"What's happening to us feels like a tragedy. But it's not just a tragedy—it's a discovery. A chance to see the universe from a completely new perspective."
© Strugatsky Brothers
****
Training with Izumi naturally came to an end. Since that meeting at the playground, they hadn't spoken. Sarada trained alone: working on her endurance, still unsuccessfully trying to master her uncle's Body Replacement Technique, sometimes even managing to drag and interest Itachi himself onto the training ground, though with each week he disappeared on missions more and more.
Izumi's tactless question and sudden loneliness forced Sarada to reconsider her worldview. She thought she and Izumi were girlfriends, but it turned out that a girl in love, in a fit of jealousy, has a way of turning into a snake, leaving no trace of former friendship.
Friendship...
And what was friendship? Sarada had never thought about such things. She considered her classmates, Mitsuki, Boruto, the new generation of the InoShikaCho team, and lately Izumi, as friends. But now she had a vivid example before her eyes: watching Itachi and Shisui, she saw true friendship for the first time. Two completely different people who understood each other without words and thought on the same wavelength, just like her father and the Nanadaime Hokage in the future. The simple, worn-out word "friend" took on a completely new meaning for Sarada. A friend was someone you could tell that the unfamiliar girl with the Sharingan was your niece, who had fallen into Konoha from a distant future. And the friend would twirl a finger at his temple, declare you'd gone crazy and needed treatment, but would never betray you or give you away.
Did she have anyone she could trust like Itachi trusted Shisui? Unexpectedly, Sarada realized she had never had a real friend. She was close with Chocho, but with the chubby girl they were more like acquaintances. She couldn't stand Boruto at the academy; they had miraculously worked together on one team and were not friends, but... comrades. Words that seemed to mean the same thing suddenly split apart: each acquired its own meaning, and they were all different. And none stood next to the concept of "friend."
Reflecting on Izumi's loud accusation, seeing her as a rival, Sarada made a ton of new discoveries for herself: the thought that she might have fallen in love with her own uncle shocked her, and she desperately sought proof or refutation.
Love came in different forms. Imperfect human speech couldn't convey the full diversity of feelings; it divided love into crude categories: love for mother or father, for sister or brother, for blood uncle, for friend or member of the opposite sex...
But now Sarada was beginning to understand that love for each person—however many lived on earth—was unique, and there simply weren't enough words to describe any single love in full. Uchiha Itachi was an amazing person, unlike anyone else. An uncommunicative genius child exuding dangerous charm. Feelings for him couldn't be attributed to any familiar direction. Sarada didn't love him as an uncle or as a boy. She loved him as Uchiha Itachi.
****
"...compile a list of participants, movement routes. We also need to identify strategically important targets to attack first. At the next meeting, we'll finalize the date for our action. Until then, coordinate among yourselves and try not to provoke the villagers."
Rebellion.
This was far from the first meeting, and with each one, things only got worse. Nearly six months had passed since her first appearance at the Naka Shrine and her uncle's entry into Anbu, and the thought of uprising was no longer just floating in the air as an elusive idea. They had taken it seriously.
The Uchiha were drawing up plans, thinking through details, preparing. Sarada was more and more convinced that the mysterious disappearance of the clan was tied to the impending revolution, and, to her disappointment, she realized she was powerless to change anything.
There were too many of them—people eager to unleash a civil war. A whole clan, except for her, Itachi, Shisui, and Izumi. Izumi was just scared, and Itachi and Shisui were clearly trying to stop the uprising somehow, but nothing changed. Uncle's attempts to voice his opinion and reason with the clan turned into hatred toward him. And if no one listened to uncle, the clan genius, the eldest son of the Leaf Military Police chief, what could she do? They wouldn't listen to her even more.
Grandfather finished speaking, and the brotherhood relaxed a bit. Everyone thought the meeting was over, but suddenly Yashiro stood up.
"Is Itachi here?"
Sarada looked at her uncle. He clenched his fists tighter, not raising his head.
"Itachi!" the officer repeated irritably.
"I'm here."
He reluctantly raised his hand.
"You were at the failed negotiations with the Land of Frost, right?"
Itachi remained silent.
"Answer!" Yashiro barked.
"Discussing Anbu missions in front of outsiders is prohibited."
"Are you serious?"
The officer frowned.
"Why did you join Anbu?"
Uncle didn't answer.
"To get information from the village center and pass it to us!"
