Having his inner thoughts exposed directly, Shisui instead felt as if he had let out a sigh of relief.
"---Yes, Senpai. How do you manage to remain so composed? It's my first time facing so many clansmen from the Village---"
He tried hard to recall the instructions of Clan Head Fugaku; those words were logically clear and airtight, but they couldn't provide him with much peace of mind.
He was terrified of making even the slightest mistake in public, as the consequences would not only affect his personal face but also involve the fragile bond of trust that had been so difficult to establish.
"Nervous?" Takuno curled the corner of his mouth and let out a short, low laugh. "That's a perfectly normal reaction. Whose first time wasn't like this?"
"Senpai, were you... nervous during your first time too?" Shisui couldn't help but ask.
In his impression, even when the medical tents were piled high with wounded and the cries were deafening, Takuno's hands, which manipulated the techniques, were always as steady as a rock.
"The first time, huh..." Takuno seemed to fall into memory.
If speaking of this life, nervous? That was already a foreign emotion. As for the distant past, with his temperament, it seemed he had never let panic take the upper hand.
So he gave an honest answer: "No."
"Ah?!" This unexpected frankness left Shisui stunned for a moment.
He had thought he would receive a conventional word of comfort, but he hadn't expected such an answer.
"That's the truth, there's no point in lying to you. However," Takuno's tone shifted, a hint of pure distaste appearing on his face, "although I wasn't nervous, I really dislike speaking on such occasions. It's tedious and boring, full of platitudes, a pure waste of time. Wouldn't it be better to spend that time sleeping at home?"
This undisguised complaint made Shisui burst into laughter, and his tense nerves relaxed for a moment.
A sincere sentiment showed in his eyes: "If only everyone in the Village... could think like you, Takuno-senpai."
He could truly feel that Takuno looked at everyone with the same pure gaze, without the scrutiny and prejudice that outsiders usually carried with the 'Uchiha' label.
Hearing this, Takuno glanced at the boy calmly.
Like him? A person who would calculate everything and stop at nothing to become stronger? Such a Village would probably be completely beyond saving.
This thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't say it. Instead, he chose gentle encouragement: "Alright, don't think too much. The Fourth Hokage's vision is different from the past; he has no grudge against the Uchiha Clan. And now with you as a bridge acting as a link in the middle," He emphasized the word "link," "I believe the relationship between the Village and the Uchiha will definitely become more and more harmonious."
These words were like a warm current flowing into his heart, giving Shisui a sense of hope.
He nodded solemnly: "Thank you for the enlightenment, Senpai!" He then bid farewell, turning around and walking toward the Uchiha Clan's gathering area with a slightly lighter step.
Takuno watched the back wearing the dark clan uniform and shook his head slightly.
Regarding the heavy fate carried by the Uchiha Clan and the deep-rooted conflicts within the Village, there was far too much he could analyze.
But facing this young 'Shisui the Body Flicker,' even if the other's eyes were full of respect, he would never say a word more.
Speaking deeply to a casual acquaintance is a major taboo. Moreover, exposing those dark and cruel truths would not only be of no benefit to himself but might also bring unnecessary trouble. He had always avoided doing things that were thankless and laborious.
His thoughts were interrupted by the loud music of drums; the celebration grand ceremony officially began.
Takuno watched with little interest as Minato took the stage first to deliver an enthusiastic speech of thanks.
Following him was his respected master, Jiraiya, whose bold speech drew bursts of jubilation.
However, when the master of ceremonies called out the third name, "Takuno," a small commotion arose at the scene.
Takuno's brow twitched slightly; the only ones ranked ahead of him were two Hokage-level figures, and not the heads of the Village's prestigious clans?
The thought turned in an instant.
A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth, but what did such an arrangement matter? When had he, Takuno, ever needed to look at others' faces to act?
The crushing weight of his strength was an unquestionable foundation. Moreover, as a "favorite official" in front of the Fourth Hokage, who among those hidden gazes would dare to jump out and question him openly?
With steps carrying a natural ease, Takuno walked onto the high platform as if taking a stroll. His brief but weighty speech unexpectedly stirred up even more boiling, enthusiastic cheers and applause than when Jiraiya had taken the stage.
Takuno merely took this with indifference and didn't think much of it.
