The Distance of Human Hearts

Spit on? How could anyone take that lying down?

If you hit back, you felt relieved in the moment, but afterward Fugaku Uchiha would scold you.

But if you didn't hit back, the Villagers thought this Uchiha was easy to bully and pushed even harder, until you couldn't take it anymore and hit back anyway.

The result was the same—scolded by Fugaku Uchiha.

In this suffocating pressure with no outlet inside or outside the clan, the rallying cry for a coup grew louder and louder.

A year later, Fugaku Uchiha was no longer content with the status quo. He placed his eldest son, eleven-year-old Uchiha Itachi, into the Anbu as a spy.

But Uchiha Itachi was a child with his own ideas.

He chose to act as a spy for the Uchiha Clan instead, reporting the clan's every move to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Now, two years had passed since the Armistice Agreement with Kumogakure.

Jinghuo Uchiha was five years old.

Konoha—though the sun shone brightly, it gave off a dark, oppressive feeling.

But Uchiha Sasuke didn't notice.

As always, he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed to the Back Mountain forest to practice shuriken.

His Nii-san, Uchiha Itachi, was so cool with his shuriken techniques that Sasuke had fallen in love with practicing them too. He wanted to master the same skills so that next time he saw his Nii-san, he could surprise him.

And he wasn't alone in that Back Mountain forest.

As always, he saw that Little Boy endlessly doing Push-ups, Crunches, Frog Jumps, and other basic exercises.

Jinghuo Uchiha—the younger brother of Uchiha Shisui, who had stolen his Nii-san's attention—was the same age as him, five years old.

Hardly any kids in the clan knew him, and the adults only remembered him as Uchiha Shisui's little brother. Nothing more.

He was a very strange kid his age.

Uchiha Sasuke blinked, glanced at him with a bit more curiosity, then went back to practicing his shuriken like before.

Soon, the sun set and dusk arrived.

Uchiha Sasuke shot a look at the clean-featured Little Boy resting against a tree trunk, packed up his shuriken, and turned back without a word.

At first, he'd worried about that Little Boy, hesitating whether to call him to go home together.

But ever since he saw Uchiha Shisui come to pick him up every day, he didn't want to bother with him anymore.

Why did his Nii-san come for him every day, while his own Nii-san wouldn't come for him even once?

So annoying!

Today, Uchiha Sasuke got lucky. He ran into Uchiha Itachi, who had just returned.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke ran over excitedly.

"Is your mission over? Practice with me!"

He said "practice," but really he wanted to show off how much he'd improved.

This will definitely surprise Nii-san! Sasuke thought smugly.

Uchiha Itachi opened his mouth, about to say "okay," when he caught a familiar figure flashing past ten meters away.

Seeing that, he could only say apologetically, "Forgive me, Sasuke."

Uchiha Itachi left.

Sasuke's little face puffed up in displeasure. Watching Itachi's retreating back, he couldn't help thinking of Jinghuo Uchiha, waiting in the Back Mountain for Uchiha Shisui to pick him up.

Naka River.

This place had cliffs and a swift current.

If any rocks fell in, they'd be ground to pieces.

Many adults forbade children from playing here.

Uchiha Shisui stood by the edge, quietly gazing out as if lost in memory.

Sensing the person he'd invited had arrived, he smiled. "We used to play here a lot, didn't we."

"You're back," Uchiha Itachi said, stepping out from behind a tree and coming to stand beside Shisui. "What's the matter?"

The two didn't waste time on small talk.

After a few brief exchanges, Shisui asked directly, "How serious do you think Fugaku is?"

"Serious about what?" Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly.

"The coup." Shisui's tone turned grave.

By now, the Uchiha Clan's dissatisfaction with the village was boiling over. The cry for a coup was no longer just empty shouting like before.

The increasingly frequent gatherings were proof of this.

Tomorrow, there would be another gathering.

He had a feeling that the situation had reached a point where no delay could be afforded.

"If it really comes to a coup, then I..." Uchiha Shisui reached out, touching his own eye, a flicker of hesitation in his movements.

At that moment, Uchiha Itachi voiced his thoughts.

"If the village stays as it is, the Uchiha Clan will likely reach the limit of their endurance. But if the Uchiha don't change first, the village won't change either. As long as both sides continue to distrust each other, the situation will only worsen."

"The Uchiha need to change first..." Uchiha Shisui's hesitant expression gradually hardened into resolve.

Hokage Building.

Uchiha Shisui knelt on one knee.

"Shisui, what do you think of tomorrow's gathering?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, puffing on his pipe.

"Hokage-sama, if Fugaku intends to launch a coup, I wish to resolve it with my dōjutsu," Uchiha Shisui replied.

Sarutobi Hiruzen relaxed upon hearing this.

"Good. I will dispatch Uchiha Itachi to support you."

"Yes!"

Next Day.

Hokage Building.

Having received the news, Shimura Danzō came before Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"The Uchiha are holding another gathering!"

Danzō's sensitive attitude, though not a single word said "strike first," every word implied "strike first."

Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally understood the meaning behind it, and he was also well aware of the Uchiha Clan's current mindset.

Still, these problems weren't too serious.

"Shisui," Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke.

The door opened, revealing a young man with a dango nose.

"Uchiha Shisui..." Shimura Danzō frowned.

Why was a member of the Uchiha here?

Could it be that the Uchiha would help them destroy their own clan?

Ridiculous.

Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "Shisui will attend the gathering. If he finds that Uchiha Fugaku truly plans a coup..."

At this, Uchiha Shisui spoke up, "I will use Kotoamatsukami!"

"Your dōjutsu?" Danzō said with feigned indifference, but his gaze flickered with hidden intent.

Root Headquarters.

Uchiha Shisui clutched his right eye, blood streaming endlessly, cold sweat pouring down, his breath ragged. His left eye trembled, pupils quaking with disbelief.

His right eye had been gouged out by Danzō!

"Give me the other one too!" Shimura Danzō said with overwhelming confidence, staring at Shisui's left eye.

The moment Danzō finished speaking, over a dozen Root members appeared instantly, moving to capture Uchiha Shisui.

Shisui reacted swiftly, his hands forming hand seals at lightning speed.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger

In an instant, his chest swelled.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A mass of flame erupted from his mouth.

In the air, it transformed into a terrifying fireball five meters in size, scorching and dry, instilling primal fear in all living things.

The five-meter fireball shot forward without mercy, intent on burning everything to ash.

The Root members, seasoned in combat, formed hand seals in an instant.

Over a dozen shinobi moved in perfect unison.

Their cheeks bulged.

The next second, they opened their mouths and exhaled as one.

"Water Release: Water Shark Wave!"

A dozen small pools converged into a massive torrent of water, colliding with the enormous fireball.

The water evaporated, bursting outward in all directions like a steam bomb.

Hot, humid wind scoured everything, and white mist from the water vapor blanketed the surroundings.

The next moment, the steam formed by the collision of fire and water chakra dissipated rapidly.

When visibility cleared, Uchiha Shisui was nowhere to be seen.

"Body Flicker Technique?!" The Root members were stunned.

This was Body Flicker Shisui...

A D-rank technique, yet he could use it with such overwhelming power?!

"Pursue him!" Shimura Danzō barked.

The Root members immediately gave chase.