Extreme Self

Chapter 17: Utterly Selfish

"Begin!"

A cold voice commanded, and countless masked ninja stormed into the Uchiha compound, raising their blades against the clan members.

Neighbors fell one after another in what was a one-sided slaughter. Soon after, a group of people arrived at Kagami's doorstep.

Kagami opened the door, just about to head to school. But instead of the familiar fresh air and sunlight, he was met with a bloodied sword slashing viciously towards his face! He couldn't dodge, was he going to die?!

"Ah!"

Kagami jolted awake in his bed. He looked at his unharmed hands, touched his face, and spoke with lingering fear.

"So it was just a dream."

Propping up half his face with his hand, Kagami's expression turned grim. Even though it was just a dream, it made him realize something.

"Is that event approaching soon?"

A new day dawned, and Kagami arrived at the Ninja Academy. The way people looked at him had clearly changed. A few days ago, there had been indignation, admiration, and disgust. But today, it was mostly admiration and complex emotions.

It seemed the power of those two Great Fireball Jutsu attacks was quite significant, directly crushing the defiance in some hearts and making them fully understand the gap in strength.

For the rest of the day, Iruka didn't arrange even a single spar for Kagami. Clearly, Iruka understood that these brats posed no threat to Kagami. The difference in strength was too vast, their defeats too swift, and they couldn't learn anything from him.

Kagami was content with the peace, idly spacing out. No one knew what he was thinking.

After school in the afternoon, Kagami went to the training grounds. Upon seeing Shisui, Kagami didn't initiate a fight this time. Instead, he walked directly in front of Shisui, biting his lip slightly as if steeling his resolve.

"Brother Shisui, I want to ask you something."

Shisui looked at Kagami with a peculiar gaze.

"You seem so serious, is it something important? Ask away."

Kagami's gaze was fixed firmly on Shisui's face.

"Brother Shisui, have you awakened the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan?"

Shisui's pupils contracted, and he stared intently at Kagami, growling.

"Who told you?!"

Kagami was startled by Shisui's reaction, not expecting such an outburst.

"I... I guessed."

Shisui continued to stare intently at Kagami, confirming again.

"Are you sure? Kagami, this isn't a time for lying. I need you to tell me the honest truth."

Kagami shook his head frantically. Shisui was a bit terrifying at the moment.

"Brother Shisui, it really wasn't someone else, I truly guessed."

Shisui slowly closed his eyes, the tension and anger vanishing. He reopened them and spoke gently.

"It's good that no one told you. I thought Lord Danzō had done something to you. Anyway, let's not dwell on that. Kagami, I have indeed awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. You're very smart to have guessed it. However, while smart people aren't numerous, they aren't few either. Some people have also suspected this. I was afraid they would try to test me through you. They can attack me, but under no circumstances can they involve you. Otherwise, they'll be forcing my hand!"

With those few sentences, Kagami instantly understood why Shisui had been so angry. Danzō's side must have had someone suspecting Shisui possessed the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan. And such a legendary power, in Danzō's view, was undoubtedly an "uncontrollable" force. For Danzō, there were only two ways to deal with such power: destroy it or obtain it.

Shisui feared that Danzō might have sent someone to "accidentally" inform Kagami about his Mangekyo, and then use Kagami to test him. This way, Kagami would inevitably be drawn into the matter. Once involved, he could be silenced by Danzō at any moment.

This was Shisui's concern, and something he couldn't tolerate. He couldn't stand those people dragging Kagami into this vortex, just as Itachi couldn't stand them dragging Sasuke into the clan extermination.

Kagami wanted to say something about this, but in the end, he didn't. For people like Shisui and Itachi, who were wholeheartedly trying to ease the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha, the Uchiha were not their teammates, nor were the Konoha higher-ups. Both sides harbored hidden agendas. Their only teammates were each other.

In this crisis between the Uchiha and Konoha, countless people were involved. But among them, those who genuinely wished to resolve the crisis were only a handful. One was Itachi, the other was Shisui.

After some thought, Kagami decided not to offer any opinions. It was their chosen path, and no one else could interfere. Moreover, Kagami had something more important to say today.

"Brother Shisui, do you trust me?"

Shisui paused, then smiled slightly and ruffled Kagami's hair.

"Yes, of course, I trust you."

Kagami spoke with determined eyes.

"Then, Brother Shisui, listen to me. Never tell Danzō about your Mangekyo ability!"

