Fugaku looked at him.
"Do you know what all this means?"
Shingetsu nodded.
"It means more people will be watching me."
"It also means I'll be able to protect myself sooner."
Fugaku gave him a long look.
"Once you've recovered, I'll arrange for someone to teach you."
"But until then, you're not to leave the clan grounds."
Shingetsu didn't argue.
"Yes."
Fugaku walked to the door, then suddenly stopped.
"One more thing."
Shingetsu looked up.
"About those two ninjas last night," Fugaku said. "The clan will handle it."
"What you need to do now is rest and recover."
Shingetsu nodded, his expression unchanged.
But he knew all too well what was going on.
The clan would handle it?
How?
Demand answers from the Third Hokage?
And what would the Third Hokage say?
Unknown ninjas had infiltrated the Uchiha Clan Grounds. Konoha would surely investigate thoroughly.
Then they'd investigate and investigate, until eventually the matter came to nothing.
At most, Danzo would throw out two scapegoats.
He might not even need scapegoats.
After all, Root didn't officially exist.
That was what was most despicable about the Konoha High Command.
They would never admit to anything directly.
They would always use the greater good, peace, and the village to pressure people.
And within the Uchiha, there were always those who still clung to the fantasy that "the village will treat us fairly."
So Shingetsu had never thought this incident would be enough to deal with Danzo.
This was only the beginning.
After Fugaku left, the room fell silent.
Shingetsu closed his eyes and began examining the system.
Things had been too chaotic last night for him to study it properly.
As his consciousness sank into his mind, a translucent panel appeared.
[Host: Uchiha Shingetsu] [Age: Nine] [Bloodline: Sharingan, One-Tomoe, 30% progress] [Chakra Affinities: Fire, Lightning] [Current Traits: Basic Taijutsu Enhancement, Mental Resistance, Chakra Control, Short Blade Proficiency, Combat Intuition, Causality Perception] [Current Causality Points: 300] [Main Causal Event: Uchiha Clan Downfall Night] [Current Deviation: 1%]
Shingetsu's gaze settled on the last line.
Uchiha Clan Downfall Night.
One percent deviation.
In other words, last night's events had put the Uchiha on alert, but they were still a long way from truly changing the clan's fate.
That made sense.
The Night of the Clan Massacre hadn't involved just Itachi and Obito.
There were also Danzo, the Third Hokage, the Konoha High Command, the Radical Faction within the Uchiha, and Black Zetsu's thousand-year plan.
The deaths of two Root ninjas couldn't possibly shake the entire course of events.
But that was all right.
Even one percent meant change.
If the story could be changed at all, then the original fate wasn't irreversible.
Shingetsu turned his attention to the Causality Points.
Three hundred.
He'd probably received them for killing the two Root ninjas and changing the side story in which he died.
"System, what can I use Causality Points for?"
[ Causality Points can be used to upgrade traits, develop ninjutsu, develop bloodlines, and rehearse fate events.]
Shingetsu's eyes lit up.
Fate Event Rehearsal?
That ability was crucial.
If he could rehearse important events in advance, he'd be able to prepare more carefully.
"Can I rehearse the Night of the Clan Massacre right now?"
[Insufficient Causality Points.]
[The Night of the Clan Massacre involves multiple high-causality figures. Minimum rehearsal cost: 10,000 Causality Points.]
Shingetsu wasn't surprised.
Ten thousand points was a lot, but at least he had a goal.
"How many Causality Points would it take to upgrade my Sharingan?"
[Current One-Tomoe progress: 30%.]
[Spend 700 Causality Points to raise progress to 100% of the One-Tomoe.]
[Spend 3,000 Causality Points to force an evolution to the Two-Tomoe.]
Shingetsu furrowed his brow slightly.
He only had 300 points. Not enough.
It seemed that in the short term, he'd have to keep changing the plot or defeat stronger enemies.
But he couldn't be reckless.
Last night, he'd been backed into a corner and had no choice.
If he went looking for a fight with Root again, he wouldn't be the protagonist of some power fantasy. He'd just be getting himself killed.
He needed resources.
He needed a teacher.
He needed influence within the Uchiha.
And above all, he needed to keep his trump cards hidden.
Just then, the door opened softly.
A Uchiha boy walked in.
He had short black hair and an air of calm that didn't suit his age.
Uchiha Itachi.
Shingetsu's gaze shifted slightly.
He hadn't expected Itachi to be the first to come.
Itachi was still young, but he already had an air far beyond that of other children his age.
His eyes were calm.
Too calm for a child.
Itachi stood beside the bed and looked at Shingetsu.
"You're awake."
Shingetsu nodded.
"Who are you?"
He knew who the boy was, of course, but he couldn't let it show.
"Uchiha Itachi."
"The clan leader asked me to check on you."
Shingetsu sneered inwardly.
The clan leader asked you to come?
Maybe not.
Fugaku might have suggested it.
But Itachi surely wanted to come on his own, too.
Last night's incident had caused such a commotion that everyone in the Uchiha Clan Grounds knew about the nine-year-old orphan who had killed two suspected Root ninjas and awakened his Sharingan.
There was no way Itachi wasn't curious.
Shingetsu looked at him and asked deliberately, "Are you an Uchiha, too?"
Itachi paused slightly.
Then he nodded.
"Yes."
"Then who do you think those people were last night?"
Itachi fell silent.
The question was too direct.
And too pointed.
He'd only come to visit an injured clan member. He hadn't expected Shingetsu to put the issue right in front of him as soon as he opened his mouth.
After a moment, Itachi said, "The clan will investigate and find out."
Shingetsu smiled.
"And then what?"
Itachi looked at him.
Shingetsu continued, "What if it really was someone from the village?"
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
For the first time, something shifted in Itachi's eyes.
"You think the village did it?"
Shingetsu didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Do you think it didn't?"
Itachi frowned.
"Without evidence, we can't jump to conclusions."
Shingetsu looked at him, then suddenly asked, "What if the one they'd taken last night had been your little brother?"
Itachi's pupils contracted.
Shingetsu spoke one word at a time. "What if someone had infiltrated the clan grounds to take Sasuke away as a test subject?"
"Would you still say we can't jump to conclusions without evidence?"
Itachi fell silent.
This time, he was silent for even longer.
Because the question had struck a nerve.
Sasuke.
Uchiha Itachi could consider the situation from the village's point of view. He could use a maturity beyond his years to look at the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.
But when Sasuke was involved, he could never remain completely calm.
Shingetsu knew this very well.
So he'd struck right there with his first blow.
Itachi raised his head and looked at Shingetsu seriously.
"Hatred makes people lose their judgment."
Shingetsu replied calmly, "People without hatred can lose their principles, too."
Itachi paused.
Shingetsu continued, "Last night, they called me a test subject."
"Do you think someone who treats their comrades as test subjects still has any principles?"
Itachi said nothing.
Shingetsu looked at him.
This was Itachi as a boy.
A genius. Calm. Precocious.
But dangerous, too.
Because he'd started thinking in terms of the so-called "greater good" too early, without yet understanding that peace bought by sacrificing others was, at its core, a form of violence.
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