Mending The Past To A Better Future

chp. 41. Indomitable Strength

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“Are you sure?” Shisui asks. He lolls his head back against the brick wall while taking stock of his younger and noticeably shorter little cousin, who is standing there with his fists clenched and stress lines unusually tight. “I’m not usually allowed in. The Clan Elders don’t like it.”

Uchiha Itachi shook his head, a brief flash of frustration on his features, and a pang of sorrow ran through Shisui. Itachi was too young to be faced with the burden of the clan right now. “Father and I have vouched for you. At least, they are so worried about trying to change his mind on other things that they know to pick and choose their battles. Father has managed to convince them that you are willing to weigh in on both sides.”

Things became a little clearer then, what Fugaku and Itachi were asking him to do.

“I see,” He said grimly. “I… you know I won’t. I won’t do it. If it comes down to it, I will pick the village over the clan.”

“Yes,” Itachi agrees. “I know. But they don’t know that, and it works in our favor. They see you as a unit that can go solo.”

While that was somewhat pleasing to hear, the terms in which they were asking him to slaughter the Village leaders were… absolutely atrocious. Not everyone was a guilty party. Especially not Namikaze Minato.

“I’m going to take Naruto,” Shisui said. “Before she left, we spoke about it. And she knows more than both of us, so I think it would be a mistake if I didn’t.”

By now Itachi, with his sharp wit and even sharper intellect, knew that there was a cloud of secrets surrounding Naruto: her origin, her knowledge, her power. He knew. But he didn’t ask. And that’s what made him great.

A brief flicker of amusement passed over Itachi’s face. “Did Naruto-san threaten you if you did otherwise?”

“Shut up,” Shisui grumbles, a little annoyed that Itachi is able to pinpoint the issue so fast. “And besides, Naruto says that there’s an organization that slithers beneath Konoha’s surface and that one of our esteemed Councilman has full control over them.”

“I guess we have to remove the Root of the problem,” Itachi says, and Shisui thinks it’s rather bold of him. They’re not dumb. Namikaze Minato has all of his available surveillance focused on watching out for Danzo, but they still don’t know who is in kahoots with him. That often means that they have to watch what they say in paranoia of lurking shadows and spies.

“Be careful,” He can’t help but warn. “You’re strong, but you’re not invincible.”

“I know. And I have Sasuke. I won’t be reckless when there is so much at stake.”

A pang of hurt runs through Shisui.

He doesn’t reply to that. The same sort of love that Itachi feels for Sasuke is what he can say he feels for Itachi. Instead he says, “I bet they’re waiting. We shouldn’t delay any further.”

Shisui and Itachi had been hiding in one of the underhand archways between the cobblestone steps leading between each house in the compound, where the shade seemed to fill every corner and it was so quiet that the animals and people might have all been dead. It was an excellent place for meeting in secret.

Beckoning his younger clansmen out of the dark, they go up a winding path and pass many other Uchiha on the way. It’s like standing in a sea of ravens with black, glossy hair, and onyx eyes. Some of them bow, for the clan is very strict about those sorts of things, and it’s the clan heir they’re looking at. Others snort in disdain, and while none of them are so foolish to say their thoughts aloud, Shisui can hear them anyways.