He Is the Only Choice

"Shisui, do you know what you're saying?"

While Habara was wandering aimlessly down Konoha's streets with a book in hand, Shisui was sitting in silence inside a room in the Uchiha Clan, facing an elder.

The elder's name was Uchiha Zong. At that moment, his expression was one of utter astonishment, as though he simply could not believe what he had just heard.

Shisui could be said to have grown up under his watch. Many of Shisui's thoughts and beliefs had, in fact, been taught by him, and he had always treated Shisui as one of his own juniors.

Their belief was that the clan and the village should live in harmony—that the clan and the village should coexist!

They had never changed this belief, and they had always worked toward this goal. They had always struggled for this conviction.

They longed to establish ties through communication with the Leaf High Command, to make the Leaf truly accept them and acknowledge them.

Unfortunately, their faction had suffered a tremendous shock and blow by now.

In the village, ever since the Nine-Tails Attack erupted, the Uchiha Clan and the village had been drifting further and further apart. This was a fact they could not change.

And within the clan, because of the village's actions, most of the clansmen had also developed enormous dissatisfaction.

What they could do now was rely on Shisui's connection in the hope of gaining the Third Hokage's trust, and in the hope of gaining the ninja of the Leaf.

Through that, they hoped to bring the clan back into the embrace of the Leaf, and through that, to restore the clan's former glory. After all, their ancestors had been people who rejected Uchiha Madara.

Shisui was Kagami Uchiha's junior. He was the most outstanding member of their faction, and Shisui had even awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!

In the entire clan, there were not that many people who had awakened the Sharingan, let alone the Mangekyō. In Uchiha Zong's view, perhaps Shisui was the only one in the clan who possessed the Mangekyō.

Not only that, Shisui had also brought the clan head's son, Uchiha Itachi, into their camp, giving them even more bargaining chips.

However, Uchiha Zong did not like Uchiha Itachi. That kid put the Leaf first in everything, but this son of the clan head was also a person of firm will.

He could not change Uchiha Itachi's thinking, so he placed even greater hope on Shisui.

This time, after Shisui returned from his Anbu mission, he had not come back to report. Instead, he had directly taken leave and gone to carry out a mission together with that fellow Uchiha Habara.

Uchiha Habara was also a genius of the clan. At such a young age, he had already reached the level of Three Tomoe, and Habara and Shisui were friends and classmates as well.

But Habara was an unconventional person. He had not joined any faction within the clan at all.

He had not even gone to the Military Police Force. In the end, he chose to become a Mission Ninja.

There was no way Uchiha Zong could do anything about Shisui having a good relationship with him. In truth, he also hoped Shisui could draw in a talent like Habara, because that would give them more influence.

However, what he never expected was that after Shisui went out with Habara once, he would come back and tell him he had new ideas and a new plan.

And this plan was so treasonous, so insane, that even Uchiha Zong felt cold sweat break out all over his body!

"I know very clearly what I'm saying."

Shisui looked at Uchiha Zong seriously. He nodded, then said it again.

"I said the clan is far too chaotic and divided inside. None of us can stay united enough to do what we should do.

And the one who caused all of this is the clan head. If not for his indulgence and hesitation, the clan would have united long ago to face our problems together.

Instead of being like we are now, with everyone still arguing endlessly over each other's beliefs!"

Shisui's words were so resolute that even Uchiha Zong, an elder of the clan, trembled slightly all over at this moment.

In truth, as an old hand who had spent so many years clawing his way through the clan, he naturally understood just how chaotic the clan had become internally.

But knowing was one thing. Whether one could do something, and whether one dared to do it, was another matter entirely.

According to Shisui, he intended to drive their clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, from power!

"Ridiculous!"

Uchiha Zong hurriedly cut Shisui off. He looked left and right before lowering his voice and saying, "Are you insane? You dare make a move against the clan head?

Do you know what that means? It means a coup!

And after you remove the clan head, who do you plan to let take that position? Who even has the qualifications to become the clan head?

I admit that Uchiha Fugaku has indeed done a terrible job. He failed to integrate the clan and let it become so divided. But once it is integrated, what will it look like?

You need to understand that inside the clan, it's those hard-line fellows who make up the majority. If they—"

"No. The ones who truly make up the majority are the most ordinary people of the Uchiha Clan."

Before Uchiha Zong could finish, Shisui directly interrupted him. He stared at Uchiha Zong, then finally spoke softly but firmly.

"Habara told me that in the operating mechanism of power, the clan head and the elders are the ones who use power. They are the superiors.

But those who grant power are the majority of the Uchiha. True power actually comes from their obedience!

If they can acknowledge us, if they refuse to obey those hard-line people, then those people have no qualification to call themselves the majority."

Uchiha Zong stared dumbfounded at Shisui in front of him. He suddenly realized that Shisui seemed to have become somewhat unfamiliar, and his words had become so sharp and disrespectful.

But it had to be said that Shisui's words had simply and clearly laid out the structure of authority and the mechanism by which it operated.

This made Uchiha Zong feel emotional over Shisui's growth, but it also made him sense danger, because Shisui's words were truly far too terrifying!

"In fact, we were always wrong. Terribly, absurdly wrong—both them and us."

Shisui looked at Uchiha Zong in front of him, then finally sighed softly and continued speaking.

"All we've ever done is argue endlessly within the clan—one could even call it infighting—without ever thinking of uniting."

"And in Konoha, the Third Hokage and his Advisors are all people who inherited the will of the Second Hokage. I'm afraid they have always had reservations about Uchiha in their hearts."

"If we cannot unite, then we have no way—none at all—to tell them our political demands. If we cannot unite, we will never have a clear program of action."

"We are nothing but a heap of loose sand. We can only watch things become unbearably terrible, only watch the clan walk step by step toward the abyss."

"As for what Konoha will ultimately do to us, I don't know either. But Habara told me that we must make Konoha hear our voice."

"Otherwise, we really will be in danger!"

Uchiha Zong stared blankly at Shisui in front of him. Even though he was extremely unwilling to admit it, he had no choice but to acknowledge one thing.

That was that Shisui's words had truly hit the nail on the head, laying bare Konoha's current attitude toward Uchiha, and also pointing out Uchiha's flaws.

And Uchiha Zong also realized something else: the one influencing Shisui seemed to be that Uchiha Habara!

"Was it Uchiha Habara?" Uchiha Zong's voice was very low. He seemed to be asking Shisui, yet also seemed to be murmuring to himself.

"Yes, it was Habara."

Shisui heard those words. Although he did not know exactly what was being asked, he still gave an answer.

"It was Habara who made me understand This World anew. It was Habara who told me about the situation of the clan and the village. It was Habara who made me know what we should do."

"He said that the only ones who can change the clan are him and me, and the only ones who can lead the clan toward prosperity are him and me."

"But I think he is the only choice, and he is also my choice!"

"And also—"

At this point, Shisui took a deep breath, his expression incomparably serious and solemn as he looked at Uchiha Zong.

"He also has the Mangekyō Sharingan!"