Uchiha Clan Gathering

The night was like a massive black curtain, pressing heavily down upon the Uchiha Clan compound. Inside Naka Shrine, flickering lights caused the shadows of the Uchiha Clan members to stretch and shrink against the walls. At this moment, Fugaku was presiding over the clan meeting here.

The Uchiha Clan members were divided into two distinct factions within the shrine. On one side was the radical faction led by the elder Uchiha Setsuna, their eyes filled with fanaticism and urgency; on the other side were the peace-faction members composed of the younger generation, their expressions relatively calm and composed. Caught between these two factions, Fugaku, who had always been torn in the past, found things different this time.

Just like previous clan meetings, the arguments between the two sides rose and fell within the shrine, becoming exceptionally intense. The radical faction waved their arms, loudly advocating for an armed seizure of power and the launch of a coup; the peace faction argued on the basis of reason, advocating for peaceful negotiations to achieve mutual benefit.

Just as everyone thought today's meeting would end fruitlessly like always, Fugaku spoke up.

"It is normal for you young people to have different ideas from ours, but I hope everyone will not damage the harmony of the clan." Fugaku said slowly toward the peace faction, his voice steady and calm.

"Let's end today's meeting here. Elder Setsuna, you all stay behind; I have something to say to you." Fugaku turned his head to speak to the radical faction.

Hearing this, the members of the peace faction suddenly felt like deflated balls. A few wanted to say something, but they were all stopped by Shisui.

After the peace faction members had left one after another, the members of the radical faction gathered around.

"Clan Leader Fugaku, you kept us here—does this mean you agree with our ideas?" Elder Setsuna asked first, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.

"Elder Setsuna, please forgive my rudeness, but I do not agree!" Fugaku answered crisply and decisively.

"If you don't agree, then you are part of the peace faction, too? Then why did you keep us here?" Uchiha Setsuna looked at Fugaku, an ominous premonition rising in his heart, and he could not help but furrow his brows slightly.

"I cannot let a few rotten apples spoil the whole barrel!" After saying this, Fugaku closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan appeared before everyone.

Before the crowd could react, they were controlled by Fugaku's Mangekyo genjutsu.

"For the future of our Uchiha Clan, I can only wrong you all. Rest assured, I will not harm your families; sparing your families is already the greatest mercy I can offer." After speaking, Fugaku turned to leave Naka Shrine. Just as he stepped out of the gate, the Anbu arranged by Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared.

"They have all been controlled by my genjutsu. I do not want my hands stained with the blood of my clansmen, so I will leave it to you!" Fugaku said to the Anbu.

"Understood!" an Anbu captain replied.

"Wait!" A voice came from behind; the person arriving was none other than Uchiha Shisui.

"Senior Fugaku, there is an elder of mine among them... I want to... see him off personally." Shisui spoke, and although his voice was calm, his slightly trembling lips betrayed his inner tension and struggle.

In fact, Fugaku had informed Shisui about this matter long ago, telling him to prepare himself mentally.

"Go ahead. Don't carry too much guilt; you must remember that you still carry the future of the Uchiha Clan on your shoulders!" Fugaku said softly.

Undoubtedly, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi were the most outstanding members of the younger generation of the Uchiha Clan, and Uchiha Shisui was very likely to be the next clan leader.

"I understand, Clan Leader. I have already made my resolve!" With that, Shisui stepped into Naka Shrine.

"Let's go!" The Anbu captain led his subordinates inside as well.

Inside Naka Shrine, there was dead silence. No screams were heard, only the chilling, dull sounds of blades piercing into bodies.

Before long, Shisui and the Anbu emerged. There were tear tracks on Shisui's face, as if he had just lost a loved one, and his eyes were filled with pain and sorrow.

Seeing this, Fugaku let out a long sigh and then gently patted Shisui on the shoulder.

"You did the right thing, Shisui. If you hadn't done this, perhaps more than just these people would have died today," Fugaku said.

"I understand, Clan Leader Fugaku." Shisui gripped the blood-stained blade tightly, the blood slowly dripping down the edge, yet he held on firmly, unwilling to let go.

At this moment, Shisui slowly opened his eyes, and the Mangekyo Sharingan appeared. Fugaku did not make a scene upon seeing this; he simply patted Shisui's shoulder again and said:

"Let's go, Shisui. I will take you to a quiet place to clear your head." Fugaku said as he walked forward.

Hearing this, Shisui wiped the blood off his ninja sword, sheathed it on his back, and followed Fugaku in silence.

"Captain, how should we handle the bodies?" an Anbu ninja nearby asked.

"The Hokage said to let the Uchiha Clan handle it themselves; we were only responsible for ending their lives," the Anbu captain replied.

"I understand. I have confirmed it—there are no survivors!" the Anbu ninja added.

"Good, let's go." With that, the Anbu group left the area.

Just after everyone had left, two figures appeared quietly. These two wore nothing to identify them and snuck into Naka Shrine stealthily.

After entering, the two took out a scroll from their robes. Upon opening it, a large character for "Person" was written on it.

One of them quickly performed hand seals, and suddenly, with a "Poof!", a cloud of white smoke rose, and Danzo appeared on the scene.

