"Rēn, you..."
Shisui extended a finger toward Rēn. He opened his mouth several times, trying to speak, but couldn't find the right words.
His mind was a tangled mess. The Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki had appeared in Rēn's home. That alone was a massive shock. This was the Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki! Konoha's ultimate weapon of war, and more importantly, the Third Hokage and the elder's exclusive possession.
What kind of trouble would this bring to the Uchiha clan? How would the village react...?
His thoughts were too chaotic and to untangle, his mind felt like it was about to crash.
"Don't point that finger at me. I already told you—this wasn't some scheme of mine. If anyone's plotting something, it's the Third Hokage. You're ANBU, Shisui—you know how many ANBU are always watching over the Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki. Do you really think Fujika could've just brought him back here without the Third's approval?"
"This was clearly an accident. No one expected Fujika to bring the Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki back. Most likely, the Third decided to go along with it and use this as a chance to suppress our clan again. After all, opportunities this justifiable don't come around often."
"And what about you? What do you plan to do with this situation?"
Shisui took a deep breath, regaining his composure.
"Are you trying to use the Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki for something?"
Rēn didn't answer.
The reason was simple—
Dinner was ready.
"Fujika! Dinner time!"
Rēn stood in the corridor along the edge of the house and shouted. Within seconds, Fujika and Naruto burst out from the bamboo grove—Fujika in front, Naruto behind. But when he saw Rēn standing there, Naruto clearly hesitated and slowed his steps, looking nervous.
*Why does he seem afraid of me? Is this smile not friendly enough?*
Rēn stroked his chin in self-reflection.
Still, he didn't forget to ruffle his sister's hair and spin her around like a top.
"Fujika, look at the mess you're in! What'd you do, wrestle a toad?"
"Ugh! You're the one who wrestled a toad!"
Fujika, flustered, kicked at Rēn's shin.
The siblings chased each other around the veranda, making a racket as the wooden floorboards thumped underfoot.
Then—
They were punished.
Uchiha Saoki slapped her son Rēn hard on the back, completely unimpressed with his lack of maturity. As for her daughter, who didn't act ladylike at all—she dragged her into the kitchen by the ear and gave her a good scolding. Fujika's exaggerated cries of pain were enough to scare Naruto stiff, making him tremble where he stood.
At last, the noisy household quieted down around 7:10 p.m.
After washing their hands, the siblings sat properly at the dinner table—one on each side, directly facing each other. Shisui stayed for dinner and sat next to Rēn, while Naruto remained seated beside Fujika, across from Shisui.
"Dad! Dinner looks amazing!"
Fujika's eyes sparkled at the towering pile of fried chicken on the table. Naruto quietly swallowed a gulp of drool. Kids loved fried food... well, so did adults, honestly.
"If you like it, eat as much as you want. I made plenty today. There's more if it's not enough!"
Uchiha Masashi smiled warmly.
His face bore an 80% resemblance to Rēn—or, rather, it was Rēn who inherited his father's sharp black hair and eyes, a signature of the Uchiha clan. Fujika, on the other hand, looked more like their mother, Uchiha Saoki, possibly because she was a girl.
Still, she too had black hair and eyes, not inheriting her mother's brown eyes.
"Eat up, Naruto! Dad's fried chicken is the best in all of Konoha!"
Fujika proudly invited her first—and so far, only—underling.
Life at the Ninja Academy hadn't been quite what she expected.
Her dream of recruiting a gang and ruling the school was crushed early. Besides Naruto, she hadn't managed to gather a single other follower. For some reason, everyone avoided her and Naruto, keeping their distance. Only Sasuke, someone she already knew, wasn't afraid of her.
But she didn't really like that clingy guy who was always going "Onii-san this, Onii-san that." Brothers were annoying. And she didn't understand why all the girls in class kept flocking around Sasuke, chirping like a bunch of hens.
Luckily, Naruto wasn't like the others—he didn't avoid her.
So—
Fujika personally invited Naruto to her home.
Even shared her beloved fried chicken!
"...Thanks."
Naruto hunched his shoulders, cautiously picked up his chopsticks, and glanced diagonally across the table at Rēn. Rēn grew more and more curious.
*Am I really that scary? Why does this kid look so afraid of me? Is it some kind of protagonist instinct—can he sense I plan to use him?*
"It's delicious!"
Naruto was amazed by the taste of the fried chicken. His sapphire-like eyes lit up with joy.
"Dad's fried chicken is number one in Konoha!"
Fujika raised her chin proudly.
Uchiha Masashi was pleased. He wasn't a ninja, and didn't know the deeper matters of the clan or the village. As a novelist, he simply assumed this blond-haired, blue-eyed boy was a new friend his daughter had made at the Academy. He had no idea the child in front of him was the Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki.
Dinner was full of laughter—
Mostly because Rēn and Fujika wouldn't stop horsing around.
