Konoha's Idol Craze

It was not only the audience at the scene who watched Shisui's performance. The members of the Konoha Military Police Force maintaining order nearby watched it as well.

"Hey! Can you really stand it? Are you just going to let Shisui damage the Uchiha Clan's reputation?"

"I can't stand it. You go bring Shisui back. Don't let him embarrass himself out here!"

"You go yourself! Why aren't you going?"

"Bastard! Do you take me for an idiot? Do you think I don't know that's the chief's shadow clone standing beside him?"

Many members of the Konoha Military Police Force wore terrifyingly cold expressions. Watching Shisui act like a clown to win everyone's favor made them feel disgraced as well.

With Ren over there, they did not dare make any moves. All they could do was put on expressions that warned strangers to stay away.

"I really don't know what the clan head is thinking, saying Shisui is the key to winning the villagers' support."

"Yeah. If gaining the villagers' support means trampling on the Uchiha Clan's glory, then we'd be better off without it."

"That's right. We need to deal with Konoha's higher-ups. What can these ordinary people possibly do? As long as the clan head defeats the Hokage, won't these villagers fall in line anyway?"

"I don't think the clan head is reliable. Lord Fugaku has far more authority."

"Shh! Keep it down. Do you think the clan head is gentle just because he smiles all day?"

Many members of the Konoha Military Police Force complained in secret.

Of course, not every Uchiha clansman remained indifferent. A few of them secretly went to see Fugaku.

"Lord Fugaku, the clan head is practically trampling on the Uchiha Clan now. You can't pretend not to see it!"

"That's right, Lord Fugaku. The Uchiha Clan's glory is weeping."

Fugaku might not have been clever, but he knew that Ren's actions surely carried some deeper meaning. He ignored them.

"I'm no longer the clan head. I'm only an ordinary ninja of the clan now. Leave."

After the group left Fugaku's house, one of them said, "What do we do? I never thought Fugaku Uchiha would be such a coward."

"Exactly. He looked so fierce just now, but he turned out to be so timid."

"Why don't we go find that person? He definitely won't ignore this."

In another residence within the Uchiha compound, after listening to their account—

Sure enough, that man wore an angry expression. "This is utterly unforgivable. He's trying to grind away our clan's fighting spirit."

"How laughable. The Uchiha Clan would rather shatter like jade than compromise!"

"Shatter like jade! Shatter like jade! Shatter like jade! My lord, let's go fight Uchiha Yushu! As long as he dies, our clan's glory can return."

That man fell silent upon hearing this. "No. We are completely outmatched. We might not even be able to get close to him."

"Then what do we do, my lord?"

"No rush. Let's wait and see. There must be plenty of clansmen who can't stand him. Slowly build up our strength. Back then, he spent two years building his power to bring down Fugaku."

"I recently received news that if Konoha hadn't pushed him so hard this time, he might not have stepped forward at all. We can follow his method and defeat him in the end."

Their eyes lit up at once. So there was another way. They quietly left.

Not long afterward, Fugaku told Ren about those people.

After hearing it, Ren merely smiled faintly and paid it no mind. He only asked Fugaku whether Itachi Uchiha had improved lately.

After Shisui's first day of performances, the people of Hidden Leaf Village noticed something strange.

From time to time, they would hear people talking about someone from the Uchiha Clan named Shisui. Curious, some people asked around and went to watch Shisui's performances in the days that followed.

Most of those who came because of his reputation became Shisui's fans as well. At this point in the ninja world, he had no competition.

As a result, even those who did not become Shisui's fans would not turn into haters. They even developed a bit of goodwill toward him.

Time slowly passed. Shisui appeared on the streets of Hidden Leaf Village, in restaurants, beside plazas, and outside the Ninja Academy.

Shisui gained more and more fans in Konoha. Once they gradually realized that Shisui was shy and gentle by nature—

Some bolder fans would always rush right up to Shisui and get handsy. And every time, Shisui's blank, stunned expression only made his fans become even bolder.

Therefore, whenever Shisui went out to perform now, Ren arranged for three members of the Konoha Military Police Force to serve as bodyguards and prevent fans from getting too close.

Shisui's popularity also made the villagers warm to the Uchiha Clan by association, no longer viewing them as beasts to be feared.

After one performance, a fan gave Shisui a gift and then noticed the bodyguards and the Konoha Military Police Force members maintaining order nearby.

