Chapter 133: You Can Keep A Secret, Right, Itachi?
As Uchiha Hikari and Shura’s figures completely vanished into the vast night, Fugaku’s courtyard returned to calm.
It was as if these two mysterious strong practitioners had never appeared, leaving only Fugaku with his heart in utter disarray, and a silent mansion.
Fugaku’s body swayed, and he ultimately couldn’t steady himself, collapsing powerlessly back onto the living room floor.
He stared blankly in the direction where the two had disappeared, his mind repeatedly echoing with Uchiha Hikari’s words “Uchiha Hikari” and her final statement.
Uchiha Hikari… This name sounded so unfamiliar. He pondered the clan ancient texts he had seen in his memories and the conversations with elders, yet he couldn’t recall ever hearing this name.
Mikoto saw the two finally leave, then hurriedly stepped forward, carefully supporting Fugaku, feeling his trembling body and that unprecedented despondency and powerlessness.
“Fugaku… are you alright?” Mikoto asked softly, her voice filled with concern.
Fugaku didn’t answer, merely waving his hand tiredly to indicate he was fine.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm the intense turmoil in his heart.
The immense strength Uchiha Hikari had displayed, along with her words about the Uchiha Clan’s “predestined ending,” and that vague hint about the Nine-Tails Attack, weighed on his heart like massive boulders.
“Take away the remaining Uchiha clansmen… What did she mean? Could it be… could she really achieve what even Uchiha Madara couldn’t?”
“And the true culprit behind the Nine-Tails Attack… What exactly is going on behind this…” Fugaku felt an unprecedented confusion and bewilderment.
He had once thought himself the helmsman of the Uchiha, able to control the family’s fate, but now it seemed he couldn’t even touch the truth.
From Uchiha Hikari’s words, he could easily deduce that, aside from Uchiha Hikari, there was at least one more Mangekyo Sharingan Uchiha outside Konohagakure!
And this mysterious Uchiha lurking in the shadows had orchestrated the Nine-Tails Attack, clearly harboring great malice toward the village…
Uchiha Fugaku suddenly recalled Shura’s words: “The Uchiha Clan, once the most powerful clan in the ninja world, has now fallen to being suspected by the village and torn apart by internal contradictions. This is all because of you incompetent clan heads, lacking true foresight and sufficient courage.”
Only now did he understand that the other had already seen through the Uchiha Clan’s current situation and its contradictions with the village completely clearly.
Shura calling him “incompetent” was not mockery, but stating a fact Fugaku was unwilling to accept!
Once, to mend the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village, he had led clansmen to participate in the Third Great Ninja War, even being assigned to the eastern front battlefield against Kirigakure ninjas.
Forced to face the Hiding in Mist Technique that somewhat restricted their Sharingan.
Fugaku had even brought his own children to the battlefield.
After the Third Great Ninja War, Fugaku had bet on Minato Namikaze, and it had indeed been the right choice.
After Minato Namikaze was selected as the Fourth Hokage, the Uchiha Clan transformed into the Hokage’s staunch supporters, and relations with the village gradually improved.
Until the Nine-Tails Attack occurred.
The Fourth Hokage couple died in battle, the Sharingan pattern in the Nine-Tails’ eyes was seen by many Konoha ninjas, and the Uchiha Clan was ostracized and isolated, even forced to relocate their clan territory to the outskirts.
“Mikoto, take Sasuke to bed.” Fugaku instructed in a hoarse voice, his tone carrying a trace of exhaustion and despair.
“What happened tonight… don’t tell anyone, including Itachi Uchiha.”
Mikoto nodded gently. She knew Fugaku’s mood at this moment must be weighed down to the extreme.
She helped Fugaku sit on the sofa, then silently turned, picked up the still somewhat oblivious Sasuke Uchiha, and returned to the room.
Fugaku leaned against the sofa back, staring vacantly at the courtyard outside.
His mind repeatedly echoed Uchiha Hikari’s earlier words—
“She will take away the remaining Uchiha clansmen, leaving this decaying Konoha…”
This thought wrapped around his heart like a curse.
