The chaos in the Resettlement Zone had been brought under control for now.
Supplies continued to be distributed, the three queues were separated again, and both the medical ninja and the logistics chunin signed the record.
Uchiha Toru stood beside the medicine crates, his expression still grim.
He had nearly been condemned by a single accusation in the Resettlement Zone: "An Uchiha hit someone."
If Uchiha Gen had not examined the injuries on the spot, sketched the queues' positions, and recorded witness statements, the incident would certainly have become something else by the time word reached the Hokage Building.
The Uchiha had used excessive force.
The Uchiha had inflamed the villagers' resentment.
The Uchiha were unfit to remain in the village to maintain order.
Once those claims were strung together, the relocation order would gain another seemingly legitimate justification.
"Gen."
Uchiha Toru asked quietly, "Who sent that man?"
"I can't say yet."
"You know?"
"I have a pretty good idea."
Uchiha Gen watched the crowd in the distance gradually settle down.
"But without evidence, saying it would only turn into another story about the Uchiha accusing someone."
Uchiha Toru fell silent.
He had always thought winning a fight was enough.
Over these past two days, he had realized for the first time that sometimes, winning was useless.
You had to let people know why you fought.
And you had to make sure they could not turn your victory into a crime.
As darkness fell, Uchiha Gen left the Resettlement Zone alone and followed the hastily cleared streets toward the Clan District.
He did not take the quickest route.
Instead, he deliberately detoured through a narrow, half-collapsed alley.
The alley was quiet.
Scorch marks still stained the walls after the fire, and broken eaves sagged down, blocking the light from outside.
Halfway through the alley, Uchiha Gen stopped.
"You've been watching long enough. Aren't you going to come out?"
The wind swept past.
The next instant, a figure landed silently beneath the eaves ahead.
Black hair, a short sword, and an exceedingly young face.
Shisui Uchiha.
He wore no mask and took no fighting stance. He simply stood there, his gaze calm yet seemingly able to see through a person's thoughts.
"You knew I was following you?"
Uchiha Gen shook his head.
"I just guessed you would come."
A flicker of surprise crossed Shisui's eyes.
"Why?"
"Because you watched the entire confrontation in the Resettlement Zone."
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"If you only wanted to check whether I was stirring up the clan, you could have left earlier. But you waited until the records were finished. That means you wanted to know what I was really trying to do."
Shisui did not deny it.
He stepped down from beneath the eaves and stopped three paces away from Uchiha Gen.
That distance was carefully chosen.
Neither friendly nor hostile.
"The whole clan has been talking about you these past two days."
Shisui said, "You led rescue efforts during the Night of the Nine-Tails, preserved evidence, forced Root to leave traces, and pushed for the Konoha Military Police Force to take part in reconstruction. Many people think you did the right thing. Others think you're putting the Uchiha in greater danger."
Uchiha Gen asked, "What about you?"
"I'm still watching."
Shisui answered bluntly.
"I don't oppose the Uchiha taking part in rescue efforts, or keeping records. But I'm worried you're fanning the clan's resentment toward the village."
That sounded just like Shisui.
What he feared most was not suffering a personal loss.
It was the village and the clan descending into outright conflict.
Uchiha Gen was silent for a moment.
"Will that resentment disappear if we say nothing?"
Shisui's brow shifted slightly.
Uchiha Gen continued, "The clan was ordered to stay put last night, received a relocation order today, and then got set up in the Resettlement Zone to look like they were using excessive force. Do you think I created that resentment, or was it already there?"
Shisui did not answer immediately.
The sound of a wooden beam collapsing came from far away, as though someone was still clearing rubble.
Uchiha Gen softened his tone.
"I'm not trying to start a war between the Uchiha and the village."
"Then what do you want?"
Shisui asked the question quickly.
Uchiha Gen looked at him, knowing that this was what Shisui truly wanted to ask.
He could not speak of the future.
