Uchiha Shisui, Sasuke: My Foolish Older Brother

"Shisui!"

Near the Uchiha training grounds, in a secluded forest, there was a place where Shisui and Itachi trained, where they had first met, and where they often met afterward.

"Itachi? What brings you here?" Shisui seemed surprised to see Itachi at this hour. Did something get to him? Is he here to train some more?

"Shisui, have you heard?"

Itachi's excited expression, along with the way he tried to act mysterious and keep Shisui in suspense, immediately told Shisui that it wasn't what he'd thought. Something good must have happened. A thought struck him, and he guessed, "Is it about the village negotiating with the Cloud Ninjas?"

"Yeah!" Itachi nodded emphatically, staring straight at Shisui, but making no move to continue.

Shisui's mouth twitched. He immediately hooked an arm around Itachi's neck and snarled, "You little brat, Itachi! You're going to keep me in suspense? Out with it!"

"All right, all right! I'll tell you!" Itachi quickly raised both hands in surrender. The moment Shisui let him go, he said excitedly, "Dad said the village is about to sign an alliance treaty with the Cloud Ninjas!"

An alliance treaty? Not a ceasefire agreement?

"That's wonderful news!" Shisui was also overcome with excitement, but the faint sorrow in his eyes didn't escape Itachi, who was watching him closely. "Shisui, what's wrong?"

Shisui sighed and turned his back to Itachi, gazing in the direction of the clan compound. "I should be happy for the village, but with no external enemy to worry about, the village can turn its attention to its internal problems. That means the conflict between the clan and the village..."

The conflict between the clan and the village!

"But...!" Itachi's pupils contracted. "Shisui, is there really no way to resolve it?"

"I've been working toward that, and the Third Hokage has placed a great deal of trust in me." Shisui looked worried. "But the end of the conflict with the Land of Lightning also means that all the clan members stationed at the border will return. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back the clan by myself..."

Itachi understood what it would mean for the clan to regain all its strength. He couldn't help asking urgently, "Could Father also be..."

Shisui had never been able to see where Fugaku Uchiha stood. And from what Itachi said, the clan head had never discussed these issues at home, either. So all Shisui could do was shake his head. "I'm afraid Lord Fugaku has no choice, either..."

"How could this happen?" Itachi cried out.

As I thought, even Itachi doesn't know... Shisui turned and stared straight into his eyes. "Resolving the conflict between the village and the clan can't wait. I need friends who share my convictions. Itachi, will you help me?"

"Me?" Itachi froze, then lowered his head, looking dejected. "What can I do right now?"

As soon as he said it, he realized what Shisui meant. His pupils contracted, and he jerked his head up.

Shisui met his gaze and slowly nodded. Itachi looked conflicted, struggling with the decision.

Seeing this, Shisui realized the time wasn't right. He changed the subject. "By the way, Itachi, you haven't heard yet, have you?"

Itachi looked puzzled. "Heard what?"

"Izumi performed brilliantly at the Land of Lightning border. She's earned great merit several times and is about to be promoted to Chunin."

There were basically two ways to become a Chunin.

One was through the Chunin Ninja Exams, which were intended for Genin who had the ability of a Chunin but hadn't had a chance to distinguish themselves.

But the pass rate for this route was too low. Each year, only a handful of ninja passed.

The other was promotion for meritorious service. Most Chunin were promoted this way.

After all, no matter how thorough an exam's rules were, actual combat results were more convincing.

She'd already overtaken him on the path to becoming a Chunin? Itachi felt a little dejected.

He'd worked so hard. He'd even awakened the Sharingan. Yet he still hadn't managed to keep up.

In this life, he was still a prodigy in the clan and the pride of his parents, but he wasn't as exceptional as he had been in the original story.

That was especially true once Izumi's strength began to improve by leaps and bounds and Sasuke grew older.

Whenever he accomplished something, his parents would first praise him, then use Izumi awakening her Sharingan at five and achieving this or that after only so much training, or Sasuke talking and walking before he was one, learning to read and write at a year and a half, extracting chakra at two, and performing jutsu at three to spur him on. They urged him to keep working hard and stay humble.

With Shisui ahead of him, and Izumi and Sasuke behind him, Itachi couldn't feel like a prodigy at all.

Whenever other people praised him, he felt awkward. He thought himself ordinary and unworthy of the title of genius.

Shisui sighed inwardly. Having trained alongside Itachi for so long, he knew all too well how much pressure Itachi felt. It really was a case of one brilliant person making another seem less so.

But he didn't offer words of comfort. He knew Itachi didn't need them; they would only make him feel more uncomfortable.

He hadn't brought it up to make Itachi feel bad, either. He had something else in mind.

Shisui stepped forward and patted Itachi on the shoulder. "She's only been training for two years, and the clan's already completely changed its opinion of her. Their former coldness has turned into genuine respect. In private, the clan members often praise Lord Fugaku for recognizing her talent."

Recognizing her talent? Itachi's mouth twitched.

That wasn't because his father had recognized her talent. It was because Sasuke had latched onto her...

Rather than saying his father had recognized her talent, it would be more accurate to say Sasuke had.

But Sasuke hadn't been fully aware of things back then. It was more like a happy accident.

Naturally, these matters were hard to discuss, since they concerned his father's sterling image. Itachi could only say, "It's not just Father. Izumi works hard, too."

Hard work?

Plenty of people were willing to work hard.

But without enough talent and someone to guide them, they couldn't possibly have reached the heights she had.

An eight-year-old Chunin wasn't especially remarkable in Konoha's history.

But add in the fact that she'd only trained for two years, and it was a whole different story.

Itachi's answer sounded to Shisui like an admission that Izumi had received guidance from Fugaku. Curious, he asked, "Itachi, you awakened your Sharingan over half a year ago. Hasn't Lord Fugaku personally helped you train?"

"Father is busy with official duties. It's hard for him to find the time."

He had guided him, but only for very short periods.

Itachi also realized that Shisui thought his father was playing favorites and was speaking up on his behalf, so he added, "Izumi trains at home, too. Father rarely guides her. At least, I've never seen him do it."

"But... how can that be?" Shisui looked surprised.

Even Itachi, who lived under the same roof, had never seen the clan head train Izumi. How could that be?

According to what the clan members and the Third Hokage had said, Uchiha Izumi had a great deal of combat experience. She'd clearly been through rigorous training. How could she have achieved that just by training on her own at home?

Shisui was sure there was something he didn't know, but he also understood that Itachi wouldn't lie to him.

Guessing what Shisui was thinking, Itachi looked dejected. "Maybe... that's just what talent is."

Talent? Shisui sighed inwardly.

When nothing else could explain it, perhaps that was the only answer left.

Of course, just because Itachi hadn't seen it didn't mean it hadn't happened.

But it also showed that the clan head didn't actually favor Uchiha Izumi as much as Shisui had imagined. That was undoubtedly a good thing.

In the shadows.

What can I do to save you, my foolish older brother...