Night Encounter

Leaving the outskirts of Konoha, it was already nearing midnight. The vast, full moon hung high, casting a profound stillness over the entire village. The few pedestrians out at this hour hurried along, looking rushed.

Yu and Uchiha Lieyang walked one after the other; an outsider might have mistaken them for a young master out for a late-night stroll with his servant.

"Brother Lieyang, you mentioned that many children have gone missing in Konoha lately. Have you found any leads?" Yu asked softly, gazing at the empty, desolate street.

"There are some leads, but every time we reach a critical point, the trail suddenly goes cold," Uchiha Lieyang replied in a deep voice.

"Why is that?" Yu asked, puzzled.

"I don't know. It's as if someone is deliberately covering up the intelligence. The Military Police Force's current consensus is that everything points toward ninjas from other villages. Villagers are protesting outside the Military Police Force almost every day, and the situation has left our clansmen feeling incredibly agitated," Uchiha Lieyang sighed, his brow furrowed.

Yu fell into deep thought. "I'll be joining my father at the Military Police Force tomorrow. When I do, show me those files."

"Oh! The Young Clan Head is coming to the Military Police Force? That's fantastic! Clan Head Fugaku should have done this long ago; keeping the Young Clan Head at the Ninja Academy is just a waste of time!" Uchiha Lieyang exclaimed excitedly.

"Haha, you can't blame Father. After all, my age is what it is. If I hadn't demonstrated my strength these past few times, he wouldn't have made this decision. He still has to consider the feelings of the clansmen," Yu replied with a hint of embarrassment.

"Don't worry! When the time comes, if anyone refuses to submit to the Young Clan Head, just have them come find me, Uchiha Lieyang, to test their luck! Hmph! Anyone who dares to be disrespectful to the Young Clan Head is an enemy of mine. If they can't even beat me, they have no business pointing fingers at the Young Clan Head—it's simply absurd!"

As Uchiha Lieyang spoke, his Mangekyo manifested in his eyes. It was clear that in his heart, Yu had reached an irreplaceable status.

"Alright, Brother Lieyang, put away your Mangekyo. Our clansmen are not the enemy," Yu said helplessly. "By the way, how has your mastery of the Mangekyo been lately? Has your second ocular technique awakened?"

"Haha, it has. Young Clan Head, my second ocular technique is Time Reset. It's just that the cost of using it is quite high; with my current ocular power, using it once would cost me both my eyes," Uchiha Lieyang said with a foolish grin.

"Hiss!" Yu couldn't help but gasp. This was a grand, time-based divine ability! Were Uchiha eyes really this heaven-defying, or were the laws of time in this world simply too accessible?

"Brother Lieyang, how did you come to possess such an ocular technique?" Yu asked quickly, suppressing his inner shock.

"This... this..." Uchiha Lieyang suddenly scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"If it's inconvenient to answer, Brother Lieyang, don't force yourself. I was just a little curious!" Yu said with a faint smile.

"No! No, Young Clan Head! This ocular technique was born precisely because of you!"

"I absolutely refuse to acknowledge an Uchiha without the Young Clan Head. The moment you are in danger, I will use this jutsu to reset time, even if it means sacrificing these two eyes. It is because of you, Young Clan Head, that I have seen hope for the Uchiha!"

Uchiha Lieyang hurriedly denied any hesitation, revealing his reason.

Yu was momentarily speechless, staring blankly at the honest-looking Uchiha Lieyang, who was rubbing his nose.

At this moment, he didn't know what to say. Was this the extremism of the Uchiha clan?

"Rest assured, Brother Lieyang. Time Reset is a powerful technique. Once the Elixirs are ready, I will help you raise your spiritual energy as soon as possible. I hope you can evolve into the Eternal Mangekyo soon; I wouldn't want to open my eyes one day only to see a blind Brother Lieyang."

Seeing Uchiha Lieyang suddenly stunned, Yu shook his head. "Let's go."

"Hehe!" Uchiha Lieyang quickly followed in Yu's footsteps.

As the two approached the Uchiha compound, two figures suddenly appeared on the road ahead.

It was another pair, one large and one small. As their eyes met, Yu's face darkened upon seeing Shisui holding Itachi's hand. He had been busy working outside, and in the blink of an eye, his home had been "stolen."

"Brother!" Itachi suddenly shouted, breaking free from Shisui's large hand and running toward Yu.

When Itachi was half a meter away, Yu raised his small fist and landed a heavy blow on Itachi's head. Itachi felt a sharp pain instantly and clutched his head with both hands, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Why are you wandering around outside so late at night? What if Mother gets worried?" Yu scolded, feigning severity.

"I was just worried about you, Brother! I wanted to come out and find you!" Itachi said, feeling wronged.

"Hmph! And you ended up wandering around with this Special Jonin!" Yu said, the corner of his mouth curling slightly.

"That... Brother, I..." Itachi wanted to explain, but he couldn't find an excuse, his eyes darting around in a panic.

"Alright, since you've found me, let's go home together," Yu said helplessly.

"Brother, I'm sorry for today." Itachi lowered his head slightly.

"You don't owe your brother an apology, Itachi. You owe it to the clansmen who trusted you!" Yu retorted sternly.

"Brother, I understand." Itachi stood frozen in place, his head bowed as he spoke softly.

Seeing this, Yu didn't want to push him too hard. "Understood. Don't say things like that again in the future. Let's go! I don't know how worried Mother must be right now." With that, Yu reached out a hand.

Seeing this, Itachi immediately broke into a smile and took Yu's hand.

"Yu, you are too harsh on Itachi!" Shisui stepped forward and chided Yu.

"Hmph! If you didn't keep filling Itachi's head with such unhealthy ideas, I wouldn't have to be so harsh," Yu said, rolling his eyes at Shisui, who was working himself to the bone for Konoha.

"Yu, I know the village has its faults, but you can't just reject the entire village because of that, can you?" Shisui explained patiently.

"It seems you aren't completely blind, so why can't you grasp the crux of the matter? Is it us rejecting the village, or is the current Konoha leadership rejecting the Uchiha clan? Do you still not understand this?" Yu replied, his voice tinged with anger.

Uchiha Shisui opened his mouth, but stopped himself.

Yu looked at Shisui and thought for a moment. He decided it was time to have a proper talk with him. After all, Shisui wasn't entirely standing on the village's side. If he could be pulled to his side, there would be much less resistance when he launched the coup d'état in the future.

"This isn't the place to talk. Brother Shisui, let's go to that rooftop and have a chat."

"Alright." Shisui nodded.

In truth, he carried much inner turmoil, but pitifully, there were too few people in the village who could understand him. He often had to hide his doubts, with nowhere to vent them. As for Itachi, his student and friend, he was wary of the age gap and couldn't speak too thoroughly about certain matters.

As for Yu, to be honest, ever since they met, Shisui had never been able to view him as a child. Instead, he felt like he was dealing with a worldly, sophisticated adult.

Although their viewpoints differed greatly, he had to admit that every time he spoke with Yu, he felt a sense of clarity.