Konoha.
Three days ago, Konoha had suffered the greatest disaster in its history. At the height of its power, the Nine-Tails had been an absolutely terrifying natural calamity. Its earth-shaking assault had damaged two-thirds of the village's buildings to varying degrees.
In the end, the Nine-Tails' Rampage came to an end at the cost of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, along with countless ninjas.
At the same time, the recently concluded Third Shinobi War had left the borders somewhat unstable after Konoha suddenly suffered such a devastating blow. This was also the most important reason the Third had been able to return and take power so smoothly. If the situation had been stable, they would likely have selected the Fifth Hokage instead of letting the Third take control again.
At the same time, because of the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes, the Uchiha Clan had become suspected and distrusted within Konoha. Using the need to reorganize Konoha as an excuse, the higher-ups directly sent the Uchiha to the outskirts, far from the village center.
Though the Uchiha Clan was deeply dissatisfied, they could only swallow the humiliation and endure it. There was no helping it—the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes could not be explained away.
From then on, the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha gradually moved toward an irreconcilable point.
"Yoru, how can the clan regain the village's trust? And the village's losses this time were far too great."
Uchiha Shisui had just stepped out of Naka Shrine, and worry was obvious on his face. Seeing this, Uchiha Yoru could not help but sigh inwardly. No wonder the Second Hokage had said the Uchiha Clan was extreme. Instead of worrying about the Uchiha Clan, Shisui was worried about the village.
Uchiha Yoru put on a sorrowful expression, sighed, and shook his head. "Shisui, it isn't about how the clan can regain the village's trust. It's about how the village can trust the Uchiha."
Seeing the confused look on Uchiha Shisui's face, Uchiha Yoru muttered inwardly. He had to save Shisui while he had not yet gone down a dead end. He could not let this confused young man in the middle of his life become someone who stood with the Hokage's side.
Otherwise, just like in the original story, the Uchiha Clan would have three Mangekyo, yet two would have their hearts with Sarutobi. The last would silently choose to let his own son kill him. With Uchiha like that, it would be a miracle if the clan was not destroyed. Their strongest fighters were all damn well mentally unstable.
And Shisui could not possibly have been brainwashed from the start. At most, he had a favorable impression of the Hokage. It was probably after the Nine-Tails that the village's vigilance toward the Uchiha allowed the Third to secretly begin cultivating informants within the clan. Uchiha Shisui had slowly been assimilated after the Nine-Tails' attack, while Uchiha Itachi was still just a five-year-old brat.
"Shisui, so many people in the clan are holding back their anger this time. But to prove our innocence, to show that we are members of Konoha Village, the Uchiha Clan humiliatingly agreed to move to the outskirts. We even have to remain under the village's surveillance at all times. The Uchiha Clan has already put aside its pride. The village should have seen that."
This time, Uchiha Yoru gave Shisui a meaningful look, then pretended to be aggrieved yet unable to seek justice, like someone forced to grit his teeth and swallow his pain.
Uchiha Shisui froze at once. That was right. The proudest clan, the Uchiha Clan, had set aside its pride and chosen to relocate in humiliation. Was that not proof of its innocence to the village?
As hope appeared in Shisui's eyes, Uchiha Yoru sighed inwardly. Sure enough, there was something wrong with this Uchiha Shisui's head—or rather, he was completely blank in this regard. No one was born standing on one side. Everyone gradually walked into one side's embrace.
Seeing this, Uchiha Yoru could not help but sigh. The Uchiha's training of their own clan geniuses was truly inadequate. No, it should be said that the Uchiha were too confident—confident simply because their geniuses bore the Uchiha name.
"Yoru, once we move to the new residential area, do you think the village will trust us again?"
Hope shone in Uchiha Shisui's eyes. After hearing this, Uchiha Yoru frowned and pondered for a long while before finally letting out a soft sigh.
As expected, this immediately aroused Uchiha Shisui's curiosity. He looked at Yoru expectantly. After cautiously glancing around and confirming that no one was nearby, Uchiha Yoru lowered his voice.
"Shisui, you're too naive. If the Fourth Hokage were still alive, the Uchiha would naturally receive more trust. Likewise, if any one of the Sannin became the Fifth Hokage, the Uchiha would be trusted three parts more."
Yoru's words left Shisui looking confused and bewildered. Seeing this, Yoru muttered inwardly. Sure enough, Shisui was indeed a genius when it came to ninja matters, but in politics, he was a complete mess. Of course, it was not really his fault. How many years had the Shinobi World even had villages? There had barely been a few generations, so it was no wonder they lacked this kind of experience. There simply were no predecessors to learn from.
"Brother Yoru, why would any of the Sannin becoming the Fifth Hokage be better than the Third?"
As he furrowed his brow in confusion, Shisui unconsciously began calling him big brother. Hearing that respectful title, Uchiha Yoru smiled triumphantly inwardly. Sure enough, if you swung the hoe well enough, there was no corner you could not pry loose. He refused to believe that, once the Uchiha became a solid block and he had talked sense into those two traitors, the clan could still be so easily wiped out.
Uchiha Yoru shook his head and sighed. "Shisui, do you know Elder Setsuna's past?"
At those words, embarrassment immediately appeared on Uchiha Shisui's face. He cautiously glanced around again. Only after sensing no other ninja presences did he carefully whisper, "Of course I do. What does that have to do with this?"
