Swish—!
A shuriken left Yun's hand and punched dead-center into the target.
For half a second, he felt pretty good about himself.
Then—
Bang-bang-bang!
The sounds beside him hit like a slap.
Yun's smile froze.
Are shinobi in this world born with scopes in their eyes or what?
Itachi—one hand holding three shuriken—threw them in a single motion.
Three different starting angles.
All three hit the bullseye.
Yun's eyelid twitched.
If he remembered correctly, twelve years later there'd be geniuses doing absurd physics-defying things like Lee's reverse triple kick in the Chūnin Exams.
At this point even Newton would be clawing at his coffin lid.
"Hah…" Yun muttered. "So this is why 'genius' exists—to crush confidence."
Itachi didn't answer.
He simply drew more shuriken and started drilling that ricochet style—using impact to alter trajectory mid-flight like it was basic arithmetic.
Swish—!
Shisui appeared in a Body Flicker, smiling.
"When Itachi asked you to learn this before, you didn't want to."
"Now you're getting your confidence smashed?"
Yun shook his head. "I don't have your freak-level calculation ability. Even if I learned it, it'd be useless."
"By the time I finish calculating the angle, my head will already be a ball the enemy's kicking around."
And honestly?
What was the point?
Top-tier shinobi in this world all had their own "giant armor" anyway—Susanoo, tailed-beast transformations, wood golems…
Throwing shuriken at that kind of monster was like poking a fortress with a toothpick.
—
Later, deep in the woods behind the training ground, Yun, Shisui, and Itachi stood high on a thick branch, looking down at Konohagakure stretched out in the distance.
Itachi spoke quietly, as if talking to himself.
"Life dies. Life struggles. Life… gathers."
Yun glanced at him.
Here we go again.
"A year ago, when Clan Head Fugaku died, you awakened the Sharingan," Yun said flatly. "A genius who opened his eyes at five and a half."
"Want me to dig them out and keep them?"
Shisui blanked.
Even Itachi turned his head, staring at Yun like he was looking at an idiot.
Yun didn't blink.
"Everyone has different talents."
"And human nature is ugly—people only notice what others gain, and ignore what others lose."
"When gaps appear, jealousy appears too."
"Life is living. Death is unavoidable."
"And 'gathering' happens because people want to live better."
He looked at Itachi.
"I heard you've been muttering things lately—what is a shinobi, what is the village…"
"After the Warring States era, the First Hokage built the village to avoid war."
"But what about the clans?"
"Hyūga. Sarutobi. Shimura. The Ino–Shika–Chō."
"Why did they join Konoha?"
Shisui thought for a moment. "Because… nobody wanted to keep fighting?"
"I've read records from that era. The average lifespan was terrifyingly low. They must've been sick of war."
Itachi nodded, fully agreeing.
"Ending hatred through dialogue… merging clans into one village…"
"The First Hokage truly was a god of shinobi."
Yun sat down on the branch, the chakra sticking to bark starting to feel annoying.
He shook his head.
"No."
"They joined because they wanted to survive."
"Survive…?" Shisui echoed.
Yun's voice stayed calm.
"In a world where someone can wipe out a clan with one strike… wipe out a country in half a day…"
"If you don't join, you get erased."
He laughed once, without humor.
"And that's with travel time included."
"Hashirama was an idealist."
"But the man who stood beside him—Uchiha Madara—wasn't someone you could 'negotiate' with."
"One hand offering you three-color dango."
"The other hand ready to wipe your bloodline off the map."
"Eat the dango if you're obedient."
"If you're not—he beats you until you learn obedience."
After a pause, Yun looked at Shisui and asked,
"Do you know why there was a relatively long stretch between Konoha's founding and the First Great Ninja War…"
"But the gaps between the First, Second, and Third Wars were so short?"
Shisui shook his head. Itachi fell silent, thinking.
Yun answered for them.
"Because as long as Hashirama was alive, his power was the pillar holding peace up."
"When he said 'no fighting,' everyone sat down and talked."
Then Yun's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Power is the first condition for equal dialogue."
"The Uchiha still exist for two reasons right now."
"One is the Fourth Hokage."
"The other…"
He stared directly at Shisui.
"Is you, Uchiha Shisui."
"You awakened a power similar to your ancestor Madara's—the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Shisui's eyes shifted—three tomoe turning slowly.
"The Fourth wants a chance to sit down and talk with the clan," Shisui said quietly. "But the resentment between the clan and the villagers…"
Yun shook his head.
"The Military Police were never a clean job."
"And it became even dirtier because the Uchiha monopolized it."
"The pride that comes with the name… the Uchiha habit of speaking down to civilians…"
"It all pushes the clan farther away from the village."
"The Police became Uchiha property."
"So naturally, when people don't feel involved, they don't care whether the Uchiha live well or suffer."
"The Uchiha never placed themselves inside the 'Konoha noble families' faction…"
"Never placed themselves under the Hokage's faction…"
"And then they go out and offend civilians every day."
Yun stopped there.
Shisui and Itachi both sank into thought.
Shisui's mind ran through every point.
The clan's current position…
He couldn't deny it.
A large part of it traced back to the Second Hokage's design.
And the Third had inherited the Second's will.
Along with another student of the Second:
Shimura Danzō.
Which meant only one thing now—
Only the Fourth Hokage remained.
Itachi, meanwhile, watched the two of them.
Village… clan… is it really that simple?
Shisui exhaled.
"Even though you're only six…"
"I've been shocked by your mind since half a year ago."
"If it were you, Yun—what would you do?"
Yun looked at both of them.
"If you're asking me as a favor…"
"Then both of you owe me one."
Shisui smiled. "If you ever need help, I'll gladly repay it. Want to learn a jutsu?"
Even Itachi nodded once. Cold, but acknowledging.
Yun shook his head.
"This isn't about a jutsu."
"This is about the future of an entire clan."
He met Shisui's eyes.
"Shisui…"
"Become the Uchiha clan head."
"Only as clan head can you represent the Uchiha and stand with the Fourth."
"And only the Fourth…"
"…hasn't inherited the Second Hokage's will."
"Give up the Military Police."
"Or open it up—make it something the entire village participates in."
"Reintegrate the Uchiha into Konoha's ruling families."
"Join the Fourth as Konoha's 'nobility'—not as an isolated police force."
"That's my solution."
Shisui shook his head slightly. "It's not that easy."
"The second seat and third seat elders are still here—"
Yun cut him off, voice calm but sharp.
"The Mangekyō."
"The man who became famous for genjutsu and Body Flicker…"
"What is your Mangekyō ability, Shisui?"
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/arcanechronicals