Evening settled over the Uchiha district like a heavy blanket—thick, quiet, and strangely suffocating. The streets glowed under soft lantern light, flickers of flame reflecting off polished tiles and red fan symbols.
Families gathered for dinner.
Children ran between the houses.
Shinobi returned from missions with tired steps.
To an outsider, the clan looked peaceful.
But I knew better.
There was a tension in the air—faint but unmistakable, like a storm cloud no one wanted to acknowledge. It crept through the narrow streets, coiling in corners, settling into conversations behind closed doors.
The clan was restless.
And tonight, I was walking straight into the center of it.
"Shisui." Itachi tugged at my sleeve as we approached the main hall of the Uchiha compound. "Are you sure you should go alone? Father looked… troubled."
He wasn't wrong.
Fugaku had sent for me personally after the encounter near the river. Word must've spread faster than I hoped.
"It's just a council meeting," I said lightly, giving Itachi a reassuring smile. "Besides, your father won't scold me in front of half the clan."
"…He might," Itachi muttered.
I laughed quietly. "Don't worry. I'll survive."
He still looked uncertain, but nodded.
As I stepped inside the hall, the shift in atmosphere was immediate.
Warmth disappeared.
Noise dimmed.
Eyes sharpened.
A group of Uchiha elders sat in a semicircle. Fugaku stood at the center, arms crossed behind his back, his expression carved from stone.
Conversations halted when I entered.
Too many eyes followed my every step.
Yeah. They definitely heard about the Root incident.
"Sit," Fugaku said.
I obeyed, lowering myself onto the tatami mat before them.
An elder cleared his throat. "Shisui… your display today caused quite a stir."
"Apologies," I said respectfully. "I didn't mean to attract attention."
"Attention isn't the problem," another elder said, eyebrows furrowed. "Unpredictability is."
My fingers curled slightly into my robe.
"We heard three Anbu were found unconscious near the Naka River," a third elder added, voice sharp. "With no witnesses."
"They weren't Anbu," I said flatly. "They were Root."
A ripple of discomfort spread through the room.
Even elders hated acknowledging that Root existed. Like saying its name made your house unlucky.
Fugaku's gaze stayed locked on me. Heavy. Evaluating.
"You claim they were Root," he said slowly, "yet no insignia or proof remains."
"They removed both before retreating," I replied. "It's their standard protocol."
An elder scoffed. "Convenient."
My jaw tightened.
This was how the clan had always been—paranoid, proud, stubborn. They didn't trust the village, and they trusted outsiders even less.
But the real problem?
Recently, they'd stopped trusting each other as well.
"Enough," Fugaku said.
The room quieted instantly.
He stepped forward, stopping just a pace from me.
"Shisui," he said in a low voice, "there are concerns."
I met his eyes steadily. "Concerns?"
"Your ability jumps. Your sudden growth. Your lethality."
A murmur spread among the elders.
"Your talent was always recognized," Fugaku continued. "But now you're showing… unfamiliar techniques."
A cold drop of sweat slid down my spine.
He wasn't accusing me.
Not yet.
But he was watching.
Testing.
Evaluating if I was still the same Shisui he knew—or something else.
For a moment, I didn't speak.
Then I bowed deeply.
"Clan Head Fugaku," I said quietly, "I promise you this. Everything I do is for the clan's sake."
The room stilled.
Fugaku's eyes darkened, unreadable. "Is that so?"
I lifted my head. "Yes."
I didn't lie. Not entirely.
But my definition of "for the clan" wasn't the same as theirs.
I wanted to save them—from the village, from their pride, from the tragedy slowly creeping up behind them.
Fugaku studied me for several long, unbearable seconds.
Finally, he spoke.
"You have my trust," he said.
The elders exchanged uneasy glances.
"But," Fugaku continued, "you must understand something, Shisui."
His voice dropped—low, sharp, dangerous.
"You are powerful. Perhaps too powerful. And powerful people are threats… to both sides."
His words weren't a warning.
They were a prophecy.
A hint of the future he was already anticipating—the future where the clan would rise up, and the village would crush them.
I swallowed stiffly.
"I understand."
Fugaku turned away, ending the meeting with a single cold sentence.
"Then prove it."
---
Outside the Council Hall
The night air felt cold when I stepped out.
Too cold.
Itachi waited under a lantern post, his small silhouette leaning against the wooden pillar. His eyes found mine instantly.
"How was it?"
I exhaled. "…Tense."
He nodded slowly. "Father is under a lot of pressure."
"I noticed."
"He trusts you," Itachi said quietly. "More than most."
I blinked. "He said that?"
"No," Itachi murmured. "But he doesn't call just anyone into council meetings. He only does that with people he expects… things from."
I looked at the boy beside me.
There were shadows in his eyes—soft, barely noticeable, but present. He was beginning to sense the fissures cracking through the clan. The whispers of discontent. The distrust. The resentment.
He was too young for this weight.
"Shisui," he said suddenly, "do you think the clan is… changing?"
The question cut deeper than he knew.
I slowed my steps, watching lantern lights flicker across the stone path.
"It is," I answered honestly. "And not entirely for the better."
Itachi absorbed the words with troubling maturity.
"I want to help," he said softly.
A pang hit my chest.
Of course he did. Itachi always tried to shoulder burdens far too big for him.
I placed a hand on his head, ruffling his dark hair.
"You are helping," I said with a gentle smile. "Just by being you."
He blinked in confusion. "How?"
"Because you care. And people like you… remind us what we're fighting for."
He lowered his gaze but didn't pull away.
We walked slowly toward the Uchiha district homes, the lanterns casting long shadows behind us.
Halfway down the road, the System chimed.
---
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Major Event: Clan Council Confrontation Completed
Reward:
• Skill: Emotional Insight (Lv.1)
• Attribute Boost: +5 Wisdom
• Temporary Buff: Political Awareness — higher sensitivity to shifts in clan behavior
---
A new description appeared.
Emotional Insight (Lv.1):
Allows reading micro-expressions and emotional cues. Slightly increases effectiveness in negotiations and tense situations.
I blinked.
This was… unexpectedly perfect. The clan politics ahead were layered with suspicion, manipulation, and fear. Reading emotions could be the difference between defusing a conflict and lighting a fuse.
Itachi tugged at my sleeve again. "You were spacing out."
I smiled. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
"…About how to keep the clan safe."
He stopped walking.
When I turned to him, his expression was uncharacteristically vulnerable.
"Shisui," he whispered, "if something happens… promise me you won't face it alone."
My chest tightened.
This boy—
This future ANBU Captain—
This child who would one day carry the weight of genocide on his shoulders—
was asking me to promise not to abandon him.
I crouched and placed both hands on his shoulders.
"Itachi," I said softly, "I promise. Whatever comes, we'll face it together."
His eyes softened. "Okay."
The night wind swept through the street, carrying with it the faint scent of rain.
A storm was coming.
But I wasn't the Shisui who would vanish into tragedy.
Not anymore.
I stood, looking toward the heart of the clan compound.
"If they want proof," I murmured to myself, "I'll give them something undeniable."
Itachi looked up. "Proof of what?"
I smiled—a sharp, determined smile.
"That the future of the Uchiha doesn't belong to fear."
---
END OF CHAPTER 4