“Itachi?”
“Shisui?”
The two teenage girls sized each other up, utterly shocked as to why the other would be here at this time.
“The incense is ready.”
Yasuka suddenly cut through the bizarre atmosphere between them.
Seeing this, Shisui knew it wasn’t the right time to press for answers.
She could only excuse herself for the moment, leaving Yasuka to finish setting up the incense.
“Does Shisui…
come here often?”
Itachi had been incredibly busy lately—extremely so.
The friction between the clan and the village was escalating rapidly, to the point where Fugaku himself had begun leaning toward staging a coup.
To Itachi, the village undoubtedly took precedence over the clan.
But above even the village…
She could not abandon her younger sister.
Because of this, she deeply treasured the time she currently spent with Satsuki.
If it weren’t for Yasuka, she…
would have probably gone insane by now, wouldn’t she?
“Yeah, she comes by a lot.
She has quite a few minor ailments, so she drops in every few days to let me check her over,” Yasuka explained casually.
He had promised Shisui not to reveal anything about her Kekkei Genkai, so he naturally couldn’t speak of it.
“…”
Itachi could read right through Yasuka’s perfunctory response, but she knew very well that the secrecy was likely Shisui’s own intention.
“Have you been exhausted lately?
You look completely drained.”
Yasuka hadn’t actively gone out to gather intelligence, but from the slightest shift in the wind, he could easily deduce the growing conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.
“I’m sorry…
I…”
Itachi didn’t know how to explain, nor was she permitted to speak of it.
But she…
desperately needed someone to confide in.
If this kept up, she was truly terrified that she would completely break.
“It’s fine.
If you don’t wish to talk about it, I won’t force you.”
Yasuka cut off Itachi’s hesitation and lit the soothing incense for her.
Watching Yasuka’s retreating figure as he walked out, Itachi’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
She could only watch in silence as he vanished from the room.
Waiting outside, Shisui was growing increasingly anxious.
The pressure on her shoulders lately had been immense—absolutely staggering.
The clan had already begun to isolate her, yet their relationship with the village was only turning from bad to worse.
To Shisui, the most brilliant person she knew was Yasuka.
In front of him, she constantly felt like a complete simpleton.
Inadvertently, Shisui found that she had begun to develop a psychological dependence on Yasuka.
Whenever she encountered a problem she couldn’t figure out how to resolve, he was always the very first person who came to her mind.
Even though they were merely doctor and patient—or at best, ordinary friends.
And now, her closest friend seemed to be highly familiar with the person she depended on spiritually.
This brought a wave of inexplicable unease over her, silently magnifying the pressure she felt.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing the usually cheerful, well-endowed girl wearing such a heavy expression, Yasuka found it rather unusual.
“Yasuka…
I…”
Shisui fell into the exact same predicament Itachi had just faced.
These matters were strictly confidential and should never be spoken to Yasuka, but at this point, she couldn’t find anyone else who would truly listen to her.
“If you don’t want to talk about it…”
“I do!” Shisui hurriedly interjected.
She then glanced toward Yugao, who was standing in the shadows, a trace of apology entering her eyes.
In the next second, Yugao fell into a peaceful, baby-like slumber, her memory of having ever been there cleanly erased.
“Can we change to a different room?”
“Alright.”
Seeing Shisui’s intense demeanor, Yasuka immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
It was highly likely that the events leading to Shisui’s death were about to unfold.
Truth be told, over the past month of getting to know her, Yasuka had a very favorable impression of Shisui.
Aside from her tendency to overthink things and get caught in ideological ruts, she was practically flawless.
The two arrived in Yasuka’s private room.
Shisui first meticulously verified that there were no Anbu lurking nearby, nor any traces of the Telescope Technique, before finally opening her mouth:
“Yasuka…
my clan is going to stage a coup.”
“Mm.”
“You…
you aren’t surprised?”
“They’re the Uchiha after all.
