In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had quietly passed.
For Yuhara, this half month had been busy but also incredibly productive. He'd made major gains during that time.
As he became more familiar with the Mangekyō, his physical abilities and chakra reserves had both grown.
Although, as before, his chakra development was still outpacing his physical growth by quite a bit.
Still, Yuhara was very satisfied with his progress. The same couldn't be said for the sparring partners the clan had provided—those guys were miserable.
After all, Yuhara's baseline was Mangekyō-level combat. Even when he held back and trained using only his three-tomoe Sharingan, the pressure was intense.
The key issue was that none of them dared go all out. Knowing he had the Mangekyō made them instinctively hesitant.
Thankfully, their suffering was finally nearing its end. Both they and Yuhara knew that further training like this wouldn't be very effective.
What Yuhara needed now was consolidation. He'd learned too much in just over half a month, and a lot had happened, too.
For example—Shisui. That guy had officially become a free agent.
"So, you've already submitted your resignation and left the ANBU?"
At a corner booth in a dango shop, Yuhara looked at Shisui, whose face was a bit downcast but filled with conviction.
Shisui had come to report the recent developments and to let Yuhara know that he'd left ANBU.
"Yeah, I've submitted it. And it's been approved."
Shisui rubbed his temples and glanced at the soundproofing seal that was already in place before speaking again.
"Honestly, it's for the best. ANBU work is too intense, and it's not the right environment for me right now. Besides, they've stopped giving me missions anyway."
Yuhara nodded. That ANBU had stopped assigning missions to Shisui made perfect sense. Itachi had already spoken to the Hokage, so Shisui falling out of favor was inevitable.
If that was the case, there was no reason to stay. Leaving was the best decision. Otherwise, Konoha wouldn't have approved it so quickly.
ANBU had access to highly sensitive intel—releasing someone so easily said a lot. Still, Shisui would probably be watched closely now.
Or maybe... no one was watching him at all. Maybe Hiruzen and the others didn't even care what intel he had?
The thought made Yuhara a bit annoyed. Nothing about the Uchiha was ever simple.
Regardless of what Itachi or Hiruzen were up to, Yuhara knew one thing—he needed to stay cautious, controlled, and hyper-aware.
The Hokage would never—could never—issue a clan extermination order. Hiruzen was too calculating to do that.
That meant the only one who could was Danzo. And the only people who would carry it out were Root shinobi... and Uchiha Itachi. Maybe even Uchiha Obito.
That was one reason Yuhara kept such a close eye on Itachi. As long as he watched him and had all precautions in place, he could prevent any sneak attacks.
If they didn't move first, then he could hold the current situation. That was what he needed right now.
"Anyway, let's not dwell on that. How's Itachi been lately? And our good ol' clan head Fugaku?"
Yuhara tapped the table and asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
He already had some info, but he wanted to hear it directly from Shisui.
"Itachi's been spending all his time with Sasuke. No missions, no intel gathering. On the surface he's acting normal, but it's strange."
Just mentioning Itachi made Shisui sigh. The guy's behavior was odd.
Spending all his time with his little brother, ignoring everything else—it felt like he was trying to make up for time lost. Like a goodbye.
"As for Clan Head Fugaku—he's locked himself in completely. Other than Lady Mikoto bringing meals to the door, he sees no one.
Even Mikoto just leaves the food at the door. She doesn't actually see him."
Yuhara scratched his head. Great. Neither father nor son was acting even remotely normal.
Itachi didn't support Yuhara's ideals, and Fugaku was supposed to be preparing for his final battle to retain the clan head position.
But one was busy doting on his little brother, and the other was in full shut-in mode—not even trying to change the situation.
Figures. Like father, like son. Of course, maybe they'd already made preparations no one knew about.
Yuhara shook his head. He wasn't going to waste time worrying about those two—thinking too hard about them just gave him a headache.
"Alright. But let the clan know—we need to stay alert. And we need to update our sentry system. Quietly. Don't let anyone know."
Yuhara paused for a moment before giving the order.
"Change the sentries too?" Shisui blinked. "What are you worried about? You think the village will...?"
"The Hokage won't. He'd never give such an order. But we can't be careless. Don't forget—I already got ambushed once."
Yuhara didn't sugarcoat it. He spoke plainly.
"So we need to stay prepared. Treat it as a routine rotation if that makes it easier to swallow."
Shisui nodded. He still remembered that ambush vividly. He was certain it was Danzo's doing—but there was no proof.
"Got it. I'll bring it up with the elders and get it done ASAP."
"Thanks, Shisui."
Yuhara smiled, but there was one thing he'd hesitated to say this whole time.
He'd been thinking about having Shisui keep tabs on Naruto's daily routine.
After all, Naruto had the Nine-Tails sealed inside him. That was a trump card of massive power.
Yuhara didn't know how to control the beast—but if push came to shove, taking Naruto hostage would be a huge bargaining chip.
The only problem: that move would burn every bridge. The political fallout would be enormous.
That's what made Yuhara hesitate. Shisui might not be able to accept something like that.
After thinking it over, he gave up on the idea—for now.
Things hadn't reached that point yet. He was just doing his usual risk assessment, considering worst-case scenarios.
But in the end, he knew the truth: some things, you could only rely on yourself for.
Only by becoming truly powerful could he crush every threat before it had a chance to grow.
(End of Chapter)