Uchiha Setsuna had been a member of the Konoha Military Police Force during the Second Hokage's administration. He had inherited Madara Uchiha's will and belonged to the hawkish faction. Later, the Second Hokage discovered his attempt to incite the Uchiha clansmen into rebellion and unrest. In the end, Setsuna was arrested by Anbu members sent by the Second Hokage and imprisoned in Prison. (This can be verified.)
It was only after the Third took office, in order to stabilize people's hearts, that he released the elder from Prison. From then on, the elder became dispirited, though he still remained one of the Uchiha Clan's more hardline figures.
Seeing Uchiha Shisui's cautious expression, Uchiha Yoru gestured for them to walk toward the waterfall. The two spoke as they walked.
"Shisui, you know the Second Hokage's policies. Given that special era, it was understandable to guard against the Uchiha Clan. So tell me, how do you think the disciples who inherited the Second Hokage's ideas view the Uchiha Clan?"
That question left Uchiha Shisui stunned. He had never considered such things before. But as a descendant of Uchiha Kagami, he naturally knew some of the history. He could not help frowning, clearly shaken deeply inside—or rather, he had never before considered events from this angle.
Sensing Uchiha Shisui's wavering heart, Uchiha Yoru smiled and shook his head. "Shisui, don't lose heart. Though the Third inherited the Second Hokage's ideas, he will have to step down sooner or later. As for Danzo and the two higher-ups, let's not mention them for now. After all, Lord Orochimaru is currently the most likely candidate to become the Fifth Hokage."
With that one sentence, he did not need to speak ill of the Third. He could simply make Shisui view things from another angle. During the Third's rule, had he truly trusted the Uchiha Clan? And since he had been the Second Hokage's disciple, how could he not have inherited the Second Hokage's policies of guarding against the Uchiha?
Those words had initially made Shisui frown, and he had even felt some dislike and disagreement. But the moment the Fifth Hokage was brought up, everything said before became insignificant.
At that moment, Uchiha Shisui raised his head and looked at his clansman, who was only one year older than him. Uchiha Yoru merely shrugged and smiled confidently. "Don't worry, Shisui. I know the Sannin. Not one of them has any prejudice against the Uchiha. After all, they weren't from that era."
He was still referring to the Second Hokage's era—the period not long after Madara Uchiha's rebellion. Soon afterward, the First Hokage died of illness. It would have been strange if the Second Hokage had not been wary. Calling it a special era was no exaggeration. After all, the Uchiha Clan had indirectly caused the First Hokage's death.
The Third had succeeded to office during that same period. The Second Hokage had not served for long before dying, so how could he have remained unaffected? But the Sannin had still been youths back then, so it was only natural that they had not been influenced.
For some reason, Uchiha Shisui felt a trace of relief after hearing this. Though he wanted to argue something, when he heard that whoever became the future Fifth Hokage would not be prejudiced against the Uchiha, a smile appeared on his face.
That was right. No matter whether the past had been right or wrong, it would soon become history. They only needed to build good relations with the future Fifth Hokage.
As he watched Uchiha Shisui's hopeful, yearning smile, Uchiha Yoru sneered inwardly. First, he would leave Shisui with the impression that the Third and his people had inherited the Second Hokage's vigilance toward the Uchiha. Then he would offer the new hope of a future Fifth Hokage. When Shisui discovered that there would be no Fifth Hokage, and that the Third was clinging tightly to power without letting go...
At that thought, the corners of his lips slowly curled upward. Uchiha Yoru revealed a wicked smile. With him around, he refused to believe Shisui could still be so easily brainwashed.
Once the seed of doubt was planted, nothing might show for now. But he only needed to water it from time to time, let it sprout early, perhaps even grow into a towering tree. Then, heh heh!
"Brother Yoru, what kind of person is Lord Orochimaru?"
Uchiha Shisui had clearly fallen into the grand blueprint Yoru had constructed. Of course, that was not because Shisui lacked intelligence. No one would have imagined that Orochimaru would defect, and Lord Orochimaru currently had the greatest support in the entire village. Once the border stabilized, they would likely select the Fifth Hokage.
Seeing Uchiha Shisui's expression of anticipation for the future, Uchiha Yoru was happy to play along. He smiled and said, "I heard Lord Orochimaru is somewhat cold, even strange and unfathomable, but he is definitely someone worthy of trust. After all, he was once one of the candidates for Fourth Hokage."
The instant he mentioned that Lord Orochimaru had once been a candidate for Fourth Hokage, Uchiha Shisui smiled and nodded firmly. "That's right. Though Lord Orochimaru was rather cold on the battlefield, that was the decisiveness a Hokage absolutely needed."
At that moment, Shisui believed that everyone selected to become Hokage had inherited the Will of Fire. Lord Orochimaru's decisiveness in commanding the ninja armies on the battlefield had caused some casualties, but it had also won victory after victory. That was the kind of decisiveness a Hokage could not do without.
Tsk, tsk. Uchiha Yoru smiled beside him. Shisui really knew how to fill in the blanks. It seemed he had absorbed plenty of Hokage-style inspirational nonsense at the academy and had learned to rationalize things on his own. But when he saw Orochimaru defect in the future, tsk, tsk.
At the thought of that, Uchiha Yoru could not help looking forward to it. Shisui's expression then would definitely be wonderful.
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