The office door closed softly.
Kumoi stood alone before the window, a faint, nearly imperceptible arc of electricity gathering at his fingertips before vanishing in an instant.
He murmured to himself, his voice nearly inaudible in the empty room:
"A chakra-powered flintlock gun... Orochimaru, this time you've truly tossed in no small stone.
It seems this pool will be stirred sooner than expected."
He turned, his gaze falling on one corner of the desk, where a report with far-reaching implications would soon be placed.
Beneath Konoha's tranquil night, new ripples were already quietly brewing in the deepest reaches of scientific research.
Uchiha Compound, the residence of Uchiha Yusuke, elder of the Hawk Faction. Tea room.
The night was already deep, yet the tea room remained brightly lit.
Uchiha Sora had finally waited until his father had finished handling clan affairs and was sitting alone in the tea room.
He took a deep breath, slid open the door, and entered respectfully.
"Father."
Uchiha Yusuke had been resting with his eyes closed. At the sound of Sora's voice, he slowly opened them. His weathered yet still sharp eyes turned toward his son without surprise.
"Sora.
Sit.
You came to see me at this hour because of the clan meeting from a few days ago, aren't you?"
Sora was slightly stunned. This time, his father had not directly called Kagami Uchiha by name as usual, instead using the neutral term "clan meeting."
Suppressing the faint unease rising in his heart, he sat properly across from his father and looked Yusuke directly in the eye.
"Yes, Father.
I did want to speak with you... about the clan's future, and about the direction of our Hawk Faction."
Yusuke did not interrupt. He merely watched quietly, signaling for him to continue.
Sora gathered his thoughts, his