On the first day after Shisui was saved, there were no cheers in the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Shisui still had his eyes.
That was certainly something to be grateful for.
But everyone who knew the truth about last night understood something else just as clearly.
The enemy had not disappeared.
For the first time, they had merely caught a glimpse of the hand reaching for Shisui's left eye, right as it struck.
Even their relief could not be too obvious.
Because if the clan treated last night as a victory, they would overlook the truly dangerous part.
Danzo had not stood on the training grounds in person.
Nor had Root's true core been dragged into the open.
They had caught only impostors, messengers, and an outer shell that could be discarded at any time.
The Uchiha had blocked the first blade, but they had yet to find the hand holding it.
That morning, an emergency clan meeting was convened.
Fugaku sat at the head of the table, with all of last night's records laid before him.
The confession of the ninja who had impersonated an Uchiha.
The record of the weapons confiscated from the fake Anbu.
The receipt for the provisional filing at the Hokage Building.
And the most crucial record of all.
The fake Anbu's attack on Shisui's left eye.
Uchiha Gen pulled that page out and placed it in the center of the table.
"Our first priority right now isn't celebrating Shisui's survival."
Several of the clan's jonin looked at him.
"It's turning this incident into documented evidence," Gen said.
Someone frowned. "We already caught them. Isn't that enough?"
"No."
Uchiha Gen shook his head.
"The people we caught could be expendable pawns. Confessions can be rewritten, and their identities can be dismissed as peripheral operatives acting out