Drawing a Pie for Shisui

Konoha.

Three days ago, Konoha suffered the greatest disaster in its history. The Nine-Tails at its peak was an absolutely terrifying calamity capable of destroying heaven and earth. Under its earth-shaking assault, more than two-thirds of the village's buildings sustained varying degrees of damage.

In the end, the Nine-Tails' Rampage concluded at the cost of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, along with countless shinobi.

At the same time, the just-concluded Third Shinobi War, combined with this sudden heavy blow to Konoha, left the border regions somewhat unstable. This was the most important reason the Third Hokage was able to smoothly return to power. If the situation had been stable, a Fifth Hokage would likely have been elected instead of letting the Third take the reins.

Meanwhile, because of the Sharingan reflected in the Nine-Tails' eyes, the Uchiha Clan in Konoha had fallen under suspicion and lost trust. The higher-ups, using the excuse that the village needed to be rebuilt, directly pushed the Uchiha to the outskirts, far from the village center.

Though the Uchiha Clan was fiercely dissatisfied, they could only swallow their anger and endure. There was no other choice—the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes was undeniable.

From then on, the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha gradually moved toward an irreconcilable point.

"Yoru, how do you think the clan can regain the village's trust? And this time, the village's losses are too great."

Uchiha Shisui, who had just walked out of the Naka Shrine, wore a clearly worried expression. Watching this, Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but sigh inwardly. No wonder the Second Hokage said the Uchiha Clan was extreme—here you are, not worrying about the Uchiha Clan, but worrying about the village instead.

Uchiha Yoru put on a sorrowful look, sighed, and shook his head. "Shisui, it's not about how the clan can make the village trust us again. It's about whether the village is willing to trust the Uchiha."

Seeing Shisui's bewildered expression, Yoru muttered to himself. He had to take advantage of the fact that Shisui hadn't yet walked into a dead end, and pull this lost young man back from his confusion before he sided completely with the Hokage.

Otherwise, it would end up just like in the original story—three Mangekyo users in the Uchiha Clan, two with their hearts in Sarutobi's camp, and the third silently choosing to let his own son kill him. With that kind of setup, it would be a miracle if the Uchiha weren't wiped out. The strongest combat power was all mentally broken.

And Shisui couldn't have been brainwashed from the start. He probably just had goodwill toward the Hokage. It was after the Nine-Tails incident, when the village became wary of the Uchiha, that the Third Hokage began secretly developing his own informants within the clan. Shisui was slowly assimilated after the Nine-Tails' Rampage. As for Uchiha Itachi, he was still just a five-year-old brat.

"Shisui, this time, so many in the clan are holding back a fire of anger. But to prove their innocence, to show they're part of Konoha Village, the Uchiha Clan humbly agreed to relocate to the village's edge, and they're under constant surveillance. The Uchiha have set aside their pride. The village should see that."

This time, Yoru gave Shisui a meaningful look, then put on an expression of someone wronged but unable to seek justice, forced to swallow his teeth and stomach the pain.

This scene stunned Shisui. Yeah—the proud Uchiha Clan setting aside their pride and choosing a humiliating relocation—wasn't that proof of their innocence to the village?

Seeing the hope flickering in Shisui's eyes, Yoru sighed inwardly. Sure enough, this Uchiha Shisui had a screw loose, or at least a blank spot in this area. No one was born on any side; they all walked into someone's embrace step by step.

Seeing this, Yoru couldn't help but remark that the Uchiha Clan's training of their geniuses was still lacking. No—he should say the Uchiha were too confident, confident that their geniuses bore the name Uchiha.

"Yoru, do you think the village will trust us again once we move to the new settlement?"

At this moment, Shisui's eyes shone with hope. Yoru, however, frowned in thought for a long while before finally letting out a soft sigh.

This reaction naturally piqued Shisui's curiosity, and he looked at Yoru with anticipation. Yoru glanced around cautiously, and after confirming no one was nearby, he whispered.

"Shisui, you're too naive. If the Fourth Hokage were still here, the Uchiha would naturally have more trust. Even if any of the Three Sannin became the Fifth Hokage, the Uchiha would be trusted a bit more."

Yoru's words left Shisui with a confused, puzzled look. Watching this, Yoru muttered to himself. Sure enough, Shisui was a genius in ninja matters, but in politics, he was a complete mess. Of course, he couldn't be blamed—the shinobi villages had only been around for so many years, not even a few generations. It wasn't that they lacked experience; there was simply no precedent.

"Brother Yoru, why do you say that any of the Three Sannin becoming the Fifth Hokage would be better than the Third Hokage?"

At this point, a frowning, puzzled Shisui unconsciously used the title "Brother." Hearing this honorific, Yoru felt a victorious smile rise in his heart. Sure enough, as long as you wield your hoe well, there's no wall you can't tear down. He refused to believe that if the Uchiha were united as one, and those two elbow-turners were both swayed by him, the clan could still be easily wiped out.

Yoru shook his head with a sigh. "Shisui, do you know about Elder Setsuna's past?"