Should he report everything that happened tonight, along with Uchiha Hikari’s prophecy, to the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi?
But if he did report it, how would the Konoha High Council react?
Would it be tighter surveillance of the Uchiha, or deeper suspicion toward the Uchiha Clan?
And if he didn’t report it, what would the consequences be?
His indecisive nature plunged Fugaku into unprecedented entanglement and pain.
The night seemed to grow even deeper.
The next morning.
The first ray of sunlight slanted through the windows of the clan head mansion, sprinkling on the living room floor, dispelling some of the night’s chill, yet unable to dispel the heavy haze in Uchiha Fugaku’s heart.
He remained in the position of having collapsed onto the sofa the night before, his eyes bloodshot, with family scrolls scattered on the tea table in front of him, silently recounting his night of suffering.
The air was filled with a faint aura of melancholy.
“Uchiha Hikari… Uchiha Hikari…” This name echoed repeatedly in Fugaku’s mind.
But even after searching through the few remaining ancient texts at home, he found no clues. Should he go to the Naka River Shrine to investigate those stone tablets?
Uchiha Fugaku had once thought that as clan head, he bore the mission of protecting the family, enduring humiliation to strive for a chance of survival for the clansmen.
He had carefully maintained relations with the village, even recommending his eldest son Itachi Uchiha to enter Anbu as a bridge for communication and negotiation.
However, the appearance of Uchiha Hikari and Shura was like a wake-up call, shattering all his efforts and hopes.
The entire Uchiha Clan seemed to be secretly manipulated and guided by a force that was invisible, intangible, and even undetectable in its existence.
“The true culprit of the Nine-Tails Attack… deliberately guiding the rift between the Uchiha Clan and the village…”
Fugaku’s thoughts were in chaos, and he felt an unprecedented powerlessness.
If Uchiha Hikari’s words were true, then everything he had believed in and persisted with had been mere illusion.
He recalled the Yukigakure Clan and Kaguya Clan that were exterminated in Kirigakure.
It was said the Yukigakure Clan had plotted rebellion and was suppressed and slaughtered by the Fourth Mizukage’s forces.
As for the Kaguya Clan, they had initiated a rebellion, causing great harm to Kirigakure, and were ultimately jointly suppressed and slaughtered by the Mizukage faction, various ninja clans, and civilian ninjas in Kirigakure!
Now, there were many radical rebellion voices within the Uchiha Clan. If he couldn’t suppress the internal rebellion…
Light clinks of bowls and dishes came from the kitchen; that was Mikoto preparing breakfast.
Soon, the enticing aroma of miso soup and grilled fish wafted out, bringing a touch of everyday warmth.
However, this warmth couldn’t reach Fugaku’s cold heart.
The front door was gently pushed open, and a calm figure entered—it was Itachi Uchiha, who had just returned from a mission.
He wore the Anbu uniform, without a mask, but exuded a faint chilling aura.
“You came back just in time. Prepare to eat breakfast.” Fugaku looked at his eldest son’s somewhat weary face, a complex emotion surging in his heart.
He felt both proud of Itachi Uchiha and heartbroken for the burdens he bore.
“Father, Mother.” Itachi Uchiha walked into the living room, habitually scanning the room. Though he hadn’t activated his Sharingan, he had already taken in the bloodshot eyes in Fugaku’s gaze and the trace of worry on Mikoto’s face.
He knew something must have happened at home, but he didn’t ask immediately, greeting his parents first.
“Mm.” Fugaku crossed his arms, nodding steadily.
“Brother! Come play!” Four-year-old Sasuke Uchiha ran into the living room with his short legs, pattering along.
Seeing his younger brother, a smile squeezed onto Itachi Uchiha’s weary face as he gently picked up Sasuke Uchiha who pounced toward him.
“Time to eat.” Mikoto placed breakfast on the dining table, saying to the two children.
“Yes, Mother.” Itachi Uchiha carried Sasuke Uchiha toward the dining table.
Sasuke Uchiha hugged Itachi Uchiha’s neck, his voice soft and full of dependence, saying in a childish tone: “Brother, two very strange people came to our house last night! One was very pretty, with Sharingan like us, and the other… wore a fox mask, so weird.”
