Naive Uchiha Shisui

Konoha, beside a secluded lake.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the lake, making its surface shimmer. Lush grass and trees surrounded it, while cicadas chirped in waves, lending the place the tranquility of summer.

Uchiha Shisui, renowned throughout Konoha as "Body Flicker Shisui" and hailed as a once-in-a-century genius of the Uchiha Clan, stood quietly by the lake.

Uchiha Yao appeared soundlessly a short distance behind him.

"Senior Shisui, sorry to keep you waiting." Uchiha Yao's voice broke the stillness.

Shisui slowly turned around, a gentle smile on his face.

"Yao, you're here."

"I've heard quite a lot about you lately. You became a jonin, mastered Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and even developed an S-rank Ninjutsu. Truly impressive."

Uchiha Yao neither confirmed nor denied it, replying humbly, "They're just empty reputations, nothing worth mentioning."

He studied Shisui before him.

"Yao, I asked you here today because I wanted to talk about the clan's future." Shisui got straight to the point. His smile faded somewhat, replaced by a trace of solemnity.

"The clan's future?" Uchiha Yao raised a brow. "What wisdom do you have to offer, Senior Shisui?"

Shisui took a deep breath.

"Yao, there's no denying your talent and strength. You are the hope of the clan's future. But I'm worried that some of your actions may lead the clan into dangerous territory."

After a pause, Shisui continued, "I have always believed that the Uchiha Clan is part of Konoha. We should strive to contribute to the village, coexist peacefully with it, and dispel the higher-ups' misunderstandings and wariness toward us, rather than blindly pursuing forceful confrontation."

"I know the elders of the Hawk Faction think highly of you. They hope you can lead the Uchiha in fighting for their rights through more radical means. But Yao, have you considered what fate the Uchiha will face once we completely fall out with the village?"

Having witnessed the ever-deepening rift between the clan and the village after the Nine-Tails' attack, Shisui had also sensed the higher-ups' faint but persistent suspicion and vigilance.

Shisui longed for peace. He longed for the Uchiha to truly become part of Konoha's great family.

"Senior Shisui, I understand your ideals."

"But have you considered what this so-called peaceful coexistence is built upon?"

"Is it built upon the other side's mercy? Or upon us Uchiha bowing and scraping, wagging our tails and begging for pity?"

Uchiha Yao mocked him without hesitation.

"Where does the village leadership's wariness toward us Uchiha come from? And why has it never been eliminated?"

"We were driven to the edge of the village, the Police Force's authority was hollowed out, our clansmen were placed under surveillance... Is all that also for the sake of peaceful coexistence?"

"Senior Shisui, forgive my bluntness, but your so-called peace is nothing more than an illusion—a lie you tell yourself!"

"Without absolute strength to back it up, peace will forever be nothing more than a toy in the hands of the strong!"

"Only when we are strong enough—strong enough that no one dares harbor any ill intentions toward us—will there be true peace!"

Uchiha Shisui opened his mouth as though he wanted to refute him, but what Uchiha Yao had said left him unable to argue.

Because those were bloody facts!

Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, Shisui's eyes suddenly narrowed without warning!

Uchiha Yao felt the scene before his eyes sway slightly. The next moment, he found himself in an entirely different setting!

The sun shone brightly, and birds sang amid fragrant flowers.

Konoha was prosperous and flourishing, its villagers' faces brimming with happy smiles.

The Uchiha clansmen mingled intimately with the other villagers. Children laughed and played together, while members of the Police Force patrolled every corner of the village with their heads held high, respected and beloved by all...

It was an incomparably harmonious, incomparably beautiful scene.

A vision of the Uchiha and Konoha coexisting perfectly and prospering together!

Yet the illusion lasted less than two seconds!

Three black tomoe abruptly appeared in Uchiha Yao's eyes and began spinning at high speed!

"Break!"

With a low shout!

The illusion before him shattered like a broken mirror, instantly collapsing and vanishing without a trace.

The lakeside was still the same lakeside, and the sunset was still the same sunset.

What an exquisite genjutsu!

And it was likely...

Pupil power at the level of the Mangekyō Sharingan!

As expected of Uchiha Shisui!

When Shisui saw Uchiha Yao break free from his genjutsu so easily, an undisguised flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

Though he had not used his full strength in that genjutsu, it was by no means something an ordinary jonin could easily detect and break!

Yet Uchiha Yao had escaped it in an instant!

And in Uchiha Yao's eyes were the Three-tomoe Sharingan!

"It seems your strength is even greater than the rumors suggest, Yao." Shisui gave a bitter smile and withdrew the pupil power he had released.

He had wanted Uchiha Yao to see the future he hoped for.

"You flatter me, Senior Shisui." Uchiha Yao's tone remained calm. "Your eye technique is truly astonishing as well."

Uchiha Yao did not expose the matter of the Mangekyō.

The time was not yet right.

Shisui looked deeply at Yao. "Yao, I know the paths we have chosen may be different."

"But I still hope that we can both work for the clan's future."

"Perhaps one day, we may reach the same destination by different paths."

Uchiha Yao nodded. "I agree. No matter what path we take, the clan's interests will always come first."

Though Shisui's ideals leaned toward the Dove Faction, and were even somewhat naive, his loyalty to the clan and his desire to protect it were beyond question.

Moreover, Shisui's strength could not be underestimated.

Before he had absolute certainty, Uchiha Yao had no intention of pushing Shisui completely to the opposing side.

An Uchiha Shisui with the Mangekyō Sharingan—if he could become an ally, even a temporary one—would be of immeasurable value.

"Then I won't disturb Senior Shisui's appreciation of the scenery." With that, Uchiha Yao vanished with a swish.

Only Shisui remained by the lake.

He stared in the direction Uchiha Yao had left for a long time without speaking.

"Uchiha Yao..." he murmured softly. "Will you be the Uchiha's hope, or... their disaster?"

But he, Uchiha Shisui, as a pillar of the Uchiha Dove Faction and a key figure who might unite the clan's strength in the future, had to make his own choice.