How could they willingly submit to being suppressed forever?
Besides, with the Third Hokage’s deliberate marginalization, a coup was inevitable.”
“That’s not true!
Lord Third merely has his own considerations.
The clan…”
Having been brainwashed with the Will of Fire since childhood, Shisui subconsciously defended the Third Hokage.
Yet, even she couldn’t offer a real solution to the issue.
The clan was currently a powder keg of righteous fury; not everyone could be like her, constantly yielding the benefits and status that rightfully belonged to them.
“Shisui, haven’t you realized it yet?”
Yasuka felt thoroughly exasperated.
Even an outsider like him could see that Konoha was backing the Uchiha into a corner to bleed them dry, yet Shisui was still living in a fantasy world where a peaceful resolution was possible.
“I…
I can use Kotoamatsukami to control Clan Head Fugaku, forcing them to abandon the coup.” Shisui didn’t know how else to respond, so she put forward her ultimate plan—even though she herself was beginning to feel it was an impossible gamble.
“It won’t work.”
Yasuka shook his head, staring at Shisui with a look usually reserved for the politically illiterate.
Shinobi, at the end of the day, were just a bunch of mercenaries.
When it came to killing, they were consummate professionals; but in the realm of politics, they were more naive than a blank sheet of paper.
“Why?”
Shisui was perplexed, fully intending to explain just how absolute the power of her Kotoamatsukami was.
“First, the coup isn’t driven by Fugaku’s personal whim; it represents the collective will of the entire Uchiha clan.”
“Even if you control Fugaku, you’re only delaying the inevitable, unless your eyes can control every single member of the Uchiha simultaneously.”
“Second, the leadership of Konoha will never trust you.”
“But Lord Third genuinely wishes for a peaceful resolution!
He explicitly told me he would find a way to grant the clan the treatment we deserve, and Lord Danzo gave me his personal guarantee as well.”
“…”
Yasuka merely stared at Shisui in dead silence.
This heavy silence made Shisui, who had been desperately trying to defend Konoha, realize she had run her mouth too much, and she obediently shut her lips.
“What exactly does your Kotoamatsukami do?”
“It can permanently alter a person’s free will.”
“With a power that terrifying, tell me…
wouldn’t they be absolutely terrified that you might choose to alter *their* will next?”
“I…”
Shisui was left entirely speechless.
In front of Yasuka, she felt as naive and ignorant as a little child.
Countless grand political dilemmas that she had nearly broken her brain trying to decipher were cleanly laid bare by a single word from him.
“Shisui, stop overthinking things.”
Yasuka gently patted Shisui on the shoulder.
His rare, gentle tone allowed Shisui to temporarily put down her crushing burdens.
She looked up at him, her face flushing slightly.
“You’re already a bit simple-minded; twisting your brain over things you can’t solve is just going to make it worse.”
Shisui’s face instantly fell.
She felt highly indignant yet found herself entirely unable to refute him, leaving her to pout and sulk silently by his side.
After a long moment, Shisui actively sidled back up to Yasuka’s side.
“Yasuka…
if I die, will you be sad?”
“Probably.
I’d be losing a long-term meal ticket.”
Yasuka’s words were biting, mostly driven by a sense of frustrated helplessness toward Shisui’s stubbornness.
Hearing him say this, Shisui didn’t get angry at all.
Instead, she let out a silly giggle and scratched her head.
“Can I take that as your way of saying you care about me?”
“Whatever floats your boat.”
Yasuka stood up, walked over to a drawer, and pulled out an amulet he had prepared long ago.
It contained a portion of the Horse Talisman’s power.
He was merely a doctor, lacking the formidable combat prowess Shisui possessed.
But whether as her physician or as her friend, he didn’t want to see Shisui just vanish from this world.
“An amulet.
Want it?”
“Yes!!!”
Shisui happily snatched the amulet, only for Yasuka to calmly tack on: “That will be ten million Ryo.”