Night had fallen over the Uchiha district.
Inside the head family residence, warm lantern light filled the dining room. The scent of miso and grilled fish lingered in the air.
Itachi had just returned from his ANBU duties, still wearing his dark uniform beneath a loose robe. Sasuke sat straight-backed at the table, trying to imitate his older brother's composure. Mikoto placed the final dish down with a gentle smile.
"Fugaku, Itachi, Sasuke — dinner is ready."
Meal times were the rare moments when the family felt whole.
However—
Before Mikoto could even ask Itachi about his day, a violent crack tore through the ceiling.
BOOM!
The entire house shook. Wooden beams splintered, tiles burst apart, and fragments rained down across the table. Smoke and dust filled the room.
Mikoto reacted instantly, pulling Sasuke back with practiced reflexes. Itachi was even faster — he grabbed Sasuke by the collar and moved him behind his own body, shielding him.
His eyes flared scarlet. The Sharingan spun to life.
Above them, a jagged hole gaped in the roof, edges scorched black. Faint traces of residual chakra flickered in the air — sharp, electric, unstable.
"This way," Fugaku commanded calmly but firmly. "Everyone into the courtyard."
Once he ensured his family moved outside, Fugaku stepped to the wall and leapt through the broken window. Chakra gathered under his feet, carrying him upward in a single bound to the rooftop.
A third of the roof had been blown away. The night sky was clear — no clouds, no storm, no natural lightning.
Fugaku narrowed his eyes.
"…Lightning Release."
Only a shinobi's technique could leave a chakra signature like that.
His thoughts immediately turned to Kumogakure — the Land of Lightning — but the idea didn't sit right. Konoha and the Cloud were in delicate negotiations following recent border tensions. A direct strike on the Uchiha district would be an act of war.
Footsteps landed beside him.
Itachi and several Uchiha clan members had arrived, all drawn by the explosion.
Itachi crouched and studied the charred beams.
"The output was precise," he said quietly. "High control. Jonin-level at minimum."
But the attack had been deliberately nonlethal. No one had been targeted directly.
A warning.
Silently, Itachi's thoughts turned toward the village leadership. Since the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha had been relocated to the outskirts under constant surveillance. Distrust simmered on both sides.
Could this have been—
He dismissed the thought almost immediately.
The Third Hokage wouldn't resort to intimidation.
Only one name remained.
…Danzo.
Before he could speak it aloud, another figure landed lightly on the rooftop.
Shisui Uchiha.
His Sharingan swept the destruction in a single glance.
"This wasn't meant to kill," Shisui said. "It was meant to send a message."
Fugaku's expression darkened.
"So they've decided to bare their teeth at last."
He turned to the younger shinobi gathering below.
"Seal the district. No one leaves until we identify the source."
"Yes, Clan Head!" the Uchiha responded, dispersing into the night.
Yet even as Fugaku gave orders, unease coiled in his chest.
If this had been aimed a little lower…
If his sons had been in the wrong place…
He exhaled slowly.
"Danzo…" he muttered under his breath.
Then Itachi spoke again.
"Father. I can trace the technique's direction. The chakra residue points southeast."
Fugaku nodded.
"You stay with your mother and Sasuke. Protect them."
Itachi hesitated — then accepted the order.
Fugaku and Shisui vanished into the night.
They moved swiftly across rooftops until Shisui halted, Sharingan locking onto a damaged building. A circular blast mark four meters wide scarred the roof and walls — the origin point.
"This is it," Shisui said.
Fugaku drew a kunai.
"Be careful. If this is Root, we cannot allow witnesses."
Shisui flickered forward, entering through the broken roof.
Inside stood a single young Uchiha — Kaze — covered in dust, staring at the ruined ceiling in horror.
Shisui's Sharingan scanned the room. No hidden chakra signatures. No masked ANBU. No Root operatives.
"Kaze," Shisui asked carefully, "are you alone?"
Kaze swallowed hard as the clan head himself landed behind Shisui.
"Are you injured?" Fugaku asked.
Kaze looked between them, then bowed deeply.
"Clan Head… Shisui-san… I… I was practicing a new Lightning Release technique. I lost control of the chakra output. The blast… traveled further than I intended."
Silence followed.
Then Kaze added, voice small but honest:
"I accidentally destroyed your roof."