Little Itachi's cheeks felt pretty nice

Fugaku left.

He hadn't brought up anything about winning Yan Uchiha over. He simply outlined the clan's arrangements, handed over a generous reward package for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, then swept his sleeves and left.

Without taking so much as a cloud with him.

Yan Uchiha stood there, dumbfounded.

That was right.

He had rehearsed his meeting with Fugaku in his head countless times, yet somehow never considered this outcome.

Fugaku, the Clan Head, really hadn't tried to win him over.

It made him feel as though his Mangekyō Sharingan hadn't earned him any prestige at all.

But whatever.

On reflection, it wasn't a bad thing.

As for what he would do next, he would take things as they came.

Back when his ties to the Uchiha Clan had been shallow, he might have been able to stand by and watch the massacre unfold. But with his friendship with Shisui now in the picture, a crack had been torn in the hard shell around his heart.

Fugaku hadn't said much this time.

But after being showered with so many generous gifts, he couldn't really pretend he owed the man nothing.

He wasn't some heartless, ungrateful bastard.

Repay a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude—that was something his ancestors from his previous life had etched into his bones.

"Forget it. All this thinking won't give me any definite answers."

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

Besides, the Uchiha Clan could play a part in the path Kazama Nara had laid out.

"Kazama has a point. I could just up and defect, sure, but what about my children and grandchildren?"

"I spent my whole last life a bachelor. Do I really want to stay single in this life too?"

"I ought to leave a path open for