"Thousand Nights wants to challenge the Patriarch? He's insane!"
"I could understand if it were Shisui making the challenge but Thousand Nights? He doesn't even have half of Shisui's talent!"
"If he truly had the talent of Shisui of the Body Flicker, he wouldn't still be serving as a subordinate today."
"I don't know what's gotten into him."
"..."
The meeting hall fell into stunned silence before a wave of disbelief swept through the crowd.
"Has Qianye lost his mind? A subordinate actually daring to challenge the Patriarch himself?"
"This isn't bravery, it's madness!"
But Qianye, expression calm and eyes unwavering, ignored their whispers. After Fugaku Uchiha's deep voice gave his consent, he bowed slightly, turned, and walked away without another word.
The challenge was set for tomorrow.
"Qianye!"
Not long after leaving the clan assembly hall, a familiar voice called from behind.
Uchiha Tetsuhō Iron Fire Qianye's longtime comrade and loyal friend, caught up with him. His face was filled with frustration and worry.
"You're crazy. What are you thinking, challenging the Patriarch?!"
He couldn't comprehend Qianye's decision.
The head of the Uchiha wasn't merely the clan's leader he was the very embodiment of their pride and authority. To challenge Fugaku was to challenge the honor of the Uchiha name itself.
If the challenge succeeded, it would shake the entire clan. But if it failed…
It wouldn't just bring ridicule, it could mean exile, or worse, the complete loss of standing within the clan.
Qianye's gaze hardened. "I can't explain everything right now, Iron Fire. Just remember everything I'm doing… is for the sake of the Uchiha."
His tone carried a weight that made Iron Fire's heart tighten.
Compared to the consequences of failure, what Qianye truly feared was the tragic fate he'd seen approaching the destruction of the Uchiha clan itself.
"You…" Iron Fire clenched his fists, seeing the unshakable resolve in his friend's eyes.
After a long pause, he exhaled and placed a firm hand on Qianye's shoulder. "I understand. If this is for the clan, then I'll support you. Just say the word if you need me."
Qianye nodded firmly. "Good."
...
Evening.
The crimson sun dipped beyond the horizon, staining the Uchiha compound in shades of dying flame.
Uchiha Itachi, having just returned from an ANBU mission, walked along the quiet stone path that led home. The long shadow behind him stretched endlessly under the fading light.
The atmosphere within the clan had grown heavier each day. Because of his frequent absences from clan meetings and his visible loyalty to the Hokage many clansmen now regarded him with suspicion and cold hostility.
If not for his reputation as the clan's prodigy and Fugaku's own son, that "dissatisfaction" might have already turned into open violence.
As Itachi passed, the clansmen on both sides of the street glared, whispering under their breath.
But Itachi continued walking in silence, his expression calm, unreadable.
Then, amid the murmurs, fragments of a conversation reached his sharp ears.
"Did you hear? Uchiha Qianye is going to challenge the Patriarch! The duel's set for tomorrow!"
"You're kidding! Isn't that guy just a Chūnin?"
"It's true! I was there at the meeting myself!"
"Hah, that's ridiculous! Challenging the Patriarch as a Chūnin? He's asking for humiliation!"
"..."
Itachi's brows furrowed slightly.
With a flicker of motion, his figure vanished from the street and reappeared silently atop a nearby rooftop. The sun had already fallen, and the last traces of light were devoured by the darkness just like the Uchiha's uncertain future.
He looked ahead. The faint glow of a household caught his eye.
It was the home of Shisui Uchiha.
For Itachi, Shisui wasn't merely a comrade he was mentor, brother, and closest friend. The one who once believed the clan could change from within.
But now, that home was silent. Empty.
Itachi's eyes lowered, the faint tomoe of his Sharingan reflecting the night's sorrow.
"Shisui… if only you were still here."
He thought of Shisui's words before his death about protecting the village, and finding peace before hatred consumed them all.
Now, another Uchiha, Thousand Nights, was about to stand before the Patriarch.
And once again, the clan was about to be shaken by conflict born of pride, fear, and destiny.
Shisui was gone.
"If Shisui were still here… he would have shared the burden I'm carrying now."
Uchiha Itachi's eyes softened with a trace of sorrow. The faint light from the paper lantern flickered across his face, illuminating the quiet ache that never faded.
He exhaled slowly and turned his gaze toward the small house across the courtyard.
That was where Chiya Shisui's younger brother.lived.
Perhaps it was guilt, or perhaps the lingering bond with Shisui, but Itachi always kept an eye on the boy.
After all, ever since Shisui's body was found in the Naka River, many in the clan whispered that Itachi had something to do with it. Only he knew the truth that Shisui had entrusted him with his final hope before leaping into the river to protect the village and the Uchiha name.
And now, Shisui's younger brother was about to challenge the clan head himself.
"Why, Chiya…" Itachi murmured, stepping lightly across the tiled roof. "What are you planning? Do you have something up your sleeve? Perhaps…"
A thought flashed through his mind.
"Could Shisui's death have awakened your Sharingan?"
If that were true, then perhaps, somewhere beyond this world, Shisui's spirit would smile proudly at his brother's awakening.
But when Itachi quietly peered through the slightly open window, his expression froze.
Inside, Chiya sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, scratching his head in frustration as he stared at a training scroll.
On the scroll's cover, written in bold black ink, were the words Fire Release Ninjutsu: Basic Techniques (Academy Edition).
"Still not working…!" Chiya groaned, his hair sticking up in all directions. "No matter how hard I practice, I can't get the hand signs right in time! Ugh… I guess it's too late to cram before a duel."
Uchiha Itachi: "..."
For a long moment, a single vein pulsed on his temple.
So this was the challenger to his father, the feared Fugaku Uchiha the man known as "Wicked-Eye Fugaku" during the Third Great Ninja War?
This boy hadn't even mastered the Great Fireball Technique, the most basic rite of passage for every Uchiha child!
Itachi sighed and turned away silently, vanishing into the night with a flicker of his cloak.
Inside the dimly lit room, Chiya tossed the scroll aside and sprawled flat on the tatami floor. His eyes drifted toward the ceiling, dull and unfocused.
"It's hopeless… I don't even have an edge in ninjutsu."
But the truth was, it wasn't just ninjutsu.
In genjutsu, he was hopelessly outclassed.
In taijutsu, he was a novice at best.
His chakra reserves were shallow compared to the Patriarch's.
Even if, by some miracle, his strength soared overnight to match Fugaku's level he still wouldn't win.
Because the true difference between them wasn't just power. It was battlefield experience.
Fugaku Uchiha had earned his name during the Third Great Ninja War, where he commanded entire platoons and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, his leadership and precision feared by both Iwa and Kiri shinobi alike.
Chiya, on the other hand, was just a rookie who hadn't even seen real blood.
How could he possibly compare?
So in truth, it wasn't only the clan waiting to see a spectacle Chiya himself knew the outcome too.
But even so…
He never planned to win by strength alone.
—