A small misunderstanding at first had already caused discord within the team.
Shisui knew that his actions just now had offended Shiraha.
He hadn't spoken to Shiraha on the road. Uchiha Itachi had chatted with him now and then, but the atmosphere in the team remained heavy.
A team made up of three taciturn Uchiha needed someone like the aloof Itachi to act as its lubricant.
After a day on the road, they stopped to rest. Shisui sent Itachi away, then walked over to Shiraha.
"I misunderstood you earlier."
There was a hint of apology in Shisui's voice.
At first, he'd thought Uchiha Shiraha had abandoned Itachi and run away alone.
Anyone who abandoned their comrade and mission to flee wasn't fit to be a ninja.
Itachi's special status had also contributed to Shisui's unusual behavior.
Shiraha didn't want to talk to him and waved him away.
Shisui acted as if he hadn't seen it and continued on his own:
"The relationship between the clan and the village is strained. Fugaku, the current clan head, is hard-line and unwilling to bow to the village. If things keep getting worse between the village and the clan, war will be inevitable."
"Our clan members have always been proud. Since the first full gathering, there have been five consecutive meetings of the jōnin, and after each one, the clan leadership's attitude toward the village has worsened."
"Konoha was founded through the joint efforts of the Uchiha and the Senju. The Uchiha shouldn't have ended up in this position, let alone be pushed aside by the village.
"If the village and the clan turn against each other, it will directly affect the relations between the Five Great Nations, which have only just begun to stabilize! The Third Shinobi World War, which ended not long ago, will break out again, and the whole world will be dragged back into the quagmire of war."
After hearing Shisui's long speech, Shiraha looked up at him.
His eyes were full of disdain.
This guy was so annoying!
He kept buzzing like a fly.
Who would've thought the strongest Uchiha prodigy liked giving people history and politics lectures?
Maybe he really could get his ideas into Itachi's head.
But they weren't working on Shiraha.
"The relationship between the Uchiha and the village is important. It can't keep deteriorating. We need a moderate, open-minded clan head! That's why I asked Fugaku to let me train Itachi. After hearing all this, you should understand how important Itachi is!"
"Is that so? What does that have to do with me?"
Shiraha replied without expression. What did he care if the Uchiha lived or died?
Aside from the little kindness he'd received through the public housing, the clan had never helped him in any other way.
Even that small debt had long since been repaid over the course of two years as a ninja.
When Shiraha had been a Genin, he'd focused on training in Iaijutsu and hadn't taken many missions.
So far, he'd completed 128 D-Rank Missions, 15 C-Rank Missions, and four B-Rank Missions.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
The clan took five percent of the commission for every mission, and another ten percent went toward daily expenses like rent and water.
Public housing was cheap, not free.
The clan also took fifteen percent of the mission pay issued by the village, under the pretext that it was the team leader's share.
Shiraha owed the clan nothing. Ever since his parents died, he'd survived on his own.
He'd graduated from the Ninja Academy two years ago. Why could he only use the Three Body Technique?
Because he was a discarded child of the clan. No resources had been invested in him, and no teacher had guided him.
In the Naruto world, even the gifted prodigies with powerful bloodlines and influential backgrounds shone brightly.
The only one who'd grown through hard work was Rock Lee, and he'd ended up as a cheerleader in the Fourth Shinobi World War.
The cannon fodder who died in some corner went unnoticed altogether.
Shiraha's situation was much like Sakura's in Team 7.
Even if you were a top student in theory, you were still weak without resources.
Before meeting Tsunade, Sakura had always been a useless, pretty face.
Shiraha hadn't been so lucky. If he didn't work hard to grow stronger, he'd become another eyeless corpse on the night of the Uchiha massacre.
Even Sasuke Uchiha had a good older brother.
Otherwise, he'd have died at Root's hands long ago, his eyes turned into specimens.
Shisui was momentarily at a loss for words after Shiraha's retort.
He'd read Shiraha's file.
Shiraha was an orphan, and the clan had given him almost nothing.
