Uchiha Rēn didn't rush to move out like others his age. He still lived with his parents and family. After all, he wasn't truly fifteen. Even with a second life—and a mind that had, in some ways, adjusted to this youth—certain perspectives remained unchanged. He understood that family wasn't guaranteed. What others took for granted, he regarded as temporary, and therefore, worth preserving while it lasted.
Unlike his peers who craved independence, he preferred the warmth of a lively family dinner.
"Uncle and Aunt aren't home?"
Shisui looked around after stepping inside.
"They're probably at the studio by this time. They won't be back until evening."
Rēn's parents weren't shinobi. His father was born with a weak body and wasn't suited to be a ninja. He worked as a novelist and had three bestsellers, though he was currently going through a creative slump. His mother worked as an editor.
It didn't take a genius to know that they met through work.
"Has Uncle Masashi written anything new lately?"
"His new book last month didn't do too well, so he's been pretty stressed lately. He didn't even go see Fujika off for school. But it's nothing serious—this isn't the first time, and with Mom around, everything's fine."
Uchiha Masashi was Rēn's father.
Shisui blinked and ignored the second half of the explanation. He asked, "Elder Genshi isn't here either?"
There were five members in Rēn's family: his parents, his younger sister Fujika, and his grandfather, Uchiha Genshi, a clan elder.
Compared to Shisui, who lived alone now, this was a full and lively household.
"Probably out playing shogi with Elder Ryūji. The two of them are old shogi buddies. But honestly, I think it's because Fujika started at the Ninja Academy. He's been sulking ever since—keeps saying Uchiha children shouldn't need to go to the Academy and should study at home instead..."
As Rēn spoke, he prepared tea and snacks for Shisui.
"Weren't we going to spar?"
Shisui scratched his head with a helpless smile at the tea and snacks placed before him.
"Have some tea first. No need to rush. You're free, I'm free. Why act like we're in a hurry?"
Rēn sat down on the sofa with his own cup of tea.
Because of his father's preferences, the house looked like a traditional Japanese home from the outside, but the interior was Western-style. Only Genshi's room maintained the tatami layout. Rēn was fine with that. Compared to kneeling on tatami, he preferred the kind of sofa you could sink into.
"Rēn, you bastard..."
Shisui laughed in resignation, but he leaned back too, allowing himself to relax.
A break wouldn't hurt.
...............
.......
.
**Thud, thud, thud!!**
The loud stomping jolted Shisui awake. Instinctively, he reached for his waist, but then paused as he realized where he was.
This was... Rēn's house.
His brain started working again as everything came back to him: running into Rēn on the street, chatting on the rooftop, coming over to spar—and apparently falling asleep on the sofa.
The fading sunset cast a warm, yellow light through the window, slightly blinding.
Time had flown. It was already evening.
Without realizing it, he'd slept the whole day away.
"Ah! Fujika, how many times have I told you not to run on the stairs? Look how loud you are—you woke up Shisui!"
Rēn was sitting cross-legged on a single-seater sofa, a hardcover book open on his knee, though he wasn't reading. He was speaking to the girl beside him.
"...Mom! Big Brother is bullying me!!"
The lively girl shouted her complaint.
One second later—
"Rēn! Don't bully your sister!" shouted Uchiha Saoki from the kitchen as she helped her husband prepare dinner.
Rēn shrank his neck in defeat and didn't dare argue.
Instead, he glared at his tattletale sister and muttered,
"Tattletale."
"Hmmph! Sly Fox!"
Uchiha Fujika lifted her chin proudly and waved at the boy behind her.
"Naruto, come on! I'll show you my pets! We're not playing with that annoying guy!"
The two kids dashed off like the wind, leaving Shisui staring at Rēn in disbelief.
He even pinched his own thigh.
The sharp pain made him suck in a breath.
This was real. Not a dream. Not genjutsu.
"Rēn... that kid playing with Fujika... what's he doing here?"
"That's her new follower from the Ninja Academy."
"But... but that's...!"
"What?"
"Rēn, don't play dumb—that's the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki! Letting him into the Uchiha compound... You're playing with fire, you know that?!"
Shisui was fuming.
The Nine-Tails' rampage had been caused by an unknown Uchiha controlling the beast, and now Rēn had brought the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki straight into Uchiha territory.
This was insanity.
The village could easily use this as a pretext to pressure the clan.
"What? You think I ordered Fujika to kidnap the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?"
Shisui frowned and said nothing—but his expression clearly said: *With you? Who knows what shady scheme you're cooking up now\...*
"...Can you not slander me like that?" Rēn rubbed his nose. "Is my credibility really that low with you? If I really were going to do something like that, the last thing I'd do is involve Fujika. Believe it or not, who she plays with is her business. Stop seeing conspiracy theories everywhere."
Shisui's mouth twitched.
*Wasn't this the same guy who was talking about replacing Clan Head Fugaku just a few hours ago...?*
He resisted the urge to contradict and simply said:
"Then can you at least swear you're not planning to use the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki for something?"
Rēn blinked, then looked down at the hardcover book still resting on his knees.
To be honest, he'd been just as surprised when he saw Naruto—tailing Fujika like a little duckling.
His first thought was that the Third Hokage was pulling tricks again.
After all, the Anbu watching Naruto were so numerous they could be counted in units of "dozens."
For Fujika to bring the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki into the Uchiha compound under the watch of multiple Anbu teams...
No one would believe it unless the Third himself gave permission.
At first, Rēn had been focused on how to handle the fallout sure to come from the Third.
But then, seeing Naruto—shorter even than Fujika—he realized this could be a perfect opportunity.
If the Third really tried to use Naruto as a reason to attack the Uchiha...
He could use the moment to test Fugaku's attitude—and maybe knock some sense into Shisui and his obsession with the "Will of Fire."
So yes—
He absolutely was planning to use that brat Naruto.