Chuanhe knew, of course, that his son was following behind him.
Just as he'd promised before, whatever decision Hui made, as long as it didn't go against his principles, he would support him.
"Chuanhe, it's certainly not easy to get you to come out." An imposing old man sat kneeling across from Chuanhe.
"Not at all, Elder Setsuna. I've just been engrossed in my research." Chuanhe sat cross-legged.
He didn't care what the others thought of him. Kneel? Absolutely not. Besides, he no longer had to care what these people thought.
"Haha, you're young and promising, Chuanhe. No wonder that little Yuki took a liking to you." Elder Setsuna laughed heartily.
Chuanhe's expression darkened at once. Ever since he'd invented the Flame Explosion Technique, no one had dared provoke him so openly.
"Chuanhe, I'll get straight to the point. You saw what happened today. I hope you won't let down all the years the clan has spent nurturing you."
"Would you hand over the original copy of the Flame Explosion Technique to me? That boy Fugaku is far too indecisive. The clan still needs an old bone like me to lead it."
Elder Setsuna looked quite pleased with himself.
"Elder Setsuna, I'm an outsider, after all. I handed the technique over to Captain Fugaku a long time ago," Chuanhe said calmly.
One of the Sharingan-wielding Uchiha standing nearby couldn't help speaking up. "Elder Setsuna, I told you there was no need to waste your breath on him. We can just use genjutsu to interrogate him. Please wait here. I'll—"
Before he could finish, Hui appeared in a corner of the room through Space Leap, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan active. He positioned himself in front of Chuanhe.
Hui had great faith in his father's strength, but his serious injury yesterday and the assassination attempt today had left him uneasy.
He hadn't expected the chakra in the room to be on the verge of flaring up when he sensed it with Four-Dimensional Perception. Without hesitation, he rushed inside.
The people in the room fell silent. The atmosphere turned dead.
The Uchiha surrounding Elder Setsuna stared at Hui in disbelief.
"Three Tomoe?"
"Impossible!"
"How old is he?"
"Yuki hasn't even awakened her Sharingan."
Elder Setsuna's face flushed with excitement.
"Haha, the Uchiha are blessed by heaven! The Uchiha are blessed by heaven!"
"Chuanhe, you've got a fine son! Was that Flying Thunder God just now? Tsk, tsk. A Fourth Hokage with the Sharingan at just six years old? Unbelievable."
Chuanhe spoke softly to Hui's back. "Hui, put down your weapon for now and sit with me. Let's hear what the clan's 'senior' has to say."
He deliberately emphasized the word "senior."
"But..." Hui hesitated, then obeyed and sat cross-legged. He kept his Three-Tomoe Sharingan fixed on the people across from him.
"Elder Setsuna, is there anything else you'd like to say?" Chuanhe didn't explain anything. He simply asked.
Expecting this stubborn old man to come up with any new ideas was like reaching for the sky.
"How rude! It seems we still—" The Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan couldn't help speaking, but Setsuna cut him off.
"Chuanhe, if you go back like this, I can't guarantee your safety anymore."
Elder Setsuna held back one of the clan members standing beside him and spoke with a measure of calm.
"Don't misunderstand, Chuanhe. If Danzo dared to assassinate you once, he'll surely try again."
"Thank you for your concern, Elder. There's no need to worry about that," Chuanhe said mildly.
"Hmph. Then go back like this, but Hui stays," Setsuna said with a cold snort.
"Oh? I don't agree. I'm confident I can protect my own child."
An invisible "wind" swept out from Chuanhe. He disrupted everyone's chakra, including that of the people hiding nearby. Not one of them was spared.
It was hot. It felt as if flames were burning all over their bodies.
The sensation was like a Fire Release technique that had misfired, except it spread across their entire bodies.
Elder Setsuna and the others grimaced in pain, the veins on their foreheads bulging. Fortunately, the feeling passed after a few seconds.
The Uchiha were terrified. After exchanging glances, they moved to shield Elder Setsuna with their bodies. Several pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared fixedly at Chuanhe.
Hui stared right back at them without flinching.
"Enough! Stand down." After a brief moment of shock, Elder Setsuna quickly regained his composure. "Chuanhe, impressive. I concede. I only hope you won't forget that the Uchiha Clan still has its Militant Faction. If the clan makes a decision in the future, I hope you'll still stand with us. Tekka, see them out."
The old man had lived through three Shinobi World Wars. He was experienced and quick to recover.
Hui, who was sitting nearby, looked confused. Through his chakra perception, he'd felt the sensation of Fire Release. Had Chuanhe forced them to use their own chakra to cast it?
"How did Father do that? Dimensions? It didn't seem like it." Hui pondered it carefully.
"Until next time, Elder Setsuna."
After Chuanhe and the others left, the Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan asked, "Elder Setsuna, should we—"
He made a gesture of slitting someone's throat.
"Hmph. Fool. Have you ever heard of a technique like his? Forcing me to use my own chakra to cast Fire Release is simply terrifying. No wonder a man with such mastery of Fire Release could invent the Flame Explosion Technique."
"If he wanted to, the backlash from a failed Fire Release technique could kill me. It's true that if we killed Chuanhe, that boy Hui might be able to awaken those legendary eyes again."
"But if he could help Hui develop a Three-Tomoe Sharingan at six, he may well have a way to take him further. Since he arrived, I haven't heard of him suffering a single injury. That boy Hui has only his father."
Elder Setsuna spoke, his body trembling slightly.
Back home, Hui asked with some confusion, "Father, what's the Militant Faction?"
"A bunch of poor souls who can't let go of the Uchiha's past glory," Chuanhe replied after a moment's thought.
Its past... glory?
"If they really had the nerve, why didn't they leave Konoha with Uchiha Madara back then?"
Leave? For some reason, Hui remembered that word. But he quickly pushed it out of his mind.
"Father, how complicated is the relationship between the clan and the village? And who is Danzo? Why did he try to assassinate us? Why doesn't the village do anything about—" Hui's string of questions gave Chuanhe a headache.
"Wait, wait. One at a time."
"The relationship is complicated. If not for the Flame Explosion Technique, they would've already been preparing to act."
Act? What were they going to do? Hui was even more confused.
"Hui, remember this: Danzo is the most direct source of evil in this village. Almost every problem here is connected to him."
"As for the assassination, I don't really know. It did surprise me that he acted now. Wait, Naruto! All right, I know why."
"You and Sasuke showed Naruto some kindness, and you hit a nerve."
"Isn't Naruto an orphan? Danzo is so awful he won't even let us look out for a classmate?"
Hui felt a twinge of worry. Wasn't Danzo meddling a little too much? And what about the Third Hokage Grandpa Naruto talked about? Was he just going to sit by and watch?
"Naruto... his identity is a little complicated. Tell him when you think the time is right. He's the Fourth Hokage's son, a hero's child, and the village's Jinchuriki. The Nine-Tails is sealed inside him." Chuanhe hesitated, but said it anyway.
Hui understood even less. Why was Naruto treated this way when he had all three of those identities?
Hui gazed out the window, bewildered. The night was beautiful, and a new moon hung in the sky. Its light was so gentle, yet Hui felt a bone-deep chill. Was this really the Konoha Iruka-sensei had told him about?
Thinking back to the assassination attempt that day, Chuanhe made up his mind.
"It's time. Hui, come with me. I want to share some good news with you," Chuanhe said calmly.
Before you continue