They'd even treated him coldly because, after awakening his Sharingan, he'd been unable to use it for a long time.
"A lucky child who awakened his Sharingan after the shock of losing his parents. Poor talent for ninjutsu; still unable to master the Three Body Technique by fifth grade."
That was what Shiraha's file said.
Shiraha himself had no idea.
When he'd first crossed over and started learning ninjutsu all over again, his clumsy performance had become a prominent mark in his file.
"I only hope you can understand why I acted as I did earlier. Itachi is the clan's hope for the future!"
Shisui finished, and Shiraha gave a soft laugh.
"Heh."
How pathetic. The Uchiha's hope for the future would go on to commit the atrocity that nearly wiped out his own clan.
"Once we're back in the village, I'll request permission to move out of the clan compound. I hope you can put in a word for me with the clan. If it works out, we'll call this even."
Shiraha made him an offer. Shisui's ideas were different from his own, but he could still make use of him.
Moving out of the Uchiha compound required approval from both the clan head and the village.
With Shisui's help, it would be easy.
Before drawing a line between them, Shiraha would squeeze the last bit of value out of him.
"You want to move out? Why? If it's because of what I did earlier, I'm sorry, and I'm willing to make amends. But I hope you won't blame the clan!"
"It has nothing to do with the clan. I'm thinking of applying to teach at the Ninja Academy. I don't want to keep doing dangerous missions. I'm tired of these endless assignments and want to enjoy life for a change."
Shiraha answered firmly. He was determined to leave.
He wasn't actually planning to become a teacher. He was testing the waters.
He wanted to gauge the relationship between the village and the clan.
"All right. If you're that determined, I can help. Just remember that Uchiha will always be your surname. This clan is your family!"
Shisui nodded helplessly, and the tension between them eased a little.
They went from hostility to indifference.
Just as they'd been when they first met.
Once they'd taken turns resting, the three of them set off again.
Nothing happened on the way, and as they drew closer to the village, they gradually let their guard down.
Shisui also began preparing a report for the Hokage on the border battle.
Shiraha kept practicing Iaijutsu and stayed as alert as ever.
Now and then, he gathered medicinal plants along the road.
Together with the wisteria he'd collected earlier, he had quite a stock of materials for making poison.
The night was moonless.
Shiraha rested his chin on the hilt of the Kusanagi Sword, crouching on a treetop as he dozed.
A faint killing intent jolted him awake.
A Sword Master's keen senses magnified the slightest hint of murderous intent.
If this perception grew any stronger, it would become a unique ability of Sword Masters—the Mind's Eye.
Shiraha had inherited his skill from Himura Kenshin, but hadn't fully mastered it yet.
He was still some time away from awakening the Mind's Eye.
His right hand closed around the Kusanagi Sword. He stood and looked around.
Uchiha Itachi was on watch for the second half of the night, but he hadn't noticed anyone approaching.
"Did he let his guard down? He is only a kid barely over ten, after all."
Shiraha murmured, his eyes changing into the shape of the Sharingan.
"Six of them, dressed like Anbu! They're really taking us seriously."
A few minutes later, several Anbu were less than a hundred meters away, close enough to launch a surprise attack.
Suddenly, Uchiha Shisui sprang to his feet and shouted, "Enemy attack!"
A jōnin's senses were still sharp. His shout alerted Uchiha Itachi, who was on watch.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Throwing out a probing fireball without thinking twice was practically an Uchiha tradition.
Amid the confusion, Shiraha quietly moved into a clump of grass beneath a tree and concealed himself.
Itachi activated his Sharingan and spotted the Anbu closing in as well.
"Anbu from the village? Why are they suddenly coming after us? Where's Shiraha?"
Itachi returned to Shisui's side and fired off several questions.
But Shisui didn't have time to answer. Several Anbu closed in at once.
The huge fireball shattered the quiet of the night. The Anbu knew their movements had been discovered.
They all stopped hiding and launched their attack at once.
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