Looking at the backs of Masamoto and the others hurrying away, Uchiha Komatsu was thoughtful.

In front of her, the black-clad world stood on tiptoe slightly, tilted his face, and looked at a tall tree by the corridor, as if he had a keen interest in this tree that could be seen everywhere in winter.

The world suddenly spoke: "Mrs. Komatsu, do you still have doubts?" ”

Also dressed in black, his hair was mixed with silver threads, but he was combed in a regular manner, he was not young, but the skin on his face was ruddy and full, and there were deep fishtail-shaped wrinkles only at the corners of his eyes, Uchiha Komatsu was stunned for a moment, bowed his head and said: "Miss, my duty is just to take care of your daily life, these things, where do I have any doubts." ”

"Lying." The world still looked up at the branches of the tree, and his tone was flat but determined.

Xiao Song saluted in fear: "I don't understand what the eldest lady means." ”

"Don't understand?" The world turned its back to her, and there was not a trace of fluctuation in her tone: "You see, even the Daimyo of the Fire Nation cannot have the luxury of having a ninja serve as a servant who takes care of his daily life. ”

Half-turning, the world tilted its head and looked at her with its spare eyes: "But, since I was a child, I have had a powerful ninja by my side who has taken care of me every step of the way." ”

Standing straight, the woman in black bowed her head and was silent.

"Mrs. Komatsu, it's not that you don't hide it well enough, it's just that the two of us are too familiar with each other, and although my strength is very poor, I'm not stupid." The world said with a little smile.

After a moment, Uchiha Komatsu sighed: "Who dares to be a fool when you are a fool, Miss World, the reason why I am by your side is just that the Great Elder asked me to protect you, whether you believe it or not, I definitely have no intention of harming you." ”

"I believe it, why don't I believe it?" The world turned around, stretched out his fingers, and touched the rough bark, and there was something reflected in his eyes, as if there was nothing: "So, have you been in touch with Qing?" ”

"I ......" Komatsu subconsciously raised his head and wanted to deny it, but looking at the cold and calm posture of the girl in front of him, he paused before slowly saying: "Yes, but please rest assured, I, Qing, and the Magatama troops are a force that is absolutely loyal to the Great Elder and absolutely loyal to you." ”

Where she couldn't see, the corners of the world's mouth curled up with a sneer: "Yes, you are loyal to me, but Mrs. Komatsu has a little doubt in her heart. ”

Komatsu sensed that the initiative of the topic was completely in the hands of the girl, she took a deep breath and said obediently: "Yes, Qing and I do not understand. ”

"Grandpa died that day, and you were next to you, so it's very strange why I said that to Makoto." The world said lightly: "I don't blame you...... Oh, what a weakness it sounds, what a rat at both ends. ”

The girl withdrew her hand, folded her hands, and stood in the most elegant and standard posture, looking beyond the courtyard in front of her to the clear winter sky.

"Yes......" Uchiha Komatsu gritted his teeth and admitted.

"I know what you're worried about, but relax, from the moment Grandpa caused the death of Hikaru Uchiha, from the moment Makoto killed Grandpa, he and I both understood that between us, it was no longer possible."

The world said calmly, from the tips of the hair to the toes, there was no trace of unusual emotions, and there was some hypocrisy in the calm.

Xiao Song was silent, listening to the world word by word and said: "Since grandpa is dead, I must be close to Cheng, I just explained this to you, so those words that day, as you think, are indeed admitting defeat and surrendering, and I am speaking on behalf of the family, and the family will not be enemies of Cheng because of this." ”

"So, put away your little actions, since I'm still here, then I'm the only orthodox heir of the first line, unless you overthrow this orthodoxy, do everything as I say."

"What the eldest lady means, I will definitely convey." After a long silence, Komatsu saluted and spoke.

"I hope so." After saying a lot of things in one breath, the world ended with four words in a tone that didn't care too much, and then just kept silent.

Uchiha Komatsu was silent, she still had a lot of thoughts to think through.

The world turned her back to her, her eyes were gloomy, and she thought: The tone is too monotonous, if you add a little sigh and regret, maybe the effect will be better, but I am still not very skilled.

A gust of wind blew, and the last chill of winter soaked the girl's thin body, and she gently covered her stomach, feeling a slight pain.

"O world," the woman in black suddenly spoke, not as a guard, but in a pitying tone of an elder, "Promise Grandma Komatsu that you must not give up hope in the pursuit of happiness, I think, this is also your grandfather's last wish when he is dying." ”

The happiness of the Uchiha world broke down at some point.

"The Uchiha world." The girl said her name lightly: "Happiness is a good thing, but sometimes it is just an excuse for a cowardly person to escape from his problems." I'm not after that kind of thing. ”

If Uchiha Komatsu saw the expression of the world, he should be surprised, that kind of calm and sharp bearing, like someone.

"So what do you want to pursue? Your future path...... Have you figured out how you're going to go? Watching the girl grow from a baby to the sixteen-year-old Princess Uchiha, who was now sixteen years old, and was emotional, Komatsu put aside his identity and just asked softly.

"What do you want to pursue? In order to survive, he does not hesitate to flatter his face, in order to control the power and camp, more people call for support, more power, more wealth and more enjoyment? The world asked calmly, there was not even disdain in his tone, only a kind of poise that a wealthy princess who really did not lack these since she was a child.

There was no need for this woman who had watched herself grow up to answer, and the world said to herself: "Yes, the family is something that grandpa has devoted his whole life to, so I have to protect the family - but grandpa is actually dead after all, isn't he?" ”

As he spoke, the world chuckled and walked away.

The words fell to his ears, and Komatsu, who was dressed in black, felt a deep chill rise from behind him.

It's the wind, right?

The woman subconsciously turned her head to look out of the hallway, and the cold wind howled, rolling on the spotless stone slabs of the yard, rolling the tree next to it, and the branches swayed.

After looking closely, I found that on the seemingly bare branches, there were many bean-like gray bumps, like inconspicuous bark bumps, but a faint trace of greenery was struggling to survive under the skin.

Is winter coming to an end?

Komatsu reached out and touched the rough bark of the tree, rubbing it to feel the greenery of life.

But there was no joy in my heart.