After Danzo left, Sarutobi Hiruzen considered the newly emerged Uchiha prodigy.
Should he win him over with a gentle approach, as he had Shisui, or tighten surveillance of the Uchiha Family, as Danzo had suggested?
In the Hokage Office, the only sound was his steady smoking.
Back at his house, Xuanye shut every door and window, then sat quietly on the floor.
At the same time, he said to the system in his mind:
"System, start the draw."
[Starting draw]
Countless figures flashed across the system interface, many of them familiar to Xuanye.
After a moment, the flickering slowed and stopped on a figure Xuanye knew all too well.
She was tall and straight-backed, with fair skin and long, dark-purple hair braided into a thick plait. Its tips faded to a lighter shade and glimmered with faint violet lightning.
A distinct beauty mark sat beneath the corner of her right eye. She held a dark-purple tachi crackling with lightning, her expression distant, bearing the aloof majesty of a god.
Her Excellency, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho—Raiden Ei.
Xuanye had never expected to draw someone of her caliber on his first try.
The world of Teyvat Continent had an extraordinarily high ceiling of power, and Xuanye could hardly wait to see what this meant for him.
Everyone knew Raiden Ei was no great thinker, but there was no question she could fight.
[Draw complete. Selected character: The Seven · Raiden Ei] [Obtained divine weapon: Musō Isshin]
Xuanye immediately felt an itch in his chest, as though he could pull a purple greatsword from it at any moment.
Information about Musō Isshin appeared in his mind as well.
The divine weapon associated with Raiden Ei's twin sister, Raiden Makoto, was best known for slaying Orobashi in a single strike and carving the fearsome Yashiori Gorge.
But a divine weapon's power depended on who wielded it.
Musō Isshin performed very differently in Raiden Makoto's hands than it did in Raiden Ei's.
Xuanye could use it now, but drawing out its full power would likely come at a steep price.
He was still nowhere near Raiden Makoto's level.
Fortunately, Musō Isshin had another use: it could slowly improve its wielder's aptitude for lightning-based cultivation.
The stronger its wielder grew, the more power Musō Isshin could unleash. Each would strengthen the other.
As the saying went, give a man a sharp blade and he would start looking for something to cut.
With Ei's signature slash at his disposal, Xuanye felt as though anyone he looked at was asking to be cut down. He badly wanted to test the blade on something.
"Xuanye, the Elder asked me to remind you not to be late for tonight's Clan Assembly... Holy shit!"
Uchiha Inabi walked in to find lightning flickering in Xuanye's hand, as though he were testing a new ninjutsu.
Seeing Inabi enter without knocking, Xuanye's eyes flashed with irritation.
"Could you knock next time?"
Luckily, he had not pulled Musō Isshin from his chest. How would he explain that if Inabi had seen it?
Inabi had been his friend since childhood. Xuanye did not want to silence him over something like this.
"Sorry, sorry..." Inabi's apology held not a trace of sincerity. He was sorry this time, but he would do it again.
Xuanye looked at his shameless friend and sighed. He dispersed the lightning in his hand and let the matter drop.
After apologizing, Inabi remembered the lightning he had seen when he came in and asked curiously,
"What were you doing just now? Why practice ninjutsu in here instead of going to the training grounds?"
Wasn't he afraid he would blow up the house?
Xuanye made up an excuse. "I had an idea and wanted to try out a new ninjutsu."
Inabi did not press him. Together, they headed into the Uchiha Clan Compound, to Naka Shrine.
Quite a few people had already arrived. Naka Shrine was full of spiky hair and red eyes.
Any member of the Uchiha Family who had awakened the Sharingan could attend the Clan Assembly.
Generally, though, only those with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan or the strength of a Jonin had the right to speak at the Clan Assembly.
Not everyone in the Uchiha Family was a Shinobi. There were plenty of women, children, and elderly people among them.
Even so, five or six hundred people had gathered, all clan members of Chunin rank or above who had awakened the Sharingan.
And that was after the Uchiha had lost some of their Shinobi in the Third Great Ninja War.
At their peak, the Uchiha Family might well have had more than a thousand Shinobi.
Xuanye listened as one person after another spoke with mounting frustration about the village's unfair treatment of them.
Some had even faced hostility from Konoha civilians while carrying out routine patrols.
Each incident was another straw on the pile, inflaming the Uchiha's anger and pushing their relationship with Konoha toward the Abyss.
Word had spread throughout the Uchiha that Xuanye had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and advanced to Jonin.
He had also defeated the controversial Copy Ninja Kakashi head-on. He had truly brought honor to the Uchiha.
A few seats away from Xuanye sat Uchiha Shisui.
He was a gentle Uchiha who almost never quarreled with anyone.
Yet his power had made him a target, and his own naivety had made it worse. In the original story, Danzo's plot had driven him to take his own life in grief and anger.
Even after his death, he had been branded a traitor. It had been a terrible waste.
As if sensing Xuanye's gaze, Shisui turned and gave him a smiling nod.
Xuanye looked away.
Xuanye still thought Shisui's fate was a shame. At least he had not become Sarutobi Hiruzen's spy within the Uchiha, as Itachi had, or wiped out the entire family with his own hands.
His methods might have been naive, but he had sincerely wanted to change the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha.
Xuanye was still considering whether to lend him a hand.
Shisui had few faults. He was simply too naive and far too eager to save everyone.
More importantly, his Mangekyō was far too dangerous. He had even considered altering Fugaku's mind.
Everyone knew that having a self-righteous savior on your own side could be a nightmare.
Before long, the Clan Assembly officially began.
The current clan head and three Elders sat at the front and worked through the agenda.
Xuanye said nothing about most of the topics. He simply sat quietly in the front row.
He had attended several clan meetings before. They always followed the same pattern: speeches about how Konoha treated the Uchiha differently and the hostility they faced throughout the village.
Even the Elders began speaking freely, blurting out things they should and should not have said. The whole Clan Assembly grew as noisy as a marketplace.
In all of Naka Shrine, only three people remained silent: Uchiha Fugaku on the dais, Shisui, and Xuanye.
"Pfft."
Xuanye could not help letting out a quiet laugh.