He could not say that Shisui's eye would be stolen, that Itachi would head down the path of massacring the clan, or that Danzo would gradually force their goodwill to become sacrifice.
It would sound insane.
And it would instinctively put Shisui on guard.
So he could only speak of the present.
"I want someone to be able to produce evidence every time the Uchiha come under suspicion from now on."
Uchiha Gen spoke.
"I want our clan members to stop having to prove their loyalty through silence, or their dignity through rash actions."
At last, something changed in Shisui's eyes.
Uchiha Gen looked at him and said each word clearly, "And I want people like you, who believe the village and the clan can coexist, to never be forced into a position where sacrificing yourself is your only choice."
The alley fell utterly silent.
Shisui's fingers twitched slightly.
He did not ask why Uchiha Gen had said that.
But in that instant, Uchiha Gen knew his words had reached him.
Shisui understood himself all too well.
And he was far too accustomed to reserving the most painful choice for himself.
If the village and the Uchiha truly reached a point beyond reconciliation, Shisui would surely think first of sacrificing his eyes, his reputation, even his life, in exchange for a balance that might not exist.
"You're making it sound too grave."
Shisui spoke quietly.
"Maybe."
Uchiha Gen did not back down.
"But everything happening now is pushing us in that direction. The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes, the relocation order, Root intercepting the records, the frame-up in the Resettlement Zone. You know better than I do what all of that will become if it keeps piling up."
Shisui closed his eyes briefly.
A moment later, he opened them again.
"Danzo isn't the whole village."
"And the radicals aren't the whole Uchiha clan."
Uchiha Gen immediately followed up.
Shisui froze for a moment.
Uchiha Gen said, "That's exactly why we need to preserve evidence and establish rules. Otherwise, the people in the village who are willing to trust the Uchiha will have no grounds to speak up, and those in the clan who are willing to stay calm won't be able to contain the anger."
Shisui looked at him for a long time.
This time, he did not argue.
"I can help you keep an eye on the Resettlement Zone."
Uchiha Gen felt a little of his tension ease.
This did not mean Shisui had fully taken his side.
But it was enough.
"Don't just watch the Resettlement Zone."
Uchiha Gen said, "Watch the people who don't collect supplies, look for relatives, or help out, but keep changing positions in the crowd."
Shisui nodded.
"They're cautious. They might not leave anything that identifies them."
"I don't need to identify them right away."
Uchiha Gen looked toward the mouth of the alley.
"As long as we confirm that they keep appearing in different confrontations, we can prove the chaos in the Resettlement Zone isn't happening naturally."
Approval flickered in Shisui's eyes.
"You're good at presenting things in a way other people can believe."
"Because it's useless if I'm the only one who believes it."
Uchiha Gen spoke.
"If the clan head believes some of it, the civilians believe some of it, and the Konoha ninja believe some of it, only then will it add up to enough to change the situation."
Shisui nodded lightly.
He was about to leave when his steps suddenly halted.
"There's one more thing."
Uchiha Gen tensed.
Shisui turned back to look at him.
"Itachi has been spending time in the disaster-stricken areas lately, too."
Uchiha Gen did not speak immediately.
Shisui continued, "He's very young, but far too calm. After last night, someone in the Anbu noticed him, and people among the village leadership have mentioned his name as well."
Itachi.
That name had finally, officially entered this effort to change their fate.
The image of the gifted boy who would otherwise shoulder everything alone surfaced in Uchiha Gen's mind.
Itachi was still far too young.
But that very youth made it even more dangerous.
A child who saw death, war, and conflict between clans too early could easily believe in the most extreme answers if no one beside him helped him make sense of the world.
Shisui said quietly, "If you truly want to change the relationship between the Uchiha and the village, don't focus only on our generation."
Uchiha Gen raised his head.
Shisui's figure was already back atop the eaves.
"What Itachi sees will affect the choices he makes in the future."
As those words fell,
he vanished into the night wind.
He left behind only one final warning.
"Be careful of the Anbu."
Before you continue