Naruto: The Flame That Reshapes Fate

After returning to the Police Division, Fujika, who had cried herself tired, fell asleep in Rēn's arms. He placed his sister in the break room—Kurama Yakumo was still resting there, and the large bed was more than enough to accommodate two five-year-old girls.

As for Naruto and Sasuke, those two boys naturally weren't allowed into the break room specially prepared for the girls.

Besides, those two still had plenty of energy to burn, so they sneaked into the Police Division's training grounds to watch the officers train.

"Still alive?"

Rēn pushed open the office door and stepped inside, looking at Shisui sitting on the sofa waiting and the Kirigakure ninja thrown to the floor like a dead dog.

"Yeah, still alive."

"As long as he's not dead."

Rēn walked behind his desk and sat down in his chair. "Then let's start the interrogation, Shisui."

"Interrogation?"

Shisui was momentarily stunned, hesitating. "Rēn, I'm not really good at interrogation... Maybe we should find someone else…"

"Cut the crap, we're short on time. The ANBU will probably be here soon to take him away. Before that happens, I need to know what the Kirigakure ninja was really up to. Don't tell me you're bad at interrogation—that might fool someone else, but not me. Our clan's Sharingan is also known as the Hypnotic Eye. And don't forget, you personally told me what your Mangekyō Sharingan's ability is."

The Sharingan holds multiple capabilities—insight, duplication, and hypnosis.

Its wielder can perceive chakra flow, copy taijutsu and non-kekkei genkai ninjutsu, see through and cast genjutsu, and even use specialized illusions to hypnotize opponents and extract information. As the Sharingan evolves, it even enhances physical ability and chakra reserves to a certain extent.

Versatile and all-powerful—

That may be an exaggeration.

But there's no doubt the Sharingan is immensely powerful.

Insight Eye, Copy Eye, Hypnotic Eye—these nicknames summarize the Sharingan's versatility.

"So… what about your own eye technique, Rēn?" Shisui looked at Rēn curiously. With the state Danzō had been in, it clearly wasn't the result of an ordinary genjutsu. The only explanation was a Mangekyō Sharingan technique.

In other words—

Rēn's awakened ability was genjutsu-based too?

"Secret," Rēn answered crisply.

Though he knew he couldn't keep it secret forever, there was no need to reveal his technique in such a pointless situation. Exposing it now would only satisfy Shisui's curiosity and offer no practical gain—just increased risk.

"Alright, enough talking. Hurry up, Shisui."

Shisui helplessly scratched his head and sighed. Under pressure from the clan head and division commander, he had no choice but to hoist the Kirigakure ninja up, lift his eyelids, and project his dojutsu into him. This was the Uchiha clan's unique interrogation technique—a method that left no physical wounds and unfolded entirely within a genjutsu realm.

Rēn didn't have to wait long.

Shisui soon tossed the unconscious Kirigakure ninja back to the floor.

"What's the situation?"

Rēn asked.

"This guy… did it on purpose," Shisui said grimly. "This whole diplomatic visit was just to provoke a war between the village and Kirigakure. He planned to die here—never intended to return to the Hidden Mist. As for attacking Fujika, he just wanted to take someone down with him before he died. Turns out, he had a grudge against us Uchiha too…"

"On purpose?"

Rēn narrowed his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, the one truly in control behind the scenes in Kirigakure right now was Uchiha Obito.

Meaning—

Obito was using the Hidden Mist to stir up trouble.

The Kirigakure envoys had arrived two days ago, claiming they were there to retrieve Samehada. In front of the Third Hokage, they demanded Konoha return the sword, threatening war if their demands weren't met.

The Third Hokage had withheld a direct response.

He said he'd consider it and had the envoys settled in the embassy.

Over these two days,

many in the village were watching closely, discussing the information the envoys had revealed—that Samehada was currently in the hands of Uchiha clan head Rēn.

"Shisui, use Kotoamatsukami to alter his will."

Rēn tapped the desk with his finger and spoke slowly. "The reason the Kirigakure envoy attacked Fujika was because their spy discovered that the Third Hokage and the Uchiha clan had strained relations. The Mist planned to exploit this tension to pressure the Hokage into dealing with us…"

"Rēn?"

Shisui stared wide-eyed in shock.

"What's the problem?"

"Uhh…"

"If you're worried about chakra depletion, I've got a way to restore your Mangekyō dojutsu," Rēn said calmly. "While working on Yakumo's case, I've deepened my grasp of Yin and Yang Release. With Samehada assisting, helping you recover chakra isn't an issue."

Shisui was stunned.

Restoring Mangekyō Sharingan power… Is that really possible? No—wait. That's not the point. He didn't care about the chakra drain. For the sake of the village and the clan, he was willing to give his life.

The problem was what Rēn was asking him to do—

"To use Kotoamatsukami to alter—no, falsify—a Kirigakure ninja's will… Rēn, what exactly are you trying to…"

"I've said this more than once. Our clan and the Third Hokage are fundamentally incompatible. For peace between the village and the Uchiha, Konoha needs a new Hokage. And before that happens… the Third needs to step down."

"Of course, 'step down' is putting it nicely. The best result would be his death."

Rēn silently added in his heart. As long as the Third Hokage remained alive, he'd always be a looming threat to the Uchiha. But the Third couldn't die by Uchiha hands. No matter what shady things he'd done in secret, the fact remained: he was the chosen successor of the First and Second Hokage, and the longest-serving leader of Konoha.

No matter the crimes he committed,

those who shed the Hokage's blood would never be forgiven by the village.

Orochimaru could do it because he was alone, with nothing to lose. He didn't care about infamy, slander, or being branded a world-ending villain. As long as it didn't hinder his research, he didn't care. And even by the time of the Seventh Hokage, despite his wartime contributions, Orochimaru was still under ANBU surveillance…

Unless the Uchiha were prepared to break with the village completely, they could not shed the Hokage's blood with their own hands.

Otherwise, every future Hokage would keep a suspicious eye on them. No Hokage would trust a clan that had once assassinated a Hokage.

However—

Just because the Uchiha couldn't kill him didn't mean someone else couldn't.

It was simply borrowing someone else's blade.

"Even so… Can the Kirigakure envoy really influence the Hokage's succession?" Shisui had grown sharper; instead of saying this was shameless, he pointed out the flaw. The Third Hokage could easily deny everything, claiming it was just a ploy by the Mist to sow discord. That alone would render Rēn's efforts meaningless.

"That's why the Mist believes this plan will succeed—because they know Kumo once pulled the same thing. The Hyuga clan head's brother was killed by the Third Hokage and handed over as compensation to Kumo. So if Mist retrieves Samehada and also takes Shunshin Shisui's head… isn't that completely justified?"

Rēn wore a gentle smile as he spoke.

But to Shisui, that smile was terrifying. He instinctively reached up to touch his neck, a chill running down his spine.