"Take all of their Sharingan. Be quick!" Danzo ordered impatiently.

"Yes, Lord Danzo!" Hearing the order, someone immediately began to act.

"Lord Danzo, what are you doing?" At this moment, a "corpse" of an Uchiha clansman lying on the ground stood up and questioned Danzo.

The three were startled. Looking at the person, they realized he looked only about ten years old; it was exactly a shadow clone of Uchiha Shisui.

"Lord Danzo, we meet again." Fugaku's voice came from behind. It turned out that Fugaku and Shisui had not gone far but had been lying in wait nearby.

"Fugaku?" Danzo reacted instantly, realizing he had been set up.

"Hmph! Your Uchiha Clan attempted a coup; is there a problem with me checking the situation?" Danzo argued sophistically.

"That is strange. Besides me, only Kakashi, Menma, Itachi, Shisui, and the Hokage knew about the operation tonight. May I ask how Lord Danzo received the news?" Fugaku asked in return, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

"I..." Danzo realized then that a carefully laid trap was waiting for him here.

"I am the Hokage's advisor; I have the right not to answer your questions." With that, Danzo wanted to take his men and leave.

"Lord Danzo, I won't see you out!" Fugaku said coldly.

"Hmph!" Danzo left the place without looking back.

"Menma really guessed it right; Danzo actually came," Fugaku said.

"Tomorrow's Hokage Office is bound to be very interesting," Shisui replied.

"Indeed. Let's arrange for someone to handle the bodies of our clansmen first, and claim that Danzo led Root members to ambush our clan grounds," Fugaku said.

Shisui was startled. Although the radicals had been purged, doing this would surely breed new radicals, as Danzo represented the upper echelons of Konoha.

"Clan Leader Fugaku, wouldn't that be inappropriate? After all, Danzo represents the village's high command," Shisui said with concern.

"I know, but as long as Danzo dies and we replace him with a younger clan leader, the matter can be resolved," Fugaku said indifferently.

"What? Clan Leader, you..." Shisui looked at Fugaku in disbelief.

"Shisui, I trust you. It would be better for you to lead the clan. Besides, you and I are the only ones in the clan with the Mangekyo Sharingan; they won't dare to say anything," Fugaku continued.

"But Clan Leader, I'm only thirteen. How could I..." Shisui tried to decline, as he did not want to shoulder the responsibilities of a clan leader so early.

"I didn't say you had to take over immediately; just wait a few more years. Menma is right—Danzo must die. If he doesn't, none of us will have a good life. This is the only way now," Fugaku explained patiently.

"Understood, I see!" Shisui said, then turned and left.

Meanwhile, in Menma's room, Naruto and Menma were sitting on the bed in their pajamas.

The dim light in the room cast their shadows onto the wall, looking rather comical.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" The two were sitting on the bed playing this simple game, their faces covered in quite a few small paper strips.

"Rock, paper, scissors! Oh man, I lost again," Naruto said in annoyance, sticking another paper strip onto his face.

"Just admit defeat; I've completely mastered the gestures you're going to make," Menma said triumphantly.

Although Menma also had paper strips on his face, the number was far fewer than Naruto's.

"No way, no way! Again!" Naruto said, refusing to give in.

"Oh, what's the big deal about promising me one thing?" Menma said while continuing to play rock, paper, scissors with Naruto.

"Don't forget you still owe me one," Naruto reminded him.

"Tell me when you've made up your mind," Menma replied.

Just then, a knock came at the door.

"Naruto, Menma, aren't you two asleep yet? Look at what time it is," Kushina said from outside the door, her voice tinged with displeasure.

"Okay, going to sleep right now," Menma quickly reached up to tear all the paper strips off his face, turned off the desk lamp, and prepared to sleep.

Naruto also scrambled to tear off his paper strips and lay down to sleep.

"Hey, Menma, I'll count this round as your win. Tell me, what do you want me to promise you?" Naruto whispered in Menma's ear.

"Hmm... let's just cancel it out with the one you owe me," Menma whispered back.

"What? Cancel it out?" Naruto suddenly sat up and said loudly.

"Shh! Keep it down, or we're done for," Menma said in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The moment Naruto finished speaking, Kushina pushed the door open. Her eyes were glowing with white light, her hair was slightly floating, and she looked like a demon at that moment.

Seeing this, the two huddled together, swallowed hard, and stared at Kushina in terror.

"Not willing to sleep in the middle of the night, are you? Then don't sleep at all!" Kushina said, slapping her palm with the rolling pin in her hand.

"Sleeping! Sleeping! Sleeping! Big brother was just having a nightmare and talking in his sleep, and then when you came in, Auntie Ku, he was scared awake by your aura," Menma said, breaking into a cold sweat as he hurriedly explained.

"Is that so?" Kushina said, slowly walking closer, her aura so intense it felt as if she could swallow them both whole at any moment.

Naruto nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice, indicating that everything Menma said was true.

"Then hurry up and go to sleep. Goodnight," Kushina switched expressions seamlessly, said it in a gentle tone, and then walked out.

Both of them were drenched in a cold sweat from the fright, and with a tacit understanding, they stopped talking and lay down to sleep.