Chapter 121: The Uchiha Question

Shuriken came from three directions at once.

Shisui vanished from the tree before the blades struck. Bark splintered where he had stood. A breath later he appeared behind Itachi, katana resting against the younger Uchiha's neck.

"You lost."

Itachi's outline bent like heat above stone. The illusion dissolved, and the point of his kunai touched Shisui's back.

"You were careless."

Shisui became a substitution log.

Wire snapped tight around Itachi's wrists, elbows, and knees before surprise left his face. The line ran through three trees and ended in Shisui's hand above him.

Itachi tested the restraint instead of struggling. One strand would tighten if he pulled forward; another carried a bell and explosive tag that would punish a careless substitution. Shisui had arranged the trap before their first exchange and spent the entire duel guiding him toward it. The final capture began long before the wire touched him.

"And you celebrated before confirming the target." Shisui smiled. "Congratulations on joining ANBU. You have already surpassed where I stood at your age in genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu."

Itachi found the release knot and freed one hand. "You are comparing me to a child while judging me against who you are now."

"A useful distinction."

They ended the practice beside the Naka River, sharing sweet bean cakes while the current moved beneath the afternoon light. For several minutes neither mentioned the clan. The silence lasted because both knew what waited inside it.

"Is there truly no way to ease the situation?" Itachi asked.

Shisui set down the half-finished cake. "There are ways to delay it. I have spent years acting as a bridge between the clan and the village, but a bridge cannot force either shore to move."

The Uchiha leadership wanted authority within Konoha sufficient to end their isolation and the surveillance imposed after the Nine-Tails' attack. Hiruzen wanted loyal clan members inside the village government, but feared that appointments made under threat would reward the threat. Danzō and several elders treated the Sharingan's ability to control the Nine-Tails as evidence of collective guilt.

Every concession became proof of weakness to someone.

"My father believes Uchiha officers must gain positions beyond the Police Force," Itachi said. "He thinks balanced authority will restore trust."

"He is not wrong about the imbalance."

"His supporters no longer speak about balance. They speak about taking what the village refuses to grant."

Shisui watched the river. Strength had made people call him the clan's finest shinobi. It had not granted him the right to command every household, silence every grievance, or reverse years of suspicion. "Fugaku leads people who are losing patience. Hiruzen leads people who believe patience has already protected the Uchiha too long. Neither can ignore those behind him."

"Then what can we do?"

"Buy time. Correct lies when we hear them. Prevent frightened people from mistaking a prediction for an accomplished fact. And keep enough trust on both sides that conversation remains possible."

"That sounds smaller than what is needed."

"Most peace is built from things that look small while they are being done. One patrol that does not abuse its authority. One council report that distinguishes evidence from rumor. One child who grows up knowing classmates beyond the compound. None will end the conflict alone. Together they can make violence harder to justify."

Itachi thought of his new ANBU mask. The appointment gave him access, but it also gave both sides another reason to question which one he served. "The clan sees every village order I accept as distance from them. The village sees every visit home as divided loyalty."

"Then refuse the idea that loyalty must be blind to become real. Anyone demanding blindness wants freedom from being judged."

Itachi clenched one hand. The answer required endurance without promising success.

Shisui noticed. "You do not have to solve this alone. Become stronger, but do not let everyone else's fear convince you that strength makes every burden yours."

"You believe I can find an answer."

"I believe you can help preserve one. Those are different claims."

He changed the subject before hope became another demand. "Sasuke started at the Academy. Is he as gifted as you were?"

Itachi smiled at once. "He will surpass us both. His grades are among the best in his year."

"Among?"

"Inuzuka Kiba matches him. Sasuke does not enjoy the competition."

"Then Kiba is already helping him."

At the Academy, Iruka arranged the first-year students before a row of wooden targets. Sasuke stepped to the throwing line while his classmates whispered behind him.

Three shuriken left his hand in quick succession. Each struck near the center.

Ino applauded. Sakura praised him loudly enough to compete. Two other girls offered portions of their lunches before Iruka reminded the class that they were handling weapons.

Sasuke moved aside without accepting anything. His fingers brushed the reinforced Itachi figure inside his bag.

The figure had survived several weeks of being carried between home, Academy, and training ground. Its presence embarrassed him when classmates noticed it, yet leaving it behind felt worse. Itachi's missions had grown more frequent since joining ANBU. Three recorded phrases could not replace him, but they occupied the silence his absences left.

Did you see that, Brother? he thought. I will surpass you. Father will have to acknowledge me then.

Naruto shouldered toward the line next.

"Watch this."

"Try to hit your own target," Kiba called, Akamaru balanced upon his head.

"When I'm Hokage, you'll regret speaking to me like that."

"When I'm Hokage, I'll make you take remedial aiming lessons."

Naruto rolled up his sleeves, copied Iruka's stance, and threw.

Three solid impacts sounded from the target row.

"I hit them!" Naruto jumped and pointed at Kiba. "All three!"

The class stared. Iruka pressed two fingers against his forehead.

"Uzumaki Naruto: zero points."

Naruto's grin collapsed. "What?"

Kiba pointed one target to the left. All three shuriken quivered there. "Excellent grouping. Wrong enemy."

Laughter spread through the line. A few voices carried the familiar insult about the Nine-Tails, low enough that the speakers hoped Iruka would ignore them.

He did not.

"Errors are part of practice," Iruka said. "Mocking a classmate will cost you your next turn. Naruto, you followed the motion but aligned your shoulder with the wrong marker. Observe the target before you repeat it tomorrow."

He made Naruto retrieve the misplaced blades and stand beside him while the next students threw. From there Naruto could see how feet, shoulder, and gaze formed a single line. Iruka asked him to predict which throws would drift before they landed. Naruto guessed poorly at first, then identified a girl whose elbow opened too early.

"Good," Iruka said. "You can see the mistake in someone else. Tomorrow you learn to feel it in yourself."

The praise was quiet. Naruto heard it anyway.

Naruto sat with his arms crossed, angry at the laughter and more angry because Iruka's explanation made sense.

"Next, Inuzuka Kiba."

Kiba stepped forward with a smile. One month of lessons had left him tied with Sasuke in every written subject. This was the first practical test that would separate them.

Akamaru barked softly.

"I know," Kiba murmured. "No showing off beyond what we practiced."

He selected three shuriken and tested the wind with one breath through his nose. Sasuke watched from the side. Naruto leaned forward despite himself.

Kiba raised his hand.