Chapter 205: The Graveyard
The Uchiha Izumi standing before Sasuke felt like a complete stranger.
Not only did she no longer resemble the gentle older sister from his memories...
She also didn't resemble the leader of the surviving Uchiha Clan that he had imagined.
Sasuke silently watched as Izumi calmly recounted everything the clan had experienced over the years.
How they had arrived here with absolutely nothing...
How they had gradually built a life where they could at least barely survive.
Listening to her...
A blurry figure from his memories slowly surfaced in Sasuke's mind.
The two people couldn't have been more different.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason...
He thought of only one person.
His father.
Uchiha Fugaku.
His father had spoken about the clan in exactly the same way.
Sometimes furrowing his brows.
Sometimes sighing.
Sometimes rambling endlessly.
Back then, the conversations had also revolved around the ordinary lives of the clansmen.
His mother would often scold him with a smile.
"Stop talking about such depressing things at home."
Back then...
Sasuke hadn't understood.
Because his father rarely spoke to him about those matters.
Instead...
Those conversations had almost always been directed toward his older brother—
Uchiha Itachi.
As a child, Sasuke never understood why.
But now...
He finally did.
Just as his father had once spoken to Itachi...
Izumi was now speaking to him.
Behind those words...
Was something called expectation.
"Sasuke..."
After briefly finishing her account of the past several years, Izumi looked thoughtfully at him.
"What do you think... a clan really is?"
Sasuke didn't know how to answer.
He didn't feel qualified to explain what a clan meant in front of Izumi.
"Earlier..."
"You called me Clan Head."
"And your father was once the Clan Head as well."
"But have you ever truly thought about..."
"...what a Clan Head sees through these eyes?"
Izumi turned her gaze toward the doorway.
"In my eyes..."
"For our people..."
"The name 'Uchiha' is both an honor..."
"...and a burden."
"The Uchiha's long and glorious history is a source of pride."
"But that same history also becomes a burden."
"It makes all of us..."
"Myself included..."
"Long to restore the beautiful past we once had."
"And when the harsh realities of life become too heavy to bear..."
"Our clan's history reminds everyone of the glory we once possessed."
"It becomes the strength that allows us to stand up again..."
"And continue walking through the mud."
She smiled faintly.
"When a group of people who share the same belief gather together..."
"And are connected by the same bloodline..."
"That's what I consider a clan."
"That's what clansmen are."
She withdrew her gaze from outside and looked back at Sasuke.
"So..."
"Compared to bloodline..."
"I think unity of belief is even more important to a clan."
"Sasuke..."
"What belief..."
"...does the name 'Uchiha' you carry today represent?"
"I..."
Sasuke hesitated.
He didn't know whether he should answer honestly.
Along the way...
He hadn't pitied the weaker members of the clan.
Nor had he truly empathized with the hardships Izumi had described.
It wasn't because he lacked compassion.
Rather...
The Uchiha he carried in his heart had never been a clan that concerned itself with such things.
Izumi slowly stood up.
"Before you answer me..."
"Let's go see one more place."
She walked outside.
As soon as she stepped through the doorway, her gaze instinctively shifted toward a certain direction.
Her brows knitted together slightly.
"...Those people again."
Meanwhile...
"So, listen."
Naruto was still surrounded by the children.
"Since all of you are Uchiha, and you can already control chakra strings..."
"You should definitely be able to learn the basic Clone Technique."
"I'll demonstrate it one more—"
He suddenly paused.
Turning his head toward the distance, his expression changed.
Although faint...
He unmistakably sensed several hostile presences.
"...Looks like something's about to happen."
He smiled apologetically at the children.
"Sorry."
"Big Brother has to leave for a bit."
The next instant...
Naruto disappeared from right in front of them.
"Whoa!!"
"So cool!!"
"That was awesome!"
"...Eh?"
"Wait!"
"Where's Brother Naruto going?"