Even after being scolded earlier, they kept goofing off: clashing chopsticks above the table, dueling legs below it.
..................
.......
.
After dinner:
Rēn and Shisui sat down along the outer corridor to digest their meal. Overhead, the night sky was filled with stars.
"Did you see it?"
"See what?"
Shisui looked up at the stars, puzzled.
"I'm not talking about the stars." Rēn rolled his eyes. "I mean the Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki. That kid... didn't you notice anything off?"
"...No?"
Shisui thought hard but came up empty.
"That kid... he's had a rough life. He's the same age as Fujika, but clearly shorter and malnourished. And all it took was a piece of fried chicken for him to act like he'd never tasted real food.... Don't you think it's strange that Konoha's Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki is living like that?"
Shisui frowned. "What are you trying to say?"
"Don't tell me you really don't know who that kid is," Rēn's tone was flat. "He's the Fourth Hokage's orphan. Technically, the Third's grandstudent in all but name. A child born from sacrifice, left behind by the very people his father died protecting."
"He should've been treated like a symbol. Raised among the elites. But instead, he's treated like a threat. Feared by the villagers. He's grown up eating scraps. Even with Uzumaki blood, he's small and undernourished."
He let that sink in for a moment, then continued.
"Strange, isn't it? That the village would go out of its way to keep his parentage hidden. That the Hokage—his guardian, legally speaking—would allow this to happen."
Rēn's gaze stayed steady.
"Or maybe it's not strange at all. Maybe it's just efficient. A lonely, hungry child learns to obey. He doesn't ask questions. He becomes whatever the village wants him to be."
Then, almost as an afterthought: "If that's how they treat the Fourth's son… what do you think they're preparing for the rest of us?"
Rēn wasn't holding back anymore—he criticized the Third Hokage to Shisui's face.
Shisui stayed silent.
This....
He had no words.
It wasn't like he didn't know—he just chose to ignore it, to turn a blind eye. Like all the other perspective people in the village who pretended not to notice. Uzumaki Naruto's true identity wasn't a secret to anyone familiar with the Fourth. Did they all suddenly forget who he was?
Of course not.
They just chose to act blind.
Some may curse the Third Hokage in their hearts, but that's as far as it goes. No one dares voice their objections.
"If even the hero's child is forced to live like that, do you really think the Third Hokage will ever accept the Uchiha?" Rēn pressed while the iron was hot.
"Rēn, the Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki is...is different. You can't lump this all together..."
Shisui's rebuttal sounded weak, even to himself. He didn't know how to justify the Third's actions.
"What's so different? The Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki has immense strategic value. The Third's likely playing the long game—making sure he's seen as the only one who ever showed kindness, so when the boy chooses a side, he knows exactly where to stand. It's the same logic he uses against us: isolate the threat, offer controlled goodwill, and claim the moral high ground. The approach stays the same. Only the target changes."
Rēn continued his verbal assault, throwing every bit of dirt he could on the Third.
And honestly, it couldn't really be considered as dirt. The discrimination and cold treatment Naruto had endured were undeniable facts.
"Think carefully, Shisui. You might respect the so-called God of Shinobi, but I honestly can't stand that old man. If only he had died instead of the Fourth!"
Rēn's sigh hit Shisui like a stone dropping into a still lake, stirring his emotions.
"Rēn, you... sure can talk."
Shisui gave a bitter smile.
He knew Rēn exaggerated, but even if you removed the slander, the remaining facts still left a bitter taste.
But it was the truth....If the Fourth's son lived like this, why would the Third ever accept the Uchiha?
"It's not that I am being glib Shisui, it's that the Third actually does these things. Even if I screamed it to the heavens, what would it change?
Shisui, I know you're not the type to be swayed by words. Deep down, you already knew these things too. You've just been pretending not to, because you can't see any other way forward."
Rēn looked at Shisui's pale face, and suddenly felt a bit proud of himself.
*Did I unknowingly master the strongest jutsu in the shinobi world... Talk no Jutsu?*
Sigh.. sometimes you had to be the one to make yourself laugh. In a world like this, no one else would bother.
Still—
Everything he said came from the heart.....Mostly. A well-placed truth was more effective than any elaborately crafted lie.
"I'm not asking you to decide right now. Take a few days to look around, feel what the clan feels. Then... give me your answer. For now, I'm going to take the kid home."
Rēn stood up.
There was no way Naruto could stay overnight in the Uchiha compound. If he did... the Third Hokage and the higher-ups would probably storm the place that same night.
"I'll go with you—"
"No need. My idiot little sister brought this trouble home. I'll clean it up myself. Besides, I'm just walking a kid home. You think they'd kill me over that?"
"Of course not."
Shisui laughed in spite of himself.
No matter how bad things got between the village and the clan, it wasn't like they'd go to war over something like this.
Right?