"Go, go, go! Move it!"
Yamashiro Ryuta, captain of the Konoha Gate security squad, waved furiously and gave the waiting members behind him their orders. Like hunting dogs in the night, they moved toward the back mountain with practiced precision and a clear goal.
The village, peaceful moments before, was startled by the sudden alarm. Villagers poked their heads out of their homes, watching the group curiously.
At that moment, Sora Uchiha was walking home. He was very pleased with the power of his new jutsu,
It had taken just one move to kill the Chunin from Sunagakure.
The only shame was that he'd planned to interrogate the Monkey-Faced Man about why he'd infiltrated Konoha, but now that the man was dead, there was no way to get any useful information out of him.
"Thud, thud, thud—"
Ahead, a group from the security squad came rushing toward him,
He paused, stepped aside to let them pass, and lowered his head slightly.
Yamashiro Ryuta hadn't paid the boy any mind. Finding out what had caused the explosion in the back mountain was more urgent. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the "billiard ball" emblem of the Uchiha Clan on Sora's back.
His eyes flickered. He motioned for the others to keep going, then stopped in front of Sora Uchiha.
"Hey, Uchiha brat, why are you wandering around this late?"
Sora Uchiha was taken aback. Uchiha brat?
No one had ever called him that before. Hearing it now gave him a strange sense of being some kind of second-generation heir.
He raised his head and looked calmly at Yamashiro Ryuta. "The Uchiha territory is up ahead. I was training, and now I'm going home."
Yamashiro Ryuta was momentarily at a loss for words. The kid was small, but sure had a lot of nerve. Every other child in the village acted timid around him. This kind of calmness was unusual, to say the least.
He waved a hand.
"I'm not accusing you of anything. I just wanted to ask if you noticed anything strange just now."
Sora Uchiha nodded slightly. "There was an explosion in the back mountain."
"Did you notice anyone suspicious?" Yamashiro Ryuta's eyes lit up.
"No. I heard the explosion and ran straight home." As he spoke, he flashed a row of white teeth. "I'm just a kid. Why would I be paying special attention?"
Yamashiro Ryuta thought that made sense and waved him off. "All right. Get home early. Things have been unsettled lately, so stay off the streets."
With that, he hurried on toward the back mountain...
Sora Uchiha's expression turned strange. The man had called him an Uchiha brat, yet he'd still reminded him to stay indoors.
He lowered his head and chuckled, then continued home.
As for the explosion?
It had naturally been caused by his use of Uchiha's Glory.
Thinking of that, he instinctively touched his eyes.
When he'd used Uchiha's Glory just now, it had felt as if the whole world had slowed down. A power unlike anything he'd ever known had filled his eyes.
He knew that was the power of the Sharingan—and not just any Sharingan, but the Mangekyō!
Unfortunately, the Mangekyō Sharingan seemed to appear for only an instant when he used that move. Once it ended, his eyes returned to normal. It had been there and gone in a flash, but he could still remember the sharp pain in his eyes.
He suspected that although he hadn't awakened the Sharingan, the brief burst of Mangekyō when he used the move had still damaged his eyes.
"Ah, whatever. In any case, I guess I'm a Uchiha who can use the Sharingan...right?"
The windows of countless homes glowed with warm light. There was always one left on for me.
Sora Uchiha stood at the entrance, looking up at the light upstairs. Warmth welled in his chest.
He didn't linger. He went to the door and was just about to take out his key when—
Click.
The door swung open from inside, and a naturally curly-haired child rushed straight at him. "Big brother! You're home!"
Sora Uchiha was startled, but quickly reached out and caught him. His eyes softened as he smiled. "Shisui, did you miss me while I was gone?"
Yes, the curly-haired child in front of him was none other than the future "Body Flicker Shisui," Shisui Uchiha.
Sora Uchiha had been reborn as Shisui Uchiha's older brother.
"Uh-huh! I missed you so much, big brother. Oh, and I learned the Great Fireball Technique today!" Shisui said, staring at Sora with anticipation.
Children were easy to read. Sora Uchiha understood what Shisui wanted at a glance and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Great job. You're only six, Shisui, and you've already learned the Great Fireball Technique. You're way better than I was."
"Really?"
"Really." He smiled. Hadn't he only learned the Great Fireball Technique when he was nine? His talent really wasn't anything special. Without the system,
he might not even have passed the Chunin Ninja Exams today.
Clearly delighted by the praise, Shisui hopped down and grabbed his hand, pulling him inside.
"Hehe, how did the Chunin Ninja Exams go today?"
"I came in first, of course."
"Wow! No wonder you're my big brother. You're amazing!"
Inside, a man sat upright on a floor cushion. Even sitting still, he gave off an imposing presence.
Sora Uchiha put aside his playfulness with Shisui, walked over to the man, and respectfully greeted him. "Father."
Momosuke Uchiha, his father and the son of Kagami Uchiha. (The original story never mentioned this character. Some people say Kagami Uchiha was Shisui's father, but I think the timeline doesn't quite fit, so in this story, Kagami Uchiha is Shisui's grandfather.)
Momosuke glanced at him and nodded. "Sit."
Sora Uchiha sat across from Momosuke. He had great respect for the father of Shisui, a character who had never appeared in the original story.
"How do you think the younger generation in Konoha measures up?" Momosuke poured Sora Uchiha a cup of tea and asked casually.
"The younger generation has a lot of talent. They'll be a force to reckon with in the future," Sora Uchiha said seriously.
"Oh? And how do they compare to you?"
"They're nowhere near my level," he replied calmly.
"Good!" Momosuke slapped his thigh and laughed heartily. "Haha, that's my son!"
Hearing his father's tone, Sora Uchiha relaxed as well.
Momosuke stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Across from them, the Uchiha Clan Compound was quiet beneath the night sky. Now and then, members of the security squad could be seen moving across the rooftops.
"Something happened in the back mountain just now, didn't it?"
"A Sunagakure spy was scouting Konoha," Sora Uchiha answered honestly. There was no point hiding it from his family.
"Sunagakure?" Momosuke let out a surprised sound, then snorted. "They're trying to take advantage of the war and stir up trouble in Konoha?"
He sat down again and took a sip of tea. "What caused that explosion?"
"I was testing a new jutsu."
"Oh? It was that powerful? Which jutsu?"
"One I created myself. Fire Release: Uchiha's Glory."
Momosuke was startled. Sora had created his own jutsu, and it had even attracted the security squad's attention. Though he knew the boy was his son, he was still shocked by what he'd accomplished at such a young age.
"Uchiha's Glory. You've certainly got some nerve naming it that." He chuckled, but didn't press for details.
Sora Uchiha suddenly thought of something and asked, "Should we tell Konoha about Sunagakure?"
"Tell them? Why should we?" Momosuke snorted. "That old Third Hokage is always looking for ways to weaken the Uchiha. If this keeps up, the Uchiha will be finished sooner or later."
"To change our standing, we need a spark—something that makes Konoha realize it can't do without the Uchiha. Sunagakure? They've come at just the right time."
"By the way, did you take care of the body?"
Sora Uchiha nodded. He liked to prepare for every eventuality, so he'd taken care of the body before leaving.
Night deepened.
Sora Uchiha's gaze was profound. His father was right.
To change the Uchiha's current predicament, they did indeed need a major event to serve as a fuse.
The Kikyo Mountain Battle?
It had come at just the right time.
Before you continue