The day after the clan meeting ended, the Uchiha Clan Compound did not immediately return to its usual calm.
The records from the previous night at Naka Shrine were delivered to the clan head's residence.
Uchiha Makoto had written three copies.
One stayed with the Konoha Military Police Force.
One went to Fugaku.
One was temporarily sealed, ready to be sent to the Hokage Building for verification if necessary.
The objections came as soon as the third copy was written.
"Why should records of an internal clan meeting be prepared for the Hokage Building to read?"
The speaker was Uchiha Inabi.
He had suppressed his anger the night before, but today, he clearly still had not accepted it.
Several older clan members sat to one side, looking equally displeased.
"Clan head, clan meetings are internal Uchiha affairs."
"We've already made a concession by agreeing to put our objections in writing."
"Letting the Hokage Building verify them as well is like handing over our own throats."
Uchiha Toru stood by the door, his brows drawn tight as he listened.
This time, he did not immediately argue back.
Because those words were not entirely unreasonable.
Once the clan meeting records reached outsiders, they could indeed be taken out of context.
For instance, the night before, Inabi had said, "The more the Uchiha cooperate with procedures, the more the village thinks we're easy to push around."
If someone quoted only that sentence, outsiders could claim that the Uchiha were no longer willing to cooperate with the village.
But without a complete record, outsiders could also invent something far worse.
Uchiha Gen sat at the table and laid the three copies side by side.
"We're not volunteering them for the Hokage Building's scrutiny."
Uchiha Inabi said coldly, "Then what is this third copy?"
"A backup copy of the minutes for verification."
"You're just calling it something different."
"No."
Uchiha Gen looked up.
"Handing them over voluntarily means letting others decide how our clan meetings should be conducted."
He pointed to the third copy.
"Keeping a backup for verification means that when outsiders claim the Uchiha plotted, rebelled, or privately decided on armed confrontation at a clan meeting, we can produce complete minutes to prove exactly what was said and what wasn't."
The room grew a little quieter.
Uchiha Inabi still frowned.
"Can you guarantee the Hokage Building won't use these records against us?"
"No."
Uchiha Gen answered quickly.
So quickly that several clan members froze for a moment.
He offered no pretty assurances.
"Any record carries the risk of being exploited."
"Then why write it?"
"Not writing it carries an even greater risk."
Uchiha Gen placed the previous night's inflammatory letter on the table.
The letter itself had been sealed away; only a transcription was shown.
After the clan meeting the day after tomorrow, every dissenting voice will be recorded.
Waiting for you to fall silent means waiting for you to be singled out and dealt with.
"The most poisonous part of this letter is that it assumes a conclusion from the start."
Uchiha Gen said, "It makes our clan members believe that once dissent is recorded, they'll be targeted."
Uchiha Inabi said gravely, "And they won't?"
"That's why the records must remain under our own procedures."
Uchiha Gen said, "When someone objects, record their reasons. When someone answers that objection, record their response. Clearly state whether a resolution was ultimately reached. That way, no one can use a single sentence to define the entire meeting."
Uchiha Fugaku had remained silent the whole time.
He watched the three copies, his gaze grave.
Uchiha Gen continued, "Last night, Inabi opposed the reform approach. Without a record, outsiders could claim you advocated rebellion."
Uchiha Inabi's gaze turned cold.
"I didn't."
"That's why we need to write it down."
Uchiha Gen turned to the relevant section.
"It says here that Inabi was concerned the village would use procedures to suppress the Uchiha and urged the clan to remain vigilant. No clan meeting resolution to use force against the village was reached."
Uchiha Inabi stared at that line and fell silent.
He did not like having his words recorded.
But that line was indeed better than letting someone else invent words for him.
An older clan member asked quietly, "What if the recorder is bribed?"
Uchiha Makoto's face paled slightly.
Uchiha Gen glanced at him without shielding him from the question.
"That's why there can't be just one recorder."
He pushed the newly drafted procedures onto the table.
"For major clan meetings, we'll try having three recorders. One from the Konoha Military Police Force, one appointed by the clan head, and one young clan member attending as an observer. After the meeting, the three records will be checked against each other, with discrepancies listed separately."
Uchiha Toru blinked.
"Young clan members will write records too?"
"Yes."
"What do they know?"
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"If they don't know, they can learn."
Uchiha Toru had no answer.
Fugaku finally spoke.
"Having young clan members attend isn't just about keeping records."
He looked around the room.
"It's also so they understand that clan meetings aren't only shouting, anger, and final orders."
Itachi stood beside the door, something stirring faintly in his chest.
In the past, he had always felt that the adults' meetings were far removed from him.
So far removed that only the results remained.
Endure.
Back down.
Be suspicious.
Sacrifice.
But if he could see the process, he would understand that those results did not simply fall from the sky.
Every choice was preceded by arguments.
By fear.
By resentment.
And by hands deliberately pushing people toward extremes.
Fugaku looked at Itachi.
"Starting with the next clan meeting, Itachi will be added to the list of observing recorders."
Several clan members in the room looked surprised.
Itachi froze as well.
"Father?"
"You need to learn to see the entire process."
Fugaku said, "Don't look only at the result."
Those words seemed meant for Itachi.
And also for every young Uchiha.
Uchiha Gen watched Itachi lower his head in acceptance.
It was a small step.
So small that outsiders might not even notice.
But it was rewriting another hidden path.
If a child was weighed down by results alone, he would believe sacrifice was the only answer.
If he saw the process, at least he would know that answers could be questioned.
Fugaku ultimately approved the clan meeting record procedures for a trial period.
They were not permanent.
Nor would everything be made public.
Three months.
Major issues.
Three recorders.
Records sealed within the clan.
When necessary, joint verification by the clan head, the Konoha Military Police Force, and the Hokage Building.
Uchiha Inabi offered no further objections.
Only before leaving did he say coldly, "Gen, if these records are ever used against the Uchiha, you'll be the first person I come looking for."
Uchiha Gen nodded.
"Fair enough."
Watching Inabi leave, Uchiha Toru could not help murmuring, "You certainly answered quickly."
"Because he has the right to say that."
"Then aren't you afraid?"
"I am."
Uchiha Gen put away the procedures.
"But fear can't be an excuse."
That afternoon, Shisui returned with the records of the previous night's anomaly.
Instead of entering the main hall, he called Uchiha Gen out to the edge of the Clan District.
It was where the spatial distortion had appeared the night before.
The shadows of the trees had returned to normal.
There were no footprints on the ground.
No creases or breaks in the branches and leaves.
Even the residual chakra in the air was so faint that it was almost impossible to detect.
Shisui crouched, his fingertips hovering above the ground.
"I considered a lot of possibilities last night."
Uchiha Gen asked, "An Anbu using the Body Flicker Technique?"
"It didn't seem like it."
"A Root concealment technique?"
"That didn't seem right either."
Shisui looked up, his expression more solemn than ever.
"An ordinary Body Flicker Technique leaves a direction of movement. No matter how fast it is, there's still a starting point and a landing point."
He looked toward the shadows of the trees.
"But what happened last night had no direction."
Uchiha Gen said nothing.
Shisui continued, "It was as though space itself opened for an instant."
Wind swept through the treetops.
Uchiha Gen felt his heart skip a beat.
Shisui lowered his voice.
"Gen, that wasn't an ordinary probe."
"It was more like some kind of Space-Time Ninjutsu."
Uchiha Gen stared into the empty shadows beneath the trees.
He knew the person behind the mask was no longer content to observe from afar.
That hand was beginning to test the boundaries of the Uchiha Clan Compound.
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