As the children prepared to chase after him, Sara hurriedly stopped them.
"Alright, alright."
"The big brothers have something important to do."
"Your Future Uchiha Squad should continue carrying out its duties."
"Come help us move..."
She quickly corrected herself with a smile.
"...I mean, inspect our caravan's goods."
"Ehhh?!"
The children immediately looked devastated.
Even the presents Sara had brought couldn't cheer them up anymore.
"You kids..."
She laughed helplessly.
"You've only known Naruto for a little while."
"And you're already this attached to him?"
"Brother Naruto's ninjutsu lessons are really interesting!"
"Yeah!"
"They're completely different from what the Chief teaches!"
"It's obviously the same Clone Technique..."
"But when Brother Naruto explains it..."
"I don't understand a single thing!"
Sara blinked.
"...Isn't understanding it supposed to be the good part?"
She had assumed the children liked Naruto because he was a good teacher.
Apparently...
That wasn't the reason at all.
"Of course!"
One child puffed out his chest proudly.
"We're the Future Uchiha Squad!"
"We usually understand these techniques as soon as we hear them."
"But Brother Naruto's lessons are so difficult!"
"So the problem must be us!"
"Exactly!"
"The Chief always says..."
"The stronger a technique is..."
"The harder it is to learn!"
"So the technique Brother Naruto taught us must be incredibly powerful!"
"Once I master it..."
"I'll go get back..."
"...get back..."
The child scratched his head.
"Eh?"
"Tarō."
"What are we getting back again?"
"Our pride!"
Tarō shouted confidently.
"Right!"
"Our pride!"
Listening to the children chatter excitedly...
Sara decided it was probably better not to shatter their illusion.
Sometimes...
A little dream was worth preserving.
Meanwhile...
Sasuke followed Izumi to a place some distance away from the ruins.
This area lay near the very edge of the enormous barrier he had sensed earlier.
Oddly enough...
Along the way, Sasuke encountered even more members of the Uchiha Clan than he had inside the residential district.
There were younger faces here as well.
Many of them were women.
However...
Their expressions were filled with numbness and sorrow.
Only when they noticed Izumi approaching would they quietly greet her before silently continuing on their way.
None of them paid any attention to who Sasuke was.
Or where he had come from.
Eventually...
Izumi stopped walking.
Before Sasuke stretched an open space...
One that resembled Konoha's Memorial Stone.
"...This is..."
"The cemetery."
Izumi answered calmly.
Sasuke's heart violently trembled.
It felt as though something had pierced straight through his chest.
Pain spread throughout his entire body.
An overwhelming urge to flee this dreadful place surged within him.
He looked at the countless memorial stones.
Each bore only a name.
There were no graves beneath them.
In an instant...
He was dragged back to that night.
The night the streets of the Uchiha District had run red with blood.
Suddenly...
An inexplicable feeling drew his eyes toward two memorial stones standing off to one side.
Unlike all the others...
Those two alone had actual earthen mounds behind them.
"There are no bodies buried here."
Izumi spoke quietly.
"Almost every marker here is only a memorial erected by survivors for their family members."
"Their remains were never brought back."
"Except..."
"...those two."
Sasuke's entire body trembled.
Even his pupils shook uncontrollably.
He sprinted toward them almost instinctively.
Then...
He finally saw the names carved into the stone.
Standing before the two graves...
He couldn't speak for a very long time.
Here rests Uchiha Fugaku.
Here rests Uchiha Mikoto.
His father.
And his mother.
Looking at the small burial mounds behind the gravestones...
Sasuke's voice trembled uncontrollably.
"They..."
"They're really..."
"...here..."
Izumi fell silent for a moment.
After hesitating briefly...
She slowly shook her head.
"No."
"They're still only memorial graves."
"We simply left a place."
Sasuke turned sharply toward her.
"...A place for whom?"
Izumi answered softly.
"Uchiha Itachi."
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