The day's training finally came to an end.
By evening, the three siblings—Itachi, Sasuke, and Kanon—had returned home. Since their parents were staying overnight elsewhere, it was technically Kanon's turn to prepare the meal. However, Itachi volunteered, taking over the kitchen duties.
Soon, a lavish seafood feast was spread before them: steamed crab, grilled fish, sautéed shrimp, and a rich seafood soup. Every dish was the result of Itachi's careful selection of ingredients and meticulous cooking. The three of them sat around the table, savoring this rare, quiet family moment.
The freshness of the seafood and the care shown by her eldest brother made Kanon feel that the evening was exceptionally warm and beautiful.
After dinner, as the setting sun cast its golden glow over the courtyard, the three siblings sat together on the wooden porch. Itachi looked at the Uchiha crest and, seemingly lost in thought, turned to Sasuke and Kanon.
"Do you know the meaning behind the Uchiha clan crest?"
Kanon and Sasuke exchanged a look, both seeing the same confusion in each other's eyes.
Itachi continued, "To start a fire, one must fan the flames, right? The Uchiha crest represents a paper fan used to fan those fires."
"Is that so? I understand now." Sasuke smiled, silently etching the meaning of the clan crest into his heart.
On the other side, Kanon whispered softly, "I hope that the fire fanned by that fan... only brings warmth to people."
Itachi froze. He looked at Kanon with an expression of pure shock, but Kanon quickly shifted back to her usual self and chirped, "Itachi-nii, Sasuke-nii! Let's all sleep in the courtyard tonight!"
That night, the three siblings lay in the courtyard, staring up at the starry sky and talking late into the night.
"I already know Kanon's dream is to find that flower field in her heart," Itachi said, turning toward Sasuke, who lay in the middle. "What about yours, Sasuke?"
"My dream?" Sasuke looked at Itachi with eyes full of admiration. "My dream is to become an elite shinobi just like you, onii-san, and to earn Father's recognition."
Itachi looked back at the crescent moon hanging in the sky. He said softly, "Like me? No. You must surpass me."
By the time Itachi looked back, Sasuke and Kanon had already fallen asleep, exhausted from a long day of shuriken practice.
In her mental landscape, however, Kanon was busy with Konin, practicing new jutsu and attempting to grasp the principles of nature transformation. While she trained physically by day, she "tutored" by night, soaking up knowledge about the shinobi world and the mechanics of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu.
When morning light broke, Itachi had already vanished, leaving Kanon and Sasuke tucked away in their own beds. Their mother, Mikoto, and father, Fugaku, had returned home. Woken by the commotion, Kanon blinked her bleary eyes open.
"Eh? Mama? Papa? Where's Itachi-nii?"
"He's already gone to work. Get up and eat, Kanon. Sasuke, you too, go wash up and get ready for breakfast," Mikoto said with a smile.
…
As if nothing had happened, life continued as usual for a few days. Kanon had now fully mastered the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Chidori. Regarding Taijutsu, her physical conditioning had progressed to the point where she could now open the fourth gate: the Gate of Pain.
However, these were things she could not show a soul. Through these months of training, Kanon finally felt as though she could catch up to her brother, Sasuke.
On another late afternoon, Kanon concluded her day's work. Her long, straight black hair, though damp with sweat, still retained its natural luster.
"Konin, I've mastered so many C-rank jutsu now," Kanon murmured to herself.
[Kanon, your Majestic Destroyer Flame is indeed proficient, but its raw power can still be improved,] Konin's voice echoed in her head, pointing out her flaws.
"I know, I know. Let's leave it at that for today. I'll practice the rest tomorrow."
Kanon sat on a nearby tree stump, tilting her water bottle. The cool water flowed over her lips, soothing a throat parched by hours of training.
"Ah, that feels good. Come to think of it, Naruto hasn't visited in a few days..."
Watching the sun dip toward the west and seeing the shadows of the trees stretch across the ground, Kanon couldn't help but think of the boy who had spent so much time chatting with her.
"I wonder what he's up to?"
When Kanon returned home that evening, she found a heated confrontation at her front door. She approached slowly to see what was happening.
Three men from the Uchiha clan were standing at the entrance, shouting at Itachi inside the house.
"Last night, Shisui Uchiha committed suicide by jumping into the river!"
"He left a suicide note, and the Uchiha Police Force is launching a formal investigation into this case."
One of the men handed the note to Itachi and added, "The handwriting on this note could easily have been forged using a Sharingan's copy ability."
Itachi read the note, and as he looked back at the three men, his gaze turned ice-cold. "Are you suspecting me? I suggest you watch your words carefully."
The real source of Itachi's anger wasn't the accusation, but the fact that these men hadn't said a single word about the actual content of Shisui's final wishes.
The three Uchiha men began to sneer. "Itachi, you were closest to Shisui. You were with him constantly... Did you do it?"
"Itachi Uchiha, you are a prime suspect. Come with us to the Police Force for questioning."
"Why were you absent from the clan meeting last night? Right when Shisui happened to meet his end? You haven't turned traitor, have you?!"
"You're a disgrace to the family! A piece of trash!"
Finally, Itachi's hand clenched into a fist. He was utterly disgusted by these fools who had nothing in their mouths but "the clan."
In a blur of motion, he struck all three down. Just as Itachi was about to speak, Fugaku approached from the other side.
"The clan... always the clan..." Itachi muttered. "You overrate your own abilities and have no idea how powerful I truly am. That is why you lie there now."
"Stop it! Itachi!" Fugaku's voice rang out in a stern roar.
Fugaku looked at the three men lying on the ground, bruised and battered, and then stared directly at his son. "What is wrong with you? What are you—"
Before he could finish, Itachi drew a kunai and hurled it. It sliced through the air and embedded itself in the wall, cracking the Uchiha crest.
"My 'capacity'... has already lost all hope for this pathetic, self-important clan!"
Suddenly, Kanon, looking terrified and with tears in her eyes, rushed forward and hugged Itachi from behind.
"Itachi-nii! What's wrong with you?!" Kanon's body was trembling. It was the first time she had ever seen Itachi act with such cold, detached malice.
"Nii-san... please stop..." From the doorway, Sasuke stood trembling, his voice shaking as he cried out to Itachi.
In that instant, the Mangekyo Sharingan in Itachi's eyes faded back to three tomoe, and then to black. He seemed to regain his senses. He dropped to his knees, bowing his head in apology to his father and his clansmen.
As he apologized for his behavior, his Sharingan shifted into a strange, new pattern once more as his father walked past. Though Sasuke and Kanon saw it, both kept the sight buried deep within their hearts.