What Lies Beneath the Eyepatch

If Shisui could come back to life, the first thing he would do was grab Itachi Uchiha by the collar and roar at him.

So in your eyes, the Uchiha Clan only has your little brother left, huh?!

The next day.

Itachi Uchiha stood before Konoha's higher-ups to give his report.

"Shisui was a pillar among the clan's younger generation. With his death, the Uchiha's morale collapsed in an instant."

Not a single wrinkle of grief appeared on Utatane Koharu's face. Instead, she nodded in satisfaction.

"Looking at the result alone, at least the signs of rebellion have been stamped out."

Listening below, Itachi Uchiha's fingers unconsciously clenched.

Beside her, Hiruzen Sarutobi put on a pained expression.

"Did Shisui truly have to give his life to stop it...? I pushed him too hard."

Those words flooded Itachi Uchiha's ears, and his heart suddenly warmed. At the very least, the Will of Fire within the Third Hokage had not gone cold.

At the far end, Danzo was already cursing up a storm inside.

You hypocritical bastard! You couldn't bring yourself to seize Kotoamatsukami, so you shoved me out there. And now you're here pretending to be the good guy!

The more Danzo thought about it, the more stifled he felt. With a cold face, he spoke to Itachi.

"Some within the Uchiha Clan seem to suspect that you killed Shisui."

Veins immediately bulged at Itachi Uchiha's temples. After all that circling around, Danzo was splashing the dirty water back onto him again.

He suppressed his anger again and again before answering respectfully.

"Like Shisui, everything I have done was for the Uchiha. Only someone who cannot tell right from wrong would spread such rumors. I was out on a mission on the night Shisui missed the gathering, which is why these rumors surfaced."

Danzo nodded without expression.

"Keeping a secret made you suspicious? Let ANBU release an official announcement that it was suicide. No problem with that, right, Hiruzen?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow.

Having ANBU announce it as a suicide would be as obvious as trying to hide something in plain sight.

Danzo really knew his stuff. Hiruzen did not even need to feed him the words; he had already driven the wedge between the Uchiha and the village three inches deeper. What a good man.

With Shisui dead, the Uchiha's rebellion plans had no choice but to be put on hold. Konoha slipped back into a period that looked peaceful on the surface, while muddy currents churned beneath.

Itachi Uchiha was assigned to work assassination missions with Kakashi, while someone else took over the job of monitoring the Uchiha.

It looked as though the village had completely accepted Itachi Uchiha as one of its own.

But none of this crap had anything to do with Naruto.

For the past few days, he had been lying in a hospital bed recovering.

The moment school let out, Hinata would hurry over in tiny steps to take care of him, making the reserved Hyuga Hiashi grit his teeth in fury.

The little rookies took turns visiting him, and Hiruzen Sarutobi showed his face several times as well.

The Third Hokage had carefully examined the corner of Naruto's eye at the time. That pitch-black, hollow eye socket was truly unsettling to look at.

Because of this, he had specifically gone to confront Danzo.

In his view, the entire incident had undoubtedly been a play Danzo staged and performed himself in order to destroy Naruto.

The goal was to strip away some of Hiruzen's people. After all, in the eyes of many outsiders, Naruto had long since been placed under Hiruzen Sarutobi's name.

Unfortunately, he had no idea Danzo thought exactly the same way.

Watching that old bastard act like a thief crying thief and swagger around in front of him, Danzo nearly twisted his nose out of shape with rage. In his heart, he raised his estimate of Hiruzen Sarutobi's shamelessness yet another level.

Both of them harbored their own schemes, and somehow managed to create a muddled farce instead.

None of that affected Naruto in the slightest.

The Nine-Tails' rampage, coupled with his terrifying appearance after losing an eye, had completely pulled Naruto out from among the civilians.

Even ninjas from some of the smaller clans would shrink their necks and take a detour when they saw him, like mice spotting a cat.

The gossip about the Nine-Tails Demon Fox flared up throughout the village again, fiercer than ever, wave after wave overwhelming the last.

Three months later, Naruto recovered from his injuries and was discharged.

A black eyepatch now covered his right eye, similar in style to Kenpachi Zaraki's. From a distance, the sunny, warm boy he once was seemed to have vanished. A vicious edge showed through his unruly demeanor.

He also seemed to have become more subdued after his injuries, much quieter than before.

"Naruto!"

The moment Naruto stepped out of the hospital gates, Shikamaru and the others were already waiting outside.

Even Second Pillar stood behind them with his hands in his pockets, head turned away, wearing an arrogant expression of reluctant pride.

Ino held out a bouquet of lilies and stuffed it into Naruto's hands.

"Congratulations on getting discharged. Your new look is pretty cool."

Hinata's face turned scarlet as she offered him a huge pile of lucky stars she had folded while staying at the hospital with him.

"Naruto... this... is for you."

Looking at the little ones before him, Naruto felt a sudden warmth rise in his chest.

Konoha Village might be packed with ignorant fools who blindly followed the crowd, but there was still a small group of people he could count on.

Naruto looked at them, then suddenly grinned.

"Come on, come on. I'm treating you guys to ramen at Ichiraku Ramen."

Choji froze on the spot.

"Huh? Shouldn't we be having barbecue? You always used to treat us to barbecue."

"You stuff yourself with barbecue every day. Aren't you scared you'll eat yourself into a ball? I just crawled out of the hospital, so I need something light, got it?"

"Then let's have an eating contest and see who can eat the most."

"Great idea! The champion will definitely be me, Choji!"

With a mischievous grin, Naruto casually draped his arms over Ino and Hinata's shoulders, pulling the two girls toward Ichiraku.

When it came to feelings, you had to start early. Hehe.

They kept fooling around until midnight before Naruto finally returned to his shabby little rented room.

He removed his eyepatch, exposing the empty right eye socket like a black hole.

"Release!"

Naruto shouted softly. Something solid suddenly appeared in his palm: a scarlet Sharingan that sent chills down one's spine.