When that fan bought a large case of water from a nearby convenience store, handed out bottles one by one to the Uchiha, and thanked them for their hard work—

Those clansmen were overcome with mixed emotions. The sudden kindness was very small, but it was the first time in more than ten years that they had felt recognition from Konoha's people, leaving them at a loss.

It turned out that the warmth brought by being thanked and acknowledged was more powerful, and reached deeper into the heart, than the sense of accomplishment that came from being respected and feared.

Though it was only a tiny kindness from an ordinary person, it planted a seed in these clansmen's hearts. When that seed sprouted, it would be the day they sincerely wished to integrate into Konoha.

At the Ninja Academy, Natsuri, who had not dropped out, was still Naruto's boss.

Naruto had also gotten to know Sasuke Uchiha through Natsuri. True to the chakra they carried, which had loved and fought for a thousand years, the two often quarreled fiercely over trivial matters despite being so young.

"Boss Natsuri, Brother Shisui will be performing outside the Ninja Academy after school again today. Let's go watch!"

"Idiot Naruto, Brother Shisui belongs to our Uchiha Clan. He's my brother!"

"But everyone calls him Brother Shisui. What are you so smug about, Sasuke?"

"I don't care! You're not allowed to call him Brother Shisui. Brother Shisui is mine!"

"Not only will I call him Brother Shisui, I'm going to get Brother Shisui's autograph this afternoon."

Watching the two start arguing again at the slightest disagreement, Natsuri felt like an outsider. She silently shifted away, leaving them some space.

That afternoon, beside the Ninja Academy, many children did not go straight home after school. Even the children who had someone picking them up begged their parents to stay a little longer.

Before long, Shisui made his appearance. By then, he was usually no longer nervous or shy. He was still tightly protected by three people in the center, followed by a large crowd of villagers who loved watching the excitement.

"Brother Shisui looks so cool!" Naruto could not help exclaiming.

"Hmph! Brother Shisui is mine. Watch me call Brother Shisui over."

Sasuke immediately shouted at Shisui, "Brother Shisui, over here!"

But Sasuke was far from the only one shouting. The cries from all around directly drowned out his voice.

As Shisui walked along, whenever the cheers grew especially loud, he would look over and wave with a smile.

Shisui's performance soon began. By now, he had learned most of the dances and songs from Ren's memories of his past life.

Shisui's performances had become more relaxed and more spectacular. During breaks, he recited all kinds of speeches Ren had prepared that slipped in some private agendas.

While drawing cheers from the crowd, they also gradually changed the villagers' image of the Uchiha Clan.

Watching Shisui, dazzling and radiant amid the crowd's attention, as well as the cheering people around him—

Many children's eyes shone with admiration, Naruto naturally among them.

Looking at the atmosphere, even more heated than the opening ceremony, Naruto suddenly shouted, "I've decided! I, Naruto Uzumaki, will become an idol someday too!"

"Hmph! I, Uchiha Sasuke, will definitely become an idol before you do."

Sasuke declared without backing down.

After Shisui's career got on track, Ren no longer sent a shadow clone to accompany Shisui to every performance.

If he had heard those two little brats, Naruto and Sasuke, he would have worried about Konoha's future.

Sigh, Konoha's next generation is already finished.

Seeing the two start up again, Natsuri said, "Sasuke, Naruto, how about going to my house tonight? Brother Shisui is my brother's subordinate, so he goes to my house every night."

"If Brother Shisui learns that you want to become idols, maybe he'll personally teach you."

"Okay. I'll tell Father later that I'm going to Aunt Mina's house tonight."

Sasuke had been living very comfortably lately. His father and brother both had time to spend with him every day. Too young to understand what being clan head meant—

After hearing that it was all because of Brother Ren, he felt deeply grateful to him.

"Boss Natsuri, is your brother really that amazing?"

"But... is it really okay for me to go?"

Naruto worried whether Natsuri's family would accept him. Natsuri was the first person to face him without malice and show concern for him, and Naruto treasured his relationship with her greatly.

He was terribly afraid that Natsuri would come to hate him because of her family.

"Hey, don't tell me you're scared. Natsuri's brother is the Uchiha Clan's strongest ninja. It's normal for you to be scared."

"Who said I'm scared? I'll go. Sorry for the trouble, Boss Natsuri."

Sasuke was the second person Naruto had met who did not treat him with malice, but Sasuke's smug personality really was irritating.

"Alright, it's settled then. We'll go to my house after watching the performance!"