At the Uchiha shrine—
The air still smelled of smoke.
Half-burned scrolls lay scattered across the floor. Several were reduced to ash.
Elder Kohaku stood at the centre of the hall, his expression dark.
"So," he said slowly, "which one of you is going to explain this?"
Shisui and Masato stood a few steps apart. Both were injured.
Both were still glaring at each other.
Kohaku's eyes shifted toward the damaged scroll section.
Some clan techniques were partially burned. Others were destroyed.
His jaw tightened.
These scrolls were the clan's lifeline.
"And if neither of you can give me a proper explanation," Kohaku continued, voice rising slightly, "do not expect to walk out of this shrine so easily."
He turned sharply toward the guards.
"And you! Were you asleep at your posts? How does someone enter the shrine without your knowledge?"
The guards lowered their heads.
Several of them had visible injuries —
proof they had been caught in the crossfire.
"Elder," one of them said carefully, "we knew Junior Masato was inside. But we never saw Shisui enter."
Masato finally spoke.
"How could they?" he said coldly. "He didn't enter as a Uchiha."
The hall fell silent.
"He entered like an ANBU."
Every guard's head snapped toward Shisui.
Masato's eyes were filled with disgust.
"To steal the clan's knowledge for his masters."
The accusation hung heavy in the air.
Kohaku slowly turned to Shisui.
His gaze was sharp now.
"Is that true?"
Shisui's jaw tightened.
"I just came to train," he replied. "If they didn't see me, it is because I did not disturb them."
The guards bristled.
"Are you calling us blind?" one of them snapped.
"We were stationed at the entrance the entire time."
The pressure in the shrine grew heavier.
Kohaku said nothing.
He kept staring at Shisui.
The shrine was heavy with smoke and silence.
Then—
"Well," a calm voice echoed through the hall, "the Uchiha have always suffered most from their own clan members' stubbornness."
Everyone turned.
Toyoma entered.
The Grand Elder walked beside him.
Toyoma's gaze moved slowly across the destruction —
broken pillars, scorched floor, half-burned scrolls.
He stepped closer to the damaged jutsu section.
Carefully, he picked up one of the half-burned scrolls.
"Tsk Tsk, such waste," he murmured.
His eyes shifted to Shisui.
"You didn't need to risk stealing these."
Shisui's expression hardened as he looked at Toyoma with little uneasiness.
Toyoma continued calmly.
"After all… your grandfather Kagami and Senior Iguchi already shared several of these techniques with the Sarutobi and Senju clans many years ago."
A ripple passed through the hall.
Elder Kohaku's eyes narrowed.
The Grand Elder stiffened slightly.
"What are you implying, Toyoma?" he asked slowly in a dark expression.
Toyoma placed the damaged scroll back down.
"I am not implying anything," he replied evenly.
"It is recorded in our own records that 'B rank and lower jutsu's were given."
He turned toward the elders.
"Why do you think the Sarutobi rose so quickly in Fire Release proficiency?"
It stopped both elders from further questioning.
"They did not invent those techniques," Toyoma said.
"Our stubborn people taught them."
The Grand Elder's expression darkened as he thought about their previous actions.
"That was an exchange," Elder Kohaku said carefully. "A gesture of trust during unstable times."
Toyoma nodded.
"Yes."
He did not deny it.
"A gesture."
He looked back at Shisu and gave him a smile that clearly showed disappointment.
"And now we face unstable times again, right shishu."
The implication settled heavily in the shrine.
Toyoma's voice lowered slightly.
"The difference is… back then it was done openly, in the name of alliance."
His gaze sharpened.
"Today, it is done quietly. In the name of loyalty."
Shisui's jaw tightened.
He knew parts of that history.
But not all of it.
And certainly not the internal arguments behind it.
He had no immediate answer.
Toyoma did not raise his voice.
He said calmly.
"Enemies do not weaken the Uchiha."
He glanced at the half-burned scrolls.
"We are weakened when we convince ourselves that giving away our lifeline will earn us security."
The elders were silent now.
Uncomfortable.
Because what Toyoma said was not entirely false.
But it was not the entire truth either.
Elder Kohaku stared at Shisui.
"Shisui," he said, voice heavy, "explain why you entered the shrine."
Shisui looked up at him.
"Elder, if I may just sa—"
"And don't give me nonsense about training."
The sharp interruption hit him before he could finish.
The words died in Shisui's throat.
For a moment, he stood there silently.
Masato stepped forward, his eyes filled with disgust.
"What is there to explain, Elder?" he said.