Itachi Uchiha’s originally gentle eyes sharpened instantly, his arms around Sasuke Uchiha tightening slightly.
Deep in those eyes, the two-tomoe Sharingan flashed briefly, then quickly faded.
A very pretty Uchiha clansman? And a mysterious person wearing a fox mask…
Itachi Uchiha looked toward his father in the living room.
Though Sasuke Uchiha’s voice was small, it reached Fugaku’s ears.
Facing his eldest son’s gaze, Fugaku sighed deeply, his expression complex and heavy: “It was Shura, and the strong practitioner Shisui encountered in the Land of Stars. She calls herself Uchiha Hikari.”
“Shura and… Uchiha Hikari?! They came to our house?!” Itachi Uchiha’s heart surged with shock.
As Anbu, he had been monitoring the Uchiha Clan all night, yet these two figures deemed major threats by the village high-level officials had infiltrated the clan head mansion undetected!
Moreover, it seemed Shura hadn’t attacked the Uchiha like he had the Hyuga Clan.
But how did these two mysterious enemies come together? Was Shura the mastermind behind the Hoshigakure rebellion?
That girl called Uchiha Hikari, who had taken Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan, now visiting—what was her purpose?
Countless possible guesses flashed through Itachi Uchiha’s mind.
“Itachi Uchiha, what happened last night… is very complicated. Those two have immeasurable strength, especially the one calling herself Uchiha Hikari… her eye power far surpasses mine.” Fugaku paused, his tone turning earnest and low.
“For now, don’t report this to the village, and don’t let others in the clan know. The village already suspects the Uchiha Clan; if they learn of an unknown Uchiha strong practitioner appearing, it will only deepen their suspicion, perhaps leading to even more unpredictable consequences.”
“I need time to figure out their backgrounds. Before I investigate Shura and Uchiha Hikari’s identities clearly, keep it confidential.”
He stared at Itachi Uchiha, his eyes filled with the clan head’s helplessness and a father’s expectation: “Itachi Uchiha, you’re in Anbu now; you must understand the balance of pros and cons.”
“I hope you can understand my difficulties. Hiding this is to buy some buffer time for the Uchiha Clan and the village. If mishandled, it could lead to the fate of the Kaguya Clan.”
Itachi Uchiha held Sasuke Uchiha, falling silent.
He knew some about the Kaguya Clan in Kirigakure, who had been suppressed and exterminated for initiating rebellion, as the clan head’s son.
Looking at Sasuke Uchiha’s innocent face and Fugaku’s weary, earnest gaze, intense struggle raged in his heart.
On one side was familial blood ties, his father’s plea, and worry for the clan’s future; on the other was loyalty to the village, his duty as an Anbu ninja, and the mission to maintain Konoha’s peace and stability.
He deeply understood his father’s concerns and the “good intentions” behind the concealment.
“Yes, Father.” Itachi Uchiha suppressed his inner unease and pretended to agree.
Seeing this, Fugaku nodded and called his wife and children to eat breakfast.
Steam rose from the miso soup on the breakfast table, Sasuke Uchiha’s laughter echoing in the dining room.
Itachi Uchiha mechanically chewed his rice ball, the grains turning to tasteless crumbs in his mouth, his peripheral vision catching his father’s forcibly composed profile.
He knew all too well that those two visitors’ strength and identities were no small matter. If concealed, once things spiraled out of control, the consequences would be unimaginable!
After breakfast, Fugaku changed into his jonin vest and left for the Konoha Military Police Force to start the day’s work, under his wife and children’s watch.
After Fugaku left, Mikoto handled housework, playing games with Sasuke Uchiha to not disturb Itachi Uchiha’s rest.
But shortly after Fugaku departed, Itachi Uchiha in his bedroom formed hand seals to create a shadow clone to stay home and sleep.
His true body opened the window, leaped out, and turned into a gust of wind, heading toward his close friend’s residence.
The somewhat confused Itachi Uchiha wanted to hear his close friend’s opinion.
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