Chapter 8: Torturing Uchiha Mikoto’s Heart

Forest of Death, Inside the Abandoned Laboratory

"Who are you? Why did you save me?"

Sitting on the floor, Uchiha Mikoto, with her hands and feet bound, looked coldly at Zhixiang as he walked in.

In her memory, she had already died by the sword of her own son, Uchiha Itachi.

And before she died, she had witnessed Itachi kill Fugaku.

Such scenes made her wish she were dead.

If she weren't bound, she would have already committed suicide.

Seeing the lifeless, despondent look in Mikoto's eyes,

Zhixiang did not answer. Instead, he walked over, sat cross-legged in front of her, and carefully admired the despair and sorrow on Mikoto's face.

Her exquisite features, combined with her current state of despair and sorrow, gave her a sense of tragic beauty.

Zhixiang had always admired the aura of a virtuous wife and loving mother that Mikoto exuded.

So when he saw her this afternoon, he had a healing insect parasitize her, allowing Mikoto to enter a feigned death state after suffering a fatal wound, thus saving her life.

Like Mikoto, there were also over a dozen Uchiha children and a young girl.

Zhixiang couldn't do much about the Uchiha massacre, but he was willing and able to save the children.

Even if it aroused suspicion, he would not regret it.

As he had said before, the worst case would be becoming a rogue ninja.

"Today, Uchiha Itachi slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan."

"There were men, women, the elderly, and even children."

Seeing the despair in Mikoto's eyes, Zhixiang smiled devilishly and reopened her wounds.

Uchiha Mikoto trembled upon hearing his words, covering her face in anguish.

Zhixiang ignored her reaction and continued,

"There was a child, only a few months old, killed right in front of her mother."

"Some had their eyes gouged out, dying with their eyes wide open."

"..."

Zhixiang's words were like daggers, stabbing into Mikoto's heart. The overwhelming guilt made her collapse to her knees, begging softly,

"Please, stop...please stop…"

Zhixiang grabbed her hair, gently caressing her face, and spoke with a smile,

"As the mother of the executioner, witnessing your clan being slaughtered by your son, how do you feel now?"

Mikoto kept her eyes shut, unable to face the man before her. The tears streaming from her closed eyes revealed her immense pain.

Swish!

Zhixiang cut the ropes binding Mikoto with a kunai and threw it on the ground before leaving the room.

"If you want to die, I won't stop you. But before that, I need your help to save some people."

"Save the Uchihas."

"Of course, if you want these children to die as well, that's up to you."

Mikoto was stunned, quickly wiped her tears, and followed Zhixiang.

When she saw the dozen children and the young girl lying on the ground,

Mikoto hurried over to check on them. Seeing they were all unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether out of guilt or her role as the former clan leader's wife, Mikoto couldn't ignore these children.

"Thank...thank you for saving them."

As a member of the Uchiha clan who had already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, Mikoto was no fool. After calming down, she understood Zhixiang's intentions.

Clearly, he intended to entrust these children to her.

"Tch!"

Seeing Mikoto's three-tomoe Sharingan appear due to her excitement, Zhixiang clicked his tongue in disappointment.

He had hoped to provoke Mikoto into awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, but he was sorely disappointed.

But then, witnessing her son kill her husband hadn't awakened her Mangekyo. His provocation was unlikely to succeed either.

"Seems you don't want to die after all," Zhixiang teased Mikoto.

"Yes, at least not until they grow up safely," Mikoto responded firmly.

These children ranged from two to three years old to around ten, all needing care.

This was also her chance for redemption.

"Good."

Zhixiang stood up, approached Mikoto, and stared into her eyes,

"But although I saved them for free, it doesn't mean I don't want something in return. You understand, right?"

Feeling the aggressive gaze from Zhixiang, Mikoto blushed with unease.

As a married woman, she was all too familiar with such looks.

Then, she suddenly froze, staring at Zhixiang's eyes in shock,

"Your...your eyes…"

She had seen the Sharingan, the three-tomoe Sharingan, in Zhixiang's eyes.

"Heh."

Zhixiang patted her face, smiling as he spoke,

"Don't worry, these are my own eyes. You don't have to fear I'll covet your clan's Sharingan."

Seeing the Sharingan disappear from Zhixiang's eyes, Mikoto visibly relaxed, knowing that outsiders who obtained Sharingan couldn't deactivate them.