This Is So Shisui

Shinsuke's face turned from ashen to flushed.

He had never been particularly good at thinking on his feet.

Someone had coached him on everything he'd said up to this point.

But Shin-getsu's latest move had shattered his psychological defenses.

The more flustered he got, the easier it was for him to slip up.

Fugaku's gaze was icy as he slowly spoke:

"Shinsuke."

"Roll up your sleeve."

Shinsuke froze in place.

Everyone's eyes bore down on him.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't get a single word out.

Shin-getsu watched him, his expression calm to the point of cruelty.

"If you still won't confess."

"Then I'll say it for you."

"You didn't come here today for the clan meeting."

"You came to deliver a message."

"Is that right?"

Shinsuke's face changed completely.

He abruptly took half a step back, panic showing in his eyes for the first time.

At that very moment, Causality Retrospection in Shin-getsu's mind gave a faint tremor.

In his vision, the traces of an action from not long ago were drawn back into view.

Yesterday evening.

Shinsuke had briefly met with a figure in a gray cloak on the eastern side of the clan compound.

The other person's face had been hidden.

But Shin-getsu had recognized the cold flow of chakra around him at a glance.

Root.

And not ordinary Root operatives.

This was someone who seemed to be acting on Danzo's direct orders.

Shin-getsu's gaze turned icy.

So that was it.

The flattery was just a front.

The real goal was to use Shinsuke to steer the clan meeting in a more radical direction.

Then, once the opportunity arose, they would have him step forward and become a new source of discord within the Uchiha.

That way, whether Shinsuke succeeded or failed, Root could keep stirring up trouble.

Shin-getsu raised his head and looked at Fugaku.

"Clan head."

"I suggest we seal his chakra first, then search his sleeves."

Fugaku didn't hesitate.

"Tekka."

"Do it."

Tekka had been holding himself back for long enough.

He moved almost instantly, grabbing Shinsuke by the shoulder.

Shinsuke tried to fight back, but in the next moment, Uchiha Tekka's chakra burst out, forcing him down onto one knee.

Inabi immediately stepped forward and yanked open his left sleeve.

Clack.

A small Communication Talisman wrapped in chakra cloth fell out.

The room fell completely silent.

Every Uchiha stared at the talisman.

The edge of the paper bore the simplified seal markings commonly used by Root.

It wasn't enough to prove outright that Root was behind it, but it was enough for everyone present to understand that this thing had no place at a clan meeting.

Shin-getsu looked at the Communication Talisman on the ground and spoke slowly.

"So this is what you meant."

"When you said you were just expressing your opinion?"

Shinsuke's face was deathly pale. Sweat ran down his forehead, and his lips trembled.

"I... I didn't..."

He tried to explain.

But he couldn't manage a single complete sentence.

Shin-getsu gave him no chance.

"You weren't coached by anyone."

"Then why did you bring a Communication Talisman?"

"You weren't here to stir up the clan."

"Then why did you keep urging me to step forward?"

"You didn't want the Uchiha to gain more initiative."

"Then why did you keep directing all the attention at me?"

Three questions in a row.

Each one was like a blade.

Shinsuke was nearly driven to the breaking point.

Fugaku stood at the head of the room, his expression frighteningly cold.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered the possibility that someone in the clan had been compromised.

He just hadn't expected the other side to make a move so brazenly, right here.

And so clumsily.

Shinsuke's lips trembled as he finally managed to force out a few words:

"I just... I just thought..."

"Thought what?" Shin-getsu asked calmly.

Shinsuke's eyes darted around. Then, as if finally pushed too far, he abruptly lifted his head and shouted:

"I just think you're better suited than the clan head to lead the Uchiha forward!"

"The clan head is too soft!"

"All he does is wait!"

"We can't keep waiting!"

"Someone was right. Shin-getsu, you're the sharpest blade the Uchiha have right now!"

"Why won't you step forward?"

The moment those words left his mouth, the Shrine fell silent.

Because there it was.

He had finally said it himself.

A cold glint flashed deep in Shin-getsu's eyes.

As expected.

The same old routine.

On the surface, it was Shinsuke's "spontaneous anger."

