Win or Lose

Win or Lose

After Kagami finished explaining, Itachi and Shisui exchanged a glance. Itachi did his best to hold back his laughter, while Shisui burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Hahahahaha! What are you talking about, Kagami? You thought that was my code? Hahahaha!"

Kagami also realized that something was off. For the past six months, he had followed Shisui around and learned from him at every moment. Since Shisui was Anbu, Kagami had inevitably come into contact with many Anbu-related matters. Over time, he had subconsciously developed the habit of ignoring the surface meaning whenever he heard something strange and thinking about the deeper meaning instead.

Thinking about it now, had Ino really just wanted to see him?

Kagami was, after all, a transmigrator. Although spending so much time with an Anbu operative had kept him from reacting at first, after thinking it over, he understood why.

He curled his lips and spoke disdainfully.

"You're so young, yet you don't learn anything good. You had to learn this."

As a straight-laced man, Kagami was highly qualified.

Shisui looked at Kagami teasingly.

"Little Kagami, are you interested?"

Kagami's face reddened slightly. He did not really want to discuss this topic.

After teasing Kagami for quite a while, Shisui finally let him off and turned to another matter.

"By the way, Kagami, since you happened to come out looking for me, I might as well tell you something. I was planning to tell you after school today, but since you're already here, I'll tell you now. Do you know the genius in an upper grade at your Ninja Academy?"

The Ninja Academy had six years of study, so naturally, there were distinctions between upper and lower grades.

As for the most famous genius among the upper-grade students currently attending, it should be—

Kagami asked uncertainly, "Hyuga Neji?"

Shisui nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, him. I received word from the Anbu that Hyuga Neji will challenge you tomorrow."

"Huh? Why?"

Shisui asked in return, "Can't you see it? The conflict between the Uchiha and the village is growing increasingly severe, and at a time like this—"

At that point, Shisui stopped and looked at Kagami, signaling for him to continue.

Kagami did not disappoint him. Although following Shisui for the past six months had made him increasingly foolish when it came to romance, he had gained an extremely clear understanding of the bigger picture and the political situation.

"And at a time like this, the Uchiha just happened to produce a genius like me, comparable to Big Brother Itachi in his prime. Could the village higher-ups be worried that I might become the next Big Brother Itachi and, in the near future, become a major source of support for the Uchiha? So they're having a genius from the Hyuga Clan weigh my capabilities."

Itachi looked at Kagami in surprise.

"You saw through it at a glance? No wonder Shisui thinks so highly of you."

Shisui had long since recognized Kagami's insight as comparable to Itachi's, and continued.

"You're right, but what I most want to ask is, what do you plan to do in this situation? Do you want to win, or not? No, before that, I need to ask you this: Can you win? Are you confident that you can?"

Kagami chuckled.

"The hallmark of a genius is usually confidence. The Uchiha are confident by nature as well. And as for me, I possess both qualities, so naturally, I'm confident I can win that battle. But..."

Shisui smiled and questioned him as if testing him.

"Exactly. That's the problem. You're confident you can win, but whether you should win or not is a choice. What will you choose?"

This was a test—a test Shisui was giving Kagami.

If Kagami won tomorrow's battle, the Konoha higher-ups would probably pay close attention to him. In time, once they discovered that Kagami was the kind of person who absolutely supported the Uchiha—and that he was also a genius—some people in the shadows might make a move against him and cut his life short!

But if he deliberately lost tomorrow's battle, all the Konoha higher-ups would see was an Uchiha with little significance, and their attention toward Kagami would likely decrease accordingly. The benefit of doing so was that he could hide his abilities, and it would also be much safer.

After thinking it through, clearly, losing was the best choice.

However—

"I'm going to win tomorrow's battle!"

Kagami spoke firmly.

The Night of the Uchiha Clan Extermination had long since entered its countdown. Every minute and every second was closing in on Kagami at a frantic pace. His situation was like sailing against the current: if he did not advance, he would retreat.

At a time like this, there was no point worrying about safety. He had to charge toward his destination at all costs!

Winning would certainly make Kagami's situation more delicate, and he might face the threat of death at any moment. But by winning, he would prove that he was an absolute genius, greatly increasing his chances of graduating early.

And becoming a Genin and a ninja early was undoubtedly the best way to increase his strength.

As for whether certain people might target him because his heart was with the Uchiha, Kagami thought about it. That old man with one eye really might do such a thing. The situation Kagami faced now was that Itachi and Obito stood before him, while Danzo was behind him.

If Kagami chose to endure and conceal himself, he indeed would not attract Danzo's attention. But his strength would then grow far more slowly than it would after becoming a ninja. In the future, he might avoid Danzo, but he would not be able to avoid Obito and Itachi's Night of the Uchiha Clan Extermination.

Kagami thought it over. Compared with Obito and Itachi, he felt that the old bastard Danzo would be easier to deal with. So all he needed to do now was seize every opportunity to improve his strength. If he could not even evade an assassination by Danzo's subordinates, how would he evade the extermination blade wielded by Obito and Itachi?

Itachi frowned as he looked at Kagami.

"You're in a hurry?"

What did Kagami's eagerness to grow stronger mean? It meant that Kagami was absolutely pessimistic about the situation between the Uchiha and Konoha. Yet Itachi was wholeheartedly trying to resolve the conflict peacefully. Kagami's pessimism was clearly a denial of Itachi's pursuit.

Kagami replied calmly, "Big Brother Itachi, do we have the same view?"

At that, Itachi understood as well. That was right. He believed that the Uchiha and Konoha could reach a peaceful conclusion, while Kagami believed they could not. Ultimately, they simply had different views. Without knowing the future, who was in the wrong? Neither of them.

Itachi smiled.

"You're right. Among the Uchiha, aside from Shisui, you're the only person whose breadth of mind I've seen so far that has truly amazed me."

Itachi was not a narrow-minded person. He could not possibly become cold toward someone merely because they held a different opinion. On the contrary, he admired that Kagami could see through the bigger picture and make his own rational judgment rather than blindly follow the crowd. Although Itachi did not believe Kagami's judgment was correct, that kind of "breadth of mind" was already worthy of his praise. As Itachi had said, throughout the entire Uchiha Clan, aside from himself, only Shisui and Kagami could achieve this.

Shisui, however, was not concerned with any of that. He had known for a long time that Kagami was pessimistic about the outcome for the Uchiha and Konoha, while Itachi was optimistic. He had no interest in arguing with the two of them over who was right or wrong.

"Kagami, since you want to win, I'll tell you my view. My original recommendation was also for you to win. No matter what you want to do in the future, you'll need strength to protect you. Just focus on improving yourself. As for the things that shouldn't come..."

At that, Shisui tapped Kagami on the head.

"Don't think about carrying everything by yourself. Leave it to me. Before Body Flicker Shisui dies, his little brother won't suffer any harm."