Chiya walked out of the barbecue restaurant and stretched lazily.
'That Hatake Sakumo, he really will say anything.'
'How could this Hokage... cough cough.'
'How could this Clan Head have thoughts like that?'
Chiya's gaze drifted toward the distant Hokage Rock.
With the Third War on the horizon, even if he wanted that position, he would have to wait until after it was over before thinking about it.
The lingering aroma of grilled meat still drifted between his lips and teeth, but his gaze had already jumped past the Hokage Rock and settled on the Uchiha training grounds.
He passed through the familiar woodland path, and the outline of the training grounds gradually came into view.
In the distance, a lean figure dressed in Uchiha clan attire was working himself hard in the middle of the grounds.
The sound of kunai cutting through the air and feet scraping against the sandy ground wove together, filling the space with focused intensity.
The corner of Chiya's mouth lifted slightly.
It was him.
Uchiha Shisui.
"Your movements are too slow!"
Chiya called out suddenly, a note of amusement in his voice.
Shisui spun around sharply. The moment he saw who it was, joy erupted in his eyes.
"Sensei!"
He put away his kunai and jogged over to stand in front of Chiya, bowing respectfully.
"You came!"
Chiya ruffled his head.
"Two years without seeing you, and you have grown quite a bit. How has your training been?"
Shisui smiled shyly, then his expression grew steady and determined.
"Sensei, I have not let up on my training once since you left Konoha."
"Oh? That dedicated?"
Chiya stepped back a few paces to create some distance.
"Then let me see how much you have improved."
Shisui nodded.
He understood that his teacher was testing the results of his training.
He did not dare be careless. He channeled his chakra and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Chiya stepped lightly to the side to avoid him, a trace of approval flickering in his eyes.
His movements were three times faster than two years ago, and the arcs he drew with his kunai were precise and tricky.
"Good speed, but your force still is not fluid enough."
Shisui did not lose heart. He pulled back quickly, and his hands moved through seals rapidly.
"Fire Style, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A blazing fireball roared out, its range a full size larger than an ordinary Great Fireball.
Chiya brought his hands together and a wall of water rose from nothing. Water and fire collided, and steam filled the air.
Using the cover of the mist, Shisui suddenly attacked from the side. The blade on his back came out of its sheath, and the edge pointed straight at Chiya's shoulder.
"Clang!"
Chiya blocked with a kunai. The two weapons clashed and threw off sparks.
He noticed that inside Shisui's pupils, two tomoe were slowly rotating.
'A two-tomoe Sharingan at such a young age?'
'Truly surprising.'
'Awakening the eye always comes with an emotional surge. What happened to Shisui these past two years?'
The fight went on for half an hour. Chiya could already tell Shisui was close to his limit.
He pulled back at the right moment.
"That is enough."
Shisui was breathing hard, forehead covered in beads of sweat, but the excitement on his face could not be hidden.
"Sensei, I can keep going!"
"Overtraining only hurts the body."
Chiya pressed down on his shoulder. A faint green medical chakra rose from his palm and he began checking Shisui's condition.
During the examination.
He found that Shisui's ankles were somewhat swollen, clearly a hidden injury built up from long-term high-intensity training.
One look was enough to tell he had been pushing himself hard every day.
"Bear with it."
He pressed his fingertips lightly, and the swelling receded at a visible speed.
"Thank you, Sensei!"
Shisui rotated his ankle and looked up with burning intensity.
"When will I be as strong as you?"
Chiya laughed in spite of himself.
"Getting stronger is not the goal. What matters is why you want to be strong."
He found a clean patch of shade beneath a tree and sat down cross-legged, gesturing for Shisui to come sit as well.
"Let me ask you something. What is a village? And what is a clan?"
Shisui was briefly caught off guard. He thought carefully before answering.
"Families make up the clan, and clans make up the village.
Without clans, the village is like a tree with no roots. Without a village, clans have nowhere to find shelter."
Chiya nodded.
Not bad. Over these two years, his thinking had matured as well.
"Then if the day ever came that the clan and the village were in conflict, what would you do?"
The question sent Shisui deep into thought.
His Sharingan flickered, fragments of memory surging through his mind.
He thought of what was recorded in the clan's books, the things that happened before Chiya became Clan Head.
The dissatisfaction the elders voiced about the village at clan meetings, the wariness villagers showed toward the Uchiha, the other major clans keeping their distance from the Uchiha.
Suddenly, as he looked up, the tomoe in his pupils split sharply, and a third tomoe quietly took shape.
Three tomoe?
Chiya was inwardly stunned.
Shisui's gaze was clear and steady.
"I would talk. I would work to find a middle ground.
The clan and the village are one body. Any conflict is only temporary.
