A Break

After Shisui finished speaking, he silently watched Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi had already closed his eyes. He had fallen completely silent, unable to imagine that such words had come from Shisui.

The Second Hokage was dissatisfied with the Uchiha?

Then why had the Second Hokage taken Kagami Uchiha as his disciple and taught him so diligently?

The Third Hokage had inherited the Second Hokage's will and was likewise dissatisfied with the Uchiha?

Then why had the Third Hokage allowed the Uchiha to control the Military Police Force? Why had he permitted Shisui and him to enter the Anbu together?

And as for making the Uchiha lower their guard, using the Military Police Force to drive a wedge between the Uchiha and the village—how could that be possible?

The Uchiha had gained immense power through the Military Police Force, but it was the Uchiha's own attitude that had caused the clan and the village to grow apart!

Itachi simply did not dare believe, nor did he want to believe, Shisui's words. At that moment, Shisui felt terribly unfamiliar to him.

He did not know why Shisui believed such things. Could he not see all that Lord Hokage had done for the Uchiha?

Moreover, if the Third Hokage had truly harbored dissatisfaction toward the Uchiha, the Clan Meeting reports they had submitted long ago could have served as grounds for Konoha to act against them!

Anger, sorrow, and disappointment kept spreading through Uchiha Itachi's heart, but he quickly suppressed his thoughts.

As a qualified shinobi—especially as a qualified Anbu—he knew he could not casually expose his emotions.

Besides, there was still much he needed to confirm. He had to obtain more intelligence!

"Then what do you intend to do?" Uchiha Itachi made his tone sound normal. "What are your new ideas?"

"Itachi, are you all right?" Shisui frowned. Although Uchiha Itachi made himself look normal, Shisui was Anbu too.

He could naturally sense that Itachi was clearly not himself right now. After pondering for a moment, he decided he should explain things properly to Itachi.

After all, Itachi was the clan's genius. If he could truly help the clan, it would undoubtedly be a good thing for them.

Especially since they were no longer the same as before. Shisui could see hope for the future, and he truly wanted to persuade Itachi to join them.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath before speaking seriously.

"Then I'll tell you." Shisui nodded lightly, then began to speak in earnest.

Shisui spoke slowly, but he was equally thorough.

He carefully explained the conclusions reached after the clan's two factions discussed Konoha's current situation and the clan's circumstances, leaving out Habara's existence.

For example, the clan had already understood that continuing to be weak would bring no good outcome, because weakness would inevitably result in Konoha gradually consuming them.

In the end, the clan would not grow closer to Konoha. The distance between them would only keep widening until the clan perished within Konoha.

But continuing to be hardline would not bring a good result either. If they persisted, the clan would only become enemies with all of Konoha, and their ultimate fate would likewise be destruction.

Since that was the case, the best course for both sides was to unify their thoughts and will, stop fighting, and stop dividing the clan.

They had decided they would no longer compromise excessively with Konoha. They needed to be firm, to struggle, to resist!

But they could not simply be hardline without restraint. They had to have a clear objective.

They did not intend to rebel, but they would take corresponding hostile measures in pursuit of their goals. They wanted Konoha to hear their voice.

At that point, Shisui stopped. In his view, that was enough.

Even if he had not been especially detailed, since he had promised Habara, he would not go back on his word. But he felt that what he had said was already enough to understand.

Because Shisui's meaning was already clear: they would use a different method to achieve peace between the clan and the village!

But Uchiha Itachi's expression had grown even uglier. Especially when he heard Shisui say that they would no longer compromise or yield, that they needed to be firm and resist, he knew things were going to get bad.

Although Shisui kept emphasizing that the clan would not rebel and that they wanted peace with the village, how could the clan obtain all this without compromising or rebelling?

In the end, they would probably still become endlessly entangled with the Hokage. Eventually, it would still cause a split between the Hokage and the clan, which would drive a split between Konoha and the clan!

The Hokage was Konoha's Hokage. Was opposing the Hokage not the same as opposing Konoha?

This was merely rebellion under another name. It was nothing more than dressing themselves in splendid clothing!

His heart was in complete turmoil. He had never imagined, even in his dreams, that the person he regarded as an older brother, who had cared for him for years and shared his ideals—

Had completely changed at this very moment. Had completely become a stranger!

Silently, Uchiha Itachi turned his head aside. His gaze fixed upon the massive, towering cliff.

He felt that along with Shisui's words, the Uchiha Shisui from his memories had gone away.

That gentle Shisui who loved Konoha had fallen into the abyss. The Shisui he had regarded as his goal had left forever!

The moment the person before him spoke those words, he could never find the Shisui of the past again. He felt the grief in his heart nearly burst from his chest.

He endured that sorrow, raised his head, and quietly looked at Shisui. In the end, all his countless thoughts and unspoken words became a single question.

"Shisui, are you sure you want to abandon the dream we once shared and walk down this path?"

"What?"

Shisui was somewhat stunned by Uchiha Itachi's words. He did not know whether he had said something wrong or simply failed to explain clearly.

But Uchiha Itachi clearly gave him no chance to explain further. He raised his head, his eyes already turning scarlet.

He stared hard at Shisui and continued questioning him in a forceful tone.

"Are you sure you want to oppose the village? Are you sure you want to shatter the village's peace? Are you sure you want to drag both the clan and the village into the abyss?"

After that question, Shisui's expression changed as well.

He could tell that Itachi before him seemed completely unable to understand their ideas, and completely unwilling to understand them.

It seemed that he had already decided that the clan could only integrate into Konoha through peaceful means, and that everything they did was pushing both the clan and Konoha into the abyss!

This made Shisui's expression turn extremely unpleasant. He had once thought the same way, but under Habara's guidance, he had changed.

He seemed to have heard Elder Zong say that Itachi was someone with a firm will who would not change easily.

Such a resolute will could make him a great shinobi, but once something went wrong, it could also make him someone who would stubbornly walk into darkness!

"Itachi, listen to me." Shisui was somewhat anxious. His feelings for Itachi were sincere, and he still wanted to attempt to win him back.

"There's no need, Shisui." But before Shisui could finish, Itachi directly interrupted him.

"You want to contend against the village. You want to use your so-called unification of the clan's will to oppose the village.

You want to shatter the village's peace and even drag innocent people into this. Then—"

At that point, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Uchiha Itachi's eyes began spinning rapidly.

"I will never allow it! I won't let your plans harm my family or harm the entire village. You'll have to get past me first!"

After speaking, Uchiha Itachi looked deeply at Shisui. He had trusted Shisui more than he trusted the Third Hokage.

But from this day onward, he felt he could no longer trust Shisui.

He had his own obsession. He wanted the village to be peaceful and stable. He wanted his Younger Brother to grow up safely in the village.

He did not want any problems between the clan and the village. What he longed for was that sincere peace.

Turning around, Uchiha Itachi left in silence. He felt that his eyes seemed to be undergoing some changes, but in his grief, he had no time to care about such things.

Shisui watched Itachi's departing back and let out a helpless sigh. He did not know whether there was a problem with what he had said. The view he expressed was actually the same as Habara's.

That was, they could not compromise blindly, nor could they be hardline blindly. The clan's integration into the village was not about groveling. They only wanted Konoha to hear their voice.

Taking a deep breath, Shisui silently closed his eyes. After a long while, he finally shook his head with a bitter smile.

"It seems Habara was right not to let me mention him, and not to reveal all of the plans."