Uchiha Looking for Trouble

Naka River Shrine, the gathering place for the Uchiha Clan council.

As Uchiha Shūichi stepped through the shrine's entrance, he spotted Uchiha Itachi standing in the corner. Their eyes met briefly before both turned away.

Uchiha Itachi's expression remained as wooden as ever—a double agent caught between Konoha and the Uchiha, his surface revealing nothing of the thoughts churning beneath.

"Ahem... Is everyone here?"

At the cough, the assembled Uchiha fell silent, their gazes shifting to the man at the head of the room—the current clan head, Uchiha Fugaku.

"All Uchiha who have awakened the Three Tomoe are present."

An elderly Uchiha spoke, his voice trembling. Roughly twenty-odd members of the clan now stood within the shrine.

Uchiha Shūichi leaned against the doorframe, also tucked into a corner, his eyes sweeping over Uchiha Fujioka.

On the surface, Uchiha Fujioka projected a calm, resolute air, his face as expressionless as his son Itachi's—the very image of a born leader.

But Uchiha Shūichi knew well that beneath that composed exterior lay a wavering, indecisive nature.

If the Uchiha Clan ultimately met a fate of death and extinction, at least thirty percent of the blame rested on Uchiha Fujioka's shoulders.

"Shisui has gone missing... We found a suicide note in his room!"

Uchiha Fugaku announced gravely. The next moment, shock rippled through the gathered Uchiha.

Some among them had already known this intelligence, but most were completely in the dark. Hearing it now, they were nearly all stunned.

In the manga, Uchiha Shisui was a mere bit player dead before the story even began, but in this era, he was arguably the strongest shinobi in all of Konoha.

Yes—not the strongest Uchiha, but the strongest shinobi in the entire village.

The Third Hokage was old, Hatake Kakashi had been squandering his talent, the Sannin were all absent from Konoha, the Fourth Hokage had long since fallen, and Body Flicker Shisui stood at the top.

Truth be told, if Shisui hadn't been soft-hearted, failing to treat Shimura Danzō as an enemy, and if Danzō hadn't possessed Izanagi—a technique that could kill on first encounter—the Konoha F4 combined wouldn't have stood a chance against him.

The news of his suicide hit the Uchiha Clan with the same impact as when Konoha shinobi learned of the Fourth Hokage's sudden sacrifice.

"How could this be?! That was Body Flicker Shisui, our clan's strongest shinobi—and he killed himself?"

"Impossible! This has to be some scheme of Konoha's! Konoha must have done this! Only a Konoha shinobi could have ambushed an off-guard Uchiha Shisui!"

"That's right! It has to be Konoha! Otherwise, why would Uchiha Shisui suddenly commit suicide?"

The Uchiha shinobi seethed with indignation. Even Uchiha Itachi, whose face had been blank, now revealed his Three Tomoe Sharingan, clearly shaken.

In the original story, Uchiha Shisui was Itachi's closest friend, and his death had even awakened Itachi's Mangekyo.

But this time, Itachi hadn't awakened the Mangekyo—the circumstances were different. In the original, Shisui had died before Itachi's eyes, entrusting him with his eye beforehand, dealing a far greater psychological blow than now.

Hearing only of Shisui's suicide note, without even seeing his body, the mental impact on Itachi fell short of awakening the Mangekyo.

"Uchiha Shūichi, Uchiha Itachi! You two were closest to Shisui—did you notice anything unusual?"

Just then, an Uchiha suddenly turned to look at Itachi and Shūichi.

"I don't know. Shisui hasn't contacted me recently."

Uchiha Itachi slowly shook his head. He truly knew nothing. Uchiha Shūichi, already aware of the plot, had deliberately intercepted events, so Itachi had no idea what Shisui had been doing.

"I'm not too clear either. Lately, Shisui seemed to be busy with Konoha missions."

"Konoha missions?! He must have been ambushed by Konoha's higher-ups! I've said it all along—those Konoha higher-ups are no good!"

A middle-aged Uchiha stood up, his face twisted with rage:

"Look at this now! Our clan's strongest shinobi dies without a sound! And they pin a suicide label on him! Konoha has gone too far!"

"And you two—Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shūichi—don't think we don't know you've been cozy with Konoha's higher-ups... Think about Shisui's fate. Those Konoha higher-ups aren't to be trifled with!"

Uchiha Itachi merely frowned at this, staying silent. But Uchiha Shūichi lifted his head:

"Shisui's matter hasn't been settled yet! We haven't even found his body, and even if we did, how can you be sure Konoha did it?"

"You bastard! I knew you were a traitor! Still defending Konoha!"

The middle-aged Uchiha erupted in fury. In a flash, he appeared behind Uchiha Shūichi, a kunai aimed at his back.

With a rustle, the struck Uchiha Shūichi dissolved into a flock of crows. The middle-aged Uchiha froze for a moment, then a pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan appeared before him. In an instant, his limbs tightened, and he crashed to the floor.

Uchiha Shūichi was a genius second only to Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi in the clan.

Even Uchiha Itachi, who had yet to awaken the Mangekyo and was only thirteen or fourteen, might not be a match for Shūichi—let alone an ordinary Three Tomoe Uchiha like this.

Battles among the Uchiha Clan hinged almost entirely on the development of the Sharingan. Thanks to his soul fusion, Uchiha Shūichi, though only at the Three Tomoe stage, had pushed every ability to its peak.

"Bastard, have you really defected to Konoha? Attacking your own clansman!"

The middle-aged Uchiha, pinned by genjutsu, still shouted loudly. Uchiha Shūichi raised an eyebrow and spoke coldly:

"What?! You can attack me directly, but I can't fight back?!"

"And... if you really think Shisui's death is connected to Konoha's higher-ups, then go confront them yourself! What's the point of picking a fight with me here?"

As Uchiha Shūichi's words fell, the entire shrine fell into dead silence.