Fugaku: My strength speaks for itself!

Sasuke was very unhappy that his Nii-san had gone straight out on a mission after dinner that evening.

You promised to spend more time with me, so how come you had another mission already?

Damn it.

Next time we meet, I'm pretending I don't know Nii-san. I have to make him apologize!

Then, before long, Lord Third Hokage arrived at Sasuke's house in combat gear.

Sasuke was very surprised by this. The Third, who had nearly talked him to sleep that morning, had come all the way to his home.

Was he going to tell me a bedtime story so I could sleep even better?

Fugaku: Heh, if only that were really the case.

Sarutobi brought the ANBU straight to Fugaku's front door. After knocking, he entered with a white-haired ANBU and another with long brown hair.

"Fugaku, what's going on with that Susanoo?"

The situation was urgent, so Hiruzen got straight to the point.

Right now, Shisui and Fugaku were the only Uchiha likely to possess the Mangekyō.

If even one or two of those extremists had awakened the Mangekyō, they might already have been piloting their Gundams and bombarding the Hokage Building.

After all, the current Yamato was nowhere near the First Hokage of old.

"???"

Fugaku had been sitting at home the whole time, eating the food his devoted wife had cooked, chatting with his two sons, and thinking a little about how to handle the clan's affairs going forward.

What the hell was this about a Susanoo?!

As far as I knew, practically no one in the clan had the Mangekyō besides me, right?

"Um, Lord Third, I know nothing about this."

Fugaku was utterly innocent. He worked every day to maintain relations between the clan and the village, hoping only for a cozy home with his wife and children.

Looking into Fugaku's innocent eyes, the Third could feel his sincerity.

"Where did the Susanoo appear?"

Fugaku asked.

"..."

The Third fell silent for a moment before speaking.

"We don't know the exact location, but it has already descended from the Back Mountain behind the Uchiha compound."

"It's very likely... Shisui."

The instant Shisui's name came up, Fugaku's pupils froze.

Shisui, Itachi, the mission...

"Lord Third, let's go to the training ground on Back Mountain."

With that, Fugaku led the Third toward the training ground inside the Uchiha compound.

Meanwhile, Mikoto held Sasuke in her arms and covered his ears.

"Be good, Sasuke. Daddy has something to discuss with Lord Hokage. Let's go back to your room and rest."

Sasuke nodded. But with the personality he had developed from hanging around Naruto these past few years, was he really someone who could easily put aside his curiosity?

After Mikoto brought him back to his room, Sasuke made a little hop and a roll, tumbling out through the window.

Yay!

All according to plan!

Since they had come in a hurry this time, they had brought few ANBU, and everyone around them was Uchiha. The ANBU would not start trouble without orders from the Hokage, either.

As a result, the ANBU outside took Sasuke for an ordinary Uchiha brat, and there was no telling what an Uchiha might do.

So Sasuke followed his dad and the great orator, hypnotist, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi all the way.

They were moving rather quickly, and Sasuke could barely keep up even running at full speed.

Sasuke: Damn it, if I weren't still little, how could I possibly fail to keep up?! o(´^｀)o

Naruto: Oh, please. I've even chased down a Chunin. Yep, three years ago, too. (ಥ_ಥ)

Along the way, a white-haired man happened to glance back and spotted Sasuke sneaking along behind them.

Seriously, running around and trying to hide.

Would it kill you to stop?

Kakashi felt utterly speechless at Uchiha children.

Because of the distance, and because he had not paid much attention to Sasuke's face at the time, he simply took Sasuke for an Uchiha child whose condition had flared up at a tender age.

Ah, hadn't Obito been just like this back then?

Kakashi shook his head and continued following Sarutobi and Fugaku.

Until they met Itachi, who was slowly walking back with Shisui's corpse in his arms.

The sun had already set, and faint moonlight fell over the living boy and the corpse.

Sasuke peeked out, and the sight frightened him.

"Nii-san..."

Sasuke wanted to come out, but for a moment, he did not know what to say.

Then Fugaku spotted him and knocked him out with a genjutsu.

"Lord Third, this is an internal clan matter. Please head back for now."

Fugaku looked at the tragedy before him and his two sons with a headache.

Ah, troubled times.

Sasuke only remembered that his dad seemed to have glared at him once. After that, he remembered nothing.

The next morning, Mikoto gently woke Sasuke.

"Sasuke, get up. Get ready for school."

Sasuke gradually regained awareness.

"Mom..."

Rubbing his head, he recalled fragments of memory and abruptly turned to look at the window he had climbed through last night.

?

Hadn't that still been a glass window yesterday? How had it turned into a barred window today?

"Oh, that. Your dad caught you sneaking out yesterday, so to keep it from happening again, we specially installed the same security bars your school uses overnight."

"Well? Surprised? Didn't see that coming, did you?"

Mikoto was in a much better mood for once. Teasing her youngest son was quite entertaining.

Especially when she saw his brain fail to catch up, leaving him staring blankly.

゛(◎_◎;)

Wait!

Last night, I saw Nii-san holding Shisui. Shisui was missing an eye, and the socket had caved in.

Shisui: Sasuke, where are your manners?

"Last night..."

Sasuke wanted to ask what exactly had happened, but Mikoto pressed a finger against his lips.

"Little Sasuke, this isn't something you should be asking about right now."

"Hurry and get dressed. Go to school."

There was a trace of sadness in Mikoto's gentle eyes, but she hid it well enough that her son would not see.

"But..."

"No buts. Hurry off to school. Itachi doesn't have time to take you today. You can go by yourself, right?"

Fugaku walked straight in, and the pressure from his father left Sasuke unable to speak.

Just what sort of man was Uchiha Fugaku?

He was one of the handful of people in Naruto who could take on two terrifying powerhouses.

One was Uchiha Itachi, who would one day wipe out the Uchiha Clan, possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, was an S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha, and was a core member of the Akatsuki!

The other was Sasuke Uchiha, Indra's reincarnation, one of the future saviors of the world, and a powerhouse who had even sealed away the Sage of Six Paths' mother!

And when he fought them, it was just like a dad beating his sons?

Ridiculous.

"...Okay."

Sasuke nodded obediently, though he was still very disappointed inside.

Shisui had definitely been badly hurt yesterday. I wonder how he's doing now.

And Nii-san isn't here either...

Forget it. I'll go find Naruto at school and play first, then visit Shisui when I get back tonight.

Sasuke got dressed, shouldered his bag containing two supersized boxed lunches, and headed to school.