He had set out to save them—yet in the end, this was how it turned out.
Izumi sat slumped at the cliff's edge, hollow-eyed. The exhaustion from the battle had already pushed him to his limits: wounds across his body, his chakra almost completely drained. Now, with the crushing blow of what had just happened, his mind could no longer hold him upright. His vision dimmed, and he collapsed.
When he awoke some time later, the sky was pale. Not far away, Gin sat with his back against a tree, his porcelain mask tilted slightly as he watched.
"You did well," Gin said at last. "You did save them. But sometimes… living isn't the best choice. After what they went through, maybe death was their release."
"But…" Izumi wanted to argue, but the words wouldn't come. Those women had been from the nearby villages. According to the reports, those villages no longer existed. Even if they had survived, where could they go?
"The shinobi world is like this," Gin continued. "There's sunlight, yes—but there's also deep darkness. If you let your feelings blind you, it will destroy you."
Izumi lowered his head and nodded. Then he stood, turning toward the valley below.
"Where are you going?" Gin asked.
"They chose death. I couldn't save them… but at least I can let them rest in peace. I won't leave their bodies to rot in the wild, or be torn apart by beasts. I'll bury them."
Gin didn't reply. He simply followed at a distance.
At the bottom of the ravine, the bodies lay scattered, broken and incomplete. A fresh wave of grief welled up in Izumi's chest. Without a word, he began to dig. One grave, one body. Another grave, another body.
It took him a full day and night to bury them all. When the last body was laid to rest, Izumi removed his mask and bowed deeply to the mound of earth.
When he straightened, his eyes were scarlet.
At only four years old, Uchiha Izumi had awakened the Sharingan.
"Let's go, Gin," he said quietly.
"…You—" Gin's voice caught. He knew Izumi's file inside and out, and even for an Uchiha, opening the Sharingan at this age was unheard of.
"Surprised?" Izumi gave a bitter smile. "If I could, I'd rather never have awakened it. I'd trade these eyes if it meant they could've lived peacefully in their villages."
They left the valley in silence, neither speaking until they reached Konoha. Inside the Hokage's office, they stood before the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"I have a request, Lord Third," Izumi said.
"A request? Go ahead." Hiruzen studied him carefully. "You completed the mission well. What happened to those women was tragic, but it was their choice. Don't shoulder all of it yourself. I'm sure… in the afterlife, they won't hold it against you." He already knew the full account, and guilt gnawed at him. Perhaps it had been a mistake to send a four-year-old on such a mission.
"I want to formally join the ANBU," Izumi said. "But I don't want to be officially registered as a shinobi. In three years, when I'm of age, I want to enter the Academy like any other child. And… I'd like you to keep my Sharingan awakening a secret."
The boy's voice was steady, but the light in his eyes was dimmed, wrapped in the quiet weight of sorrow.