"That's not it!"
Itachi suddenly turned toward him, his voice louder, startling Shisui.
"Sorry..."
Realizing his outburst, Itachi calmed down.
Shisui sighed.
"Itachi... when a Uchiha gets angry, his Sharingan activates..."
He pointed out that he cared too much about his sister.
Itachi then felt his eyes burn.
Without realizing it, he had activated his Sharingan.
His scarlet pupils glowed in the night before fading away a few seconds later.
"Shisui, what I mean is... maybe Naruto isn't as simple as he seems. I don't know why, but I feel it. So, to make sure I'm not just overreacting... I'd like you to observe him. To find out what kind of person he really is."
That way, he would know if Sako could keep seeing him.
"You're a little too controlling..."
Shisui wanted to say it, but understanding Itachi's brotherly duty, he held back.
"Alright, I'll observe him for you. With these eyes..."
His pupils turned red, the three tomoe spinning before transforming into a four-pointed shuriken.
Facing his friend's Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi felt dizzy...
---
The next morning.
Konoha's gates welcomed travelers of all kinds.
These strangers, with diverse clothing, were not refugees from the Land of Fire.
Their forehead protectors revealed their home villages.
Konoha's invitation had attracted shinobi from several allied nations:
Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village)
Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village)
Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village)...
Despite the war with Kumo, Konoha was maintaining the exam to show its strength.
A warning to nations with bad intentions.
Early that morning, Naruto was proudly walking the streets.
In front of a hardware store, he pulled out two coins:
"Boss, two cans of paint, please~!"
Kyūbi: "You're drinking paint this early in the morning?!"
Unable to stop grumbling, Kyūbi didn't understand.
In truth, Naruto had just remembered that he hadn't yet carried out his "prankster feat."
Without pranks, could one truly be a hero?
The vendor, stunned, looked at the coins, then at Naruto.
"Too much? Keep the change~!"
Naruto made a grand gesture, then grabbed a can and a brush before dashing off.
By the time the vendor realized it, Naruto had already vanished...
All of it had been watched by two spies:
Yūgao, in ANBU gear, as usual, was monitoring Naruto.
But Uchiha Shisui also seemed to be observing him.
When Naruto left, Shisui immediately followed, which intrigued Kurenai.
Everyone in Konoha knew Naruto was the "Nine-Tailed Demon."
But only a few knew his true nature: "Kyūbi's Jinchūriki" and "Son of the Fourth Hokage."
Shisui, being as young as her, shouldn't know that.
She herself had only learned it after joining the ANBU.
But given Shisui's reputation, it was possible that the old Uchiha had told him the truth.
If Shunshin Shisui knew the true nature of Naruto… what could he possibly want?
Yūgao couldn't help but think back to the rumors claiming that "the Uchiha summoned the Kyūbi."
These rumors weren't just baseless speculation.
After all, that night, the ANBU members assigned to protect the Fourth Hokage's wife during childbirth had all been massacred, the couple had perished, and even Lady Biwako [wife of Sarutobi Hiruzen], who was overseeing the birth, had been killed.
No one knew the full details of that night.
But one thing was certain... Lady Biwako's and her student Hebizuru's wounds had been caused by a human hand! The autopsy report confirmed their deaths were not caused by the Kyūbi!
Afterward, even though the top officials remained silent about the case, their mistrust of the Uchiha was evident.
They had forced the clan to move to the outskirts of the village, and hidden cameras constantly monitored their every move.
In short… Konoha no longer had any trust in them.
"If Shunshin Shisui is trying to control Naruto..."
At the thought of Shisui's reputation as a genjutsu master, a chill ran down Yūgao's spine.
Click.
Suddenly, a hand rested on her shoulder.
Lost in thought, Yūgao instinctively drew a kunai and pointed it at the intruder.
But her wrist was immediately caught.
"Yūgao... you shouldn't space out during a mission..."
"Hayate?!"
Seeing her childhood friend finally back, Yūgao felt her nose sting, tears welling up in her eyes.
That smiling young man before her was the one she hadn't seen in days, the one she hadn't even been able to spend New Year's with.