Uchiha Shisui

Late at night, although there was no curfew in the world of the Hokage, there was basically no nightlife either. It was already the early hours of the morning. The city had long shed its daytime clamor and been replaced by the tranquility of night. Only a few scattered lamps lit the streets, like specks of starlight in the night sky, spilling onto the empty pavement.

Naruto strolled alone through the deserted streets. The moonlight was gentle as water, and the breeze brushed against him. Though it carried the chill of night, it gave Naruto an inexplicable sense of comfort.

But what truly made him comfortable was not the quiet nightscape, but his current state of mind, calm as water. He was now in Sage Mode.

He had used a Shadow Clone to pretend to sleep in his bedroom. No one had noticed that his real body had already used Invisibility Release to leave.

Under normal circumstances, anyone using a sensory ninjutsu could easily locate him. After all, Invisibility Release merely rendered his body invisible; it could not stop Chakra from leaking out of it.

But Naruto could do it. He could completely control the Chakra in his body and seal it entirely within himself, without releasing even a trace. Other than special bloodlines capable of directly seeing Chakra, ordinary sensory ninja would have a hard time detecting him.

He had gotten the idea from Hunter x Hunter. He had used this method to conceal his presence when hunting in the woods before.

When he reached the commercial district, Naruto suddenly stopped. His gaze swept over the surrounding residential buildings, which were already shrouded in darkness. Only a few windows still glowed with light, allowing Konoha to retain a faint trace of vitality in the night.

A childlike smile appeared on his face, as if he had finally found his beloved toy.

A quarter of an hour later—

Naruto returned to the street looking refreshed. Getting rid of another person who deserved to die had left him feeling utterly at ease, body and mind alike.

With the matter settled, Naruto was in no hurry to go home. Instead, he continued wandering around Konoha.

Hokage Rock was practically the highest point in all of Konoha, and the best place to overlook Konoha Village. The surroundings were utterly silent, with only the occasional cry of a night bird in the distance breaking the stillness. Moonlight streamed down like silk over every rooftop and treetop, enveloping the entire village.

Naruto stood atop "Sarutobi Hiruzen's" head. His was the tallest of the four faces, and from this position, Naruto could overlook all of Konoha.

Konoha in the dead of night looked even more like a reflection of the starry sky. The still-bright Hokage Building guided every direction in the village.

A night wind swept past, yet Naruto did not feel the slightest bit cold. The Uzumaki Clan bloodline, coupled with the effects of the Nine-Tails' Chakra, gave him such immense vitality that he was like a furnace.

Facing the night wind, Naruto even felt somewhat cool. Looking down at Konoha blanketed in darkness, he slowly spread his arms.

He suddenly thought of Pain from the original story.

The once thriving Konoha had turned into ruins in an instant. Even he could not help feeling his blood surge at the thought.

"Kurama, can a Tailed Beast Ball completely destroy Konoha?"

Naruto asked the Nine-Tails in the Sealing Space.

The Nine-Tails froze for a moment, then gave it some simple thought before saying, "Maybe, if you let me out and let me do it myself."

Naruto's Chakra reserves were not on the same level as the Nine-Tails', so naturally, the Tailed Beast Balls they unleashed were not on the same level either.

Naruto felt somewhat disappointed. It seemed he still had a long way to go before he could "carry rice."

"Hmm, there seemed to be something called the Great Spiraling Ring. What was its principle again? It seemed to compress Chakra of Yin and Yang attributes, then detonate it?"

Just as Naruto and the Nine-Tails were discussing how to destroy Konoha quickly and efficiently, Naruto suddenly spotted a Black Shadow darting out of Konoha's Hokage Building.

Under normal circumstances, if someone wore black clothes and went out in the middle of the night, they would be difficult to spot. Of course, that was if they walked normally.

The moment the Black Shadow left the Hokage Building, it shot straight onto a streetlamp, then leaped onto a rooftop and headed directly toward Konoha's outskirts.

Naruto gazed from afar in the direction the Black Shadow had gone, his eyes narrowing slightly. That was...

The Uchiha Clan Compound.

It seemed... he had stumbled across something interesting.

He should follow and take a look.

The corner of Naruto's mouth curled up slightly.

A ninja coming out of the Hokage Building and running to the Uchiha Clan Compound in the middle of the night.

Was it Uchiha Shisui, or Uchiha Itachi?

Naruto used the Transformation Technique to alter his build and appearance, then put on the mask dropped by the Anbu ninja he had just killed.

Uchiha Shisui was different from other Uchiha ninja. There was none of the Uchiha Clan's arrogance to be seen on him. At a glance, he looked like an exceptionally honest Uchiha ninja.

At the same time, he was the Uchiha Clan's strongest genius at present. As early as the Third Shinobi War, he had slaughtered enemies in every direction with the Phantom Body Flicker Technique, earning the great name of "Body Flicker Shisui" on the battlefield.

Now, at the age of sixteen, he had opened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Such talent could be called unprecedented.

Yet the pain on his face could not be concealed even by the pitch-black night.

The conflict between the Uchiha and the village had reached a point where reconciliation was nearly impossible.

At today's Clan Meeting, many members of the Uchiha who had originally belonged to the Conservative Faction had defected to the Radical Faction. Quite a few clan elders had even begun proposing a coup to the clan head.

If this continued, the Uchiha Clan would no longer have a place in Konoha. Even Konoha itself would be dragged back into the whirlpool of war because of the Uchiha Clan's coup. When that time came, the village would inevitably suffer enormous harm once again.

The moment the Clan Meeting ended, he hurried to the Hokage Building to report the matter to Sarutobi Hiruzen and inform him of his Mangekyō Sharingan ability.

The Mangekyō Sharingan. The Ninja World's understanding of it still remained fixed on Madara Uchiha. Those were the eyes possessed by Madara Uchiha, the Shinobi World Asura, containing power sufficient to change the entire Ninja World.

Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan technique was called Kotoamatsukami. It could silently manipulate others at will and permanently, thoroughly alter their thoughts and will.

He had assured Sarutobi Hiruzen that he would use this ability to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village, and he had already received the latter's approval.

However, changing the clan head's understanding and attitude with Kotoamatsukami could only be done gradually. If he suddenly used Kotoamatsukami on Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head's change would inevitably arouse suspicion among the clan members.

He had to remain by Uchiha Fugaku's side and subtly alter his attitude, then have him suppress the voices of the Radical Faction within the clan.

Only then could there be a true turning point in the relationship between the clan and the village.

At least, that was what Uchiha Shisui believed.

As he pondered this, Uchiha Shisui's pupils suddenly contracted. His body paused briefly in midair before quickly dropping into the forest below.

"Hm?" Uzumaki Naruto, who was following behind with Invisibility Release while concealing his presence, felt confused.

Had he... been discovered?