"Shisui, I'm late. Sorry..."
When Sasuke hurried to their usual meeting spot and saw Shisui idly practicing with his shuriken, he quickly apologized.
"Haha, it's fine!"
After throwing his last shuriken at the target, Shisui smiled at Sasuke.
"What is it? Did you do some kind of training this afternoon?"
Seeing Sasuke panting and looking exhausted, Shisui asked instinctively.
"Yeah, I was training in Chakra Nature Transformation with Kakashi-sensei. I just finished!"
Sasuke nodded and explained.
"That kind of training takes a lot out of you, both physically and in terms of chakra. It's really tough!"
Shisui had trained in it himself before, so he sighed with feeling.
"Can't be helped. If I want to master Lightning Release Ninjutsu, I have to keep at it."
Sasuke scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.
"In your current condition, you're not really up to adding weight to your belt or starting the Body Flicker training. How about we begin tomorrow instead?"
After three months of training, the weight of Sasuke's belt could no longer help him improve, so they had agreed to add more weight today. But worried that Sasuke's body wouldn't be able to handle it, Shisui tried to persuade him to wait.
"Tomorrow after tomorrow—there'll always be another tomorrow... A capable ninja makes the most of every moment to train."
Sasuke shook his head and rejected Shisui's suggestion, slowly taking off his belt.
"Sasuke, you're the most hardworking ninja I've ever met in the Uchiha Clan!"
Sasuke's seriousness and dedication to training moved Shisui, and he spoke with admiration.
"Talented ninjas are made through hard work. Take my older brother, for instance. He's more gifted than I am, and sometimes he trains even harder than I do."
Handing the belt to Shisui, Sasuke spoke earnestly.
Shisui took the belt and chuckled. "Sasuke, you're doing great, but why are you so desperate for power at your age?"
He had been training with Sasuke for several months now, and had noticed how intensely Sasuke yearned for strength—more intensely, even, than Shisui himself. It puzzled him.
Isn't it because I want to protect you?
Hearing Shisui's question, Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes and say it outright.
But of course, he didn't. After a moment's silence, he said in a low voice, "The relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village is delicate right now. I want to get stronger as soon as possible so I can protect my family if conflict breaks out in the future."
"That won't happen. The clan won't come into conflict with the village. I'll make sure to stop—"
Shisui was interrupted before he could finish.
"Shisui, you have to face reality. Unless someone from the Uchiha Clan becomes Hokage, like I mentioned before, the clan members will still plot a coup."
"Logically speaking, Konoha High Command must know from the intelligence it's gathered that the Uchiha Clan wants one of its own to become Hokage. But so much time has passed, and Konoha High Command hasn't responded. That means they don't want someone from the Uchiha Clan to become Hokage. They'll probably decide to wipe out the clan."
"The two sides are bound to fight one day. Of course, I don't want the clan and the village to come into conflict either, but who can guarantee that won't happen?"
Knowing what Shisui was about to say, Sasuke quickly answered him.
"Sasuke, you have a point."
Shisui nodded.
As a former Anbu member, Shisui knew how capable Anbu was at gathering intelligence. Konoha High Command definitely knew what the Uchiha Clan wanted.
"Shisui, tell me: if the clan and the village come into conflict, which side will you take?"
Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked.
"I would..."
Shisui froze, unsure how to answer. If he were any other member of the Uchiha Clan, he would definitely choose the clan. But Shisui's thinking went beyond narrow clan loyalty, so he was more inclined to choose the village.
"Shisui, you're a member of the Uchiha Clan. Uchiha blood runs through your veins, and your Sharingan is a Kekkei Genkai bestowed by the clan. If people from the village came to slaughter your clan, would you still stand by and do nothing?"
Looking at Shisui's stunned expression, Sasuke pressed him harshly.
"No. I'd protect the members of the Uchiha Clan. I won't forget who I am!"
Shisui couldn't accept the thought of his clan members being killed, so he quickly shook his head.
"Then remember what you just said. Don't forget who you are!"
"I may only be six years old, but I'm determined to protect the Uchiha Clan. As long as I'm still breathing, I won't let anyone hurt our clan members. Shisui, I've always thought of you as an older brother. I hope you'll fight alongside me to protect the Uchiha Clan!"
Seeing that his persuasive speech was about to succeed, Sasuke continued to fire him up.
Shisui didn't know why Sasuke could say something so impassioned, but he nodded without hesitation. "Sasuke, don't worry. I'll protect the Uchiha Clan with you."
"Yeah. Let's get started on our training!"
Sasuke smiled faintly.
According to the plan he'd come up with, he had successfully persuaded Shisui to join his side. Sasuke was thrilled.
"Okay!"
Shisui nodded. After increasing the weight of Sasuke's equipment belt to fifteen kilograms, he began guiding Sasuke through the even more grueling Taijutsu and Body Flicker training.
The next day, the fiery red sun broke free of the horizon, and warm sunlight fell over Konoha.
It was still early, but Sasuke, Naruto, and Haruno Sakura had already gathered at the Ninja Academy. Today was their first mission as ninjas, and they were all excited.
Even Kakashi, who was always late, arrived early today.
"Alright, everyone. We have two missions to complete today. Let's take a look at the first one."
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke and the others, took a mission scroll from his pocket, and read it carefully.
"Kakashi-sensei, what's the mission? I hope it involves some real action!"
Naruto stared at Kakashi and asked eagerly.
"Ahem... The mission is to clear weeds from the Kawade Family's flower garden."
With Naruto waiting expectantly, Kakashi rolled up the mission scroll again and smiled faintly.
"Clear weeds? Are you kidding me? This counts as a mission?"
After hearing Kakashi, Naruto's pumped-up enthusiasm quickly wilted.
"Such an easy mission..."
Haruno Sakura blinked and offered her opinion, too.
"Heh. Just as I thought. A boring mission like this!"
Even without Kakashi saying it, Sasuke had guessed it would be the simplest, lowest-ranked mission. After all, newly graduated Genin always started with missions like this.
"Don't complain. No matter what the mission is, you can gain experience by carrying it out. That will help you a lot with your training in the future."
"For example, this mission is about clearing weeds, but you have to work carefully and pay attention. Otherwise, you might easily damage the flowers."
Kakashi had his own insights when it came to simple missions, so he spoke in a low voice.
"Understood!"
Hearing Kakashi-sensei say that, Sasuke and the others could only nod helplessly.
"Alright, let's not waste any time. Let's go!"
Kakashi smiled faintly and led the three of them toward the Kawade Family's home.