Preparing for Both Possibilities

Faced with Fugaku's question, neither Hayato nor Shisui answered right away.

Hayato remained calm, while Shisui immediately glanced over at him.

"I see. I understand now." Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath as he watched them. In truth, he'd only suspected something.

But Shisui's expression was far too easy to read.

Hayato gave Shisui a helpless glance. The kid was so bad at pretending.

Fugaku looked at the two of them, his eyes already glowing with the scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan. The three Tomoe spun rapidly, merging into a complex pattern.

"Mangekyō!"

Shisui's eyes flew wide as he stared at Fugaku in shock.

Smack!

Hayato covered his face, then slapped the back of Shisui's head. The kid—don't just blurt it out like that!

"Then can your eyes see further, too?"

As he spoke, Fugaku moved closer to them. Even though Shisui believed the clan leader wouldn't attack him, he couldn't help becoming wary.

Hayato quietly watched Fugaku approach, then reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Your ocular powers are unusual," Fugaku said softly. "You don't need to hide it. I can sense them. You awakened the Mangekyō, didn't you?"

Before Hayato could react, Shisui froze. Then he turned to look at him and stammered, "Hayato, you too?"

Hayato nodded helplessly. He'd forgotten that Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō before either of them and could sense it more clearly.

But Shisui didn't know yet.

When Hayato nodded, Shisui stared at him in disbelief.

He'd always thought Hayato had only an ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan. It was only when Fugaku said that that he vaguely remembered how Hayato's ocular powers had always seemed exceptionally strong when they were together.

"When did it happen?"

"About half a month ago. I'd just come back from a mission." As he spoke, Hayato looked at Fugaku.

Fugaku's words brought back that nightmarish scene. Even now, whenever he closed his eyes, he could still see it clearly.

"The future?"

"The future."

Fugaku asked, and Hayato gave a slight nod.

At that, Fugaku slowly let out a breath. The way he looked at Hayato had changed.

Hayato had awakened the Mangekyō after seeing the very same scene as him.

Fugaku remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. "The Mangekyō is the Uchiha's ultimate power, but it's also a curse. Only we can know about this. Don't tell anyone—not even the other elders."

"Yes." Hayato nodded.

Fugaku merely patted him lightly on the shoulder, then headed alone toward the clan compound.

His thoughts were in turmoil. He was shocked that two people besides himself in the clan now possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he couldn't believe that Hayato had seen the same scene he had.

Was this the will of the Uchiha made manifest, or a warning from the future...?

The Ninja World was vast, full of all kinds of extraordinary powers. Even deep within the clan compound stood a stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.

No matter how bizarre something was, Fugaku wouldn't find it strange.

Instead, he felt powerless, caught between truth and fate. For some time, he'd believed that what he saw was a judgment and warning from heaven—or from the Uchiha Clan itself—directed at him, an incompetent clan leader.

But now Hayato had awakened the Mangekyō because of that same future. Could it be that the future was meant to warn him because of Hayato?

Fugaku stopped and looked back at the two figures still by the riverbank.

The Uchiha had gained two Mangekyō users beyond what fate had seemingly ordained.

Then... at the end of the choices before them, there was no longer only the despairing feeling that everything was inevitable.

He could act on this change and do something. Not try to stop the Uchiha rebellion from happening, but give the Uchiha a brighter future.

At the very least, back in the Hokage Office, Hayato had shown him a hint of something different.

He would prepare for both possibilities.

Coming back to himself, Fugaku settled on that decision. If things really could turn out that way, then the Uchiha might have a chance to begin anew.

If not, he could simply proceed as he'd planned before.

The worst that could happen was the situation he'd already envisioned.

Hayato watched Fugaku walk away, unsure what he was thinking. But Shisui, who was still staring at him, needed to be dealt with first.

"Come on. Let's go to my place."

Back at Hayato's house, Shisui looked at him. "Hayato, I need you to explain."

He'd been thinking about asking ever since they left the riverbank, but Hayato had kept stopping him.

Hayato picked up a cup from the table beside him, poured Shisui some water, and pushed it over. Then he asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Relax your mind. I'm going to cast a genjutsu on you."

Hayato spoke. Shisui was taken aback, then nodded seriously.

In the next instant, Hayato's Mangekyō appeared, and a powerful surge of ocular energy emanated from him.

Shisui let the genjutsu take effect, his expression turning blank. His brow furrowed now and then, clearly showing that he was struggling to keep from breaking free of the illusion.

Seeing the genjutsu take hold, Hayato left him alone and focused on the panel instead.

It displayed Bitter Fruit entries related to Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu.

[Sarutobi Hiruzen · Regret Bitter Fruit]

[Danzo · Malice Bitter Fruit]

[Mitokado Homura · Malice Bitter Fruit]

[Utatane Koharu · Malice Bitter Fruit]

Aside from Sarutobi Hiruzen, nearly all the Council of Elders had developed malice toward him, an Uchiha, during the meeting in the office.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu thought he'd been disrespectful to his elders for standing up to Danzo. Danzo, on the other hand, had harbored genuine malice toward him—he'd even wanted to kill him on the spot.

Hah.

What a bunch of parasites.

Hayato opened the rewards available to claim from each entry and rubbed his chin as he carefully considered his options.

'Claim Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet (Proficient), Chakra Qualitative Change, Fire Style Jutsu Power Doubled (buff), Ninjutsu Affinity (Beginner).'

After weighing his choices, Hayato could only settle on these. The Bitter Fruits from these people were all fairly ordinary. Even Danzo's malice amounted to no more than wanting to kill him.

It hadn't even reached the Epic tier.

Or was killing an Uchiha like him such an everyday matter in Danzo's mind?

With only that guess to go on, Hayato received the doubled effect. In the next instant, countless points of knowledge about Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet (Advanced) poured into his mind.

He clenched his fist. The crackling sound of bones came from his hand now and then, leaving him deeply satisfied.

His chakra reserves were pretty good now. But... compared with what he'd sensed during Jiraiya and Orochimaru's fight not long ago, he still seemed to be quite a bit behind.