NIHM: Ch. 03

If Itachi wasn't the only one who destroyed the Uchiha clan… Then, maybe, there was more to the story.

Although this thought was quickly suppressed by Sasuke, the emotions Itachi had shown him in the past still made him hesitate from time to time. Perhaps it was this conflicting feeling of hatred and reluctance to hate that made this generation's Indra seem somewhat weak.

However, Kazuha had no intention of playing emotional counselor for Sasuke. He had no obligation to, and he didn't want to. Besides, without thinking too deeply, he could already tell that there were probably quite a few ANBU watching their every move at that moment.

If he leaded Sasuke toward a different line of thinking, in a few days, there might be a rumor circulating in Konoha that "Itachi returned to the village to assassinate the last surviving Uchiha, but thanks to timely protection from the village, one was saved."

And who would that one be?

He certainly didn't think it would be himself.

---

A few days later, they were discharged from the hospital. Sasuke's main issue was psychological trauma. For a while, he might have nightmares, but it wouldn't affect his physical development.

Put simply, he was fine.

As for Kazuha, once he regained consciousness, the wounds under his bandages had already healed.

No one suspected anything because while he was unconscious, a medical-nin had used the Mystical Palm Technique on him. His coma was diagnosed as being caused by excessive blood loss. As long as he woke up and rested, there would be no serious issues.

The Konoha Hospital even gave a reasonable explanation for how he survived. They said that even after his heart stopped, there were still signs of life.

At first, the medical-nin had given up on saving him, but seeing that he still had a faint breath, they decided to give it a try and used the Mystical Palm Technique to repair his heart and the fatal wounds.

To their surprise, it actually worked.

The Mystical Palm Technique itself wasn't that powerful, it just stimulates rapid cell division in a targeted area to speed up healing.

If the heart was still beating normally, its constant movement would keep tearing at any injury, making it hard to heal. But if the heart stopped beating, it could heal more stably, but usually, that also meant the person was already dead.

Cases like Kazuha's, where the heart had stopped but there was still a spark of life, were extremely rare, not something others could rely on, and were attributed to talent and luck.

However, only Kazuha himself knew that the reason he was still alive might be due to the vitality being supplied from the Pirate Kazuha side, putting him in a state of false death. Even if no one had saved him, his wounds might have slowly healed on their own, eventually restarting his heartbeat. Though if that had happened, and he crawled out of a grave, it would have been quite terrifying.

Still, no matter how it happened, the fact that he survived the night of the massacre was ultimately a good omen.

After being discharged, they were immediately taken to the Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage expressed his regret and acknowledged his failure in the Uchiha massacre. Sasuke didn't give him a sour face, but instead followed what he and Kazuha had agreed upon.

After exchanging a glance with Kazuha, he spoke, "I will avenge the Uchiha clan. But before that, I plan to sell our properties and clan lands."

"What?" The Third Hokage was momentarily stunned by Sasuke's words.

At this moment, Kazuha slowly spoke up, his expression filled with sorrow, "The events that took place on our clan land were a nightmare for us. So, we don't intend to go back. After discussing it, we've decided to ask you to help us auction off the lands and assets. Before coming here, I looked into property prices in the village. It won't take much to house just the two of us, so we're only asking for 70% of the standard market value. The rest can be considered the clan's final contribution to Konoha. Where the leaves dance, so too does the fire burn, the fire's shadow will shine on the village."

He finished his speech, even quoting one of the Third Hokage's favorite sayings at the end.

When the Third Hokage finally reacted to what he said, his expression was somewhat awkward. Kazuha's words had completely blocked off some of the excuses he had originally planned to use.

But the Uchiha properties!

Though technically still intact, the higher-ups had all assumed these two kids wouldn't think of them. They were planning to gloss things over and then quietly divide up the spoils among themselves. But now, thanks to Kazuha's remarks, they would still go ahead with the division, but at least they couldn't do it so blatantly anymore.

The Uchiha clan may have been wiped out, but with two surviving members, by rights, the inheritance should go to them.

What was more, both of them were male.

That meant their bloodline would inevitably, just like the Senju before them, become fully integrated into the broader Konoha family in the future. So whether it was about winning over the hearts of the remaining Uchiha or resolving the situation responsibly as Hokage, the matter had to be handled with care.

Still, he felt that 70% of the property value was a bit too high. That would be hard to explain to the others.

Of course, Kazuha knew full well they wouldn't actually get that high a price, but given the wealth the Uchiha clan had, plenty of shops and properties, they needed a respectable explanation.

He also brought up the topic of the Uchiha clan's jutsu.

Although he knew most of the Uchiha clan's ninja techniques and records were likely lost forever, it was still worth fighting for. If you give up your pride now, you might save yourself a lot of trouble later. And so, for more than half an hour afterward, the Hokage's office became a battlefield of emotional negotiations between Kazuha and the Third Hokage.

Everything that once belonged to the Uchiha clan was destined to be divided by the village leadership. He couldn't keep what had never truly belonged to him, so he simply decided to ride Sasuke's coattails, as one of the clan's only two heirs, he would also become one of the inheritors.

Every shop, every residence, every resource, he didn't calculate the exact numbers down to the last detail, but his attitude was crystal clear: You can give us less, but you can't give us nothing. If you're going to take what's ours, then at least give us a reason. For example, if you tell me the clan land is hard to sell because people died there, fine, I'll accept that.

But some Uchiha tool shops and properties far from the clan compound should fetch at least 60% of market value.

That was Kazuha's concession, and the Third Hokage didn't go out of his way to make things too difficult.

First, because he wanted everything Uchiha-related to be handed over to the village in a fair and transparent way.

Second, to win over the loyalty of the two remaining Uchiha.

And third, to set an example for the other clans, so they wouldn't feel like the fall of the Uchiha clan signaled danger for them as well.

Ninjas always moved efficiently.

By the next day, under full authorization from Sasuke, Kazuha had completed the entire handover process with the Third Hokage.

Of course, a major reason was that he didn't want to get bogged down in petty details. He knew very well: the longer things dragged out, the smaller their share would end up being.