One sentence immediately made Shisui's face show an awkward expression. He carefully looked around, and after sensing no other shinobi's presence, he whispered cautiously, "How could I not know? What does that have to do with this?"

Uchiha Setsuna was a member of Konoha's Military Police Force during the Second Hokage's administration. He inherited Madara Uchiha's will and belonged to the hawk faction. Later, he attempted to incite Uchiha clan members to rebel, which was detected by the Second Hokage. In the end, Setsuna was arrested by ANBU members dispatched by the Second Hokage and imprisoned. (Verifiable information)

It wasn't until the Third Hokage took office, in order to stabilize public sentiment, that he was released from prison. Since then, this elder had become dispirited, but he still remained a relatively hardline presence in the Uchiha Clan.

Seeing Shisui's cautious demeanor, Yoru gestured with his eyes for them to head toward the waterfall, and they walked and talked.

"Shisui, you know the Second Hokage's policies. In that special era, it was only right to be wary of the Uchiha Clan. But tell me—how do you think the disciples who inherited the Second Hokage's ideology view the Uchiha?"

This question directly stunned Shisui. He had never thought about this before. But as a descendant of Uchiha Kagami, he naturally understood some things. He couldn't help but frown, clearly shaken inside—or rather, he had never considered things from this angle before.

Feeling Shisui's wavering heart, Yoru couldn't help but smile and shake his head. "Shisui, don't lose heart. Although the Third Hokage inherited the Second Hokage's ideology, he'll eventually step down. As for Danzo and the two elders, let's not mention them for now. After all, Lord Orochimaru is currently the most likely candidate to become the Fifth Hokage."

In one sentence, he didn't speak ill of the Third Hokage, but he made Shisui look at it from another angle—during the Third's administration, did he truly trust the Uchiha? And the Second's policy of guarding against the Uchiha—how could his disciples not have inherited it?

These words initially made Shisui frown, even feeling some resistance and disagreement inside. But then Yoru suddenly brought up the Fifth Hokage, and everything before that became insignificant.

At this moment, Shisui raised his head to look at his clansman, who was only a year older than him. Seeing this, Yoru shrugged and smiled with full confidence. "Shisui, don't worry. I know the Three Sannin. None of them have any prejudice against the Uchiha. After all, they're not from that era."

He was still referring to the era of the Second Hokage—the period shortly after Madara Uchiha's rebellion, followed by the First Hokage's death from illness. It would be false to say the Second Hokage wasn't wary. Calling it a special era was no exaggeration. After all, the Uchiha had indirectly caused the First Hokage's death.

The Third Hokage took office during that period, since the Second didn't last long before dying. How could he not have been influenced? But the Three Sannin were still young then, so it was normal that they weren't affected.

Hearing this, Shisui felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Though he wanted to argue, when he heard that the future Fifth Hokage, whoever it might be, wouldn't hold prejudice against the Uchiha, a smile spread across his face.

Yeah—no matter what happened before, it was about to become history. They just needed to get along well with the future Fifth Hokage.

Watching Shisui's hopeful, longing smile, Yoru sneered inwardly. First, he'd plant the impression that the Third Hokage and his group inherited the Second's policy of guarding against the Uchiha. Then, he'd dangle the new hope of the future Fifth Hokage. When Shisui later discovered there was no Fifth Hokage, and the Third was stubbornly clinging to power without letting go...

Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up. Uchiha Yoru revealed a sinister smile. And he was here—he didn't believe Shisui could be easily brainwashed then.

Once the seed of doubt was planted, it wouldn't show much now. But he'd need to water it from time to time, let it sprout early, and even grow into a towering tree. Then, hmph!

"Brother Yoru, what kind of person is Lord Orochimaru?"

At this point, Shisui had clearly fallen into the grand blueprint Yoru had constructed. Not that Shisui was brainless—it was just that no one would have expected Orochimaru to defect. And right now, Orochimaru had the loudest voice in the entire village. Once the border stabilized, the Fifth Hokage would likely be elected.

Seeing Shisui's hopeful expression, Yoru was happy to play along. With a full smile, he said, "I've heard that although Lord Orochimaru is somewhat cold, even eerily unpredictable, he's definitely a trustworthy person. After all, he was once a candidate for the Fourth Hokage."

When he mentioned "candidate for the Fourth Hokage," Shisui immediately smiled and nodded firmly. "That's right. Though Lord Orochimaru is cold on the battlefield, that decisiveness is an indispensable quality for a Hokage."

At this moment, in Shisui's eyes, anyone chosen as Hokage had inherited the Will of Fire. Orochimaru's decisive command of shinobi forces on the battlefield, though it caused some casualties, also won victory after victory. That was the decisiveness a Hokage couldn't lack.

Tsk, tsk. Yoru beside him couldn't help but smile. You sure know how to fill in the blanks. Looks like you've been steeped in Hokage propaganda at the academy, even making up your own interpretations. But when you see Orochimaru defect later... tsk, tsk.

Thinking of this, Yoru couldn't help but look forward to it. Shisui's expression then would definitely be something to see.

Please support me.