"I'm back."
Itachi pushed open the door to his home, calling out as he entered.
A figure rushed out from inside, gripping his shoulder tightly.
Startled, Itachi quickly realized it was his father.
However, the panicked and urgent expression on Fugaku's face seemed unfamiliar—Itachi had never seen his father in such a state.
"Tou-san?"
"Itachi, are you alright?" Fugaku asked anxiously.
Confused, Itachi replied, "I'm fine."
"Were you at Shisui's place last night?"
"Yes... I also went to see Lord Hokage. Shisui took me there," Itachi said with a smile. "Lord Hokage spoke to me at length and encouraged me a lot."
Fugaku's sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of something unusual on the back of Itachi's neck.
He forcefully pulled back his son's collar and found a complex sealing mark that had definitely not been there before.
Upon seeing the seal, Fugaku seemed to lose all strength, collapsing onto the floor.
He lowered his head and let out a bitter laugh.
"Tou-san, what's wrong?" Itachi asked, confused and unable to understand what was happening.
He glanced around the living room, noticing how cold and empty it felt.
"Where's Kaa-san?"
"..."
Fugaku slowly stood up again.
His towering figure made it impossible for Itachi to see his father's face, even when looking up.
"Your mother... had something to take care of. She won't be back until late."
"Oh... Are we still going to Uncle Yashiro's for dinner today?"
Fugaku gave no response, simply standing there in silence.
Itachi felt that something about his father had changed—he was no longer the same as before.
........
Hokage Residence
"What are you thinking about, so distracted?"
Ayari noticed Mikoto staring blankly at the sleeping Neji in the baby stroller and asked with a smile.
Mikoto looked up and smiled back. "I was just wondering... what Neji will be like when he grows up. Will he be like his father?"
Ayari chuckled softly. "Hopefully not exactly like his father. He can learn the good parts, but let's skip the bad ones."
Mikoto asked curiously, "What bad parts?"
Ayari didn't elaborate. In her eyes, Makoto was great in every way—except for being a bit of a heartless scoundrel.
She had already tolerated what happened with her older sister, but not long ago, she had personally witnessed that scoundrel taking advantage of Natsu, even daring to touch her butt.
It had made Ayari furious. And thinking about the fact that he also had a beautiful secretary, who knows how wild things got in the office?
Her son absolutely couldn't turn out like his father and cause trouble for girls.
He needed to be taught properly from a young age.
Changing the subject, Ayari smiled and said, "Mikoto, since you like children so much, why don't you have another baby with Fugaku? Itachi is so well-behaved now, and you definitely have the time and energy for it. Besides, hasn't Itachi been asking for a little brother or sister?"
Mikoto merely smiled faintly. "...We'll see."
Her expression was calm when Fugaku was mentioned, though the thought of Itachi brought a faint ripple to her heart.
Ayari continued to persuade, "Makoto mentioned that the village is now encouraging families to have more children. In the future, Neji will have playmates. It's such a pity about Kushina—if not for that, the children from our three families could grow up together. If one of you had a daughter, who knows? They might even get married someday."
"..."
The future Ayari described was indeed beautiful, and Mikoto had once envisioned the same.
By then, Itachi would have grown into a capable ninja, the three families would gather together in lively harmony, with the elders drinking and chatting while the children played together.
If she had a daughter, perhaps one day the girl might bring home Neji or Kushina's child and say, "This is my boyfriend."
But now such thoughts seemed nothing but bitterly ironic.
Her home, her husband...
Mikoto reached out and gently stroked Neji's cheek, her voice soft.
"Our Neji will surely grow up to be a wonderful man."
Just then, Ayano came over to ask Ayari what she wanted for dinner.
Ayari turned to Mikoto instead and invited her to stay for dinner.
To her surprise, Mikoto agreed.
Ayari laughed, "So you're just ignoring the two back at your place now?"
Mikoto simply said, "They won't starve."
Her gaze lingered on Ayano's back.
Ayari's elder sister was truly beautiful, exuding far more femininity than Ayari.
Although she usually dressed modestly, it couldn't hide her full and voluptuous figure.
In contrast, Ayari sometimes made Mikoto worry about whether she was eating enough to properly nurse Neji.
How could two sisters, born of the same parents, have such a stark difference in that department?
No wonder Makoto would climb into her bed.
Mikoto lowered her eyes to glance at her own chest — not much better than Ayari's.
A seductive secretary at the office, a beautiful maid at home... it was no exaggeration to say that the Hokage had a bit of a weakness for women.
Ayari probably knew this too but was likely powerless to do anything about it.
As Mikoto was lost in thought, she suddenly noticed Ayari looking at her strangely.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Ayari replied, "You're acting weird. You kept staring at my sister just now. Why?"
Mikoto quickly said, "Oh, it's nothing. I just thought Miss Ayano is very beautiful and feminine."
Ayari pursed her lips. "Are you saying I'm not feminine?"
Mikoto laughed, "You are, but your sister has a more mature charm."
Ayari sighed, "So men all prefer mature women, huh?"
Mikoto didn't quite know how to respond and could only say, "Maybe... everyone has different tastes?"
Seeing Ayari looking a bit downcast, she added, "Lord Hokage definitely loves you."
Ayari didn't respond to that.
In her heart, she thought Makoto's love was far from exclusive — who knew how many sweet words he'd whispered to other women?
The sky outside had already darkened, and lights illuminated the residence.
At this moment, the Fifth Hokage also returned.
"Makoto, you're back," Ayari greeted warmly, her face brimming with joy.
"Yeah, there wasn't much going on today, no need to work overtime."
Makoto naturally walked up to Ayari, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
Ayari, feeling shy in front of Mikoto, playfully hit him a few times in protest.
Mikoto didn't make any teasing remarks this time; she simply watched the couple's affectionate interaction quietly.
Turning his gaze to Mikoto, Makoto spoke leisurely, "Mrs. Mikoto, staying so late — are you planning to stay for dinner?"
Mikoto smiled calmly, "What? Is Lord Hokage reluctant to spare one meal?"
Makoto laughed, "How could I be? You can even stay the night if you want. My house is pretty big."
Ayari punched him again, scolding him for being improper.
After exchanging a few casual words, Makoto said, "Is dinner not ready yet? I'm starving. I'll go check in the kitchen."
Mikoto watched him walk toward the kitchen, knowing Ayano was still there.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Ayari's face still carried a lingering smile, seemingly delighted by Makoto's kiss.
"Ayari..." Mikoto spoke calmly.
"Hmm?"
"...It's nothing." Mikoto lowered her head again.
What she wanted to say was that when a woman becomes overly dependent on a man, she loses her sense of self.
At that point, she would only continue to break her own boundaries for this man, until eventually, she had none left.
She realized that saying such things might have been meddlesome.
What was her own bottom line...?
Mikoto thought about the things Fugaku had told her last night, which had completely torn apart her once happy and beautiful family...
No, what was shattered was the dream.
She realized that she had been living in an illusion all along, and now she was merely facing reality.
Fugaku... Fugaku, do you not love me anymore? Why would you do such a thing?
Her thoughts spiraled, and she was left with only one final answer.
Itachi.
Everything she did was for Itachi.
As for Fugaku...
Fugaku... Fugaku...
--------------
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