The Third Generation's Apprehension

The two turned back to see a small boy, bearing a three- or four-part resemblance to Uchiha Itachi, walking over with his head held high and a proud expression, a single-strap bag slung over his shoulder.

"Oh my, isn't this the Second Pillar?" A playful smile appeared on the face of Fujiwara Chiya.

As he frequented the Uchiha compound, Chiya had naturally become acquainted with Sasuke.

Facing this boy who would one day become one of the Uchiha Laughing Four, Chiya always found himself unable to resist teasing him.

After a few back-and-forths, the two had grown familiar with each other.

Of course, for now, it was limited to this; in the future, he would still have to be beaten, if only because this kid loved to act cool and constantly challenged those above his level.

Every time he got beaten, he never learned his lesson; once the sky cleared and the rain stopped, the Second Pillar would feel like he was ready to go again.

Sasuke's face flushed red. "I've told you so many times, my name is Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke, not some Second Pillar, you loser who couldn't even beat my brother!"

Chiya continued to tease him: "Alright, Second Pillar. But you say I'm a loser who couldn't beat your brother—you've never even seen the two of us spar, so how do you know I'm not his match?"

"Hmph. That goes without saying." At the mention of Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's face was filled with pride and adoration. He was about to say something else when he suddenly snapped back to reality, shouting with a childish, fierce tone: "I've told you so many times, you aren't allowed to call me Second Pillar!"

"Alright, Second Pillar." Chiya was determined to be as infuriating as possible.

"You jerk, I'm Sasuke, not Second Pillar!" Sasuke's face turned red again, and he swung his fist as he charged forward.

The result was, unsurprisingly, that Chiya dodged him with ease, nearly causing the boy to trip and fall face-first into the dirt.

Watching the two figures chasing and fleeing ahead, the gloom in Uchiha Izumi's heart was swept away in an instant. She tilted her head to look up at the sky, whispering to herself that perhaps she had been overthinking things.

In the distance, two figures stood atop the highest building in Konoha, looking down at the scene below.

"Itachi, is that your younger brother? I never imagined he'd have grown so much in the blink of an eye. Who is that Ninja Academy student playing with him? It's rare to see someone who doesn't shun the Uchiha like the other villagers do," said Uchiha Shisui, the strongest genjutsu ninja of the Uchiha Clan.

"His name is Fujiwara Chiya. He was in my class at the Ninja Academy. Because he is close with Izumi, he doesn't harbor the same hostility toward the Uchiha as the other villagers," Uchiha Itachi replied with a calm expression, though his tone sounded slightly unnatural.

Uchiha Shisui paused, looking at Itachi with some surprise. "Listening to you, it sounds like there's more to it. Did something happen?"

Activating his Sharingan, Uchiha Itachi said, "He is an extremely dangerous individual."

"Why do you say that?" Upon hearing this, Uchiha Shisui almost instinctively activated his Sharingan to observe. The next second, his pupils dilated, and he gasped in shock, "This... this is..."

"You've noticed, haven't you? Chiya is not a jinchuriki, nor is he from the Uzumaki Clan, yet he possesses a level of chakra that is completely inconsistent with his age. Looking across all of Konoha, there are few whose chakra levels could exceed his," Uchiha Itachi said with a solemn expression.

Uchiha Shisui frowned. "Could you be overthinking it? You think he's dangerous just because of that? Perhaps he was simply born that way. Judging him to be a dangerous person based solely on his chakra volume seems a bit too arbitrary."

"It's not just that. I have a lingering feeling that Chiya is not as simple as he appears on the surface," Uchiha Itachi said in a low voice.

"Relax." Uchiha Shisui patted Itachi on the shoulder. "I think your nerves are just too frayed because of the recent family affairs. Even if this young man named Chiya is hiding something, he hasn't harmed Konoha, nor has he encroached on the interests of the Uchiha Clan. In this world, not everyone likes to show off their talents."

"Perhaps..." Uchiha Itachi deactivated his Sharingan without denying it.

"You haven't told anyone else about this, have you?" Uchiha Shisui asked again.

Uchiha Itachi slowly shook his head.

"Since he doesn't want to attract attention, then don't spread it." Having said this, Uchiha Shisui couldn't help but let out a long sigh, saying meaningfully, "Sometimes, I really envy these people from civilian backgrounds. At least... forget it, never mind. Let's go back. We'll meet at our usual spot tonight."

With that, Shisui flashed and vanished from where he stood.

Uchiha Itachi took one last deep look at the distant Chiya, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He, too, flashed and disappeared from the spot.

The moment they left, Chiya reached out and pressed his hand against the forehead of the Second Pillar, who was trying to attack him. He tilted his head toward the direction where Itachi had been standing and muttered to himself, "Have they already left? People from the Uchiha Clan are truly never simple, though it's a pity their emotional intelligence is practically zero."

"Chiya-kun, what are you looking at?" Uchiha Izumi followed Chiya's gaze.

"It's nothing, let's go." Chiya shook his head, sighing inwardly. Since Uchiha Shisui had returned, the time until Danzo moved to steal his eyes was not far off.

On the other side, Shisui had already arrived at the rooftop of the Hokage building in Konoha, kneeling on one knee before Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Lord Hokage."

Just as in the original story, Shisui first reported the specific details of repelling the Kirigakure ninjas to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and then, upon learning that the Uchiha Clan was about to stage a coup, he proposed his own solution.

At first, Sarutobi Hiruzen was dismissive.

Because he knew that the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha—or rather, the conflict between them and the Konoha high command—had long since reached an irreconcilable point.

It wasn't until Shisui mentioned Kotoamatsukami that a flicker of emotion finally crossed Sarutobi Hiruzen's cloudy, aged eyes.

"Kotoamatsukami? Is that your ocular jutsu?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained with his back to Uchiha Shisui, preventing the latter from seeing what he was thinking.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. It is the ocular jutsu I obtained after awakening my Mangekyo Sharingan. It allows me to manipulate others at will without them realizing it, permanently and completely changing their thoughts and will. However, because the power of this technique is too great, each use requires a cooldown period of over a decade."

Shisui did not hide anything, frankly stating his plan: "I will use this technique on the clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, at tomorrow's clan meeting to stop the Uchiha Clan's rebellion."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was suddenly startled, a flash of deep wariness crossing his eyes, but on the surface, he remained calm. He turned and walked past Shisui. "I understand. Consider this a classified mission assigned to you by this old man; go ahead and do it. Come find me at this time tomorrow, and I will find you an assistant."

Only the Sharingan could deal with the Sharingan; he intended to have Uchiha Itachi monitor Uchiha Shisui to ensure everything went according to plan.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Shisui responded respectfully, performed the Body Flicker Technique, and vanished from the spot.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, meanwhile, fell into deep thought after returning to the Hokage office.

Clearly, Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami had far exceeded the scope of his control.

As the strongest Hokage in Konoha's history, he had to take precautions against potential threats.

PS: Second update, thanks to [Xiao Han] for the 500 Qidian coins tip.

Thanks to book friend [***9763] for the 1500 Qidian coins tip.