Ideological Differences

Shisui praised him.

"You really are impressive. With your shuriken, Chakra, three-element affinity, and among the Uchiha of your generation, you're the most outstanding person I've seen so far."

As Kagami listened to Shisui's praise, he didn't reply this time. From the moment Shisui had invited him out, Kagami had noticed that Shisui's every move seemed less like "teaching him" and more like "testing him." So what exactly was he testing?

Kagami soon found out.

Shisui glanced around, a strange smile on his face.

"Kagami, I think you know that there are plenty of places near the Uchiha compound that can be used as training grounds. That's why I was able to easily bring you to a training ground where it's just the two of us. But do you know why there are so many training grounds near the Uchiha compound?"

Kagami's pupils contracted. He knew what Shisui was about to say. Before his transmigration, Kagami hadn't known the answer to this question, but after arriving in this world, he had deliberately learned about the Uchiha and Konoha. So now, he knew exactly what Shisui was referring to.

However, Kagami didn't really want to discuss this topic. It wasn't something he could afford to discuss with his current strength. But when he saw Shisui's gaze, he understood that he couldn't brush the matter off. After thinking it over, he decided that since he couldn't avoid it, he might as well display his abilities as fully as possible.

"I know, Big Brother Shisui. As far as I understand, six years ago, the year I was born, the village suffered the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Afterward, the village's higher-ups moved the Uchiha Clan compound to the outskirts of the village. Since it was at the very edge of the village, there was a huge stretch of undeveloped forest behind it, so there were many nearby places that could be turned into training grounds."

Knowledge of history at this level clearly couldn't have come from school. He could only have learned it by deliberately investigating the matter. From that alone, if others knew that a six-year-old like Kagami had intentionally studied this history, they would probably have to ponder it carefully. Yet there was no surprise in Shisui's eyes. He had already gained a slight understanding of Kagami's "premature maturity" yesterday.

"That's right. You're correct. Since you know this part of history, you presumably also know why the village did this, right? What do you think of the village's decision?"

Kagami naturally knew why the Konoha higher-ups had done this. They wanted to distance the Uchiha from the center of the village while effectively isolating them even further.

It was like a group of children who used to play games together. Then one day, they all agreed that a child named Uchiha wasn't allowed to participate when they discussed important matters. Even when they played together, that child had to stay far away from them. They wouldn't inform him about anything important, but they would dump all the odd jobs on him and treat him like a servant.

What an interesting approach. Kagami didn't know whether Danzo, who had made this decision, was deliberately forcing the Uchiha to rebel, or whether he thought they wouldn't dare to rebel.

Of course, although Kagami knew the reasons behind everything, Shisui was asking what he thought of the matter, and that was somewhat difficult to answer. Was Shisui trying to find out where Kagami stood?

"I think the village handled this matter poorly. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that it handled it terribly."

Kagami's position definitely had to stand firmly with the Uchiha. Betraying one's own side was no good habit. Besides, judging the matter on its own merits and speaking honestly, the Konoha higher-ups were indeed in the wrong here.

Shisui sighed.

"As expected, you see it that way too. Even someone with such a clear understanding of the bigger picture sees it that way. Wouldn't those in the clan who can't see things clearly be even angrier? Sigh..."

Kagami knew that Shisui desperately wanted to ease the tension between Konoha and the Uchiha. He greatly admired people like Itachi and Shisui, who stood from the Hokage's perspective and worked for Konoha's peace. But on this matter, Kagami had to defend the Uchiha. This wasn't sophistry. It was simply the truth.

"Big Brother Shisui, I think the Uchiha shouldn't have ended up in such a tense situation with the village in the first place. But when one person raises a butcher's knife against another first, how can you expect the other person not to resist?"

Kagami's words were very direct. He was essentially cursing Konoha for being dishonorable. Looking at the Uchiha Clan Massacre from beginning to end, both the Uchiha and the Konoha higher-ups were at fault. But if one had to ask who was more at fault, without a doubt, it was the Konoha higher-ups.

You couldn't expect everyone to be like Uchiha Itachi or Uchiha Shisui, capable of viewing matters from the Hokage's perspective. Even when Konoha treated the Uchiha unfairly, Itachi and the others could endure it for the sake of Konoha's peace.

But people like Itachi and Shisui were geniuses, not ordinary people. They were the minority, not the majority. Everyone had their own feelings. Imagine someone constantly spitting at you while showing disgust toward you, and then someone told you to endure it for the sake of world peace.

A minority might be able to endure it, but the majority couldn't!

The coup the Uchiha wanted to launch was less something Fugaku had initiated than something the overwhelming majority of Uchiha clansmen had forced him to initiate.

