The sunlight struggled to pierce through the narrow alleys of Konoha, casting jagged, grey shadows across the bustling streets.
Kushina was in high spirits, dragging Saiki between the stalls of the marketplace, her energy momentarily lifting the oppressive atmosphere of the war-torn village.
She picked up an intricate kunai-shaped hair charm, holding it up to the light.
Her red hair fluttered in the breeze as she beamed at the trinket.
"Hey, Saiki! What do you think of this one?"
Saiki smiled, nodding. "It suits you perfectly, Sensei."
Seeing her so genuinely happy made Saiki feel a rare sense of peace.
They shared a laugh, oblivious to the fact that the shopkeeper was watching them with a peculiar expression.
To the casual observer, they looked like a young couple on a date.
But the age difference was obvious. A 'sister' and her 'younger brother'? Is the youth of today really this bold? the woman wondered silently.
Saiki reached into his pocket to pay for the charm.
Kushina had joked about making him pay earlier, but now that he was actually doing it, she grew flustered.
"Wait, Saiki! I've got it!"
She hurriedly reached for her own shinobi pouch, but her fingers only brushed against cold kunai hilts and a few loose coins.
Her smile froze. She realized in a panic that in her rush to leave, she'd left her wallet on her nightstand.
"Uh... well..." Kushina's face turned pink. Her voice dropped to a sheepish mumble.
"I... think I forgot my money..."
Watching the legendary Jinchuriki fumble in embarrassment made Saiki let out a soft laugh.
Kushina glared at him. "What?! Stop laughing! Don't you dare laugh at me!"
"Okay, okay. I'm not laughing," Saiki said, struggling to keep his mouth from twitching.
He handed several coins to the shopkeeper. "We'll take it."
He gently tucked the hair charm into Kushina's hand, his voice dropping to a soothing register.
"Think of it as a gift from your student. Don't overthink it."
Kushina gripped the cold metal of the charm.
The awkwardness in her chest dissipated, replaced by a strange sense of comfort—though it was mixed with a tiny, hidden pang of something else.
Still, she wasn't the type to show her vulnerability.
She let out a defiant huff, tucking the charm away. "Hmph. At least you know your place, brat."
Saiki didn't fully grasp the inner workings of the female heart, but even he noticed that after the events of that morning, Kushina's attitude toward him had undergone a subtle, qualitative shift.
They kept walking, and Kushina's attention was soon snatched by the aroma of a new dango shop.
"Oh! That smells incredible! Saiki, I want those!"
She grabbed his arm and practically pulled him toward the stall, her previous melancholy forgotten.
But as she excitedly picked out her three-colored dango, that feeling of being watched returned.
It wasn't just observation anymore; it was a blatant, arrogant provocation.
Saiki was a patient man, but being stalked by the Uchiha for two days straight had exhausted his mercy.
He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and pressed it into Kushina's hand.
"Sensei, you buy what you want. I'll be back in a heartbeat."
Saiki's voice was low, carrying a weight of absolute authority.
His eyes scanned the crowd, instantly locking onto a figure lurking in a nearby doorway.
The man was staring at Kushina with a look of pure, unadulterated greed—a gaze that felt like a physical violation.
The raw malice in that look set Saiki's blood on fire.
He was a "salted fish," yes, but he was a shark when poked.
If Hiruzen's pets thought they could threaten his family and get away with it, they were about to learn a very bloody lesson.
Kushina, her mind focused entirely on the dango, blinked in confusion.
"Huh? Saiki, what—"
Before she could finish, Saiki's silhouette blurred. He vanished like a ghost, leaving only a faint afterimage behind.
He needed to excise this tumor once and for all.
Seeing Saiki lock onto him, the Uchiha tracker didn't hesitate. He spun on his heel and bolted into a narrow, deserted side-alley.
Saiki trailed him like a vengeful shadow, appearing at the mouth of the alley a second later.