Shisui frowned.

"You know the Mangekyo has special abilities? How did you find out?"

Knowing about the Mangekyo wasn't strange; it had always been a legend within the Uchiha clan, and many knew of it. But knowing that the Mangekyo possessed special abilities was rather peculiar.

Kagami shook his head.

"That's not important. Brother Shisui, promise me first, never tell Danzō about your Mangekyo ability."

Shisui pondered for a moment, then chuckled.

"Alright, I promise. But can you tell me why?"

Kagami snorted coldly.

"Danzō is someone who lurks in the shadows. If he knew you had such eyes, he would definitely try to obtain them, or destroy them! I'm afraid you'll fall into his trap."

Shisui, however, disagreed somewhat.

"While Danzō's personality is indeed like that, these are the most critical times for Konoha and the Uchiha. He should be able to set aside his prejudices and prioritize the bigger picture."

Kagami's eyes widened. He suddenly understood why Shisui and Itachi trusted Danzō and worked so hard to resolve the crisis between Konoha and the Uchiha.

It wasn't that they couldn't see Danzō for who he was. It was that they saw him clearly, but in their eyes, during this time of Konoha's survival, Danzō would put aside his prejudices and focus on the greater good.

"Impossible!!"

Kagami instinctively growled.

Shisui still felt Kagami was overthinking, and shook his head.

"Kagami, you're thinking too much. Danzō isn't irrational. He won't make a move against me before this crisis is over. And after it's over? Perhaps then, but what does it matter? If my life can bring peace to Konoha and the Uchiha, then I am willing."

Kagami's attitude was resolute.

"No, Brother Shisui, Danzō is absolutely not someone who prioritizes the bigger picture. He is an extremely self-centered person. He only does what he believes is right, without considering anything else."

In the original story, Danzō went against the Hokage's orders and secretly did other things behind the scenes. Weren't there many such instances?

To put it bluntly, Danzō was indeed someone who wholeheartedly wanted to make Konoha stronger. He was decisive and ruthless in his actions, and very confident in his own views. Every point was exactly like the Second Hokage, Tobirama.

The only difference was that Danzō lacked Tobirama's strength, Tobirama's boldness, and Tobirama's foresight. In all aspects, his abilities were inferior to Tobirama's.

Why did Tobirama fear the Uchiha? It was because of Madara Uchiha, a figure unmatched throughout history. That's why Tobirama feared the Uchiha. Even so, Tobirama only created the Konoha Military Police Force for the Uchiha and didn't go too far.

But why did Danzō fear the Uchiha? There seemed to be no reason. He was terrified by just a few three-tomoe and two-tomoe eyes.

Damn, so strong. I need to isolate them. Such powerful Kekkei Genkai, it's too terrifying.

This was where he lacked boldness and strength.

And foresight? The Senju and Uchiha clans fought fiercely. When they finally made peace, although Tobirama was displeased, he grudgingly accepted it and prioritized the bigger picture, not actively causing trouble.

But Danzō? Konoha was already weak, yet he initiated the relocation of the Uchiha, forcing the Uchiha to rebel. After that, Shisui could have resolved this crisis with Kotoamatsukami, but Danzō once again ignored Konoha's situation, only seeing what was in front of him. That Mangekyo was too dangerous, and thus, the opportunity to resolve the crisis was lost.

With Shisui's death, the Uchiha became irreconcilably opposed to Konoha. A perfectly played hand was ruined by Danzō. In the end, he left a mess, and could Danzō solve it? No, he didn't have the ability to solve it. He created a mess but lacked the ability to fix it, so he could only throw this mess to Itachi, forcing Itachi to make a great sacrifice for Konoha.

It was laughable. Itachi and Shisui risked their lives to resolve the conflict, while Danzō continuously created conflict behind the scenes. When trouble arose, he couldn't solve it himself and dumped it on Itachi.

This series of actions not only caused Konoha to lose a great clan like the Uchiha, but also lost two unparalleled geniuses, Shisui and Itachi. It was truly marvelous.

Kagami sometimes wondered if the Naruto anime would even exist if Tobirama had passed the Hokage title to Danzō. Perhaps it would have become Mizukage Ninja, Raikage Ninja, Tsuchikage Ninja, Kazekage Ninja, but definitely not Hokage Ninja.

No matter how great Konoha was, it couldn't withstand Danzō's actions.