"Yashiro..." Grandfather called.
But his subordinate ignored him.
"You've been working for Anbu for almost half a year, and what? Have we heard even one village secret from you?"
"But I don't know any."
"Oh, come on. Is that really all?"
"What are you implying?" Uncle raised his face, and a rebellious spark flashed in his eyes.
The officer smirked nastily. Next to him stood a man with long black hair—Uchiha Inabi, another of grandfather's subordinates.
"You're against us, aren't you..."
"Enough!" Fugaku barked.
Everyone fell silent.
"This is not the time to start infighting. We must be united!"
The officers hesitated and sat back on the tatami mats.
"Sorry," Itachi forced out dryly.
Fugaku swept the dimly lit hall with a heavy gaze.
"In any case, everything will be decided at the next meeting. Remember: everyone's presence is mandatory. That will be all."
People started getting up. Sarada glanced back at Itachi. He was already gone. She made her way out of the basement where the meetings were held, rushed out of the shrine, searched for him in the crowd with her eyes, but uncle had vanished. Someone touched her arm. Sarada turned and saw Izumi.
"Hey... Hi."
"Hi," Sarada said, confused.
They hadn't spoken in a very long time.
"I've been wanting to..." the former girlfriend fell silent.
Sarada looked at her sad face and felt no anger. That stupid question from Izumi had helped her sort out herself and her feelings. And now, as they spoke for the first time in so long, Sarada realized she had missed her acquaintance. One way or another, with or without trust, people need communication.
"Forgive me," so much pain was in her voice. "I've wanted to apologize to you for a long time. I shouldn't have started that conversation. It was... so stupid."
Had she been suffering and feeling guilty all this time? From the outside, it seemed like she didn't care.
Sarada smiled faintly.
"I'm not mad at you, Izumi."
Izumi raised her eyes to her, full of surprise. She couldn't believe her ears.
"Really?"
****
To be honest, Izumi's soul-searching and her guilt were the last thing worrying Sarada right now. After reconciling with her former girlfriend, she calmed down a bit, but an obsessive thought pulsed in her mind: "Itachi. I need to talk to Itachi."
Sarada went home and first peeked into her uncle and dad's room. Dad was already asleep, and Itachi still hadn't returned from the meeting. She went to her room and waited; she tried her best not to fall asleep, even started reading some book on ninjutsu history to pass the time, but sleep was overtaking her. And still no uncle.
Itachi returned only at the beginning of the third hour of the night. Sarada had dozed off and woke up to an unexpected surge of chakra. Tossing the book aside, she flew into the corridor and nearly collided with her uncle, who was just passing her room.
"Come here."
She grabbed his hand and dragged him into her room.
"What do you want?" Itachi asked displeasedly when the paper door closed behind him.
In recent times, his voice had unexpectedly changed: from boyish to low and adult, and Itachi had quickly gotten used to it. Plus, he'd grown. The lines under his eyes, running from the bridge of his nose to his cheeks, had deepened even more, giving his face a somewhat aged and sickly look.
"We need to talk."
"Now?"
"When? You're gone on missions all day."
Itachi sighed, shoving his irritation deep inside, and asked tiredly:
"What did you want to talk about?"
"About... the meeting."
Uncle tensed up. He must have already talked it over with Shisui. Where else would he be until midnight? And now the annoying niece.
"They need to be stopped, you understand?" Sarada pounced in a loud whisper.
"Shh," he hissed.
"I know you told me not to interfere," she continued more calmly. "But they're making a mistake! I don't want to lose the family I've only just..."
"Sarada," Itachi interrupted. "What do you suggest?"
She drooped.
"I don't know."
"That's the point. I remember what I said. If you haven't noticed, despite my ban on you, Shisui and I are doing what we must—trying to end this madness. But it's no use," Itachi said, pain in his voice.
He fell silent, and Sarada didn't know what to reply.
"I'm really sorry you ended up with us," Itachi said suddenly. "You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't have seen the baseness and fall of your clan. Whatever happens to the Uchiha in the future, I suspect why Sasuke never told you about it. If you'd continued living in ignorance—you could have been proud to be part of something great, a beautiful legend turned history. But now..."
"But... Yes, they're wrong, but why baseness? The Uchiha are still a great clan," Sarada muttered lostly.