The alley was damp and smelled of rot and stagnant water.
The Uchiha ninja was fast, pushing his body to the absolute limit.
His two-tomoe Sharingan bled crimson light in the gloom as he glanced back.
"Still trying to run?" Saiki's voice was a whisper, cold and devoid of any humanity.
He didn't bother drawing a weapon.
Without weaving a single sign, he splayed his right hand.
Visible arcs of compressed air began to swirl around his fingertips, humming with a lethal frequency.
Saiki's mastery over Wind Style was now flawless.
With a casual flick of his wrist, five razor-sharp blades of vacuum tore through the air.
They screeched as they bisected the atmosphere, aiming straight for the Uchiha's spine.
The alley was too narrow to dodge.
"SHIT!"
Sensing the lethal pressure, the Uchiha leaped, trying to use the walls for leverage while throwing a desperate volley of shuriken.
But his efforts were a joke compared to the speed of the wind blades.
SHRED. SPLAT. Blood sprayed against the brick.
Despite his ocular prowess, the Uchiha couldn't clear the arc.
Two of the wind blades tore through his shoulder and calf, leaving gashes so deep the bone was visible.
A third blade was deflected by a shuriken, but still managed to slice a heavy chunk of meat from his left forearm.
"ARGH—!"
The man let out a shattered scream, losing his balance and slamming into a puddle of filthy water.
He clutched his bleeding shoulder, his face a mask of agony and shock.
He had been warned about the boy, but he had dismissed the reports as hyperbole.
He never imagined a ten-year-old could move with such ruthless, overwhelming efficiency.
Saiki walked toward him with slow, rhythmic steps.
The smell of fresh copper and old trash filled the air.
His fingertips hummed again, the Wind chakra glowing with a sharp, blinding light in the shadows.
"Is the Uchiha clan officially declaring war on the village? Who gave you the order?"
Saiki's voice was as cold as a winter gale. "You get one chance to answer. Don't waste it."
The Uchiha looked up, his bloodshot eyes locked onto Saiki.
Instead of begging for mercy, a twisted, ghoulish grin spread across his face.
He gasped for air, blood bubbling at his lips.
"Heh... heh... hooked... you fell for it... you idiot... we... have her..."
Saiki's heart missed a beat.
He had confirmed there were no other Uchiha signatures in the immediate area before chasing this man.
He had trusted Kushina's own strength—she was no weakling.
But seeing the triumph in the dying man's eyes, a cold, sickening dread pooled in Saiki's stomach.
He whipped his head around, expanding his sensory range to its absolute limit.
He felt it. Kushina's chakra signature was flickering and rapidly fading.
"You're dead."
Furious, Saiki slammed his foot down on the Uchiha's head.
CRACK. Like a ripe melon under a mallet, the man's skull shattered, brain matter and blood painting the wall.
Saiki didn't even pause to look at the mess. He slammed his other foot into the ground, shattering the pavement as he launched himself back toward the dango shop.
*** Meanwhile, at the dango stall.
After Saiki left, Kushina paid the vendor.
She didn't notice the faint, microscopic layer of grey powder coating the change she received.
As she raised a dango to her lips, a stray gust of wind scattered the powder.
She breathed in a tiny, invisible cloud of the substance.
She took a single bite. Before she could even taste the sugar, the world tilted.
"Eh?" she let out a confused mumble.
A sudden, violent wave of vertigo crashed over her. Her vision blurred, then doubled, then spun.
The dango hit the ground with a soft thud.
"Young lady? Are you alright?" the vendor asked, leaning over the counter.
Kushina tried to reply, but her throat was paralyzed.
Her strength drained away as if a plug had been pulled. Her legs turned to water, and she collapsed.
Just as the darkness swallowed her consciousness, Kushina's blurring vision caught sight of several silhouettes.
They were wearing the Uchiha crest. They were moving with the speed of ghosts.
Then, everything went black.