With Jiraiya's broad-mindedness, he naturally wouldn't dwell on the fact that the cheers for Takuno were louder than for himself.
As the celebration continued.
"Next, Shisui!"
The appearance of this name was like a silent icicle suddenly thrown into boiling water, instantly capturing all sound.
The originally noisy scene became quiet enough to hear a pin drop in an instant. Countless gazes fell simultaneously on the young man slowly walking onto the high platform—some scrutinizing, some curious, and some with complex, hard-to-describe wariness.
For a moment, it felt as if an invisible mountain was pressing on his chest; Shisui felt his breathing become sluggish.
He took a deep breath of the night wind, which carried the scent of celebration fireworks, and slowly exhaled.
Takuno's words echoed clearly in his mind: "You are now acting as the link between the Village and the Uchiha Clan."
The last trace of hesitation in his eyes faded, leaving only a rock-like determination! He had to succeed! To no longer endure the painful choice that tore at his loyalty!
He cleared his throat and began to narrate according to the version Clan Head Fugaku had repeatedly instructed.
Below the stage, Fugaku nodded slightly, his tense nerves relaxing a bit: it was good enough to start steadily without making mistakes.
Just when he thought the speech would end there.
However, to his surprise, Shisui's speech did not end, causing his expression to darken.
But as Shisui's voice, full of sincere emotion and speaking of the shared concept of both sides protecting Konoha, rang through the venue, Fugaku's clenched fists slowly loosened. He silently watched the young junior on stage, who was trembling slightly with excitement and whose eyes shone with the light of ideals, his own gaze incomparably complex.
Perhaps... this stubborn boy really had a sliver of a chance to reverse this fated deadlock?
Beside Fugaku, a young figure, Uchiha Itachi, with deep eyes far beyond his years, stared without blinking at his clan brother on the high platform, who seemed to be radiating light.
Shisui's words, that fervent wish to break the barriers, were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in his heart and igniting a small, unprecedented glimmer of light.
"Heh, isn't he speaking quite well?" Takuno lazily yawned, his gaze sweeping around.
The crowd went from the initial dead silence to a gradual appearance of scattered applause, eventually converging into a wave of cheers that, while not as enthusiastic as those for other speakers, was clearly audible and represented acceptance.
At this moment, a stray thought flashed through Takuno's mind: Perhaps... if Shisui does not die young in this life, the Uchiha Clan will meet a completely different outcome from his memories?
The noise returned to the stage, and the celebration entered its purest stage of joy.
Takuno had already retired after his success; his interest in this superficial liveliness was not as real as the idea of going home and covering his head for a nap.
At night, Takuno used the Clairvoyance Jutsu to observe the Hyuga Clan's estate.
However, he didn't see any sign of Kumogakure. Just as he thought the other party really didn't have the guts to move against Konoha's prestigious clan and was ready to withdraw the Ninjutsu.
He saw two figures, one large and one small, quietly appear within the Hyuga Clan's estate.
"They are?!"
Takuno's pupils contracted sharply, but he didn't reveal a hint of his presence.
He hadn't expected to see them at this time!
The night was as dark as ink, and when that pair of figures appeared soundlessly in Takuno's vision, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Their clothing was strange and ancient; the fabric patterns and styles were things Takuno had never seen in any literature or reality.
Even in the original trajectory he knew, he had only caught a glimpse of Ōtsutsuki Toneri's adult form. As for the elder, he was even more like someone shrouded in the dust of history.
But he could be certain that they were descendants of the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon! Ōtsutsuki Toneri and his father!
The original work did indeed vaguely mention that a young Ōtsutsuki Toneri had once descended to the earth with his father and, using some ancient secret technique, allowed the eyeless Ōtsutsuki Toneri to "see" the young Hinata Hyuga.
"Father, she is so small, so quiet, so cute." Ōtsutsuki Toneri looked down at the sleeping Hinata, his voice carrying a hint of curiosity.
"Yes," a dry, raspy voice responded, like dead leaves rubbing against a stone surface. "Her bloodline is pure; she is indeed worthy of becoming your future wife."
After a brief stop, these visitors from the moon vanished into the darkness as silently as they had come.
They didn't notice that not far away, a pitch-black crow stood silently on a branch, its crimson eyes like congealed blood, taking in the entire scene and transmitting it back to Takuno's consciousness without missing a detail.