If the clan were destroyed, the village would lose its true meaning. If the village were gone, the clan would drift like fallen leaves, with no roots left to hold them."
Chiya was quiet for a moment, then slowly rose.
He placed his hand on Shisui's shoulder, his tone more serious than it had ever been.
"Remember what you said today. As a member of the Uchiha, what you must protect is not only the clan, but also the village that carries us.
The clan and the village are one. When one prospers, both prosper. When one suffers, both suffer."
Shisui nodded firmly.
"Sensei, Shisui will not forget."
A clean breeze blew through. The afternoon training grounds gradually grew quiet.
Looking at Shisui before him, Chiya felt a deepening sense of satisfaction.
Obedient, thoughtful, gifted in ways that drew envy, and hardworking in ways most people were not.
'He is someone I need to cultivate properly going forward. He will definitely be a great asset to me in the future.'
"Shisui!"
"Yes? What is it, Sensei?"
"From now on, I am going to adjust your training plan."
Hearing that, Shisui's eyes went wide.
"What, not happy about it?"
Shisui caught himself and quickly shook his head.
"Sensei going to the trouble of adjusting my training plan personally, Shisui is just a little too happy about it!"
Looking at his young face, filled with nothing but sincerity.
'This kid.'
'Did someone take over his body?'
'How can someone this young be so sensible?'
Every other Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan had gone through a drastic shift in personality.
But this kid, he awakened his eye and somehow only became more sensible.
They always said children in the ninja world matured early.
But Shisui had matured, it seemed, a little too much.
Other kids his age.
Were still sneaking around pulling pranks at the ninja academy and chasing after girls.
Chiya reached out and ruffled his head.
"Work hard on your training."
"Yes!"
Uchiha Shisui bowed respectfully and walked back toward the training grounds once more.
Watching Shisui's focused expression as he trained, Chiya felt a quiet ease settle at the corners of his mouth.
'If everyone were as obedient as Shisui, forget Konoha, the entire ninja world would be at peace.'
'Too bad. There are no such things as ifs in this world.'
...
Sunagakure.
The Third Kazekage wrapped in a dark robe walked through the central plaza of the village and went straight toward the residence of Advisor Chiyo.
His expression was grave, and he held a scroll in his hand.
That was the latest battlefield report from the front lines.
Konoha's defensive line was far more solid than expected.
"We need to adjust our tactics."
He muttered to himself.
Inside Chiyo's room, the lamps were bright.
She was bent over a tactical map. When she heard the knock, she said without looking up.
"Come in."
The Third Kazekage pushed the door open, his voice low and heavy.
"Advisor Chiyo, we need to talk."
Chiyo looked up at last.
"Kazekage-sama, how does the front look?"
The Third Kazekage handed her the scroll.
"Hatake Sakumo's team in Konoha has a good number of Hyūga Clan members. The moment they spot any of our people, they pull out immediately and refuse to engage."
"Damn it. If this keeps up, this war is never going to start properly."
Just then, in the shadows outside the room, a lean red-haired boy stood in silence.
This person was Chiyo's grandson, the prodigy puppeteer, Sasori.
He held two puppets in his arms, the "Father" and "Mother" he had modified with his own hands.
He had only come to look for his grandmother, but had unintentionally overheard this conversation.
"War... more war."
Sasori's fingers gently traced the face of a puppet, his eyes soft, yet carrying a bone-deep coldness.
He remembered the last words his parents said to him before they left for the front.
"Sasori, wait for us to come back."
But they never came back.
According to what he had been told, they were unable to bear the humiliation in Konoha and died inside a Konoha prison.
All of this was the fault of war.
And now, the Third Kazekage was stirring up another one?
"Father, Mother..."
Sasori's pupils contracted sharply. His fingers clenched tight, and the puppet hit the ground with a crack, its joints shattering.
Chiyo and the Third Kazekage both turned around.
But Sasori had already turned and walked away, leaving behind only a murmur too low to hear clearly.
"War... Kazekage... worthless."
Sasori moved quickly through the corridor, his steps growing faster and faster, until they were nearly a run.
His eyes were dark in a way that was frightening.
"The strongest Kazekage? You cannot even protect your own people. What makes you the strongest?!"
"The war is already over, yet you are still actively trying to start another one."
"What kind of Kazekage are you..."
"..."
He pushed open the door to Chiyo's medicine room. His gaze swept over the rows of poisons and antidotes that lined the shelves.
He knew that his grandmother was not only skilled in medicine and antidotes, but was even more skilled in the use of poison.
And stored here were formulas capable of killing.
The corner of Sasori's mouth curved slightly upward, revealing a thin, cold smile.
"Since you all love war so much... then let this war end once and for all."
---
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