Shisui fell silent for a while, then let out a sorrowful sigh.

"You're right, but the Uchiha and Konoha can't go to war. Do you know the situation Konoha is in? During the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha was at its peak. But what about now? White Fang has died. After that, the Fourth Hokage and the Fourth Hokage's wife died as well. Then Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin left one after another, while the Third Hokage also passed from his prime into old age. The Nine-Tails was sealed inside a child, so it basically couldn't become a combat force, and we even had to spend strength protecting it.

"To put it simply, Konoha is at the lowest point in its strength since its founding. There has never been a time when Konoha was this weakened. If the Uchiha were to clash with the Konoha higher-ups now, do you know what would happen? And if another country attacked Konoha at this time, what would happen then?

"Kagami, the current situation is no longer a simple internal village dispute. It's a crisis threatening Konoha's survival. Whether this conflict erupts or not will determine Konoha's fate! We need to focus on the entire shinobi world, rather than fixating on those so-called minor grudges and petty grievances like most of the clansmen!"

Kagami chuckled.

"Then why did Danzo choose this moment to take action and distance the Uchiha from the center of the village? Did the Uchiha want to rebel? No. Danzo forced everyone to rebel!"

Overcome with emotion, Kagami actually called Danzo by name, without the slightest trace of respect. Yes, Konoha's current situation was extremely dangerous. It was internally frail while also facing an impending Uchiha rebellion, so calling it a crisis threatening Konoha's survival was no exaggeration. But here was the question: could Danzo really not see how weak Konoha was? Impossible! Danzo had to be able to see it. And what had he done? He had moved the Uchiha away from the center of the village, making his attitude of isolation blatantly obvious. The village was already extremely weak, and he still chose to pull something like this?

Shisui looked at Kagami, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"You've already realized that the clan wants to launch a coup?"

Kagami shook his head.

"That's not important."

Shisui fell silent again. After a while, he sighed.

"You really are like Itachi was back then. At such a young age, you've seen through a situation that most people can't understand, and you have an amazingly sharp instinct. Just by sensing the atmosphere around you, you were able to notice that the clan wants to stage a coup. The only difference is that Itachi agrees with my ideals, while our ideals are incompatible. That's enough for today."

After saying that, Shisui turned and left, slowly disappearing from Kagami's sight. This time, he didn't use the Body Flicker Technique. Instead, he simply walked away at a leisurely pace. What was he thinking? Kagami didn't know.

What Kagami did know was that he would never become a blade in Danzo's hands! He understood perfectly how determined Danzo was in his attitude toward the Uchiha. If Kagami acted as though he shared Shisui's ideals, Shisui might bring him into the Anbu ahead of time. When the day came to exterminate the Uchiha Clan, would Kagami have a part in it? Would he raise the butcher's knife against his own parents?

Kagami didn't want that. The education he had received in his previous life made it impossible for him to attack the parents who had raised him, or the neighbors and friends he spent every day with.

Actually, Kagami had initially planned to approach Itachi and find an opportunity to join the Anbu, hoping to learn about the massacre ahead of time and save himself and his family. But today's conversation with Shisui had awakened him. Wouldn't joining the Anbu mean becoming a blade wielded by the Konoha higher-ups? Who could guarantee that he wouldn't have a part in slaughtering his own clansmen in the future? Even if he could agree to it and then refuse to act, the mere thought of serving the people who might one day order him to kill his parents made Kagami sick.

He had awakened. It was true that he had always worked to preserve his life, but he could never raise the butcher's knife against his parents for the sake of survival. Nor could he sell his life to a group of people who wanted to exterminate his entire clan. He was Uchiha Kagato! Not Sarutobi Kagato, and certainly not Shimura Kagato. Only the Uchiha were his roots.

Six years had already given Kagami feelings for this clan. He knew that with only about a year, it would be difficult to change the Uchiha Clan's fate. But in Kagami's plans, he would take his family and escape the disaster of the massacre. Then he would become an avenger, finding an opportunity to make Danzo die alongside the Uchiha clansmen!

The hatred of clan extermination could never be reconciled!

Come to think of it, why were Itachi and Shisui so determined to ease the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha? Because they believed that with the help of the Konoha higher-ups, they could definitely accomplish it.

Because they hadn't seen through the man named Danzo—the man who constantly claimed and sincerely believed that he was acting for Konoha's sake—whose actions were, for the most part, of no benefit to Konoha at all.

Who was ultimately responsible for Konoha's current crisis? In truth, everyone bore some degree of responsibility. But the primary responsibility inevitably belonged to that one-eyed man with one eye covered by a white cloth!