Kei's fingers stopped tapping.
"You're talking about smuggling children out of the clan. Out of Konoha."
Shisui nodded. "If the elders push forward with their rebellion... the whole clan might be annihilated."
"Even if the Hokage shows mercy, Danzo won't." Itachi's voice was quiet, but resolute.
Kei leaned back slightly, golden eyes narrowing. His tone remained calm.
"You already have a plan. Then why come to me?"
There was a pause.
Shisui answered, voice tight. "Because none of our options are safe.
If we leave them in Konoha, Danzo might take them. If we send them outside, we can't protect them.
We've run through every scenario, and none of them are clean."
Shisui looked away for a moment, jaw tightening.
"I keep hoping we can fix this without bloodshed. That maybe the elders and adults will listen."
Itachi shook his head faintly. "They won't."
There was no anger in his voice. Just acceptance.
Shisui frowned. "Don't say that."
"I'm not giving up," Itachi clarified.
"But I've accepted what might be required. I don't want to be the knife. But if it comes to it, to save the innocent Uchiha, the Hawks and warmongers..."
"That won't happen," Shisui cut in, glancing at Kei again. "That's why we're here."
"We need your perspective," Itachi said, momentarily snapping out of his gloom.
"You're not bound by Uchiha or Konoha doctrine. And your judgment... is sharp."
Kei raised an eyebrow. "I'm four. What exactly are you expecting from me?"
Shisui and Itachi froze, looked at each other, then smirked, shaking their heads lightly.
They really were asking advice for the survival of a clan from a toddler.
Still, Shisui, smiling faintly, said, "From our previous conversations, I know you're smarter than most Jonin in general, and that for some reason you aren't bound by the same thinking that we are.
Maybe you can think of a solution that we missed."
Kei sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.
They were asking a lot.
But he couldn't ignore the weight in their voices. The desperation. The loneliness.
'If things go the way I remember... Itachi will slaughter the clan after Shisui dies, both trying to prevent a rebellion. All because they couldn't find another way out.'
Kei's mind turned rapidly. Konoha's power structure wasn't a flat pyramid—it was a web of old alliances, surveillance, and favors.
Danzo's root agents thrived in shadows.
The Hokage ruled openly, but not absolutely.
'Even if Shisui uses his Mangekyo to erase the clan's memories of the children, suspicion will linger. Paper trails don't lie. Chakra signatures are hard to fake. But… if one of them vanished, left the chessboard entirely…'
He nodded to himself. 'Better to become a ghost than a target.'
He opened his eyes again.
"Fine. Give me some time to think."
The tension didn't break, but both older boys exhaled subtly.
Minutes passed in silence as Kei analyzed every angle. Then—
"You don't trust Danzo. You don't trust the Hokage. While that says a lot about your clan's relationship with Konoha, it does mean you're thinking. So don't put all your eggs in one basket."
He looked up.
"Split the children up. Give some to the Hokage's custody, let him raise some Anbu Uchiha.
Give some to Danzo, though you both should realize that those kids are doomed to a life of struggle, and some might never make it to a mission, they'll be cadavers.
Make it look like you're cooperating. Use that to ease their suspicion while you continue your plan."
Shisui's eyes lit up. "Diversion."
"Exactly. Meanwhile, move the rest outside the village, quietly. But if you do that, you'll need someone to watch them."
Kei's voice dropped.
"One of you needs to disappear. Fake your death. Take a new identity. Live outside the system."
Silence.
Then:
"That could work," Itachi murmured. "It's dangerous... but it gives us enough leeway to make our move and gives the Uchiha a chance."
"It gives the Uchiha children a chance," Kei corrected.
Shisui bowed his head. "Thank you. Truly."
"If you ever need anything, Kei," Itachi said solemnly, "my strength is yours."
Kei waved it off. "Then teach me. Both of you. I want to learn your style—your techniques. Your clan's secrets."
Shisui smiled. "That's a fair trade."
And thus, a new bond formed. Not just of strategy, but of quiet loyalty.
The kind that survives blood and time.
He knew this wasn't the end of the story. Not even the middle.
The real storm hadn't arrived yet.
But maybe he could alter the winds for smoother sailing.