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 massive amount of knowledge about alchemy and Formation Art flooded into Hane's mind. The formation diagrams that had once contained only the basic Spirit Gathering Array instantly became far more diverse. 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 between them is really huge." Hane sighed softly.

Although they were all merely basic formation diagrams, formations were dead while people were alive. Combining different basic formations created 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 powerful control, as long as the system properly instilled the knowledge into him, he could use it with ease. A mere Mind-Refining Grand Formation would be easy enough.

The same went for alchemy. The basic pill formulas that had originally only covered healing and body tempering now included recovery and spirit-nourishing categories as well.

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

He became much more confident in his earlier idea. As it happened, one of the main ingredients for the spirit-nourishing pills was growing in abundance in his backyard.

Hane remembered that he had found those herbs by a river behind the Uchiha district.

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

Yet when he had consulted the Hundred Herbs Compendium back then, Hane had only thought 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 fallen into his hands without effort. Fate was on his side—how could the Uchiha not dominate the entire Ninja World?

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

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

However, not long after Hane left, the now-calm Itachi hurried downstairs. When he saw that the living room was already completely empty, a trace of loneliness appeared on his little face.

Is Brother still angry with me? Itachi felt slightly saddened.

His anguish made him desperately want to find someone to talk to.

So he walked out of the house alone. Mikoto, who had followed him downstairs, watched his lonely back and could only shake her head with Nothingness.

This child may usually seem composed and mature for his age, but he is impatient too! It's not as though he'll never see his brother again. Why be so disappointed? He can apologize anytime! Mikoto sighed with Nothingness to herself.

As Itachi walked beneath the dim streetlights, he eventually arrived at a familiar courtyard. Looking at the tightly shut gate, he hesitated 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 while. He did not know whether he should tell Brother Shisui about what had happened with his brother.

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

"Itachi! Is there anything 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 himself had only learned of it after returning from a mission.

When he recalled the Third Hokage's self-reproachful expression while telling him about it today, Shisui felt a trace of indignation. He had not expected the clansmen to directly clash with Konoha's higher-ups, and the one leading them had been Hane, the clan head's son.

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

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

Looking at the hesitant Itachi, Shisui could not help rubbing his head. "Itachi, the clan's affairs have Nothingness to do with you, so you do not need to be so upset."

Itachi raised his head and looked 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 could practically be said to be inseparable. Whenever Itachi spoke of Hane while alone with him, his eyes would be full of admiration. Yet even brothers like them had argued.

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

Itachi nodded.

Shisui gave Itachi a complicated look. He had not expected Itachi to be so resolute about this matter, to the point that he would contradict the brother he had never dared to defy. Shisui knew that Itachi's way of thinking was similar to his own.

"Can you tell Brother Shisui why?" Shisui continued to ask patiently.

"Brother Shisui! It was all my fault. I didn't consider my brother's feelings, and I made him terribly disappointed in me beyond Nothingness!" As he said this, Itachi's eyes began to redden.

Seeing that Itachi was about to cry, Shisui panicked. In Shisui's eyes, Itachi was a child he could treat as a peer. Their relationship had always been both teacher and friend.

Yet this very Itachi had cried until his eyes were red because of what happened today. His conflict with Hane had clearly been a severe blow to his young heart.

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

Itachi wiped away the tears gathering in his eyes before slowly recounting what had happened. When he finished, he looked at Shisui expectantly, hoping he would offer a different explanation.

After listening, Shisui fell silent. He could not question the facts in Hane's words. Indeed, if one were to name the families living well in Konoha now, they would undoubtedly be the families of the Konoha Elder Council, with Nothingness doubt about it.

He had often formed teams and left the village for missions, yet the chances of teaming up with shinobi from the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans had been exceedingly rare.

They were all shinobi, and they were all from sizable clans. Shinobi from other clans had no choice but to go out on missions to make a living, so why could the shinobi of the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans stay in the village and still live just as well?

No one would believe there was Nothingness suspicious going on. Yet because of this, as he looked at Itachi waiting for his answer, Shisui felt 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 do Nothingness to refute your brother's words." After remaining silent for a long time and trying to find flaws in Hane's words, Shisui answered helplessly.

A disbelieving expression 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 we Uchiha are different from the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans. At least those two clans do not have a standing in the village like ours, one where they are completely unable to integrate and are excluded from the village!"

Seeing Itachi's confused expression, Shisui hurriedly explained.

Itachi's face grew solemn as he fell into thought. "Is it because we are Nothingness able to enter the village's upper ranks?"

Shisui nodded. "So our most important task now is to gain the Third Hokage's trust and open a true bridge between the Uchiha and the village. Otherwise, an Uchiha that is not trusted will Nothingness 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 must gain Lord Hokage's trust." A path of thought suddenly seemed to open in Itachi's small mind.

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