After defeating Itachi, Uchiha Shinsuke left him with a single parting remark to take care of himself, then turned and walked away without another glance.
Uchiha Itachi knelt on one knee on the ground, the exhaustion in his body nowhere near as fierce as the collapse within his heart.
He had lost.
A complete and total defeat.
Tsukuyomi had been outright nullified.
The inextinguishable black flames of Amaterasu had been effortlessly kept at bay.
Why?
Itachi's body trembled beyond his control.
He had also activated the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He had also endured the extreme agony of losing his closest friend.
So why was the gap between him and Elder Shinsuke so vast as to be this incomprehensible.
Itachi raised his hand and pressed it over his left eye, from which tears of blood were running down.
Was this... the gap in their caliber?
Itachi had always believed he was a genius standing at the very top, that he had both the standing and the ability to shoulder everything and correct the clan's mistaken course.
But reality had delivered Itachi its heaviest blow yet.
In the face of absolute power, his so-called resolve and his promise with Shisui both appeared so pale, so laughable.
"Take care of yourself..."
Several days later, the Uchiha high-level council convened once again.
The atmosphere was entirely different from the time when the Hawks and Doves had stood in opposition.
The elders who had once sat in clear and separate camps now all sat upright and composed together.
Uchiha Shinsuke simply sat there in silence, yet became the invisible center around which the entire council room revolved.
Uchiha Fugaku sat in the head seat like a bystander.
"Everyone."
Uchiha Shinsuke spoke.
"The reason I have gathered you all today is for one matter."
"The training model of the guard unit is in need of reform."
An elder with Dove faction origins, relying on his seniority, could not hold back a furrowed frown and spoke up.
"Elder Shinsuke, the guard unit has operated under its current model for decades, it has been effective at maintaining security within the village and it works."
"Why suddenly make such sweeping changes?"
"This will not only consume the clan's already scarce resources, but may also draw unnecessary attention from the village's higher-ups."
His words represented the last lingering concern in the hearts of some Dove faction members.
They had already submitted to Uchiha Shinsuke's overwhelming strength, yet still harbored an instinctive dread of a complete and irreparable falling-out with the village.
Uchiha Shinsuke did not counter him directly.
"Theoretical debate is meaningless."
"I place greater faith in facts and data."
Uchiha Shinsuke swept his gaze across that elder.
"I propose we conduct a live combat exercise."
"And let the results speak for themselves."
Uchiha Shinsuke turned toward the door and gave a signal.
A moment later, twelve figures walked into the council room.
They were Uchiha Shinsuke's elder guard unit.
At the fore were Uchiha Kenji and Uchiha Shunichi, radiating an aura that was unmistakably that of genuine jonin.
And the ten members behind them, though young, had already refined their chakra to a degree that was approaching jonin level.
Fugaku's pupils contracted slightly.
The elders present held their breath.
They had known that Uchiha Shinsuke's guard unit was formidable, but had not expected that in such a short span of time, they had already become this powerful.
"The exercise is simple."
Uchiha Shinsuke's voice rang out again.
"We will simulate Root ninja infiltrating the clan district with hostile intent."
"My guard unit will conduct the counteroperation."
"The opposing force will be a mixed squad of twenty drawn from the guard unit, including five jonin."
"Twelve against twenty, with five jonin among them?"
An elder cried out in involuntary shock.
This sounded like something out of a fantasy.
The elite of the guard unit were no ordinary fighters.
Yet not a trace of concern showed on Uchiha Shinsuke's face, only a faint and quiet confidence.
"To the training ground."
On the wide training ground, the atmosphere was sharp and tense.
The twenty guard unit members had already formed up in position, the five jonin at their head wearing grave expressions.
"Fugaku-sama, isn't Elder Shinsuke being overconfident here?"
"That's five jonin, along with fifteen elite chunin who are all used to fighting together."
Quiet voices of doubt murmured among the elder seats.
Uchiha Fugaku said nothing, only fixing his gaze on Uchiha Shinsuke.
"Begin!"
