"How is it? Have you received any missions related to the Uchiha Clan since joining the ANBU?"
"...No."
"...It seems the village still hasn't noticed the clan's movements. That could be considered a good thing."
Inside the brightly lit room, Uchiha Itachi—dressed in full ANBU gear—was speaking with his father.
After a moment, Fugaku suddenly glanced at the ceiling above them before saying calmly:
"You don't need to wear that inside the house. It wouldn't be good if your mother or Sasuke saw it. Go change first."
"Yes."
Itachi understood immediately.
His father was signaling that the conversation was over.
That did not surprise him.
At this very moment, unfamiliar chakra had appeared atop the roof of their home.
Since Fugaku had not rejected the visitor's presence, the person was most likely another Uchiha clansman involved in the clan's secret rebellion plans.
Itachi silently withdrew from the room.
He did not remain outside to eavesdrop.
There was no point.
The flow of information he accessed through the ANBU far exceeded what Clan Head Fugaku imagined.
His father believed the village still had not discovered the Uchiha Clan's rebellion plans.
But in reality, the ANBU had already uncovered not only the existence of the coup—
but even the identities of many participants.
Including Uchiha Fugaku himself.
And the ANBU operative assigned to monitor him—
was Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi walked toward his room.
However, instead of changing clothes, he first put on his ANBU mask.
Then he circulated chakra and used a Transformation Technique to subtly alter his height and physique.
After all, he was still inside Uchiha territory.
He could not risk being recognized by other clan members.
Finally, Itachi left a shadow clone sitting inside his room to act as a decoy while his real body silently slipped out the window.
His figure moved like a ghost.
Covered by the night and hidden beneath his ANBU attire, Itachi crossed the village without drawing anyone's attention before arriving at the forest where he had arranged to meet his friend.
"You came, Itachi."
Uchiha Shisui looked toward him and immediately activated his three-tomoe Sharingan.
Moments later, it transformed into a Mangekyō Sharingan.
At the same time, Itachi activated his own two-tomoe Sharingan the instant he landed.
As the tomoe slowly rotated—
a third tomoe appeared within his eyes.
This was the signal they had agreed upon.
The Sharingan was the Uchiha Clan's kekkei genkai.
Nobody could imitate it.
And while some clan members knew Itachi possessed a two-tomoe Sharingan—
none of them knew he had already awakened the three-tomoe form.
"How is it?"
After confirming each other's identities, the two immediately began exchanging information.
Unlike Itachi, Shisui had no convenient way to gather intelligence within the clan.
He was publicly acknowledged as the strongest active member of the Uchiha Clan—
yet he had openly chosen to stand with the Hokage.
As a result, many clan members viewed Uchiha Shisui with caution rather than trust.
That was why he needed Itachi to keep track of the clan's movements.
"So the clan elders have already lost patience. They're no longer even waiting for formal clan meetings before acting."
After hearing Itachi's report, Shisui frowned deeply.
"The situation is even worse than I imagined."
"Shisui…"
At last, Itachi voiced the question buried in his heart.
"Why?"
He was not truly expecting an answer.
It was more a bitter expression of helplessness toward the current situation.
"I don't understand either."
Shisui's voice carried exhaustion.
"The war only ended recently. Yet people are already willing to disregard the peace the village fought so hard to obtain."
As someone whom the Third Hokage considered an Uchiha who deeply understood the Will of Fire, Shisui's perspective had always stood firmly on the village's side.
"So many heroes sacrificed their lives to end the war…"
"And now internal conflict threatens to reignite everything."
"What they seek was different from us from the very beginning, Itachi."
Shisui sounded melancholy for a moment.
But soon, the familiar calm confidence returned to his expression.
"Still…"
"I will stop this."
"...Then I'll help you as well—"
"No, Itachi."
Shisui interrupted him firmly.
"I hate how the clan blindly follows the extremists. It's not merely because I dislike their actions."
"It's because they themselves don't even understand what they truly want… or why they're doing this."
"I don't want you to become the same."
"Just because you respect me or value our friendship doesn't mean you should blindly follow my path."
"That would cause you to lose yourself."
As he spoke, Shisui stepped forward and gently pressed two fingers against Itachi's forehead while smiling softly.
"Try to find your own answer."
"Use your own eyes to witness everything and decide for yourself what is right… and what is wrong."
"If, after thinking it through, you still believe helping me is the correct path…"
"Then meet me again tomorrow at the usual place."
Shisui's voice faded alongside his disappearing figure.
But he also took away the confusion clouding Itachi's heart.
Itachi genuinely felt grateful to have met a friend like Shisui.
His greatness was not limited to his combat ability.
It was his spirit.
In Itachi's eyes—
Uchiha Shisui was a truly noble ninja who possessed the mindset of a Hokage.
Swish.
Itachi slipped back into his room through the window.
Glancing at the clone quietly sitting on his bed, he dispelled it immediately.
"Nii-san!"
Just as Itachi was about to remove his ANBU equipment, a childish yet energetic voice sounded outside the door.
Accompanied by hurried footsteps, knocking quickly followed.
"Big brother, are you asleep?"
"Not yet."
Itachi swiftly changed into casual clothes he had casually tossed nearby earlier before opening the door.
Outside stood little Sasuke with one hand still raised from knocking, his face full of excitement.
"What is it?"
"Practice with me tomorrow! I've been training every day lately, and now I can hit the tar—"
"Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time."
Before Sasuke could finish, Itachi interrupted him.
"Big brother still has things to do tomorrow."
"Then… what about the day after tomorrow?"
Sasuke asked unwillingly.
"Forgive me, Sasuke."
Remembering Shisui's words, Itachi shook his head.
Then he extended two fingers and lightly poked Sasuke's forehead, gently pushing him backward.
"Mmph…"
The excitement on Sasuke's face instantly faded into disappointment as he turned around to leave.
Watching his younger brother's back, Itachi lowered his gaze slightly.
Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly called out.
"Wait, Sasuke."
From the ninja pouch strapped to his leg, Itachi pulled out a kunai and two shuriken before handing them over.
"Big brother really does have things to handle."
"Consider this compensation. These are ninja tools I normally use. You can practice with them."
Sasuke accepted them happily.
After excitedly fiddling with the shuriken for a moment, he pointed curiously at the strange symbol engraved on the kunai's handle.
"Big brother, what's this?"
"...That was left behind by someone I know."
"It might be some sort of formula."
"But that person's shurikenjutsu was extremely impressive."
"You could learn a lot from it."
"Oh."
Sasuke did not think too deeply about it.
Receiving a gift from his brother alone was enough to make him incredibly happy.
He cheerfully ran back toward his room.
At this very moment—
someone else was staring at a gift with a much more conflicted expression.
"What are the odds of this?"
Naruto stared blankly at the present Hinata had given him.
He had only just returned someone else's ninja tools—
yet now he himself had received one.
It was also a kunai.
But its shape differed slightly from ordinary four-edged kunai.
Instead, it resembled a small trident.
And engraved upon it was another strange symbol that somehow felt incredibly familiar to Naruto.
If Namikaze Minato could see it—
he would recognize it immediately.
It was one of his Flying Thunder God kunai.
And engraved upon it—
was the Flying Thunder God formula itself.
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