Fugaku's hands moved with terrifying precision.
Operating entirely within his localized time-dilation field, he systematically struck Shisui's 'tenketsu'—the critical chakra nodes—completely sealing his chakra network. Then, with a chilling lack of hesitation, Fugaku reached out and surgically extracted both of Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. Pivoting instantly, he struck Itachi, sealing his son's chakra network just as efficiently.
The entire sequence took exactly five seconds of real time.
Fugaku deactivated his Mangekyo Sharingan. A thick line of blood trailed down his right cheek, a physical testament to the immense chakra toll the temporal jutsu demanded.
"Fugaku! What have you done?!" Hiruzen roared.
The Hokage slammed his hands onto his heavy mahogany desk, shattering it down the middle. He ripped off his ceremonial robes, revealing his black mesh battle armor underneath. Shisui and Itachi were his most valuable military assets against the Uchiha, and they had just been neutralized in front of his eyes.
However, despite his fury, Hiruzen did not attack. He remained rooted behind his broken desk, paralyzed by caution.
Hiruzen's Internal Monologue: Why did they just stand there? I didn't sense any Genjutsu cast, nor any physical restraints. To my eyes, Fugaku simply walked forward and blinded the fastest shinobi in the village, and the two greatest prodigies of their generation offered zero resistance. If he can bypass their reflexes that easily, he can bypass mine. I cannot engage him in close combat. The risk of instant death is absolute.
Freed from the temporal suspension, Shisui collapsed, clutching his bleeding eye sockets in agony. Itachi fell beside him, completely immobilized by the chakra seal.
"Father... why?" Itachi gasped, staring in shock at the man he thought he knew. He had never seen his father act with such ruthless efficiency.
Fugaku looked down at them, his expression devoid of warmth. "Jin's doctrine is absolute: Uchiha must not kill Uchiha. If the village sees us slaughtering our own during a political crisis, they will view us as an unstable, rabid dog that needs to be put down. It will destroy any political alliances Jin is trying to build. We cannot afford the optics of a civil war."
Fugaku wiped the blood from his cheek. "Jin refused to neutralize you preemptively. He walks the path of absolute supremacy. He relies strictly on overt strategies, confident he could defeat you both in open combat. But I am not Jin."
He turned his cold gaze back to his son. "I have spent years nearly leading this clan to extinction through my own cowardice and blind faith in the Hokage. Taking on the infamy of crippling my own son and clansman is my atonement. I will do the dirty work so Jin's hands remain clean."
"You have gone too far, Fugaku," Hiruzen growled, preparing to summon his Anbu guards. "You have assaulted active Konoha shinobi."
"Do not think you can intervene, Hiruzen," Fugaku stated, his voice a lethal calm. "I am acting entirely within my legal jurisdiction."
System Explanation: The Law of Clan Autonomy. This was a foundational law established by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, to convince the warring, independent clans to form a unified village. The law explicitly dictates that the Konoha administration has zero legal authority to interfere in the internal discipline, inheritance, or domestic disputes of a recognized noble clan.
"Itachi is my underage son," Fugaku declared. "I am legally confining him to our home for disciplinary reasons. No village mandate supersedes a father's authority over his child. You cannot intervene."
He then looked down at the bleeding Shisui. "And you, Shisui. You are not my son, but I am your Patriarch. You have actively conspired with a foreign political entity—the Hokage's faction—against the survival of our bloodline. By the laws of our ancestors, you have a choice to make right now."
Fugaku held up the vial containing Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan. "You may formally secede from the Uchiha Clan. However, clan law dictates that the Sharingan is the exclusive, inheritable property of the bloodline. I have simply reclaimed stolen property. You may leave this room as a blind, clanless civilian, and follow your Hokage."
Fugaku's voice dropped an octave. "Or, you can accept your punishment as an Uchiha. Return to the compound with me, submit to my authority, and I will transplant a standard three-tomoe Sharingan into your sockets."
The Hokage's office fell deathly silent. Hiruzen gritted his teeth, completely trapped by the legal checkmate. Fugaku had perfectly weaponized the First Hokage's founding laws against the Third Hokage. If Hiruzen intervened now, every other clan in the village—the Hyuga, the Nara, the Akimichi—would view it as an attack on their own autonomy and revolt.
Shisui knelt on the floor, the physical pain in his eyes eclipsed by the crushing realization of his situation. He had operated under the arrogant belief that he could save both the village and the clan from the shadows, bypassing the clan's leadership. Now, forced into the harsh light of reality, he recognized the absolute authority of the structure he had betrayed. Unlike Itachi, whose loyalty leaned almost entirely toward the village abstraction, Shisui genuinely loved his clan.
Shisui's Internal Monologue: The Patriarch is right. By operating as a rogue agent for the Hokage, I fractured our unity when we needed it most. I arrogantly assumed I knew better than the entire clan. If I leave now, I am truly a traitor. I cannot abandon my bloodline.
Breathing heavily, his hands slick with his own blood, Shisui bowed his head toward Fugaku.
"I choose the Uchiha," Shisui rasped. "I accept the Patriarch's judgment."