"Shisui—introduce yourself to the Hokage."
At Fugaku's cue, Minato glanced at the Uchiha jōnin who had escorted them in and gave an awkward little smile, faintly annoyed at himself.
Shisui bowed. "Lord Hokage. I'm Uchiha Shisui. I currently serve as a squad leader in the Military Police."
Minato scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Back on the battlefield, I only heard your nickname—'Shisui of the Body Flicker.' Later you transferred to the Police Force, so…"
"Alright. Let's pause a moment."
Minato exhaled, then pulled out a scroll. His hands moved through seals with crisp precision.
"Barrier—seal."
The air subtly thickened.
Seeing Fugaku tense up, Minato smiled to soften it. "It's just a barrier that blocks outside sensing. I don't know if the enemy has accomplices, and that phasing ability can slip through the village's defenses, so…"
His expression turned serious. He looked from Fugaku to Shisui.
"So first, I need an honest answer."
"Have either of you awakened the Uchiha clan's legendary eye…"
"…the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Inside the barrier, the silence went absolute.
A long time passed.
Then Fugaku sighed and stepped forward. "Mangekyō Sharingan… in the entire Uchiha clan, only Uchiha Madara and his brother Uchiha Izuna ever awakened it. Asking Shisui and me… you're overestimating us, Hokage."
Minato frowned, thinking—then spoke carefully.
"After I inherited the Hokage seat from the Third, I gradually came to understand the conflict between the Uchiha and the village."
"I understand your caution, Fugaku."
"But the enemy I described… is not the Uchiha clan of Konoha."
"This time…"
Minato's eyes hardened.
"…is Konoha's opportunity—and the Uchiha's last opportunity."
"So please. Tell me sincerely."
"Has either of you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Fugaku had no answer—because he truly hadn't.
Then, after another long beat, a quiet voice spoke.
"Lord Hokage… can I trust you?"
Minato snapped his gaze toward Shisui.
Shisui slowly lifted his eyes—
and in his pupils, the three tomoe connected, twisting into a shuriken-like pattern.
The sight stunned not only Minato.
Fugaku and Kakashi stared, completely speechless.
So young… and already bearing the eye of legend.
As Hokage, Minato knew what it took for an Uchiha to awaken eyes like that.
Which meant he also understood what kind of pain this boy had lived through.
To gain love—
and then lose it.
Most Uchiha drowned in that darkness.
A rare few—like Uchiha Kagami in the records—became even more hungry for love, even more desperate to protect it.
Shisui, standing here now…
If that shadow's words were true, then Shisui was one of those rare few.
Minato drew a slow breath. "Yes. You can trust me."
"And I can promise you this: I will do everything I can to protect the relationship between the Uchiha and the village—until the day you can truly become part of Konoha."
Fugaku looked like he wanted to say something, but swallowed it.
Minato met his eyes. "Trust has to be built from both sides."
"Tonight, Kushina's child—my child—will be born."
"And Kushina…"
Minato didn't blink.
"…has the Nine-Tails sealed inside her."
The words hit like a strike.
Fugaku and Shisui both froze.
Kushina's delivery had been mentioned to Fugaku's wife, Mikoto—because the women were friends.
But the exact timing was confidential.
And the Nine-Tails…
In history, it had been controlled by Sharingan before.
For Minato to speak this plainly—inside an Uchiha barrier—
was a level of trust Fugaku and Shisui couldn't ignore.
At this point in time, the Uchiha weren't yet cornered into rebellion.
And Shisui's Mangekyō?
He hadn't told anyone.
Not yet.
In the original flow of events, it wouldn't be until years later—when Itachi was eleven—that Shisui would reveal an ability as broken as Kotoamatsukami. And in the end, because of "Konoha's pot-stirrer," he'd have to die to delay the coup by two years.
Fugaku bowed deeply. "Then… we leave everything to you, Lord Hokage."
Beside him, Shisui's hands were clenched tight. His emotions were written in the tension of his fingers.
With Minato supporting them… maybe the gap between clan and village—
And then…
The power of Kotoamatsukami…
After a moment, Shisui bowed his head.
"Lord Hokage… what do you need me to do?"
Minato glanced back at Kakashi. "I received intelligence: the Sharingan Kakashi received from Obito has also awakened the Mangekyō long ago."
"He simply can't control that power yet."
"I need you, Shisui, to help Kakashi draw out the power of his left eye."
"It's not that I don't trust you."
"But the intel says Kakashi's eye is the perfect counter to the enemy's ability…"
"…that phasing."
"Shifting part or all of his body into another dimension to ignore damage—under that ability, most ninjutsu and taijutsu are useless. So…"
Shisui understood what Minato hadn't finished saying.
He answered immediately. "I trust you, Lord Fourth."
"And my Mangekyō is a genjutsu-type ability—one that can be cast without eye contact."
"It's called Kotoamatsukami."
"Kotoamatsukami?" Minato repeated, frowning.
Shisui continued smoothly—too smoothly.
"Kotoamatsukami plants a 'seed' inside a target's mind, guiding their actions toward that seed as if it were their own desire."
"In most cases, the target won't even realize they've been caught."
"But… the weakness is that it requires continuous chakra output, so…"
He didn't finish.
But he caught it—instantly.
The Hokage's expression… softened. Just slightly.
Of course.
No matter where an ability like this appeared, anyone in power would fear it.
Shisui's left eye—Kotoamatsukami—
He couldn't reveal the full truth.
Not yet.
…
Morning light crept over the horizon.
In the Uchiha district, Yun woke to the sounds of the kitchen.
For five years, his mother had risen this early every single day. She'd prepare breakfast, then rush out to work—never taking a real day off.
And somehow she stayed optimistic.
All for one reason:
Watching Yun and Izumi grow, day by day.
"Can you take the afternoon off today?" Yun asked.
Uchiha Hazuki turned back, puzzled. "Is something wrong, Yun?"
Yun shook his head. "I just… want to eat your tempura."
"Can you come back early and make it for me?"
Sayuki laughed. She reached out as if to ruffle his hair—then stopped herself, remembering how mature he was, and how he didn't like being treated like a little kid.
"If Yun wants tempura, of course. I'll ask the shopkeeper for leave and go early to the market for ingredients."
"Then you should come home early too. I'll take Izumi with me to the market."
Yun nodded. "I'll be back after noon. I'll tell Uncle Teuchi."
After breakfast, Yun headed toward Ichiraku Ramen.
He was going to quit.
There was still a lot to do this morning—he needed to visit the Nara clan's district and the Tatsumi shelter. If time allowed, he also had to go to the mountain behind the Hokage Rock.
He hadn't tested the Secret Scroll clone properly last night.
How it worked, how to use it for maximum benefit—
He'd have to experiment and confirm.
…
(Author notes / meta notes from the original text:)
(In Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Fourth Hokage made backup plans; if he couldn't reach agreement with the Uchiha, the clan was still wiped out.)
(TV states that when Danzō took Shisui's right eye, chakra output was "cut." But the left eye, used through a crow, still affected Edo Tensei—large discrepancy. Interpreting the twin Mangekyō pattern: one long cooldown, one short; one can plant a permanent subconscious directive, the other requires sustained chakra output.)
(Shisui's eye was taken when Itachi was eleven; that's when Shisui proposed using Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku. Possibly he hadn't told the higher-ups earlier because the Uchiha weren't yet near rebellion; otherwise Danzō would've moved sooner, given his fear of Kotoamatsukami.)