Hearing Uchiha Shisui's words, Uchiha Yuan's expression turned a little strange. At this point in time, the child Shisui had met must have been Uchiha Itachi.
In Uchiha Yuan's view, Uchiha Itachi was pretty much a madman—who else but a lunatic would raise their blade against the very parents and clan who raised them?
If it were Yuan, no matter what happened, he would never make that choice.
Someone who could slay his kin and family—what could he be if not a madman?
That alone made Yuan uninterested in analyzing Itachi's mindset or motivations. There was no need.
That being said, the one who slaughtered the entire clan was the future Itachi—not the current one. For now, Uchiha Itachi was still just a child.
Moreover, much of Itachi's future ideology was influenced by Shisui.
But Shisui was already different from his original self. With Uchiha Yuan having instilled different teachings into him from a young age, Shisui now saw the village and the clan from a completely new perspective—and he had Yuan himself to guide him.
This Shisui had a clear goal and a mindset far more advanced than the one in the original timeline.
Such a Shisui should be able to lead Uchiha Itachi down the right path.
And if Itachi remained stubborn and unyielding, Uchiha Yuan didn't mind killing him early.
With that in mind, Yuan turned to Shisui and asked, "Shisui, the kid you mentioned—was it Uchiha Itachi, the clan leader's son?"
"Yuan-senpai, you know Itachi?"
"Wouldn't say I know him—just seen him a few times."
"What do you think of him? Does he seem talented?" Shisui asked.
"I haven't interacted with him much, so I can't say for sure. But from what I remember, he's a bit too mature for his age.
His father brought him to the battlefield at the end of the Third Shinobi War, making him witness war's brutality far too early. That twisted his heart a little.
Shisui, if you have time, talk to him more—see if you can correct some of his thoughts."
"Understood, Yuan-senpai."
"Good. If there's nothing else, go report to the Hokage now."
Shisui nodded and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.
After seeing Shisui off, Uchiha Yuan stood up and stretched, then made his way toward Uchiha Yuu's residence.
Thanks to Yuan's recent maneuvers, the Hawk faction's position within the clan had grown increasingly weak. Many former Hawk members had begun supporting Yuan, leaving Uchiha Yuu and Uchiha Chizan anxious—but with no effective countermeasures.
As it happened, the two were currently discussing how to deal with Yuan when one of their subordinates came in and reported that Yuan was outside, asking to see the Elder.
Uchiha Yuu and Uchiha Chizan exchanged glances, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.
"Chizan, what do you think Yuan wants?" Yuu asked.
"I'm not sure. But since he has the full support of the Dove faction now, we can't ignore his visit."
"Then let him in."
With Yuu's approval, someone led Uchiha Yuan into the room.
As soon as the three met, Yuu and Chizan's expressions turned stern, while Yuan remained as calm and unbothered as ever.
"Uchiha Yuan, what do you want from this old man?" Uchiha Yuu asked bluntly.
"Elder Yuu, I have four ANBU slots in my hand. Interested?" Yuan countered.
"ANBU slots? How do you have those?" Elder Yuu asked in shock.
"How I got them doesn't matter. What matters is that I can get four Hawk faction members into ANBU. The question is: do you want the offer?"
"Of course we want them! Absolutely!" Yuu responded without hesitation.
Ever since the Second Hokage's reign, the Uchiha had been slowly pushed out of Konoha's core political structures. Not a single Uchiha had entered the ANBU—a symbol of Hokage power.
Now that such a rare opportunity had appeared, there was no way Yuu would turn it down.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Yuan, name your price," said Uchiha Chizan.
"My condition is simple. I want the Hawk faction to stand with me—help me take the position of clan head."
Both Yuu and Chizan were visibly shocked.
They hadn't expected Yuan to be aiming for the position of Uchiha clan leader.
"Yuan, your ambition runs deep! But do you really think you can just take down Uchiha Fugaku? He's not an easy man to displace," said Yuu.
"You're right. Fugaku has considerable prestige in the clan. Even if you have the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, you won't be able to unseat him easily.
And aren't you worried we'll go straight to Fugaku and tell him your intentions?" Chizan challenged.
"To be honest, I'm really not worried. And I think you've misunderstood—I don't expect the Hawk faction to help me fight Fugaku.
All I need is for you to stand on my side at a critical moment. If I can't create that moment, then consider the four ANBU spots a free gift. How about it?"
Yuu and Chizan exchanged another glance.
"We can agree to your condition," they said, "but we want to confirm one thing: if you become the Uchiha clan head, will you further suppress the Hawk faction?"
"Elder Yuu, anyone with a brain would say no—and so do I.
But I'm not lying to you. When I become clan head, I'll be making major moves. At that time, your Hawk members won't need to worry about internal politics—they'll be too busy carrying out missions.
Your perspective is too narrow, Elder. You've always been stuck thinking only within the confines of Konoha, not realizing how vast the world outside is.
Just think about the sheer resources in the Land of Fire—that alone dwarfs what Konoha can offer."
Uchiha Chizan's eyes lit up after hearing that. Yuan's vision aligned closely with his own. He gave Yuan a deep look and said, "Elder Yuu, we actually don't have much choice right now. And those ANBU slots are crucial."
Yuu remained silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Excellent. Then our deal is made. One last thing—I don't want Uchiha Setsuna on the ANBU roster. If he's on it, the deal's off."
With that, Uchiha Yuan's figure vanished from the room.
(To Be Continued...)