Regret Bitter Fruit Harvest

The Police Force member's words plunged the meeting room into silence.

After all, it was the truth.

Even Seiichi, a fan of Shisui's, wore a grim expression. That very morning, the villagers of Konoha had glared at him with open hostility.

Now, he understood this all the more clearly.

Hayato watched from the back as the Police Force member stood up.

He was a veteran, at least. He had already been serving in the Police Force when Hayato joined.

Hayato turned his gaze to Shisui.

It was obvious that even though Shisui's strength was enough to overwhelm everyone there, he didn't know how to respond to this kind of retort.

No matter how strong he was, he was only a boy in his early teens, and this wasn't what he had expected.

Seeing this, Hayato shook his head. Uchiha Shisui was still too naive.

Respect and equal dialogue were built on a foundation of strength.

At that moment, the Uchiha Clan didn't have that kind of strength, even though it had a prodigy who had awakened his Sharingan at such a young age.

But that wasn't enough.

"Just because you're strong, you think you can make a glib remark like that?"

The veteran Police Force member spoke bitterly. "You're called a genius, standing at the summit. Of course you can talk about love. But what about us? Besides gripping the blades in our hands, what else can we hold on to?!"

With that, the veteran turned and walked straight out of the meeting room.

If this was what the Uchiha Clan's genius was like, he might as well skip the lecture!

A rush of footsteps followed.

The crowd streamed out, even faster than they had come in.

Shisui stood on the platform, his expression troubled.

The squad leader rose beside him and glanced at Shisui. "I'll explain this to the other elders and the clan head."

Then he strode away.

He hadn't noticed that, apart from Shisui, there was someone else in the meeting room.

Hayato sat quietly. The outcome had been even more intense than he'd expected.

At the very least, he'd expected the clan members to argue back, but not to leave.

But he'd overlooked something: by now, the Uchiha Clan had become a powder keg, slowly primed by the Fourth Hokage's death, the Nine-Tails Incident, and the rumors deliberately spread by the higher-ups.

After sitting in silence for a long while, Shisui looked up. When he saw someone else in the meeting room, he couldn't help but freeze.

Hayato looked at Shisui calmly. Shisui began, "You're..."

He didn't know Hayato's name, and for a moment, he didn't know what else to say.

"Uchiha Hayato."

Hayato stood and introduced himself.

Shisui nodded quickly, looking pleased. "Hayato, why are you still here?"

There was a note of urgency in his voice. Right now, he wanted to find someone who understood him, even just a little.

Hayato looked at Shisui and shook his head. "I stayed because there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead," Shisui said, nodding eagerly.

"Are you hoping that by changing the Police Force's image, the villagers will see the Uchiha differently?"

Hayato asked.

"That's right. That's what I think. In the villagers' eyes, the Uchiha Police Force has become a symbol of oppression..."

"Don't be naive, Uchiha Shisui. The pressure and rejection the clan has faced all this time have never come from the so-called villagers."

Hayato cut him off. That really was naive.

Shisui had only noticed the clan's shortcomings. He hadn't seen Konoha's darker side.

The people who had always pushed the Uchiha aside weren't the villagers of Konoha. They were Konoha's current leaders.

Shisui's face stiffened. He stared blankly at Hayato.

Just as he was about to ask what Hayato meant, Hayato spoke again.

"Shisui, I don't know about all the things you talked about. I just want to ask: are the many Uchiha clan members really as awful as you think?"

"When I was born, my father died on the battlefield fighting for Konoha and the clan. My mother raised me alone, and she passed away when I was seven."

"It was the clan members who disagree with your ideals—the very people you're talking about—who gave me food. Not Konoha."

"You're a member of the Police Force yourself, but you've never gone out on patrol."

"You tell us not to use force. Do you even know what happened? This morning, while we were patrolling the central district, a group of drunks started causing trouble. But the moment we stepped in, the villagers looked at us with hostility."

"Tell me, were we in the wrong?"

"Or should we have turned a blind eye? What would be the point of having a Police Force, then?"

"Were we supposed to reason with a bunch of drunks, or just let them do as they pleased?"

"Do you believe that if we did that, the clan head wouldn't be summoned by the Hokage or an elder the very next day?"

"Then what would the clan head do? Anyone can tell a one-sided story. Please learn about the situation properly before coming back to talk about your so-called ideas."

With that, Hayato turned and left. That was probably enough. There was no point in saying more. Now, he just had to wait for the Bitter Fruit to ripen.

Knowing Shisui's personality, Hayato was sure it would have an effect.

Hayato had just stepped out of the meeting room when he stopped. Someone was standing by the door.

Uchiha Fugaku.

"Clan head." Hayato paused, then bowed slightly and walked on.

It wasn't a good time to get too close to Fugaku. At the very least, Hayato was still just an ordinary Uchiha clan member.

If he hoped a few words would make Fugaku think more highly of him, he might as well pray that the Bitter Fruit Entry System would give him a hefty reward.

Fugaku watched Hayato's retreating figure. It took him a while to remember who the boy was.

"So that's who he is."

But Fugaku didn't give it much thought. He could look through the Police Force records and ask about him later.

For now, he needed to go inside and talk to Shisui.

"Hayato, where have you been?"

Uchiha Rin and Uchiha Seiichi, who had been waiting by the entrance to the Police Force, saw Hayato coming down and called out to him.

"Nowhere. I just thought Shisui was being a little too naive about some things."

Hayato waved a hand.

"Hmph. He's forgotten that he's an Uchiha, too."

Seiichi was the angriest of them all. He was older than Shisui, but had always looked up to him.

You could even call him an idol.

Who would have thought Shisui would hold these kinds of views?

To Seiichi, it was no different from betraying the Uchiha Clan.

At this, Hayato patted Seiichi on the shoulder. Although Tobirama's every policy had been meant to keep the Uchiha Clan in check,

his understanding of the Uchiha was right.

The Uchiha grew powerful through love, but when they lost someone they loved, those negative emotions could take control of their minds.

If Shisui hadn't been quite so naive in what he'd said, Seiichi might have awakened his Sharingan right then and there.

Seiichi didn't push Hayato away. Hayato's words had earned his respect.

Seeing this, Hayato let out a quiet laugh. That was the Uchiha: they loved fiercely and hated fiercely.

Perhaps the reason his Sharingan hadn't advanced so quickly over the past few years was that he lacked this trait.

Ding!

[Bitter Fruit Entry System]

Target detected: Uchiha Shisui

Bitter Fruit type triggered: Regret Bitter Fruit

Content: Reflect on his lack of understanding of the clan, feel guilty for seeing things too narrowly, and blame himself for being too naive.

Harvesting...