Takuno's brow furrowed deeply; he completely hadn't expected to encounter Ōtsutsuki Toneri at this moment.
At this moment, his heart also began to race with intense activity. If...
A prey even more perfect than the Hyuga bloodline, a top-tier vessel that could bring his Chimera Technique to the pinnacle! The antiquity and purity of the bloodline could be called unparalleled in the world.
However, his ecstasy was instantly doused by ice water. The father, that seemingly frail old man, was a ten-thousand-foot abyss standing in his way.
Although that father had already sacrificed his eyes to the legendary giant golden Tenseigan, leaving only deep hollows in his eye sockets, this by no means meant he was dull.
Takuno didn't even dare to activate the perception of his "Mind's Eye of Kagura"; that tiny ripple of energy would be no different from a torch in the dark.
He could only rely on the most primitive and hardest-to-detect vision, observing the other party carefully through the crow's eye.
The signs of the elder's body decaying and withering were intense, like the remnants of dead wood, his flame of life about to be extinguished.
But it was precisely this near-death state that was truly lethal. Takuno was absolutely certain that if he dared to move against Toneri now, this dying father would surely explode with a final power beyond his limits, fighting with his life!
Super Kage; this title weighed heavily on Takuno's heart.
For an Ōtsutsuki who served the massive Tenseigan and had lived for untold years, the possibility of reaching this level was definitely not a pipe dream.
Once the other party truly possessed such mighty power, he would surely fall into an irrecoverable situation.
It was far too easy for a Super Kage to defeat and kill a Kage-level!
The trade-off became clear in an instant; no matter how perfect the vessel was, it could not be equal in value to his own life.
And even if they crossed paths today, there would still be chances for a turnaround in the future.
Time was on his side.
Takuno watched as the tall and short figures finally disappeared into a hidden spot in the forest, and he did not order the monitoring crow to follow.
The stationary crow almost blended into the night, emitting no energy fluctuations; the chance of the two blind men detecting it was extremely low.
But once it took flight to follow, the sound of wings cutting through the wind might alert that unfathomable father.
However, the moment he saw them, he had already laid out an inescapable net.
Countless crows scattered from the summoning formula, like invisible spies, sparsely covering every corner of this area.
No matter where they went, there would always be a pair of crow eyes watching from the shadows.
Finally, under the watch of the crows, the Ōtsutsuki Toneri father and son disappeared in a relatively hidden place.
Takuno did not rush there immediately but waited for time to pass, worried that the other party might double back.
The next day, as the first light of dawn appeared, Takuno finally set foot in that hidden place.
An entrance to a passage leading to another realm was hidden there, with faint and thin spatial disturbances remaining around it.
"Is this the passage from the surface to the moon?"
He whispered to himself, his fingertips brushing against the cold stone wall at the edge of the entrance. Although there was desire in his eyes, there was even more clear-headed weighing of options.
Even knowing that Ōtsutsuki Toneri's father didn't have much longevity left and would naturally pass away in a few years, capturing Ōtsutsuki Toneri was still a nearly impossible task.
On the moon, that giant golden Tenseigan, which was like a small celestial body, was the true source of deterrence!
Even if Ōtsutsuki Toneri was not yet fully mature, he could still barely draw out a sliver of its power.
And this "sliver," Takuno had a strong premonition, would likely be very dangerous given his current strength.
Thinking up to this point, a clear conclusion emerged: only when his own strength improved to the mid-to-high stages of Super Kage, and he possessed absolute power sufficient to instantly neutralize threats, would setting foot on the moon be relatively safe.
"Super Kage, huh..." Takuno let out a long sigh. The morning forest mist had not yet dissipated, and the chill was bone-piercing.
How distant was this goal? Even if those crazy Kekkei Genkai experiments in the Land of Snow finally succeeded, they would only lay some foundation for the illusory "Kekkei Mōra" and would never be able to push him directly onto the throne of Super Kage.
Fusing more Kekkei Genkai, or even Kekkei Tōta, might raise his damage ceiling, but the increase to his current combat power would also be limited.
He might not necessarily be able to overcome the disadvantage of the long wind-up time for the Dust Release in Ōnoki's hands.
Now, if he wanted his strength to be improved once again, it would be nothing more than those few methods.