Crack—!
The priceless vase exploded against the wall, shards scattering everywhere.
Nara Shiozuki's eyes—sunken behind heavy dark circles—burned with pure venom.
He glared at his younger brother lying unconscious in the hospital bed and ground out through clenched teeth:
"Fix him. Use everything you've got."
The private doctor's gaze flicked around nervously, face tight with discomfort.
"I'm afraid… it's not that simple."
"Multiple comminuted fractures across the body, severe displacement, extensive soft-tissue crushing…"
He hesitated, then added quietly:
"He's lucky to even be alive."
"Full recovery would require Lady Tsunade herself. Otherwise… he'll carry permanent disabilities for the rest of his life."
Shiozuki's already thunderous expression turned pitch black.
Tsunade wasn't someone a side-branch nobody like him could summon.
Which meant his little brother was doomed to limp through life as a civilian—shinobi career over before it started.
At that thought, Shiozuki's fists clenched until the knuckles cracked.
"Nara Shikage!"
He had known the clan head would hit back eventually over the Shikamaru business.
But not now.
Not before the dust from Danzō's faction had fully settled.
Since when had Nara Shikaku grown a spine this hard?
He didn't get it, but he didn't need to. He already knew what came next.
"Tell them," he ordered, stepping out of the sickroom and waving over a trusted clansman.
"Nara Shikaku nearly beat my brother to death."
"Let the rest of them decide how serious this really is."
"And remind them—tomorrow the clan head is calling a full meeting."
"If they still want to keep their positions, they'd better drag every last body here!"
The clansman swallowed hard.
"Understood!"
...
The next day.
Nara main house, council chamber.
Only honored elders and high-ranking officers were allowed inside for a clan meeting.
The room itself wasn't huge—maybe thirty people max.
Normally it felt spacious.
Today it was packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
Even the front courtyard outside was jammed with clansmen standing or sitting.
Their faces said it all: zero respect for the clan head.
Just open hostility and jealousy.
Inside the chamber the tension was even worse.
Nara Shikaku sat at the head seat, expression flat as he stared at Nara Shiozuki.
"Shiozuki, you brought this many people. Care to explain?"
The elders beside him looked equally unhappy, their eyes screaming disapproval.
Shiozuki acted like he felt none of it. He locked eyes with Shikaku without flinching and bit out:
"I want an explanation!"
"Nara Shikage crippled my little brother!"
The second the words landed, the men behind him stepped forward in silent unison.
The full pressure of the Danzō faction slammed into the room like a wall.
Even Shikaku felt the weight of all those united glares.
The elders instinctively looked away from Shiozuki.
They supported the clan head, sure—but they weren't about to die on this hill for him.
Just as the air grew razor-sharp, a calm voice cut through.
Shikage walked out from the shadowed corner and stopped at his father's right hand, staring coldly at Shiozuki.
"So what kind of explanation do you want?"
"Nara Shikage!" Shiozuki's eyes narrowed to slits. "This is a clan meeting. You have no right to speak here!"
Shikage didn't answer. He just kept staring.
Shikaku spoke for him.
"Shikage has graduated."
"I'm putting him in charge of family business starting now."
The words weren't a direct reply, but they said everything.
Shiozuki's face twisted visibly.
His gaze darted between father and son before he sneered, voice dripping acid:
"As expected from the main branch."
"We side-branch members have to pass assessments just to touch clan assets."
"But Nara Shikage gets it handed to him. Must be nice being that special—no competition needed."
The jab landed heavy. The clansmen behind him frowned.
Before Shiozuki could even smirk, a cold snort crushed every complaint in the room:
"That's right. I am better than all of you."
Shikage stood tall at the head of the chamber, eyes sweeping across the Danzō faction like he owned the place. He wasn't tall, but every person there felt looked down on.
"Nara Shikage, you're too fucking arrogant!"
Seeing the kid refuse to back down and instead double down, Shiozuki stepped forward and roared:
"Today you will answer to me!"
"An answer?" Shikage took one step forward too, stopping barely a meter away.
The light behind him cast his shadow straight across Shiozuki's body.
In that moment, facing the previously dominant Shiozuki, Shikage's presence felt even heavier.
As a Nara, Shiozuki instinctively hated being under anyone's shadow.
And—was it his imagination?—he swore he saw a faint crimson glint deep inside Shikage's shadow. It made his skin crawl.
He tried to step sideways.
His body wouldn't move.
He couldn't even open his mouth.
The strangeness didn't scare him.
It just felt ridiculous.
—Nara Shikage actually dares to attack me in front of the entire clan?
—Has this little shit lost his mind?
—How the hell does he dare?
Shikage saw the mockery in Shiozuki's eyes and knew exactly what he was thinking.
The corners of his lips curled up.
Using the shadow's cover, he mouthed silently:
I just did.
While Shiozuki's confusion grew, Shikage took another step forward, pointed straight at him, and declared in a voice like rolling thunder:
"Actually, I'm the one who wants an explanation from you!"
"Nara Shiozuki, you colluded with outside forces, hid information from the clan head, and secretly plotted with enemies to stir chaos from within!"
"Under Konoha law and clan criminal code, that is a capital crime!"
Shiozuki's brain short-circuited.
It took a long second before the words sank in.
—Fuck. They found out!
Then he spotted the kunai blade half-hidden at Shikage's waist.
—This bastard really wants to kill me!
Pure survival instinct kicked in.
He yanked out his own weapon and lunged at Shikage.
But the instant his body moved, two strong hands slammed him face-first into the floor.
"You dare raise a hand against a fellow clansman?"
Shikage crouched right in front of him, staring into his eyes, voice ice-cold.
"Your crime just got worse."
Suddenly Shiozuki felt death breathing down his neck.
His panicked mind couldn't think straight—he only wanted to live.
So he thrashed wildly and babbled in terror toward Shikaku:
"I'm sorry, Clan Head!"
"It was my fault! I shouldn't have betrayed the clan! Betrayed Konoha!"
The council chamber fell into absolute silence.
Only Shiozuki's trembling voice kept echoing:
"Please… spare my life!"