I'm Here to Reason with You

It was hard to describe the shock in everyone's hearts when they saw this scene in the bustling plaza. It was like someone who had soaked in the sweetness of peace for countless years, long since forgetting the cruelty of war and the terror of death, suddenly being dropped without warning onto a battlefield of flesh and blood.

Most people could not even dream up such a brutal, bloody scene in their nightmares, yet it was happening right before their eyes!

For some who had lived through the night of the Nine-Tails' Rampage seven years ago, the terror they had tried so hard to forget and bury in the deepest recesses of their memories once again surged into their hearts. The wounds in their souls, which had only just begun to heal, were torn open anew into bloody scars.

The words they had heard before, words they had refused to believe no matter what, now left them unable to refute them. They even seemed to believe them, if only a little.

By now, ninja had already rushed over, intending to kill or capture this arrogant madman spouting nonsense on the spot.

But when they truly faced the corpses of the entire Uchiha Clan, their eyes still open in death, they too stood there in a daze.

Faced with the countless corpses of innocent people—the most convincing evidence of all—even the "justice" they upheld was hard to defend with righteous conviction!

"Are you really Shisui Uchiha? Didn't the Uchiha Clan say you died long ago?"

"What exactly happened? What does this have to do with the Third Hokage? Shisui Uchiha, don't spout nonsense!"

"...Shisui Uchiha, put all these corpses away first. If there's anything wrong, report it to the village. The village will definitely give you justice. Don't make trouble on your own!"

"Defaming Lord Hokage, Shisui Uchiha—you've already committed a grave offense! Considering you are overcome with grief and have lost your mind, surrender immediately and accept the village's judgment. There is still a chance to make amends!"

"Hmph. The Uchiha Clan suffered an incident, but that is no reason for you to go mad. You even dare frame Lord Hokage. Even if I kill you on the spot and execute you right here, there would be nothing wrong with it."

After their initial shock, the arriving ninja regained their senses. Everyone spoke at once. Some sympathized with him, some sighed in pity, some looked on coldly, and some sternly rebuked him.

Two of them even appeared to be ninja from the Shimura Clan and the Sarutobi Clan. After exchanging a glance, they rushed forward in tacit coordination, intending to capture Shisui alive and settle the matter as quickly as possible before things escalated further and spun out of control.

The result...

Bang, bang... thud, thud! They flew backward at even greater speed, whistling through the air across more than half the plaza before being violently embedded in two white stone pillars erected at the edge of the square for decoration.

The exquisite carvings on the pillars shattered and caved in. Cracks from the impact spread around the human-shaped indentations. At first glance, they actually looked rather beautiful, carrying a strange sort of artistic charm.

As for the two ninja who had become ornaments hanging from the pillars, even with their bodies reinforced by Chakra, most of their bones had already shattered. They had lost all strength to struggle and could not even pull themselves down from the pillars.

"Y-you actually dare resist?!"

That was the only thought left in their minds, and it was something most of the ninja present had not expected. Resisting in public and severely injuring ninja from the same village—Shisui Uchiha had betrayed the village.

He was already a "Rogue Ninja"!

"Ninja whose identity as Shisui Uchiha has not been confirmed, are you here to attack Konohagakure?" someone demanded.

Regardless of whether they sympathized with or pitied the Uchiha Clan, every ninja present tensed up and became highly alert, prepared to fight and to die.

Led by the highest-ranking among them, the Middle-aged Fat Jonin of the Akimichi Clan, they silently formed a battle formation. Ninja tools and ninjutsu were ready to be unleashed.

Feints, main attacks, support, cover... every tactical role had already been fully assigned through silent exchanges of glances and hand signals.

Everyone already knew what they needed to do in the battle ahead.

In that brief span of time, they had transformed from ordinary residents who had gone out early in the morning to stroll about and enjoy a peaceful life into well-trained elite warriors ready to sacrifice themselves. There was no hesitation, no fear, no panic.

That was what ninja were: a profession that lived with its head tied to its belt at all times!

"No. How could Uchiha, who have always loved Konohagakure deeply, possibly harm the village they cherish so dearly?

I am here today to reason with you!"

"Shisui Uchiha" glanced at the two ninja he had hung from the pillars at the edge of the plaza and spoke his heartfelt thoughts in a sincere tone.

Then, in the next instant, a majestic giant god hundreds of meters tall rose from the ground. The emerald-green giant was clad in armor. It was no longer merely a half-body form, but Susanoo's true form—the Perfect Susanoo!

Larger than a mountain and bearing the stance of a martial god, wings formed from the armor on its back, allowing it to soar through the skies. The green spiral sword in its hand was almost as long as Susanoo itself. Its width gradually increased from the tip to the hilt, making the blade appear anything but slender.

Instead, it gave off an incomparable sense of weight and solidity. Even for the towering, mountain-like Perfect Susanoo, it was undeniably a heavy battlefield weapon.

It could easily split mountains and shatter meteors. The so-called "fifty-meter-long sword" looked as thin and insignificant as a toothpick beside this spiral greatsword.

Standing within the manifested Susanoo and looking down at the tiny, ant-like crowd on the ground, almost all of Konohagakure lay within sight from this height.

For once, Daren Yi's usually calm face carried a trace of wildness.

Piloting a Gundam truly is every man's ultimate dream. Even I'm fired up!

Sword in hand, he raised it and brought it down!

Boom!

Accompanied by an enormous roar of compressed air that drowned out every sound throughout Konohagakure, the upper half of a towering mountain in the distance was severed from afar by a slash that fell diagonally, nearly parallel to the ground!

Far beyond Konohagakure, almost at the edge of sight, the aftershock of the slash struck the ground after cutting through the mountain.

Massive clouds of dust and earth shot into the sky. A vast stretch of dense forest was wiped away, exposing yellow-brown soil. From high above, it looked like an ugly, enormous scar carved into the emerald forest.

The ground beneath their feet trembled. That was caused by the aftershock of the slash. Moments later, the ground shook a second time—this time, it was caused by the severed mountain crashing down!

The air storm created by the sword's wind pressure howled and swirled within and beyond Konohagakure, refusing to subside for a long time. The ground kept bouncing, as if it had turned into a trampoline at a holiday amusement park.

The hearts of everyone in Konohagakure bounced along with it, nearly leaping out of their chests!

Th-this... was this really something a ninja could do? Was this a god descending upon the Human World, or the Sage of Six Paths? This was a little too far beyond the norm, wasn't it?

What did you just say? You were here to reason with us? Is this how anyone reasons with people?

Piloting a "Gundam" and holding up a giant sword to reason with someone?

Well, that reasoning was certainly sound and convincing!

Was this the Uchiha Clan's "reasoning"? If your Uchiha Clan had such overwhelming "reasoning," you should have said so earlier! You should have shown it sooner!

If you had shown it sooner, wouldn't none of this have happened?!

If they had known the Uchiha possessed such "great reasoning," then it would not have been the Uchiha trying every possible way to integrate into Konohagakure.

It would have been Konohagakure trying every possible way to beg the Uchiha Clan not to develop any estrangement from the village!

At that moment, the ninja who had been preparing to attack all fell silent, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

What were they supposed to do? Was there even any point in fighting?

Were they supposed to charge head-on at a god? Inside Konoha, where their families and friends lived?