Listening to his father's urging, Fugaku looked troubled.
Right now, he didn't believe his father's plan was the right path.
In Fugaku's eyes, Hoshiyomi was someone trustworthy — if the Uchiha could form a cooperative relationship with him, there was genuine hope for changing their clan's current situation.
But in the end, Fugaku couldn't bring himself to defy his father.
He gave the old man one last glance, bowed respectfully, and quietly stepped out of the room.
As he closed the door behind him, Fugaku let out a long sigh.
Just then, a gentle voice came from behind:
"Dear… your father… is he all right?"
Fugaku turned around and saw his wife, Mikoto, standing there with concern in her eyes.
Seeing her expression eased the heaviness in his heart a little.
He gently took her hand and said softly:
"Don't worry. He's still the same as ever… it's just his way of thinking…"
Hearing Fugaku say this, Mikoto also sighed. However, her thoughts were similar to Fugaku's; although she didn't believe her father-in-law was right, she ultimately lacked the courage to expose her own family.
Thinking of her father-in-law's dangerous ideas, Mikoto subconsciously thought of Minato, Kushina, and the others. The thought of those people made Mikoto heave a long sigh as well, covering her face:
"Things didn't have to turn out like this… Why does it have to go so far?"
Seeing his wife's sorrow made Fugaku's heart ache as well.
But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't disobey his father.
Finally, he pulled Mikoto into a gentle embrace and whispered:
"Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll protect you and Itachi.
As for the clan's affairs, let Father handle them.
After all, Konoha wouldn't truly go so far as to break ties with the Uchiha completely.
Maybe after causing a bit of a stir, Father will finally give up."
After comforting her, Fugaku let go and said:
"All right, I have to go summon the clansmen for the secret meeting.
Stay here with Itachi. Don't worry — I'll handle everything."
Without another word, he turned and left the house.
Mikoto watched his back disappear down the corridor and sighed once more.
As she did, something suddenly struck her — she quickly turned her head and noticed the door to the other room had been left slightly ajar.
Through the narrow crack, a three-year-old boy was peeking out quietly.
Seeing her son, Mikoto forced a gentle smile.
"Itachi, you're awake? Don't you want to take your nap a bit longer?"
Itachi looked at his mother's somewhat strained smile, recalling the words he had vaguely overheard. He didn't directly voice his questions to his mother, but instead obediently shook his head and said:
"I'm not sleepy anymore, Mother."
Hearing her son's polite, well-behaved reply, Mikoto's forced smile softened into something genuine.
She walked over and gently stroked his hair.
"Then what do you want to do? Should I tell you a story?"
Itachi shook his head.
"Stories are for little kids. Mother, I want to start training.
I want to become a great ninja like Father."
Mikoto's smile widened. She ruffled his hair affectionately.
"You little rascal — acting all grown up. All right, go ahead.
But use the practice kunai, okay? The real ones are dangerous, and you could get hurt.
And don't wander off too far, or you'll make me worry."
"Don't worry, Mother. I'll stay in the compound. I won't go far."
After hugging her, Itachi ran off down the wooden corridor with a series of light thump-thump-thumps, leaving Mikoto half amused and half helpless.
"This child… far too mature for his age."
...
A little later, Itachi trained quietly in the courtyard.
After a while, he lowered his practice kunai and sat cross-legged in the grass, lost in thought.
He was thinking about the conversation he had overheard earlier.
What exactly are Father and Mother worried about?
Is the Uchiha Clan going to break away from Konoha? But why?
Everyone lives together in this village… so why would the clan want to leave?
The more Itachi thought about everything, the more confused he became.
His head felt full of question marks until, finally, he shook it vigorously, stood up, and decided to leave the house.
He walked along the Uchiha streets, turning corner after corner, until he stopped in front of an old, somewhat rundown house.
He knocked lightly. When he heard a voice from inside say, "Come in," he carefully pushed the door open and said:
"Big Brother Shisui, Uncle Kei, I came to see you."
The house was small and bare enough to be seen all at once.
A boy of about seven or eight with slightly curly hair was feeding medicine to a middle-aged man lying on the bed.
Both of them smiled when they saw Itachi.
The man on the bed, Uchiha Kei, chuckled and said:
"Ah, Itachi. What brings you here all of a sudden today?"
The curly-haired boy, Shisui, teased him playfully:
"What's this? Do you want to play ninja games with me again?"
"Not games — training! Training!"
Itachi corrected him with mild indignation.
When Shisui finished helping his father drink the medicine, Itachi finally spoke his real purpose:
"I came today because there's something I don't understand.
I don't know who else to ask, but I think you and Uncle Kei are the most reliable people I know, so I wanted to hear your thoughts."
He then told them everything he had overheard earlier that day.
By the time he finished, both Shisui and Kei were visibly shocked.
Shisui's expression turned serious as he warned:
"Itachi, from now on, don't repeat things like that to anyone — not to other clansmen, and definitely not to people outside the clan.
If your grandfather hears about it, you'll be in real trouble."
At that moment, Uchiha Kei suddenly began coughing violently.
Shisui hurried to pat his father's back until the coughing fit subsided.
After a long while, Kei finally caught his breath and sighed.
"It's normal that you don't understand these things, Itachi.
In truth, even I — at my age — still can't make sense of it all."
As he spoke, Kei gave a faint, bitter smile.
There was deep frustration in his eyes.
He was the son of Uchiha Kagami, once hailed as the clan's great hope.
From the moment of his birth, the clan had placed their expectations upon him.
Yet fate had been cruel.
Because he was born prematurely, his body had always been frail — too weak even to live as an ordinary man, let alone as a shinobi.
Now in his thirties — the supposed prime of his life — he was confined to his sickbed, waiting for death.
All he could do was watch helplessly as his clan marched toward self-destruction.
It was a tragedy beyond words.
But as he turned his gaze toward his thoughtful son and young Itachi sitting nearby, a faint smile rose on Kei's pale face.
He found some comfort in knowing that the heavens had not completely abandoned them.
Although he was weak, his son had not inherited his frailty.
In fact, Shisui's talent far surpassed even that of his own father.
In terms of pure genius, there was perhaps only one person in the entire Uchiha Clan who could rival Shisui — his cousin, Uchiha Kuugetsu.
That thought gave him a glimmer of hope.
With his cousin, his son, and even young Itachi — the clan's new generation — perhaps they would one day uncover the answers he himself could never find.
After a long silence, Uchiha Kei spoke again with quiet resolve:
"If both you, Shisui, and you, Itachi, truly want to understand these questions,
you should go speak with your Aunt Kuugetsu.
She might offer you a different way of thinking — a new perspective.
But remember — the real answers can only be found by your own hands."