Secret Technique: Talk no Jutsu

"Sōken, you..."

Shisui pointed at Sōken, opening his mouth several times as if to speak, but he didn't know what to say.

His mind was a tangled mess right now. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki appearing in Sōken's home—the shock this brought him was simply too great. This was the damn Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! Konoha's one-of-a-kind weapon of war, and moreover, the exclusive domain of the Third and the other elders!

What kind of trouble would this bring to the clan? What stance would the village take...

A thousand threads tangled beyond sorting, making his brain feel like it was about to crash.

"Stop pointing that finger at me. I told you, this isn't me scheming anything. The one scheming is the Third. Shisui, you're in the Anbu—do you really not know how many Anbu are protecting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? If the Third hadn't given the nod, do you think Toka really has the skill to drag the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back here?"

"This is just an accident. I doubt anyone expected Toka to bring the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back." Sōken spoke slowly. "The Third most likely chose to go with the flow, planning to use this opportunity to keep suppressing our clan. After all, chances this legitimate are rare."

"And you? What are you planning to do?"

Shisui took a deep breath, regaining his composure. "What goal do you intend to achieve by using the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Sōken didn't answer.

The reason was simple—

Dinner was ready. Time to eat.

"Toka, dinner's ready!" Sōken stood on the engawa veranda, shouting at the top of his lungs. Within ten or so seconds, Toka and Naruto burst out of the bamboo grove one after the other. But when he saw Sōken standing on the veranda, Naruto, trailing behind, visibly slowed his steps in fear.

"Why does he seem scared of me? Isn't this smile friendly enough?"

Sōken rubbed his chin, engaging in some self-reflection.

But he didn't forget to grab his sister's head and spin it like a top. "Toka, look how filthy you are! Did you go wrestle a toad or something?"

"Ahh! You're the one who wrestled a toad!"

Eyes blazing, Toka kicked at Sōken's shin.

The siblings went back and forth on the veranda, roughhousing noisily, stomping the boards with a "thump thump thump."

Then, They were disciplined.

Uchiha Saki slapped a heavy palm on her son's back—the one who showed not a shred of elder-brotherly dignity. As for her daughter, who displayed not a hint of girlish grace... she grabbed her by the ear and dragged her into the kitchen for a proper scolding. Listening to Toka's fake screams of agony, Naruto was terrified, trembling under the veranda.

The rowdy family finally quieted down at 7:10.

After washing their hands, the siblings sat obediently at the dining table, one on the left, one on the right, facing each other. Shisui stayed too, sitting beside Sōken. Naruto also didn't leave; his seat was next to Toka, directly across from Shisui.

"Dad, tonight's dinner is amazing!"

Toka's eyes lit up at the towering pile of fried chicken on the big plate. Beside her, Naruto quietly swallowed his saliva. Kids love fried food like this... well, adults love it too, actually.

"If you like it, eat plenty. I made a lot today, and there's more if you need it!"

Uchiha Masashi said with a warm smile.

His face was eighty percent similar to Sōken's—no, that wasn't quite right. Sōken took after his father, inheriting the Uchiha clan's sharp black hair and black eyes. His sister Toka, perhaps because she was a girl, resembled their mother, Uchiha Saki, more in appearance, though she too had black hair and black eyes, not inheriting their mother's brown pupils.

"Naruto, dig in! Dad's fried chicken is super delicious!"

Toka generously played host to her first and, so far, only little brother.

Life at the Ninja Academy wasn't what she'd initially imagined.

Her dream of recruiting a bunch of underlings and ruling the Academy had taken a heavy hit. Aside from Naruto, she hadn't managed to recruit a second follower. For some reason, everyone always kept their distance from her and Naruto. Only Sasuke, that familiar face, wasn't afraid of her.

But she didn't think much of that clingy brat who couldn't stop saying "big brother." Brothers were annoying, and for some reason, all the girls in class kept hovering around Sasuke, chattering like little hens in a coop.

At least Naruto, her little brother, didn't avoid her like the other students.

For that, Miss Toka had specially invited Naruto to play at her house.

She'd even shared her favorite fried chicken.

"...Thank you!"

Naruto shrank his neck, carefully picked up his chopsticks, and glanced at Sōken from across the table, making Sōken feel frustrated. Was he really that scary? Why was Naruto so afraid of him? Was this what they called an idiot's intuition? Had he sensed Sōken's intention to use him?

"Delicious!"

Naruto was stunned by the taste of the fried chicken. Light flickered in his sapphire-like eyes.

"Dad's fried chicken is Konoha's Best."

Toka lifted her chin proudly.