At the command, the opposing squad of twenty guard unit members moved in an instant.
The five jonin led the charge, surging from five different directions like tigers descending from a mountain, while the chunin behind them quickly formed seals and prepared to execute a blanket Fire Style assault.
This was the most frequently used and most effective encirclement tactic in the guard unit's arsenal.
But what they faced was Uchiha Shinsuke's guard unit.
The instant the opposing side charged forward, the twelve-man guard unit moved.
Yet they neither charged to meet them nor spread apart.
Four of them formed dozens of different seals in a single instant.
"Wind Style: Breakthrough!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
"Genjutsu: Dark Passage Technique!"
A howling gale instantly scattered the formation of the guard unit members, halting their forward momentum.
A thick earthen wall burst up from the ground at precisely the right moment, blocking the Fire Style jutsu that followed.
And the strangest of all was that silent, soundless genjutsu.
Several of the weaker chunin had their vision plunge into complete darkness in an instant, stumbling where they stood.
Between masters in combat, victory and defeat are decided in fractions of an inch.
Within that brief window of chaos, the remaining eight guard unit members appeared from four directions like phantoms, cutting into the disarrayed formation of the guard unit.
Working in pairs, their coordination was flawless.
One member attacked head-on with taijutsu, drawing attention.
The other would silently appear in the enemy's blind spot, pressing a kunai precisely to their throat.
Thud, thud, thud!
In a single exchange, six chunin were instantly knocked unconscious to the ground.
The elders in the viewing stands leapt to their feet, their faces written over with disbelief.
"What... what kind of coordination is this!"
The five jonin of the guard unit finally grasped what was happening and roared as they tried to regroup.
But the guard unit gave them no opportunity whatsoever.
The remaining six guard unit members, having completed the first wave of attacks without any pause, immediately engaged those five jonin.
The battle instantly became a surrounding hunt with superior numbers.
One guard unit jonin had just unleashed the Great Fireball Technique when he was met head-on by a combination jutsu of a water dragon and a wind blade.
The water fueled the wind, and the wind tore through the water.
A compound jutsu!
Boom!
A massive explosion of steam erupted, and that jonin was blasted away in a sorry state.
On the other side, a jonin who specialized in taijutsu was tied down by two guard unit members.
These two guard unit members each had two-tomoe Sharingan, and they perfectly anticipated the jonin's every attack, moving with effortless fluidity and always neutralizing it at minimal cost.
What made this jonin feel even more stifled was the sense that he was fighting against a single person.
The moment the one on his left forced him to retreat, the one on his right instantly sealed off every path of withdrawal.
Their coordination was without a single gap.
The battle had already begun to show a one-sided trend.
And then, something unexpected occurred on the field.
One of the twelve guard unit members had a breakthrough in the middle of combat while facing a jonin.
One tomoe advanced to two tomoe!
Their chakra surged sharply upward all at once, reaching jonin level.
Dead silence fell across the viewing stands.
Every elder, including Uchiha Fugaku, stared fixedly at that young member who had just broken through in the heat of battle.
In their eyes was a shock they could not conceal.
Uchiha Fugaku's expression grew extraordinarily heavy.
As clan head, he could not deny that the power the guard unit had put on display had already exceeded the bounds of his understanding.
The five jonin were swiftly defeated one by one.
Back in the council room, not a single voice of objection was raised any longer.
The elder who had questioned Shinsuke earlier now sat with his head lowered, without even the courage to glance at Uchiha Shinsuke.
"I propose that this 'High-Efficiency Training Model' be extended to all elite squads of the guard unit."
Uchiha Shinsuke's voice broke the silence.
"Agreed."
Uchiha Hachidai was the first to declare his position.
"Agreed."
Uchiha En followed immediately after.
"Agreed."
"Agreed..."
One elder after another rose to their feet and lowered their once-proud heads toward Uchiha Shinsuke.
In the end, every gaze in the room converged on Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, every trace of the struggle within had faded away, leaving only a deep and wordless resignation.
"...Agreed."