Just as Uchiha Eiji and the others excitedly circled Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi appeared nearby.
"Izumi, I want to talk with you."
Shisui walked up to Uchiha Izumi, his expression serious.
Izumi met Shisui's gaze, gave a slight nod, and the three of them moved into a nearby stand of trees.
"Itachi, you'll be entering the academy this year too, right?" Izumi smiled first and addressed Itachi.
"Yes." Itachi replied evenly.
"Then Sasuke will probably throw a fit — his favorite brother suddenly won't be around."
At that, the expressionless Itachi softened for a moment into a tender smile.
"Sasuke is sensible. He'll understand."
Shisui cut their light banter short. His face was grave, even a touch displeased as he said to Izumi, "Izumi, I'm disappointed in you. How could you act so insubordinately and do that to your jōnin instructor? What you did doesn't only increase the village's resentment toward the clan — it worsens the way others in the village view the Uchiha."
"Enough, Shisui!"
Uchiha Izumi snapped, his voice low and his sharp eyes not backing down from Shisui's. He asked, "Did I do anything wrong?"
"That vermin Yoshihara Yūdō — I can't accept him as my instructor," Izumi shot back.
Shisui frowned at Izumi's angry expression. "How was Yoshihara jōnin despicable? I know you revere the White Fang, but he criticized him for the good of the village. White Fang atoned with his suicide. Why drag White Fang into this as an excuse when you have no relation to him?"
Who says I have no relation? White Fang is my teacher now. Izumi kept that sentence to himself. Instead he looked at Shisui and sighed softly. "Shisui, I'm disappointed in you — your foolishness and naiveté will get you hurt."
Those words stunned both Shisui and Itachi. Especially Shisui — a man everyone praised as a genius had never before been called foolish.
After a few steps Izumi halted, turned, and looked back at Shisui and Itachi. "Maybe you think the village is always right. I don't. I don't believe I was wrong today. If I had stood by and done nothing when facing Yoshihara, I'd have despised myself."
"But Izumi, your actions will only make the village loathe the clan more." Itachi interjected.
Izumi's mouth curved into a careless smile. "We are the Uchiha. Even if the village dislikes us, so what?"
Besides, even if the Uchiha obeyed the village completely, Konoha's leadership would never truly trust or accept them. So why bend over backwards to please the village and humiliate ourselves?
Those thoughts Izumi could not say aloud to Shisui and Itachi. Watching him walk away, Shisui's brow stayed tightly furrowed.
After a long moment he said helplessly, "Itachi, there are too many in the clan like Izumi — they lack restraint, vent their emotions without caring about consequences. Over time the village's resentment toward the clan will only grow."
Itachi watched Izumi laughing with Uchiha Eiji and the others. "Shisui, if we work hard, we can change the clan's mindset."
"Yes — if we work hard."
Shisui's weighty expression cleared into an open smile. He was glad Itachi thought the same as he did. In Shisui's eyes, if the heir Itachi grew up well, he could one day become a bridge between the clan and the village.
Back at home, Izumi found his younger sister Sen practicing chakra refinement. When she heard the door, she stopped and then bounced into Izumi's arms with a squeal.
"Brother! I'm getting into the academy!" she cried.
"You'll be a fine shinobi for our family," Izumi replied, and the two teased each other until their mother called them to the table.
Their mother, Uchiha Ri, picked up a piece of roast and put it into Izumi's bowl, then asked, "Little Izumi, I heard after you graduate the academy you'll be sent to the border soon."
"Yes, Mother." Izumi answered.
Uchiha Ri's face clouded with worry; tears shimmered at the corners of her eyes. "The fighting is fierce now. Little Izumi is about to go to war — how can a mother rest easy?"
Izumi comforted her. "Don't worry, Mother. Once I'm on the battlefield I'll be careful and protect myself. My strength is high — I won't be hurt, you'll see."
"That's right — brother is the strongest." Sen chimed in.
"Mother, don't worry. Today I even beat a special jōnin." Izumi said proudly.
"Really?" Uchiha Ri's eyes widened. Then she looked pleased. "Our Izumi is impressive indeed."
After dinner, a member of the guards arrived at the Uchiha residence — the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, wanted to see Izumi.
Izumi followed the guard to a luxurious mansion at the center of the compound: the clan head's household. He was led straight to a main hall where a figure full of gravitas sat cross-legged. Uchiha Fugaku appraised Izumi for a few seconds, then gestured for him to sit.
"I didn't expect you to revere the White Fang so much, or to remember that traitor who betrayed him — Yoshihara Yūdō," Fugaku said.
Izumi raised an eyebrow. "Clan head, you also respected the White Fang?"
"Yes. I followed the White Fang on several missions back then." Fugaku's face grew contemplative and he drifted into memory. "When the White Fang took his life, I was both grief-stricken and regretful. If he hadn't died, he might have become the Fourth Hokage."
Izumi nodded. "I think so too."
"Listen, Izumi. I won't blame you for what you did today. In truth, I've long wanted to kill Yoshihara myself. But I called you here to warn you: what you did today has angered the village. Even though the village punished you not at all, once you head to the front lines the missions you're assigned may be strange. Be cautious."
"Are you saying the village might use a mission to get rid of me?" Izumi asked.
Fugaku's expression turned dark. "There is an organization in the shadows in our village — Root. Its leader is Shimura Danzō, a disciple of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. That man is filled with hostility and prejudice against us Uchiha. In fact, several of our clansmen are suspected to have been 'handled' by the village through missions."
Izumi fell into thought. He suspected his name had already landed on Shimura Danzō's desk.
So it's finally you I'll face, Danzō. he thought.
"Clan head, rest assured. I'll be careful." Izumi said earnestly.
Fugaku asked another question: "I hear one of your teammates is from the Senju. Will you have conflicts with him?"
"Gen and I get along well. You don't need to worry." Izumi replied.
Fugaku reminded him, "The Senju are few in number now. The village will likely protect that Senju teammate. If the village wants to deal with you through missions, they might try to separate you."
"I understand." Izumi said solemnly. "I hope your warning never comes true. I don't want to see such dark, dirty things happen in the village."
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