Uchiha Masashi was also delighted. He wasn't a ninja and didn't know much about certain matters at home. Influenced by his profession as a novelist, he had no idea that the yellow-haired, blue-eyed child before him was the village's Demon Fox. He just thought he was a friend his daughter had made at the Ninja Academy.

The meal was lively.

Mostly because Sōken and Toka were causing a ruckus.

Even after being scolded by their mother, they kept bickering—chopsticks dueling above the table, legs tangling in a flurry of kicks below.

After dinner, Sōken and Shisui went to sit on the engawa veranda, slowly digesting their food. From here, looking up, they could see the star-studded night sky.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

Shisui stared at the dense sea of stars, his face full of confusion.

"I wasn't talking about looking at the stars." Sōken rolled his eyes. "I meant the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, that brat... Didn't you notice anything wrong?"

"...No."

Shisui thought it over carefully and didn't find any issue.

"That kid... lives a hard life! He's the same age as Toka, but he's a whole head shorter. He acts like he's never eaten fried chicken before, even though it's just that... Don't you think our Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has it a bit too rough?"

"What are you trying to say with all this?"

Shisui furrowed his brows.

"Don't tell me you don't know who that kid really is." Sōken let out a cold laugh. "The orphan of the Fourth Hokage, practically the Third's great-grand-disciple. As the descendant of a hero, instead of being treated well, he's become the Demon Fox that the villagers fear like a tiger. He's never eaten anything good in his life. He inherited the Uzumaki bloodline, yet he's shorter than other kids his age... Don't you think the Third is a bit too heartless?"

This time, Sōken didn't even bother to beat around the bush. He openly criticized the Third right in front of Shisui.

Shisui remained silent.

This matter—

He... had nothing to say.

It wasn't that he didn't know some things; he had simply chosen to avoid them, to look the other way. Like all those clever people in the village who knew the truth, he pretended not to see it. Uzumaki Naruto's identity was hardly a secret in many people's eyes. Did they really think everyone who knew the Fourth was blind?

Of course not.

They just chose to be blind.

Maybe some people muttered about the Third's methods, but it never went beyond muttering. No one dared to openly raise any objections.

"If even a hero's child ends up like this, can you really expect the Third to genuinely accept us Uchiha?" Sōken pressed his advantage, refusing to let up.

"Sōken, the matter of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... it's different. These are two separate things. You can't lump them together like this..." Shisui's rebuttal was weak and powerless. He truly didn't know how to defend the Third anymore.

"What's so different? It's just that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has immense value. The Third is probably playing a game of playing hard to get, molding himself into the only one who brings him coal in the snow, using that to take control of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Sōken grew more heated as he spoke, slinging mud at the Third with abandon.

And maybe it wasn't even mud.

The discrimination and cold violence the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had suffered so far were the best proof, weren't they?

"Shisui, think it over! Maybe you respect that Shinobi Hero, but honestly, I don't like that old man at all. If only the one who had sacrificed himself back then wasn't the Fourth, but the Third old geezer instead!" Sōken's leisurely sigh fell like a pebble into a mirror-like lake, disturbing Shisui's peace of mind.

"Sōken, you bastard... you sure can talk!"

Shisui's smile was bitter.

He knew there had to be falsehoods in Sōken's words, but even after stripping away the slander, the remaining facts were still... a little chilling.

That's right!

If even the Fourth's orphan lived such a hard life, how could they truly be willing to accept the Uchiha?

"It's not that I can talk, it's that the Third and his lot really dare to act. If they hadn't done these things, what use would my words be? Are you the kind of person whose will wavers because of a few words from others, Shisui? You know all this in your heart, but... because you see no other hope, you've been the one playing dumb all along."

Sōken looked at Shisui's pale face and suddenly felt a bit impressed with himself. Had he unknowingly mastered the strongest Talk no Jutsu in the Shinobi World?

But then, these words were truly Sōken's honest feelings.

"I won't force you to decide right now. Take these couple of days to look around, understand the clan's mindset, and then... give me an answer. For now, I'm going to help take the kid home."

Sōken stood up.

There was no way Naruto could stay overnight in the Uchiha compound. If he actually dared to stay... the Third and the village's higher-ups would probably come charging over in the dead of night.

"I'll go with you..."

"No need. The trouble my idiot sister caused, I'll clean it up myself. Besides, it's just taking a kid home. Are you afraid something will happen? It's not like they'd send someone to kill me over this, right?"

"Of course not!"

Shisui let out a helpless laugh. No matter how bad the conflict between the village and the clan got, it wouldn't escalate to the point of swords drawn.

That was what he thought.