"Father," Fugaku said as he entered the chief's office. "You wanted to see me?"
Fukuyama looked up from the documents on his desk. "Go speak with Shin. As our clan's heir, your presence carries weight. Find out what he wants to resolve this situation. Remember to be respectful, this isn't about pride anymore."
"Understood," Fugaku replied with a short bow before departing for the detention area.
Despite being only twelve, his serious expression and formal demeanor made him appear more like a miniature adult than a child. The weight of being the Uchiha heir had shaped him early, robbing him of a normal childhood.
When he arrived at Shin's cell, he found the older Uchiha laying on the floor, looking completely at ease.
"The future clan leader honors me with a visit," Shin remarked, sitting up and studying Fugaku with mild interest. "Has your father sent you to determine my sentence?"
Fugaku maintained his composure. "Nothing like that. I've come to speak with you about resolving this situation."
"That's refreshing," Shin said, rising to his feet and approaching the bars. "I didn't expect the Uchiha clan to send a diplomat rather than an executioner."
"We're not enemies, Shin," Fugaku replied. "At least, we don't have to be."
Shin's expression hardened slightly. "Let's not pretend at familiarity. You're the heir of the Uchiha clan. I'm someone who was struck from the registry years ago. There's no need for false brotherhood between us."
"I wasn't—" Fugaku began, only to be cut off.
"Just tell me why you're here," Shin said, his tone cooling. "What does your father want?"
Fugaku took a moment to recalibrate his approach. He'd prepared for resistance, but Shin's demeanor was different than expected.
"My father asked me to find out what it would take to resolve this situation," he stated plainly. "The Uchiha clan is prepared to make amends."
"Amends," Shin repeated, his expression thoughtful. "At the hospital, I saved Rika's life. Not as a favor, but because it's my duty as a medical professional. Still, one might expect some basic courtesy in return."
Fugaku nodded, recognizing the opening. "Saving Rika was indeed admirable. The clan acknowledges that debt."
"And yet," Shin continued, "Hanma responded by threatening me, then bringing officers to intimidate my parents at their shop. What kind of gratitude is that?"
"The actions weren't sanctioned by clan leadership," Fugaku clarified. "He acted on his own."
Shin shook his head. "It doesn't matter who sanctioned it. What matters is that it happened, and no one stopped it. I've spent years avoiding conflict with the Uchiha clan, despite numerous provocations. Yet the moment I defend my family, I'm the one behind bars."
"It appears there's been a misunderstanding—" Fugaku began.
"No misunderstanding," Shin interrupted. "Ask anyone who witnessed the events at the hospital. I'm stating facts."
He leaned closer to the bars, his expression serious. "I saved one person, and in return, eight officers surrounded my family's shop. If I'd saved two, would you have burned down my house as well?"
Fugaku felt his carefully constructed approach crumbling. Shin wasn't following the expected script of either belligerence or compliance. Instead, he was dismantling the premise of their conversation.
"I've always preferred to avoid trouble," Shin sighed. "But when Hanma drew his weapon against me, in front of dozens of witnesses, I might add, I was forced to defend myself. Now I'm detained while he receives medical attention. Tell me, where is the justice in that?"
Fugaku maintained his composure. "On behalf of the Uchiha clan, I apologize for what happened. Once Hanma recovers, he will be disciplined, and he will personally apologize to you as well."
"An apology," Shin repeated flatly. "Is that all?"
"What do you want, then?" Fugaku asked, a hint of frustration finally breaking through his calm facade.
"Recognition," Shin replied simply. "Recognition that the treatment I've received from the Uchiha clan for years has been unjust. Recognition that I'm not your enemy unless you make me one."
Fugaku hesitated. He hadn't expected such a reasonable request, though he suspected there was more beneath the surface. "Is that all?"
"For now," Shin said with a slight smile. "Though I doubt your father would approve even that much. The Uchiha pride runs deep, very deep, doesn't it?"
"You're making assumptions about my father."
"Am I?" Shin raised an eyebrow. "Then prove me wrong. Go back to him with my request and see how he responds."
"Shin, do you realize you're making an enemy of the entire Uchiha clan? Have you considered the consequences?"
Shin's laughter caught Fugaku by surprise. "Hahaha! Consequences? You speak as if I haven't lived with them my entire life. Let me tell you something that might surprise you. The money I've earned as a medical-nin over the years isn't just sitting around. My parents could retire today and live comfortably for the rest of their lives if they chose to. So threats against their shop mean nothing. It's just a building. And threats against me?" His eyes met Fugaku's directly. "Those mean even less."
With a subtle shift in stance, he seemed to change. Without warning or visible technique, he simply vanished from inside the cell and reappeared directly in front of Fugaku on the other side of the bars.
The young Uchiha heir couldn't suppress a startled step backward.
"You think these bars can hold me?" Shin asked quietly. "Nothing can hold me! I'm here by choice, not necessity. And now I've made a different choice."
He looked down at Fugaku. "Tell your father I've decided to leave. If he wants to continue this conversation, he knows where to find me."
Before Fugaku could respond, Shin disappeared entirely, leaving him alone in the corridor.
---
"Shin?" Yasuto looked up from the counter with surprise as Shin suddenly appeared in the middle of their small shop. "You're back already?"
"Everything's been sorted out," Shin replied with a reassuring smile, his demeanor entirely different from moments before, warm, relaxed, and gentle.
"Wait—" Yasuto's brow furrowed as he processed what he'd just witnessed. "Did you just appear out of nowhere?"
"It's a long story," Shin said, waving away the question. "Nothing to worry about."
"If you say so," Yasuto sighed, though concern lingered in his eyes. "Business has been slow today anyway. Should we close early and head home?"
"That sounds perfect," Shin agreed. "I could use a quiet evening."
---
As the Namikaze family prepared to leave, across the village in the Uchiha compound, Fukuyama was receiving his son's report with growing disbelief.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique?" he repeated. At that moment, he wasn't even concerned about Shin escaping prison—his heart was a storm of shock.
That was the Flying Thunder God Technique! It was the signature jutsu of the Second Hokage. Few had ever mastered it, and none from the Uchiha clan.
Yet somehow Shin had learned it, and just demonstrated its use.
His physical abilities and fully-developed Sharingan had been concerning enough. But this...
With the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could appear anywhere, anytime. He could strike without warning and vanish before anyone could respond. In a direct confrontation, he would be nearly untouchable.
Fukuyama had seen Tobirama use this technique on the battlefield years ago. The memory remained etched in his mind, the way enemies fell before they even realized they were under attack, the impossibility of mounting an effective defense.
Now Shin possessed that same power.
Why now? he wondered. After years of restraint, why reveal his hand?
Was he insane?
No, he had deliberately chosen this moment to demonstrate his capabilities, to make a statement about his position and power.
Fukuyama could think of only one answer: Shin had always possessed this strength but had chosen not to use it until now. Which meant his years of apparent submission had been a choice, not a necessity.
And if that was true, then the power he'd revealed today might be just a fraction of what he truly possessed. The truth was, he likely no longer had to fear anyone.