"I saw him going through the forbidden section."
The air in the shrine shifted instantly.
Kohaku's face flushed red.
"The forbidden section?" he repeated.
His anger rose visibly.
"You dare touch our sealed jutsu?"
He turned toward the guards without waiting for Shisui's answer.
"Arrest him."
The command echoed in the damaged hall.
"Put him in confinement. From today onward, Shisui Uchiha is banned from entering this shrine."
The guards hesitated only for a heartbeat before moving.
They surrounded Shisui.
He did not resist.
He did not argue.
He didn't even try to defend himself again.
He lowered his eyes.
Whether he was guilty or not, no one could tell.
The guards led him away.
Behind him, the burned scrolls still smoked.
The Grand Elder watched as Shisui was taken away.
He didn't say anything at first.
His shoulders felt heavier than before.
If the children of this clan start thinking like this… what future do we have? he wondered quietly.
He let out a long sigh.
"What sin did the Uchiha commit in the past," he murmured, "that we must face such times now?"
Toyoma stepped closer and gently placed a hand on his back.
"Grandfather," he said softly, "this is not punishment. It's reality."
His tone wasn't mocking. It was steady.
"We just need to be ready. For trouble from outside… and from within."
Elder Kohaku heard those words but did not comment.
Instead, he turned toward Masato.
"Masato," he asked, "do you know what he was searching for?"
Masato met his gaze calmly.
"He went through the old records first," he said.
"Then he moved toward the forbidden archive."
He paused briefly.
"I was watching him."
The shrine grew quiet.
"I didn't act immediately," Masato continued.
"But when he reached the sealed section… I stepped in."
His eyes shifted briefly toward the damaged scrolls.
"Those techniques are not just records. They are part of our clan's lifeline."
The meaning was clear.
That was the line he would not allow anyone to cross.
Toyoma broke the silence.
"Tell me, Elder," he asked calmly, "what do you think is worth taking such a risk for?"
He glanced at the damaged shelves.
"These jutsu… they're valuable, yes. But not worth destroying the shrine over."
His eyes shifted toward Masato.
"What he was looking for… it wasn't here."
Masato didn't respond, but his gaze didn't waver.
Toyoma continued quietly,
"So even if he searched the entire archive… he would have failed."
The implication hung in the air.
The Grand Elder and Kohaku exchanged a brief look.
They understood what Toyoma was suggesting.
That Shisui wasn't after scrolls.
He was after something else.
The Grand Elder looked at the half-burned jutsu.
"It is still a waste," he said softly.
"Clan knowledge reduced to ash for nothing."
His voice carried fatigue more than anger.
He turned to Kohaku.
"Increase security at the shrine."
Kohaku nodded firmly.
"It will be done."
Masato was ordered to gather men to assess the damage and clear the hall.
Slowly, the shrine began to empty.
But the tension remained.
Rumours move faster than fire.
By the next morning, the entire village had heard something.
"Did you hear? That Uchiha kid was arrested."
"They say he was stealing forbidden jutsu."
"On the Hokage's orders."
"No, no… it was internal clan punishment."
At the inn, a group of men spoke in low but excited voices.
"I heard the Third Hokage has a jutsu to spy on bathhouses," one of them whispered.
Another laughed.
"Jiraiya confirmed it himself!"
"Then it must be true."
Laughter spread across the table.
"And look at his students," someone added.
"One's a gambler, one's a pervert. Maybe they learned it from him."
The rumours grew.
They changed shape.
They mixed truth with imagination.
And no one could tell where they started.
Inside the same inn, in a quieter corner, three men sat apart from the noise.
Shikaku Nara.
Inoichi Yamanaka.
Choza Akimichi.
They listened without speaking at first.
"The image of the higher-ups is crumbling," Shikaku said quietly, eyes half-lidded.
Inoichi stirred his tea.
"Is that necessarily bad?" he asked.
"If people focus on them… they'll stop focusing on the clans for a while."
Shikaku nodded slowly.
"It buys time."
A pause.
"But time for what?"
Choza sat down heavily beside them.
"There's a jonin meeting in two hours."
Inoichi sighed.
"How many meetings are we going to hold?" he muttered.
"When none of our suggestions ever change anything."
Choza glanced toward the Hokage Tower.
"This one is different."
Shikaku looked at him.
"It's about the Sannin becoming village elders."
Silence fell between them.
Would that strengthen the village?
Or divide it further?
All three of them found their eyes drifting toward the Hokage building.
Standing tall.
Unmoving.
But inside—
The balance was shifting.
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