---
Megumi's gaze remained fixed on the entire compound below.
He descended to meet Tsume, who was now surrounded by the Inuzuka clan elders, discussing what to do and what to tell the Third Hokage.
Tsume saw Megumi's reflection behind the door, illuminated by moonlight. "You're here, boy. Come in and join the meeting."
Megumi opened the door. All eyes turned toward him—some filled with gratitude, others with envy—but Megumi didn't care what they were thinking. As long as they didn't release killing intent, he didn't see them as worthy of his attention.
One elder stood up with tears in his eyes and bowed. "Thank you for healing my son's hands and curing my illness that I couldn't find a cure for all these years."
"Thank you for protecting our clan."
*Wait, was the clone healing sick people from the clan?* Megumi thought inwardly.
He had assumed the low life forces he'd sensed were injured comrades, not knowing they were victims of the war who had been crippled.
He connected his consciousness to the clone and saw it holding white, humanoid-like creatures.
White Zetsu.
He remembered now that these creatures were once human before being transformed into this form. They were very slippery but not meant for combat—only for spying.
The clone had captured more than ten of them alone on its side and was still hunting more. Only the ones that had escaped underground were untouchable, but the ones hiding in trees were being drawn out.
*Just infuse the tree with cursed energy. It creates a sensation that makes them poke their heads out, wanting more. Then just snap their necks.*
"Megumi, we are discussing what will happen to the bodies of those men, and we need to ask the Hokage for an explanation."
Tsume explained, wanting to hear from Megumi since he was the one who saved her life.
"Yes, the Hokage must give a reason why he attacked our clan head!"
"We need the Leaf Police to investigate this incident!"
The other elders agreed, angry that the clan had been attacked while they slept.
"No need to report to the Hokage," Megumi said. "Just gather the dead bodies together, and only the members here should know what happens to them. I will return them to their rightful owner, and you must not say anything if you are summoned."
The old men could only agree. When the strongest speaks, you must comply or be left out.
Tsume didn't think twice or argue about the consequences of Megumi's actions. "Okay, everyone. Make the young ones stay indoors, then we clean up this mess before the morning sun rises."
After the bodies were piled upon each other, Megumi stepped forward while the clan members watched to see what this child would do next.
"Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden."
Shadows began stretching from him across the area. He had shrunk his domain's length to a manageable reach. He swapped himself with a clone to maintain the domain while he stood outside it. Then he compressed it to the size of a basketball, just as Sukuna had done. He gave it a long, accurate throw toward the Hokage building. Upon impact, the domain expanded to its original size, destroying part of the building with the corpses of the Root operatives scattered around.
---
The next morning, news of the damaged building spread like wildfire. Commoners began worrying that it was a sign of war again, not knowing that the Third Hokage had already cleaned up the mess. The ANBU couldn't explain how it had happened.
Megumi had to sit up throughout the entire night. Even when the elders went back to their houses and Tsume tried staying up, she eventually had to sneak away to sleep.
Megumi's black pants had already cleaned the bloodstains from them. Now he stared at his own reflection in the mirror. Without the tattoos visible, he could almost pass for an Uchiha.
Just then, the door to his room opened. Hana entered with her eyes downcast. She had been told everything that happened that night by both her mother and Kuromaru.
"Thank you for saving my life and my brother." Her tone was low and shy.
Megumi just looked at her, unsure what to say. "It's you I should be grateful to for taking care of me. I'm still a guest here, so please take care of me."
Hana's face turned red as she suddenly remembered why she had come.
"Ah... Mom said you should join us for breakfast." She left immediately without waiting for him to reply.
"What's wrong with her?" Megumi summoned a black jacket to cover the tattoos on his arms, though they were still visible on his neck. He found himself a pair of black shoes to match his outfit.
As he walked, the people the clone had helped offered him gifts. As for the White Zetsu, he had allowed the Divine Dogs and his modified rabbits to consume them.
---
When he arrived at the family dinner, Megumi couldn't smell the flavor of the dishes on the table.
"Hana, serve him. He must be tired." Tsume gestured to Hana, who immediately started putting various items on his plate.
Megumi tried touching the food, but he couldn't feel the warmth in it.
"Sorry, I have to go somewhere." He excused himself but made it look convincing by taking an apple with him.
He modified the jacket to have a face cover so that only his mouth was visible. On his way out, he met Shikaku with his wife coming in, along with some clan members who, he could tell, were there to carry his body.
He bumped into one of the Nara members. "Hey, are you blind? Now apologize!" the Nara man said.
But Megumi kept walking. Shikaku couldn't shake off the strange feeling he got when he saw that boy in unusual clothing.
"Let him go. Let him go," his companion told the man, because you couldn't touch another clan member in their compound.
Shikaku and Yoshino went inside to meet Tsume, but they could tell something had happened in the clan—the women and men were washing everything. They saw Tsume eating as if she were on a diet.
"Good morning, Tsume." Yoshino greeted her while Hana greeted on her mother's behalf. "Good morning, ma'am and Clan Head Shikaku."
"We are here to pick up Megumi's body, as we agreed yesterday." Shikaku wasn't offended that Tsume hadn't greeted him.
"You must have seen him on your way in," she said, not even looking up.
Both Shikaku and his wife's expressions twitched, thinking that Tsume was playing a cruel joke. "Please stop joking," Shikaku said.
Tsume looked at Shikaku, still composed, while Yoshino had started moving to her side. She turned to Hana. "Please tell them if I was lying."
"Yes, it's true. He's alive, and he just left. That was even his plate—he didn't touch it." Hana explained, with even Kuromaru confirming what had happened that night.
Shikaku ran outside to check for the same boy he'd seen wearing clothing he couldn't quite describe, but he couldn't find Megumi within or outside the clan compound.
---