"Shisui, you're far too selfish."
Itachi looked at the tightly restrained Shisui, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Those few simple words struck Shisui's heart like a massive, icy boulder.
Shisui Uchiha leaned against the cold stone wall. All the arguments he had delivered so confidently moments ago now caught in his throat.
"I... am far too selfish?"
He repeated the words in a low murmur, his voice dazed and hollow.
"Could it be... that I really am too selfish?"
Countless scenes from the past surfaced in his mind: the cold looks his clansmen endured, the attitude of Konoha High Command, and the Kotoamatsukami plan in which he had placed all his ideals.
All this time, he had been certain he had found a way to satisfy both sides.
But Itachi's barrage of questions had torn open the shell of his convictions, allowing thoughts he had never dared entertain to surge through the cracks.
That's right. Why did I think of altering Clan Head Fugaku's thoughts, yet never even consider altering Lord Third's?
Or did I simply not dare to...
Watching Shisui sink into mental turmoil, Itachi did not press him any further.
No amount of reproach could immediately overturn his deeply rooted beliefs.
"Think carefully about what I've said today."
Itachi's tone softened slightly, each word reaching Shisui's ears.
"Konoha can be rebuilt, but you have only one clan that gave you life and raised you!"
With that, Itachi lingered no longer and turned to leave the Stone Chamber.
The mechanism of the heavy stone door activated, and it slowly closed to the sound of Shisui Uchiha's murmuring.
Zongyan, who had been waiting outside the passage, stepped briskly forward when he saw Itachi emerge. Noticing the gloom on his older brother's face, he asked quietly:
"Finished talking?"
Itachi let out a long breath, as though expelling his earlier weariness.
Then he told Zongyan everything they had discussed in the Stone Chamber.
Zongyan frowned at his account. "In other words, his allegiance still hasn't truly shifted outside."
"No."
Itachi shook his head gently. "But I've shattered those naive ideas of his."
Zongyan nodded and looked at his older brother beside him.
"Then put a little more effort into it from now on, brother. Talk to him more often."
"After all, he's one of our Uchiha clansmen, and a top fighter who has awakened the Mangekyō."
He looked toward the stone door down the dark passage, his tone deeply solemn.
"Keeping him imprisoned forever like this is the worst option. Killing him would be an enormous loss for the entire clan, too. If we can completely change that obsession of his, the power of Kotoamatsukami could become the clan's greatest asset."
Itachi nodded slightly, indicating that he would handle it.
"I'll keep that in mind. As his friend, I don't want him to stay like this either."
After finishing their conversation and instructing the clansmen to continue guarding Shisui Uchiha, the two returned home together.
Once home, Uchiha Itachi was about to return to his room when Zongyan stopped him.
"Don't go yet, brother. There's something very important I want to discuss with you and Father."
Seeing his serious expression, Uchiha Itachi forcibly suppressed the sadness left by his conversation with Shisui and nodded.
"All right."
Fugaku had already returned home and was handling clan affairs in a room within the residence.
Zongyan raised his hand and knocked lightly on the wooden door.
"Father."
Fugaku's low reply came from inside.
"Come in."
Zongyan pushed the door open and entered with Itachi, then reached back to close it, shutting out the sounds outside.
Fugaku set down the scroll in his hand and looked up at his two sons. Seeing his second son's grave expression, he could not help growing serious as well.
"What is it? I heard you went to see Shisui. How is he doing?"
Rather than answer the question about Shisui, Zongyan said something that stunned them both.
"Father, brother, I've discovered a gateway to another world."
"I've already been there once and gained a general understanding of the situation there."
"I was thinking, if we could use an entire world's resources to support our clan, then..."
Before he could finish.
"A gateway... to another world?"
Fugaku instinctively repeated the words, a barely perceptible tremor entering his voice.
Of course they understood what the word "world" meant. In their established understanding, the world meant the entire Shinobi World continent, encompassing the Five Great Nations and countless smaller countries.
At Zongyan's words, the first thought that sprang into both their minds was-
Was Zongyan planning to plunder the resources of the entire Shinobi World and use them all to support the Uchiha Clan?
As that thought flashed through their minds, a sense of absurdity and horror swept over them.
The Shinobi World was vast, with the great ninja villages each dominating their own territory. Monopolizing the resources of an entire world was a wild fantasy they would not even dare entertain.
The candle flame flickered gently on the desk as the room fell deathly silent.
Itachi's pupils contracted slightly, his brows knitting tightly as he looked at Zongyan and spoke with disbelief:
"Zongyan, by 'world'... do you mean the entire Shinobi World? Using all the Shinobi World's resources to support us Uchiha is simply impossible with our clan's strength."
Only then did Zongyan realize they had misunderstood, and he immediately shook his head.
"Not the Shinobi World. Another world, a world different from our Shinobi World."
Those words struck Fugaku and Itachi's ears once again, deepening the shock on their faces.
Not the Shinobi World?
There were other worlds?
Fugaku leaned forward slightly, his hand unconsciously tightening until he creased the corner of the scroll on the desk.
Itachi, too, was utterly stunned. Everything he had ever known as common sense suffered a violent shock.
Only after a long while did he suppress the raging turmoil in his heart and find himself asking:
"Then where did you get this gateway?"
Zongyan pressed his lips together and shook his head gently.
"That's a secret."
Itachi still intended to ask more about how it had all come about.
But Fugaku had already thought of the Bloodline Altar and the miraculous creation of mineral veins out of thin air, so he waved a hand to cut off Itachi's impending question.
"That's enough, Itachi."
Fugaku's voice carried a stern note of restraint.
"This is your younger brother's secret. Since he doesn't want to reveal its source, don't question him further."
Itachi froze briefly and could only force all his questions back down, thinking that his younger brother was simply far too mysterious.
Fugaku's gaze returned to Zongyan, his expression more solemn than ever.
"We can leave the gateway's origins aside. Tell us in detail what that other world is like, and what dangers lurk there."
Zongyan nodded and began introducing the nature of the Demon Slayer World.
"It's a world completely different from our Shinobi World. There's no chakra or ninjutsu there, and it has an entirely unfamiliar system of power."
Fugaku and Itachi both held their breath, quietly listening to these revelations about a realm beyond their own that they had never imagined.
"That world belongs to ordinary people, but there are man-eating demons, as well as Demon Slayers who exist to protect people."
"The demons originate from an ancient demon who has lived for a thousand years, named Muzan Kibutsuji."
"He can infect ordinary people with his blood and create countless demons. These demons have extremely powerful bodies and terrifying healing abilities, making them almost immortal, and they can also wield all kinds of bizarre powers."
"What? He's lived for a thousand years?"
Before you continue