"What about that Uchiha Sasuke?"
"He's far behind his brother Uchiha Itachi. He's really embarrassing our Uchiha clan!"
"That guy is hanging out with the fox demon?"
"The Hyuga clan's genius, Hyuga Neji, is truly amazing."
All sorts of voices emerged within Konoha. Uzumaki Naruto didn't care and continuously encouraged Sasuke.
He told Sasuke that both of them were improving each time. At the very least, that guy Hyuga Neji had to spend more time to defeat them, exposing more of his strength, and using his secret techniques more frequently.
Sasuke deeply agreed, feeling Naruto was right.
But others didn't think so.
Within the Uchiha clan, many people were already deeply dissatisfied with the village's current state and the Uchiha clan's present standing.
The clan secretly held meetings in their shrine, aiming to bring the clan back into the center of Konoha and seize power. This had happened several times.
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, however, seemed somewhat estranged from the clan.
Uchiha Shisui was a descendant of Uchiha Kagami, a firm supporter of the Hokage. For many years, he was a rare Uchiha ninja trusted by Konoha and allowed into the village's core ANBU.
Recently, within the Uchiha clan, the voices of radicals wanting to immediately seize the village's political power were growing louder.
At this moment, the outcome of the battles between clan head Uchiha Fugaku's son, Uchiha Sasuke, and the Hyuga clan genius Hyuga Neji, who was aligned with Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's faction, was being used as a talking point by these people.
They even believed Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was using the Hyuga clan to suppress their Uchiha clan and diminish their prestige!
Recently, due to the radical faction within the Uchiha clan, the relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan had become increasingly tense.
The village side was also unhappy about Uchiha Sasuke getting close to Uzumaki Naruto.
Especially Shimura Danzo. *Sarutobi Hiruzen, you bastard. Fine, you let Hyuga Shiro get close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.*
*A Hyuga branch family member can be controlled by me, Shimura Danzo, in an instant.*
*But now, the Uchiha clan, the biggest internal threat within Konoha, is also getting close to the Jinchuriki.*
*Sarutobi Hiruzen, what on earth do you want to do? Do you want a repeat of the Nine-Tails incident in Konoha?*
*The Nine-Tails being controlled by the Uchiha clan's Sharingan caused that devastating tragedy that severely weakened Konoha. You know this better than anyone!*
Shimura Danzo once again went to the Hokage's office to argue vehemently with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen once again displayed the bearing of the Third Hokage, suppressing Danzo's proposal to take Naruto into Root control and isolate him from outside influence.
"The Uchiha clan matter cannot be rushed. Shisui and Itachi are good boys. Sasuke is their brother. In the future, he might also become a bridge for communication between the Uchiha clan and the village."
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, still held hope for the Uchiha clan at this time. After all, it hadn't been many years since the village suffered the Nine-Tails incident, and its strength hadn't fully recovered.
Later, when Kumogakure was at fault but stubbornly demanded Konoha hand over the Hyuga clan head's life as compensation, they had no choice but to bow their heads and offer Hyuga Hizashi instead.
Now, Konoha was beset by internal troubles and external threats. The Uchiha clan was one of its indispensable forces.
Konoha's White Fang committed suicide. Hatake Kakashi had become depressed and fallen from grace, failing to live up to his father's renowned name. Although he was still an elite jonin of Konoha, he wasn't enough to be the village's stabilizing pillar.
Of the former Legendary Sannin, Tsunade wandered outside unwilling to return. Orochimaru defected and became a top-ranked rogue ninja pursued by the village. Jiraiya preferred wandering outside, searching everywhere for the Child of Prophecy.
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and his wife died together stopping the Nine-Tails.
A large number of Konoha elites who survived the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars, along with other Konoha ninja, died at the hands of the Nine-Tails that night.
Now, Konoha had just completely ended the Third Great Ninja War and finalized a peace treaty with Kumogakure. They really couldn't afford any more complications or lose the powerful Uchiha clan.
If, because of Shimura Danzo's actions, the current village were to have internal strife with the Uchiha clan, it would likely cause severe damage once again.
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, caught between the village and their clan, were both suffering.
At this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to continue winning over the Uchiha clan, to secure the loyalty of Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, two clan members with strong talent who leaned towards Konoha.
"So, Danzo, you are not to act recklessly in this matter!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glared fiercely at Shimura Danzo. The Hokage's authority instantly made Danzo back down a step.
He couldn't win this argument. He couldn't win it at all.
"Damn you, Sarutobi Hiruzen. You'll regret this!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen temporarily withstood the pressure from Shimura Danzo and the other two senior advisors.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi were also discussing the recent interesting events involving Itachi's younger brother.
"Itachi, I remember clearly! Your little brother Sasuke has challenged Hyuga Neji a full five times and lost every single one!"
Faced with the teasing from Shisui, who was like an elder brother to him, Uchiha Itachi—who hadn't yet become the deeply burdened person he would later be—also showed a trace of distress on his face.
"Don't laugh, Shisui. Sasuke... Sasuke, he... he's trying hard!"
As a devoted older brother, when talking about his younger brother Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi's eyes were filled with joy.
At first, hearing that Sasuke lost to Hyuga Neji, Itachi worried whether Sasuke would be discouraged and lose confidence.
But as rumors spread about Sasuke continuing to challenge Hyuga Neji, Itachi began to feel that his younger brother seemed to be developing an indomitable spirit.
This pleased Uchiha Itachi. Even though his brother kept losing, he didn't see it as a problem.
"Come on, Itachi. Our mission is done for today. How about we go to the academy to see how your brother is doing?"
With an equally brilliant smile on his face, Uchiha Shisui held great enthusiasm for the village and everyone in it.
Uchiha Shisui, who hadn't told anyone the secret of his Mangekyo Sharingan, would never have imagined.
In the future, he would treat others with utter sincerity, only to still fail to gain Shimura Danzo's trust and even fall victim to his scheme, losing one of his Mangekyo Sharingan eyes.
Finally, having lost his faith, grown sad and disillusioned with the village, and seeing no future for his clan, he would entrust his remaining eye to Uchiha Itachi before jumping into a river and ending his own life.