Back at the Uchiha Compound, Shisui had barely returned home before he was summoned to the shrine. Today was the clan meeting. As a genius of the Uchiha Clan, he had earned the right to sit in.
Shisui stood out among the crowd, but no one looked down on the young genius who had awakened the One-Tomoe Sharingan at such an early age.
"Shisui, come sit beside me." Fugaku Uchiha tugged at the corners of his mouth in a smile and beckoned him over.
Shisui looked at the young clan head and only then noticed how strange his smile seemed. He didn't dwell on it. Stepping through the crowd, he went over and sat beside Fugaku.
"This clan meeting is to discuss candidates for the next clan head. My health won't let me hold this position for much longer."
"Clan Head! We all know how capable you are. Please don't sell yourself short."
"There's no need to say more. I intend for Fugaku to succeed me as clan head and take on the additional post of Military Police Force captain, but he's still too young and will need someone to support him. So, elders, feel free to recommend candidates of your own."
"Clan Head, Fugaku is levelheaded, and he awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age. We believe he's capable of serving as clan head." The elders of the moderate faction voiced their support one after another.
"Absolutely not! The clan head must possess overwhelming strength. Plenty of people in the clan have the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. If the young clan head isn't strong enough, how can he command everyone's respect?" the hardliners said in opposition.
The two factions' hostility turned the clan meeting into a sheet of paper being torn apart, the rift growing wider and wider.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A dragon-headed fireball suddenly burst from the crowd, and the gathering erupted into chaos. No one had expected someone to start using ninjutsu.
"I'm not dead yet! And already someone can't hold back?" The Uchiha Clan Head's face darkened as his scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan slowly spun.
A white Susanoo arm snuffed out the Great Dragon Fire with a single grasp. The moment the Mangekyō appeared, the many hotheaded clan members lost their nerve.
The clan meeting was disbanded as a result. They could only wait a while longer. The Uchiha Clan Head knew that Fugaku wasn't yet capable of fully controlling the clan. If he didn't have the Mangekyō, he might not have held his position so securely. Now he could understand Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude toward the Uchiha Clan. They were like a bomb planted right in the middle of the village.
Shisui returned home. He'd seen the whole scene clearly. The clan was split into two factions, and if the old clan head hadn't had those eyes, things might already have fallen into chaos.
Shisui looked at the screen before him, his heart stirred. He wasn't far from those eyes himself. The Third Shinobi World War would be his turning point.
Sunlight crept over the mountaintops, and darkness fled as if pursued by its natural enemy. Since the Third was visiting the Ninja Academy today to speak about the Will of Fire, Teacher Onizuka had made a point of warning them not to be late.
"Morning, Kakashi! Why are your eye bags so bad? Were you out stealing cows last night?" Shisui put an arm around Kakashi and teased him.
Kakashi didn't understand what stealing cows meant. He rolled his eyes and said, "My father suddenly started putting me through special training, so I barely slept last night."
"That's amazing. Even a genius like Kakashi works this hard," Rin Nohara praised from nearby.
"Hmph, what's there to brag about? I'm obviously the hardest worker here." Obito's voice grew quieter as he muttered and pouted.
"Obito, what are you talking about?" Rin looked over at him.
"Rin... I... It's nothing," Obito stammered.
Just as the classroom's din and horseplay reached their peak, Onizuka hurried inside and let out a sharp, tongue-clicking roar. "Hey, you lot! Have you made enough noise yet? The Third is already here. Get to the field and line up right now!"
"Yes, Teacher Onizuka!" None of the little kids in the classroom had ever seen anything like this, and they instantly behaved like rabbits.
Shisui stretched and walked at the back of the crowd with an arm around Kakashi.
"Kakashi, what kind of person do you think the Third is?" Shisui leaned close and whispered.
Kakashi had his hands in his pockets and remained silent. Because of his father, he respected the Third and didn't want to talk about him behind his back.
"Tch, you really are dull and cold," Shisui said to himself when Kakashi didn't take the bait.
Once everyone had gathered on the field, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up onto the wooden platform wearing the Hokage Haori.
"It's Lord Hokage!"
"Yeah! Lord Hokage looks so imposing."
"Rin! I'll definitely become Hokage, and then I'll protect... everyone!"
"Tch, that old geezer's here showing off again."
The field was like a crowd of extras gathered around a celebrity, with almost everyone below cheering and praising him.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed into slits. He raised both hands and pressed down, signaling for quiet.
Onizuka was quick to cooperate. In moments, the noise dwindled and then disappeared.
"Children, do you know how Konoha came to be?"
The moment Hiruzen finished speaking, almost every child in the crowd raised a hand.
"The book says it was founded by the First!" A boy with neat short hair and a white bandage wrapped around his nose immediately stood up and answered.
"Very good." Hiruzen smiled at Izumo Kamizuki. "The village was founded by the First, but founding a village alone isn't enough to sustain it. We also need to 'protect' it."
"Grandpa Hokage, what does 'protect' mean?"
"Haha, protecting means guarding the village, protecting our home. Konoha is like a tree growing strong, and you are its leaves. The Will of Fire lives on without end. Wherever Konoha's leaves dance, flames will blaze. The fire will light up the village, and the leaves will sprout anew."
"We understand! We'll protect the village! We'll protect our home!" Cheers rang out from the crowd.
"This is starting to sound more and more like a brainwashing pyramid scheme." Shisui sat in a corner of the crowd and thought to himself. The red beliefs in his soul could crush all this stuff flat.
Hiruzen looked around, his gaze lingering especially on Kakashi and Shisui. Kakashi's head was drooping, as if he were asleep, and a nameless anger welled up in Hiruzen. Then he looked at Shisui and saw him deep in thought, so he nodded to himself.
"I hope you can inherit the Will of Fire like Kagami and become a bridge between the Uchiha Clan and the village," Hiruzen said to himself, before having Onizuka announce that they were dismissed.
On the way home from school, they passed through a patch of woods to reach the training ground. The two of them went there to train after school almost every day.
After resting, Kakashi was feeling a little better. Just then, Shisui glanced behind them and made a few quick hand signals. Kakashi, who had been looking rather listless, immediately perked up.
"Whoosh, whoosh." Kakashi and Shisui vanished from where they stood with the Body Flicker Technique, leaving only a few green leaves drifting slowly down.
"What's going on? How did I lose them?" Might Guy emerged from the woods.
"Damn it. My father told me to challenge him, but there's no way I can do that. I... I can't even get close to him..." Might Guy clenched his fist and said resentfully.
"Bushy Brows, why are you following us?" A puff of white smoke appeared. Kakashi held a sharp black Kunai against Might Guy's throat.
The blade's glint seemed to pierce his skin. Might Guy broke into a cold sweat, completely unable to figure out where Kakashi had come from.
"Oh, it's you, Might Guy." Shisui emerged from behind a tree trunk with a smile and gestured for Kakashi to lower the Kunai.
"Huh? You... know me?" Might Guy came back to himself, still uneasy, and pointed at himself as he asked.