This is very Shisui

Shinsuke's face flickered between green and white.

He wasn't the type of person who was truly good at adapting.

All the words he'd spoken earlier had been taught to him beforehand.

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

The more flustered he became, the more easily he revealed his flaws.

Fugaku's gaze was icy as he slowly spoke:

"Shinsuke."

"Open your sleeves."

Shinsuke froze in place.

Everyone's eyes bore down on him.

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

Shin-getsu watched him, his expression so calm it was almost cruel.

"If you still don't admit it now..."

"Then I'll speak for you."

"You weren't here for the clan meeting today."

"You were here to deliver a message."

"Am I right?"

Shinsuke's face changed completely.

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

And at that very moment, the [Causality Retrospection] in Shin-getsu's mind suddenly gave a gentle tremor.

In his vision, a recently occurred trajectory of movement was pulled back.

Yesterday evening.

Shinsuke had a brief contact with a person wearing a gray cloak on the east side of the clan grounds.

The other party hadn't shown their face.

But the cold chakra flow emanating from them, Shin-getsu recognized it with just one glance.

Root.

And not just any ordinary Root member.

It was closer to the kind that received direct orders from Danzo.

Shin-getsu's eyes turned sharp.

So that's how it was.

The praise was just a facade.

The real objective was to use Shinsuke's mouth to steer the clan meeting in a more radical direction.

Then, have him "naturally" step forward and become a new point of conflict within the Uchiha.

This way, whether Shinsuke succeeded or failed, Root could continue to fish in troubled waters.

Shin-getsu raised his head and looked at Fugaku.

"Clan Head."

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

Fugaku didn't hesitate.

"Tekka."

"Act."

Tekka had already reached his limit.

He moved almost instantly, grabbing Shinsuke's shoulder.

Shinsuke tried to resist, but the next second, Uchiha Tekka's chakra erupted, forcing him to his knees.

Inabi immediately stepped forward and ripped open his left sleeve.

Snap.

A small communication talisman, wrapped in chakra cloth, fell out.

The hall fell into dead silence.

All the Uchiha stared at the talisman.

The edge of the paper had a simplified seal commonly used by Root.

While it couldn't directly prove it was from Root, it was enough for everyone present to understand that this thing should never have appeared at a clan meeting.

Shin-getsu looked at the communication talisman on the ground and spoke slowly.

"So this is what you meant."

"Just wanted to express your opinion?"

Shinsuke's face was ashen, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his lips trembled.

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

He wanted to explain.

But he couldn't form a complete sentence.

Shin-getsu didn't give him the chance.

"You weren't being taught by someone else."

"Then why did you bring the communication talisman?"

"You weren't here to incite the clan's emotions."

"Then why did you repeatedly ask me to step forward?"

"You weren't trying to give the Uchiha more initiative."

"Then why did you draw all the fire onto me?"

Three consecutive questions.

Each one was like a knife.

Shinsuke was on the verge of collapse under the questioning.

Fugaku stood at the head of the hall, his expression chillingly cold.

He hadn't expected someone in the clan to be infiltrated.

He just hadn't expected the other party to dare to make a move so directly in this setting.

And to do it so foolishly.

Shinsuke's lips quivered, and he finally managed to squeeze out:

"I just... I just felt..."

Shin-getsu said calmly, "Felt what?"

Shinsuke's eyes darted around, and finally, as if pushed to his limit, he suddenly looked up and roared:

"I just feel you are more suited to lead the Uchiha forward than the clan head!"

"The clan head is too soft!"

"He just waits!"

"We can't wait anymore!"

"Someone was right, Shin-getsu, you are the sharpest blade the Uchiha has right now!"

"Why can't you step forward!"

As soon as these words left his mouth, the entire shrine fell silent.

Because it had finally come.

He had said it himself.

A cold glint flashed in the depths of Shin-getsu's eyes.

As expected.

It was the same old trick.

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

In reality, someone had already fed him the words.

Shin-getsu slowly looked at Fugaku.

"Clan Head."

"I believe there is someone behind this person."

Fugaku nodded slowly, his gaze icy.

"I know."

He looked at Tekka.

"Take him away."

"Isolate him."

"Investigate who he contacted today."

"And his contact records for yesterday, the day before, and the entire past week."

Tekka responded.

"Understood."

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

Shinsuke struggled the entire way, but no one listened to his explanations anymore.

Inside the Clan Assembly Hall, the air grew heavy once again.

But this time, it was not anger that weighed them down.

It was shock.

Everyone realized that something unclean had truly infiltrated the clan.

And the target of these people was none other than someone specific.

It was Shin-getsu.

Fugaku raised his hand, suppressing the murmurs in the hall.

"Let's end today's proceedings here."

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

"But I must also make one thing clear."

He looked up, his gaze sweeping across all the clansmen present.

"The Uchiha are not a group that can be incited by just anyone."

"And they are certainly not a group that will accept just anyone pushed forward as a banner."

"Shin-getsu is young, and his strength is not yet sufficient."

"He may be the future of the clan, but he is not yet the person who should stand at the very front."

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

These words both suppressed the Radical Faction and left room for Shin-getsu.

Shin-getsu felt a slight stir in his heart.

Fugaku was truly worthy of being the clan head.

He knew exactly how to stabilize the situation at a time like this.

Moreover, it was clear that he had begun to treat Shin-getsu as a truly important junior within the clan.

For Shin-getsu, this was a good thing.

At the very least, for the time being, Fugaku would not allow others to push him to the front as a disposable pawn.

The clan meeting should have ended there.

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

"Clan Head."

The voice was very soft.

Yet, it made everyone fall silent.

Shin-getsu looked up.

The person speaking was Shisui.

He stood up, his face still wearing a gentle expression, but his eyes were more serious than usual.

"I have something to say."

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

Fugaku nodded.

"Speak."

Shisui looked at Shin-getsu and spoke slowly:

"Today's events have made me realize one thing."

"What the Uchiha truly need right now is not another person driven by emotion."

"But someone who can see the situation clearly and remain calm."

"Shin-getsu did very well just now."

"He was not led astray, nor was he blinded by anger."

"In this regard, he is stronger than many."

After he finished this sentence, many people in the Shrine nodded subconsciously.

Shin-getsu's heart, however, sank slightly.

Shisui's words were meant to praise him.

But they were also elevating his position.

And they did so in a very gentle, very natural way.

This was so Shisui.

Gentle to the point of being hard to dislike.

But Shin-getsu knew that this kind of "natural approval" was often harder to guard against than direct praise meant to destroy.

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

Shin-getsu looked at Shisui and suddenly understood something.

Danzo wanted to destroy him with praise.

And Shisui's words, though well-intentioned, had also invisibly amplified his presence.

Shin-getsu sighed inwardly.

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

As expected.

A system prompt sounded in his mind.

[Host saw through the praise-to-destroy scheme during the clan meeting.]

[Successfully exposed an infiltrated node within the clan.]

[Gained Causality Points: 1600.]

[Current Causality Points: 5200.]

[Hidden side-quest completion rate increased.]

[Rewards to be settled later.]

Shin-getsu's eyes lit up slightly.

Five thousand two hundred.

Not a small amount.

But he didn't completely relax yet.

Because he knew Shinsuke was just one point.

The true mastermind was still hiding deeper.

And today's events were equivalent to officially telling Root that it wasn't so easy to plant nails within the Uchiha.

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

"Danzo."

"You wanted to put me on the pyre."

"Unfortunately, you picked the wrong person."