In reality, someone had already fed him those lines.

Shin-getsu slowly turned to Fugaku.

"Clan head."

"I think there's someone else behind him."

Fugaku slowly nodded, his gaze icy.

"I know."

He looked at Tekka.

"Take him away."

"Keep him in isolation."

"Find out who he's been in contact with today."

"And check all his contact records from yesterday, the day before, and the past week."

Tekka answered at once.

"Yes."

Several members of the Police Force immediately stepped forward and dragged Shinsuke away.

Shinsuke struggled the whole way, but no one listened to another word he said.

The air in the Clan Assembly Hall settled again.

But this time, what settled over the room wasn't anger.

It was shock.

Everyone realized that something unsavory really had infiltrated the clan.

And their target wasn't just anyone.

It was Shin-getsu.

Fugaku raised a hand, silencing the murmurs.

"That's enough for today."

"The Police Force will investigate Shinsuke's case."

"But I also want to make one thing clear."

He raised his head and swept his gaze over everyone present.

"No one gets to stir up the Uchiha at will."

"And no one gets to push someone forward as a figurehead on a whim."

"Shin-getsu is young, and he still lacks strength."

"He may be the clan's future, but for now, he isn't the one who should be leading from the front."

"Anyone who uses his name to incite division within the clan will be severely punished under clan law."

Those words reined in the Radical Faction while leaving Shin-getsu room to grow.

Shin-getsu felt a stir in his heart.

Fugaku really was worthy of being clan head.

Even now, he knew how to stabilize the situation.

And it was clear he had begun to see Shin-getsu as a truly important young member of the clan.

That was a good thing for Shin-getsu.

At least in the short term, Fugaku wouldn't let anyone push him forward as a disposable pawn.

The clan meeting should have ended there.

But just then, a voice suddenly came from a corner of the room.

"Clan head."

The voice was soft.

Yet it made everyone fall silent.

Shin-getsu looked up.

The speaker was Shisui.

He stood up, his expression still gentle, though his gaze was more serious than usual.

"I have something to say."

"I want to say it to Shin-getsu, and to everyone in the clan."

Fugaku nodded.

"Go ahead."

Shisui looked at Shin-getsu and spoke slowly:

"Today's events made me realize something."

"What the Uchiha truly need right now isn't another person swept along by emotion."

"They need someone who can see the situation clearly and keep a cool head."

"Shin-getsu handled things very well just now."

"He didn't let himself be led astray, and he didn't let anger cloud his judgment."

"That makes him better than a lot of people here."

After he finished, quite a few people in the Shrine nodded without thinking.

But Shin-getsu felt a slight sinking in his heart.

Shisui's words were praise.

But they were also elevating him.

And he was doing it in an exceptionally gentle, natural way.

That was so Shisui.

So gentle that it was hard to dislike him.

But Shin-getsu knew that this kind of "natural approval" was often harder to guard against than blatant overpraise.

Because it would slowly make the clan members feel that Shin-getsu really was qualified.

Shin-getsu looked at Shisui and suddenly understood something.

Danzo wanted to build him up just to tear him down.

And though Shisui had said those words with good intentions, they had also imperceptibly made him stand out more.

Shin-getsu sighed inwardly.

It seemed that after this clan meeting, he'd be watched even more closely.

Just as he'd expected.

The System Prompt rang out in his mind.

[Host saw through the scheme to build him up just to tear him down during the clan meeting.]

[Successfully exposed an infiltrated node within the clan.]

[Causality Points gained: 1600.]

[Current Causality Points: 5200.]

[Hidden side quest completion increased.]

[Reward pending settlement.]

Shin-getsu's eyes lit up slightly.

Five thousand two hundred.

It wasn't a small amount.

But he still couldn't fully relax.

Because he knew Shinsuke was only one node.

The real mastermind was still hiding somewhere deeper.

And what had happened today was tantamount to formally telling the Root that it wouldn't be so easy to plant spies inside the Uchiha.

Shin-getsu looked up at the night beyond the Shrine, his gaze deep.

"Danzo."

"You wanted to shove me onto the pyre."

"Too bad you picked the wrong person."