Flying Thunder God Kunai

"Have you received any missions in the Anbu concerning our Uchiha Clan?"

"...No."

"...It seems the village hasn't noticed the movements within the clan. I suppose that's a good thing."

In a well-lit room, Uchiha Itachi, dressed in his Anbu uniform, was talking with his father. After a while, Fugaku suddenly glanced at the ceiling, then said to Itachi, "There's no need to wear that at home. It wouldn't be good for your mother or brother to see you in it. Go change first."

"Yes."

Uchiha Itachi understood that his father meant to end their conversation there. That came as no surprise. Chakra had suddenly appeared on their roof; apparently, someone who could not afford to be seen had arrived.

Given the timing, and the fact that his father had not turned them away, it was most likely another Uchiha clansman plotting an uprising.

Itachi left the room without a change in expression. He did not linger outside the door to eavesdrop. There was no point.

The information available to him in the Anbu was far more extensive than Clan Head Fugaku imagined. His father believed the village remained unaware of the Uchiha Clan's planned rebellion. In truth, the Anbu had discovered not only the plot itself, but even who was involved.

His own father, Uchiha Fugaku, was among those under surveillance, and the Anbu assigned to watch him—

Was Uchiha Itachi himself.

Itachi walked to his room, but instead of changing out of his uniform, he took out his Anbu mask and put it on. Then he channeled his chakra and used the Transformation Technique to alter his build and height slightly. After all, he was inside the Uchiha Clan's compound, and he needed to keep anyone from recognizing him.

Finally, Itachi left a clone in his room to impersonate him while his real body leaped out of the window.

Itachi moved like a phantom. Clad in Anbu gear and concealed by the night, he reached the dense woods where he had agreed to meet his friend without drawing anyone's attention.

"You're here, Itachi."

Shisui Uchiha looked at him and immediately activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan, then transformed it into the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The instant Uchiha Itachi landed, he too activated his Two-Tomoe Sharingan. As the two tomoe slowly rotated, a third appeared in his eyes.

This was their agreed signal. The Sharingan was the Uchiha Clan's kekkei genkai, something no one could fake. And those in the clan who knew Itachi possessed a Two-Tomoe Sharingan were all unaware that he had actually awakened the Three Tomoe.

"Well?"

Once they had confirmed each other's identities, they began exchanging information.

Unlike Itachi, Shisui had no easy way to gather information within the Uchiha Clan. He was the clan's strongest known fighter, yet he had sided completely with the Hokage. As a result, many in the clan regarded Shisui Uchiha with wariness rather than trust.

That meant Shisui needed Itachi to keep him informed of the clan members' movements.

"So the people in the clan are already too impatient to keep discussing things at the Clan Assembly. It seems conflict is imminent." After hearing Itachi's account, Shisui frowned deeply. The situation was even more dire than he had imagined.

"Shisui, I don't understand." Itachi finally voiced his question. "Why?"

It was not a question that truly sought an answer, but a bitter reflection of his helplessness in the face of their circumstances.

"I don't understand either. The war only ended a short time ago. Why do they care so little about the village's peace?" The Third Hokage had praised Shisui Uchiha as an Uchiha who deeply understood the Will of Fire, and he viewed everything from the village's perspective. "So many heroes gave their lives to end that war, and these people's infighting will awaken it all over again."

"What they seek has been different from what we seek from the very beginning, Itachi." Shisui's voice was heavy with melancholy, but soon, the familiar composure and confidence returned to his face. "But I will stop all of this."

"...I'll stand with you..."

"No, Itachi." Shisui cut him off, his expression serious. "I dislike the people in our clan who blindly follow the Radicals. It isn't simply their actions that bother me. More than that, they don't even know what they want, or why they're doing this."

"I don't want you to be like that either, feeling you have to follow my ideas out of respect for me and our friendship. You would lose yourself that way." As he spoke, Shisui Uchiha walked up to the bewildered Itachi and tapped his forehead with two fingers, smiling. "Try to find your own path and your own answers. See things with your own eyes, and think about what is right and what is wrong."

"If, after thinking it over, you still believe helping me is the right thing to do, then meet me at the usual place tomorrow."

Shisui's voice faded along with his figure before Itachi's eyes, taking Itachi's confusion with it.

He was grateful from the bottom of his heart to have found such a dear friend as Shisui. His strength lay not merely in his fighting ability, but in the depth of his thinking. In Itachi's eyes, Shisui Uchiha was a great shinobi who thought like a Hokage!

Whoosh.

Uchiha Itachi climbed back into his room through the window. He glanced at the clone sitting obediently on his bed, then dismissed it.

"Big brother!"

Just as Uchiha Itachi was about to change out of his Anbu gear, a childish but energetic shout suddenly came from outside his door. Approaching footsteps were soon followed by knocking. "Big brother, are you asleep?"

"Not yet." Itachi quickly put on the casual clothes he had tossed aside earlier and opened the door. His little brother Sasuke stood there, his hand still raised to knock and his face full of excitement. "What is it?"

"Take me along to practice tomorrow! I've been working hard every day lately, and I can already hit the tar—"

"Sorry, Sasuke. Next time." Itachi interrupted before his brother could finish. "I have something to do tomorrow."

"Then...what about the day after?" Sasuke pressed, unwilling to give up.

"Forgive me, Sasuke." Remembering Shisui's words, Itachi shook his head. He extended two fingers and tapped Sasuke's forehead, giving him a gentle push backward.

"Mm..." Sasuke, who had been so excited a moment ago, looked utterly dejected. He turned to leave.

Watching his brother walk away, Itachi lowered his eyes. Then, as though something had occurred to him, he suddenly called out, "Wait, Sasuke."

Itachi drew a kunai and two shuriken from the Ninja Tools pouch on his trouser leg and held them out to Sasuke. "I really do have something to take care of. To make it up to you, these are the Ninja Tools I usually use. You can practice with them."

Sasuke took them and happily played with the shuriken for a moment before pointing at the markings on the kunai's handle in confusion. "Big brother, what's this?"

"...Someone I know left those there. They might be some sort of formula. But that person's Shurikenjutsu is excellent, and worth learning from," Itachi replied.

"Oh." Sasuke did not give it much more thought. Delighted to receive a gift from his brother, he ran back to his room in high spirits.

At that moment, however, someone else was feeling far less cheerful about a gift.

"What a coincidence." Naruto examined the gift Hinata had given him. He had never expected that, right after returning someone else's Ninja Tools, he would receive one himself.

It was also a kunai, though its shape was slightly different. Rather than the usual four-edged blade, it looked more like a trident.

The kunai also bore markings that seemed vaguely familiar to Naruto. If Minato Namikaze had seen them, he would have recognized them immediately—

It was a kunai on which he had once inscribed his own Flying Thunder God Seal.