"Don't you see, Sarada?" Itachi asked with pity, his whisper barely audible. "They're weak. Yes, many have awakened Sharingan. But they overestimate their strength too much. Pathetic, foolish, overconfident. They're tarnishing the Uchiha name."
Uncle's words sounded like a verdict. Sarada suddenly felt weakness throughout her body. She was tired of all this, and the sleepless night was taking its toll.
"And I'm weak..."
"You're just inexperienced. You have everything ahead of you because you understand your weakness and keep developing. But the Uchiha are degenerating."
She shook her head.
"We must... They need to be stopped."
"How?" Itachi asked hopelessly. "Talk to them? I tried. They don't know how to listen."
"But it can't be like this. There has to be a way. Grandfather... If we convince him, he..."
"He's as stubborn as the rest. He's for the uprising. And mom too; she supports dad in everything."
"Even grandmother?"
"Go to sleep, Sarada. It's pointless to talk about this."
"I'm scared, uncle."
He smiled sadly.
"You sound just like Izumi."
Like Izumi...
Yes, while Itachi and Shisui were doing everything to stop the uprising, she and Izumi just kept being scared. Sarada suddenly felt disgusted with herself. No matter how hard she tried to catch up to Itachi—he was still just as far away.
****
"So how is it, Shisui?"
Hiruzen gnawed on his unlit pipe.
"Bad, Sandaime."
Shisui closed his eyes and sighed. Before him in the meeting hall sat the Hokage, Danzou, and advisors Koharu and Homura.
"They'll set the uprising date at the next meeting."
"If so," Danzou said in an icy tone, "the village must take countermeasures before the Uchiha start the uprising."
"But the Uchiha are our comrades," Hiruzen objected, refilling his pipe. "If there's something we can do..."
"Too late," Danzou interrupted. "Now's the time to act. And stop smoking; you're a shinobi."
The Hokage embarrassedly set the pipe aside. Shisui watched the Council and felt everything he was fighting for inevitably collapsing into the abyss.
Danzou... I guess what you want. You want to destroy us and are looking for an excuse. You're doing nothing to help reconcile the Uchiha and the Leaf. Conflict is only to your advantage.
Shisui nervously bit his lower lip, tasting the metallic tang of blood, and felt the clan dojutsu awakening in his eyes, painting the meeting room in shades of crimson.
"Sandaime, please. Give me a chance."
"Shisui?" Hiruzen perked up. "You have a plan?"
"Yes. But I'd like to discuss it with you alone."
"Nonsense," the old woman with the high bun snorted. "You're speaking to the Council."
"The Hokage isn't authorized to decide such matters alone," Homura chimed in.
Hiruzen glanced at them, and his attentive gaze stopped on Danzou. The Hokage coughed.
"Very well, Shisui. I'll hear you out."
"Impossible," Danzou cut in. "Everything concerning the Uchiha uprising must be considered by the Council. The stakes are too high."
"I'm still the Hokage," Hiruzen exclaimed angrily. "And I'm responsible for the village's safety. Don't teach me!"
Shisui closed the door behind him. The Hokage's office was smoky. Hiruzen, taking advantage of Danzou's absence, refilled his pipe and lit it with relish. Then he formed seals and activated a barrier around the office.
"Thank you, Sandaime."
Shisui bowed.
"I wouldn't go against the Council," the Hokage said and bit into the pipe. "But the incident with little Sarada alarmed me. Danzou is playing some game against your clan. I don't like it. The Uchiha are part of the Hidden Leaf Village, and I'm obliged to protect them just like all other residents. What's your plan, Shisui?"
Shisui scanned the office, making sure no one was eavesdropping.
"Don't worry. I set up a barrier."
"I want to use my dojutsu. Kotoamatsukami."
"Genjutsu? But are you sure it'll be enough? The Uchiha will detect genjutsu."
"No, Kotoamatsukami is a Mangekyo Sharingan technique."
"Mangekyo?" The old man nearly dropped his pipe. "Shisui, you possess Mangekyo Sharingan?"
"Yes."
Hiruzen put the pipe back in his teeth and murmured thoughtfully:
"Good that you decided to discuss this with me. Danzou... No need for him to know."
"Kotoamatsukami allows me to implant my will in the target. I hope I can convince the clan to abandon the coup."
"Shisui... You'll have to live with that."
"I'm ready for it, Sandaime. It's the only way now."
"Then I give you the go-ahead. This conversation stays between us. You can rest easy."
****
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan