Shisui and Itachi

After sorting out his thoughts, Hane prepared to act. Without hesitation, he added the Malice Points he had gained today to alchemy and Formation Art.

A flood of knowledge about alchemy and formations poured into Hane's mind. The formation diagrams that had once contained only the basic Spirit Gathering Array instantly became far more varied. Illusion formations, killing formations, trapping formations, and defensive grand formations greatly made up for Hane's shortcomings in Formation Art.

"So this is the difference between ordinary and proficient? The gap really is enormous." Hane sighed softly.

Although they were all merely basic formation diagrams, formations were dead while people were alive. Combining different basic formations could create an entirely new grand formation. The more basic something was, the more important it became.

Every powerful formation was built upon a strong and complete foundation.

Besides, with Hane's formidable control—as long as the system implanted the knowledge properly, he could use it with ease—a mere Mind-Refining Grand Formation would be effortless.

The same went for alchemy. The basic pill formulas, which had originally only included healing and body-tempering pills, now also included recovery and spirit-nourishing pill formulas.

Looking at the newly acquired spirit-nourishing pill formulas, a wicked smile curled across Hane's lips.

He felt even more confident about his earlier idea. As it happened, Hane had planted quite a few of one of the main ingredients for the spirit-nourishing pills in his backyard.

Hane remembered finding those herbs beside a river at the back of Uchiha Mountain.

That sea of flowers, like a field of poppies, remained vivid in Hane's memory even now.

Yet back then, after consulting the Hundred Herbs Compendium, Hane had only known that the herb was related to the mind. He had never expected it to become an important main ingredient in Spirit-Calming Powder.

Everything had come to him without effort. Such was fate—how could the Uchiha not crush the entire Ninja World?

After digesting the vast amount of knowledge in his mind, it was about time. Hane rose and prepared to leave. It was time to take an important step forward!

Once he stepped out this door today, the Uchiha would welcome their true master.

However, not long after Hane left, Itachi, who had regained his composure, hurried downstairs. Seeing that the living room was now completely empty, a trace of loneliness appeared on his little face.

Is Brother still angry with me? Itachi felt a little sad.

The pain in his heart made him desperately want to find someone to confide in.

So he headed outside alone. Mikoto, who followed him downstairs, looked at Itachi's lonely back and helplessly shook her head.

This child may seem calm and mature for his age, but he is still impatient. It's not as if he can never see his brother again. Why be so disappointed? He can apologize anytime, Mikoto sighed helplessly to herself.

As Itachi walked beneath the dim streetlights, he eventually arrived at a familiar courtyard. Looking at the tightly shut gate, Itachi thought for a moment before stepping forward and knocking on it.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Three crisp knocks rang out, followed by the sound of footsteps from within the courtyard.

When Shisui opened the gate and saw the dejected Itachi, concern immediately appeared on his face. "Itachi! What's wrong?"

Itachi lowered his head and remained silent for a moment. He did not know whether he should tell Shisui about his brother.

Seeing Itachi remain silent, Shisui grew even more anxious. He had always thought highly of this younger clansman.

"Itachi! Is there something you can't tell Brother Shisui?" Shisui crouched down and looked at Itachi gently.

"Brother Shisui, I..." Itachi hesitated.

Seeing Itachi like this, Shisui immediately understood. It was probably related to what had happened in the clan today. He had only learned about it after returning from a mission.

Thinking of the guilty expression on the Third Hokage's face when Sarutobi had mentioned the matter to him today, Shisui felt a trace of indignation. He had not expected the clansmen to clash head-on with Konoha's higher-ups, and for Hane, the clan head's son, to take the lead.

When he had first heard the news, his heart had been filled with shock. Seeing the Third Hokage's guilty expression had made him feel even more ashamed.

If Lord Hokage had not sent him out on a mission, he definitely could have stopped Hane from making such an impulsive choice.

Looking at the hesitant Itachi, Shisui could not help rubbing his head. "Itachi, what happened in the clan has nothing to do with you, so there's no need to be this upset."

Itachi raised his head to look at Shisui. "Brother Shisui, I argued with my brother today!" Itachi revealed something that left Shisui dumbfounded.

He knew how close the two brothers usually were. They were practically inseparable. Whenever Itachi was alone with him and mentioned Hane, his eyes would be filled with admiration. Yet even brothers like them had argued.

Shisui fell silent. "Was it because of what happened today?"

Itachi nodded.

Shisui looked at Itachi with mixed feelings. He had not expected Itachi to be so resolute about this matter, to the point of arguing with the brother he had never dared defy. Shisui knew that Itachi's beliefs were similar to his own.

"Can you tell Brother Shisui what happened?" Shisui continued asking patiently.

"Brother Shisui! It was all my fault. I didn't try to understand Brother's feelings, and I made him incredibly disappointed in me!" As he spoke, Itachi's eyes reddened.

Watching Itachi on the verge of tears, Shisui panicked. In Shisui's eyes, Itachi was a child he could treat as an equal. Their relationship had always been both teacher-and-student and friends.

Yet Itachi, who was usually like this, had reddened his eyes and nearly cried over what had happened today. His conflict with Hane was clearly a severe blow to his young heart.

"Itachi! Can you tell Brother Shisui exactly what happened?"

Itachi held back the tears in his eyes before slowly recounting everything that had happened. Once he finished, he looked at Shisui expectantly, hoping to hear a different explanation.

After hearing him out, Shisui fell silent. He could not question the facts in Hane's words. Indeed, if one were to ask which clans were living well in Konoha right now, they would undoubtedly be the clans belonging to the Konoha Elder Council.

Shisui often formed teams and left the village for missions, yet he rarely ever teamed up with shinobi from the Sarutobi or Shimura Clans.

They were all shinobi, and their clans were not small either. Shinobi from other clans had to leave the village and take missions to make a living, so why could shinobi from the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans stay in the village and still live comfortably?

No one would believe there was no hidden agenda behind that. Yet precisely because of this, seeing Itachi waiting for his answer made Shisui feel incomparably miserable.

He could speak to Itachi about the Will of Fire, and he could discuss the clan's shortcomings with him, but he could not deceive this younger clansman who admired him with lies.

"Itachi! I can't refute your brother's words." After remaining silent for a long time and trying to find flaws in Hane's argument, Shisui answered helplessly.

A look of disbelief appeared on Itachi's little face. "Then everything Brother said was true?" At that moment, Itachi felt as though his entire worldview had been remade.

"Itachi! But our Uchiha Clan is different from the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans. At least those two clans do not face what we do—being completely unable to integrate into the village and being excluded from it!"

Seeing the confusion on Itachi's face, Shisui hurriedly explained.

Itachi's expression turned solemn as he fell into thought. "Is it because we can't enter the village's upper ranks?"

Shisui nodded. "So the most important thing for us now is to earn the Third Hokage's trust and open a true bridge between the Uchiha and the village. Otherwise, an Uchiha that is not trusted will never be able to integrate into the village."

After hearing Shisui's explanation, Itachi immediately understood the reason behind it and nodded in agreement.

"To enter Konoha's upper ranks, we can only earn Lord Hokage's trust." A path of thought suddenly seemed to open within Itachi's young mind.

When he looked at Shisui again, admiration filled his eyes once more.