Shisui's Confusion

Xianren was stunned.

Ever since his father died, he thought no one would ever talk to him like this again—who's the senior here, you or me?!

Xianren's face darkened as he roared, "Uchiha Siming!"

Bam—!

He slammed his palm down, shattering the tea table before him into splinters. A terrifying aura burst from his body, his Three Tomoe Sharingan emerging—clearly showing just how furious he was!

"Alright, alright!"

Yashiro stepped in to play the peacemaker, grinning as he said, "Xianren, you can't really blame Siming. As an elder, scolding a junior about their status—how's he supposed to hold his head up in the clan from now on?"

But there was no real intent to mediate on his face.

He was clearly just enjoying watching his old rival make a fool of himself.

Seeing Yashiro's eyes crinkle with laughter, Uchiha Xianren grew even angrier: "Yashiro, you old bastard, you've gone too far! Forget about what happens later—!"

Bam—!

He slapped the ground, springing to his feet, and jabbed a finger at Uchiha Yashiro as he cursed: "Today, you and I settle this! The loser never shows up to another clan meeting again!"

The atmosphere in the room was as heavy as a storm cloud. Any spark could ignite the suffocating tension.

Crimson Sharingans spread like a contagion.

One pair after another flickered to life.

Slap, slap!

"Enough. Since there are no other suggestions, today's clan meeting ends here."

Uchiha Fugaku brushed the wrinkles off his clothes and stood up.

Instantly.

All the clamor vanished without a trace. Xianren and Yashiro both let out a cold snort, signaling their mutual disdain.

Uchiha Yashiro sidled up to Siming, looking thoroughly pleased, and said, "Gotta say, kid, the way you just cursed out Xianren was damn satisfying. That old fool's always itching for a fight!"

He hadn't gotten the better of Yashiro before.

But Siming had made Xianren lose face.

Hearing this, Uchiha Xianren glared over in fury, only to hear Siming click his tongue, slanting a glance at Uchiha Yashiro. "Hah!"

"Yashiro, think I didn't curse you just now?"

Whoosh—!

The Uchiha members who were about to leave immediately stopped in their tracks. Today's drama was top-notch!

Uchiha Yashiro: "..."

His mouth twitched as he realized Siming had seen through his gloating act—he hadn't been trying to mediate at all.

"Hahaha! Yashiro, how's that feel?"

Uchiha Xianren laughed uncontrollably: "Tried to use him as a weapon, but it backfired, huh? Uchiha Siming, come drink with me sometime—I'm not one to hold grudges!"

Losing face wasn't about whether you yourself looked bad; it was about whether someone else looked bad with you.

As long as there was company, it wasn't shameful!

Tch.

Siming ignored Uchiha Xianren. Uchiha not holding grudges? Hah. The last Uchiha clan that didn't hold grudges was the Senju, and now the Senju were gone.

"Let's go, Shisui. What are you standing around for?"

Siming glanced at Shisui, who was still eavesdropping, his gaze burning with intensity. Shisui was practically a Sage Body!

"Oh, oh, right." Uchiha Shisui quickly followed.

Huh?

Uchiha Itachi, who had been waiting nearby, was a bit confused. He'd been planning to talk with Shisui properly after the meeting ended—so why was Shisui leaving with that guy Uchiha Siming?

Without hesitation, he followed too.

"Huh?!"

Uchiha Fugaku, who had just been about to call his son for a heart-to-heart, froze with a stiff expression. He felt like his eldest son might be turning out wrong and wanted to see if he could straighten him out.

But instead, the kid trailed after Uchiha Siming and vanished in a flash.

"Has Itachi been getting close to Siming lately?"

Uchiha Fugaku mused thoughtfully: "Maybe I can use Siming to probe Itachi's thoughts."

Thinking about it, he felt a bit drained.

His eldest son was now so airtight in everything he did that even his biological father couldn't get a word out of him. The spy he'd originally sent to the Anbu had somehow become the Hokage's spy in the Uchiha clan!

Now he wanted to know what his eldest was thinking.

He'd have to probe indirectly.

Maybe Siming was a good opening.

On the other side.

By the time Siming got home and leisurely brewed some tea, he heard Shisui's voice from outside explaining, "Itachi, I'm busy right now. Let's train together another time."

Huh?

Uchiha Itachi looked dejected, confused, and even argued with a hint of defiance: "Shisui, is there any need to talk to someone like him? He hasn't even awakened his Sharingan!"

In his eyes, only he possessed the caliber to converse with Shisui.

"Itachi!"

Uchiha Shisui's expression turned stern, and he said seriously, "To me, everyone in the village is family. There's a need to talk to anyone."

"Go back for now, Itachi. I'll find you later."

He felt that Itachi's recent thoughts and actions were somewhat dangerous.

But it wasn't a big problem.

As long as he was here, he would correct Itachi's thinking.

Just then, however, a figure shot out like lightning, and in the moment Itachi was distracted, kicked him flying!

"Damn it, if I don't show my fangs, you think I'm a pushover, huh? You really think I didn't hear that?"

Uchiha Siming crossed his arms, sneering disdainfully: "Itachi, you didn't learn Shisui's tolerance and magnanimity, but you sure picked up his methods for dealing with enemies to the letter."

Except it wasn't when facing enemies.

It was when facing his own clan.

The entire clan—over a thousand people, from the elderly to the children, not one left except for Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hmph!"

Uchiha Itachi snorted coldly, as if unwilling to speak with him, got up from the ground, and vanished in an instant: "Shisui, I'll wait for you at the usual place."

"Sorry about that, Siming. Itachi's probably been in a bad mood lately."

The two entered the room. Shisui's face was full of apology, and as he looked at the tea before him, his expression grew unusually serious: "Siming, can you tell me about the village and the Uchiha?"

At that.

His heart trembled, sorrow in his eyes. Siming's earlier words had left his mind unsettled.

Right now, he was exactly as Siming had said.

He wanted to resolve the conflict between the village and the Uchiha, but the deeper he delved, the more powerless he felt. No matter how he intervened, things kept spiraling toward an irreparable abyss!

Perfect.

Siming's lips curled slightly, his eyes gleaming!

Shisui has posed a question to you. Please provide the perfect answer, and the reward will be the system's Sage Body!

Siming stroked his chin, gazing at the other man thoughtfully: "Shisui, first tell me what efforts you've made over the years."

In the original story.

There was very little focus on Shisui's side of things. Since he was supposed to give advice, he naturally needed to understand Shisui's efforts first. He couldn't just talk out of thin air.

"Hoo—!"

Shisui took a deep breath: "I first realized there was a conflict between the village and the Uchiha when I was six years old."

"Wait!"

Siming stopped him, his handsome face showing disbelief: "You're telling me you were six?"

At six, he was still babbling, playing in mud, and making a mess.

And you're saying at six you were already worrying about the future of the clan and the village?

That's just bullshit!