu scanned the woods briefly, captured two rabbits, bled them out and skinned them by the riverbank, cleaned the meat thoroughly, then returned to the campfire beneath the shade using the Body Flicker Technique.
It was already mid-autumn, so even with the fire, they didn't get too hot. However, Mahiru's face appeared slightly flushed while busily grilling fish—whether from the heat or something else was unclear.
"But rabbits are so cute... how could you..."
Seeing Soushu returning with two cleaned rabbits in hand, Mahiru mumbled softly.
"Do you want to eat or not?" Soushu asked tonelessly.
"I do! Give me, I'll grill them!"
Mahiru instantly reached out and took the rabbits. She grabbed a branch, stripped off the bark, skewered the rabbits, and started roasting them over the fire.
"Hmm, what I mean is, since rabbits are so cute, they must be delicious. Too bad we don't have any seasoning—it's a bit of a waste," Mahiru quickly followed up with a justification.
In the wartime service they shared in the Land of Rain, the two had always worked together like this.
Normally, Soushu, who possessed the Byakugan, took charge of hunting and preparing game while staying alert at all times. Mahiru, being specialized in Fire Release techniques, handled food preparation—including but not limited to grilling, earthen cooking, and smoking—to transform the raw catch into edible meals.
Moreover, due to the complexity of the battlefield in the Land of Rain, even cooking could turn deadly at any time. During this process, Hyūga Soushu had to periodically activate his Byakugan to scan the surroundings for security, consuming even more chakra than during regular combat or stealth missions.
Thus naturally, there were no strange arguments like "why aren't you working" or "I'm doing more work and losing out" between them.
"Soushu-kun..."
After a while of silence, Mahiru Uchiha picked up a half-charred grilled fish and handed it to Hyūga Soushu: "Regarding the Sharingan, can you keep it a secret for me?"
"Why? Don't you want to get promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin?"
Soushu bit into the grilled fish and said while chewing: "Besides, didn't you previously say..."
"I only want to be your subordinate!"
Mahiru declared firmly.
Though her cute ears had already turned bright red.
"Fine with me!"
A rare, bright smile lit up Soushu's face.
"But what if I get assigned to another squad?"
Mahiru became anxious again.
"Then I'll just kill that squad leader."
Soushu replied without hesitation.
Hearing this, Mahiru beamed and quickly handed Soushu a roasted rabbit.
"Oh right, yesterday when I met with the Main House, I had some conflict with the Hyūga clan head."
Soushu said while chewing meat from the rabbit, a bit of blood still staining it: "Nothing serious right now, but maybe one day I might just disappear quietly."
"Is that so... If Soushu-kun dies,"
Mahiru actually thought carefully for a moment before lifting her head to stare directly at the glaring blue Caged Bird (Tenketsu) Curse Seal on Soushu's forehead: "Well then, I should be able to awaken the triple-tomoe pattern, so I'll take revenge for you!"
"Even if it meant burning Konoha to the ground, I wouldn't care!"
Such an overly dramatic statement coming from another ninja's mouth would probably warrant visiting Konoha Hospital—or get a good shock from a Lightning Release user. But coming from a member of the Uchiha clan, somehow it sounded perfectly reasonable.
After all, Uchihas were always known for their uniquely wired brains.
"I think that's still not enough!"
Soushu shook his head repeatedly. "At the very least, you need to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan—the forbidden eye technique!"
"Alright then, I'll definitely try my hardest!"
Mahiru nodded seriously. "I must evolve my Sharingan to the triple-tomoe stage before Soushu-kun disappears!"
"But what if one day I..."
Following that, Mahiru hesitantly asked.
"Then the entire Konoha will become meaningless."
Soushu responded solemnly.
"Well… Soushu-kun can be pretty extreme sometimes. It's kind of… weird? …Actually, no—it's totally fine."
Mahiru, playing her usual tsundere act, licked her lips before finally dropping the pretense and speaking from the heart.
As for why a Branch House Hyūga ninja would know about the Mangekyo Sharingan—the ultimate forbidden secret of the Uchiha clan—for the new generation of Konoha ninjas, merely knowing the term Mangekyo Sharingan was already extremely abnormal!
But Mahiru Uchiha did not care.
At least not now — she had no mind or interest to care.
At that moment, Mahiru Uchiha was already dazed by the joy of the happiness about to arrive.