Ideological Differences

Chapter 7: Clashing Ideals

Shisui praised him.

"You really are impressive—shuriken, chakra, a three-attribute affinity. Among the Uchiha clan members of your generation, you're the best I've seen so far."

Kagato listened to Shisui's praise. This time, he didn't reply. From the moment Shisui had called him out, Kagato had realized that Shisui's every move was less about "teaching him" and more about "testing him." So, what was he testing?

Kagato got his answer soon enough.

Shisui glanced around, a faint, enigmatic smile on his face.

"Kagato, I think you should know that there are plenty of places near the Uchiha compound that can serve as training grounds. That's why I could easily find one with just the two of us. But do you know why there are so many training grounds near the Uchiha compound?"

Kagato's pupils contracted. He knew what Shisui was about to say. Before his transmigration, Kagato hadn't understood this issue, but after crossing over, he had deliberately looked into the matters between the Uchiha and Konoha. So now, he knew exactly what Shisui was referring to.

However, Kagato wasn't keen on discussing this topic. It wasn't something his current strength allowed him to wade into. Yet, meeting Shisui's gaze, he understood he couldn't brush it off. After a moment's thought, since he couldn't avoid it, he might as well show off his abilities as much as possible.

"I know, Shisui-brother. From what I've learned, this should be about six years ago—the year I was born—when the village suffered the Nine-Tails' Rampage. After that, the village's higher-ups relocated the Uchiha clan's compound to the outermost edge of the village. Because it's on the outskirts, there's a large forest behind it, all undeveloped land. So there are plenty of places nearby that can be turned into training grounds."

This level of historical knowledge clearly couldn't have been learned at the academy; it could only have come from deliberate investigation. From this alone, a six-year-old brat like Kagato actively seeking out such history—if others knew, they'd surely ponder it deeply. But Shisui showed no surprise; Kagato's "precociousness" was something he had already gotten a sense of yesterday.

"Yes, you're right. Since you understand this history, you must also know the village's intention behind this move, right? What do you think of the village's approach?"

Kagato naturally knew the Konoha higher-ups' intention: to push the Uchiha away from the center while further isolating them!

It was like a group of kids who used to play together. Then one day, they all agreed to exclude one kid named Uchiha from discussions. When they played together, that Uchiha kid had to stay far away. They wouldn't inform him of important matters, but would dump all the trivial chores on him, treating him like a servant.

This approach was truly interesting. Kagato wondered whether Danzo, who made this decision, was deliberately provoking the Uchiha to rebel, or if he thought the Uchiha wouldn't dare to?!

Of course, Kagato knew all the reasons behind this. But when Shisui asked for his opinion, it was a bit tricky to answer. Was Shisui trying to gauge Kagato's stance?

"I think the village handled this poorly—in fact, very poorly."

Kagato's stance was firmly on the Uchiha's side. Betraying his own clan wasn't a good habit. Besides, speaking objectively and with a clear conscience, the Konoha higher-ups were in the wrong here.

Shisui sighed.

"As expected, you see it that way too. Even someone with your clear grasp of the bigger picture thinks so. Then those in the clan who can't see clearly must be even more furious. Sigh."

Kagato knew Shisui wanted to ease the tension between Konoha and the Uchiha. He admired people like Itachi and Shisui, who stood from the Hokage's perspective and fought for Konoha's peace. But on this matter, Kagato had to defend the Uchiha. This wasn't sophistry; it was fact.

"Shisui-brother, I believe the Uchiha clan members shouldn't have ended up in such a tense situation with the village. But when one person first raises a blade against another, how can you expect that person not to fight back?"

Kagato's words were blunt, outright condemning Konoha for being unfair. Looking at the whole Uchiha massacre, both the Uchiha and the Konoha higher-ups had faults. But if you asked who was more at fault, it was undoubtedly the Konoha higher-ups.

You couldn't expect everyone to be like Uchiha Itachi or Uchiha Shisui, able to view things from the Hokage's perspective. Even if Konoha treated the Uchiha unfairly, Itachi and the others could endure it for Konoha's peace.

But people like Itachi and Shisui were geniuses, not ordinary people—a minority, not the majority. Everyone has their own feelings. If someone spits in your face and constantly shows disgust toward you, and then someone tells you to endure it for world peace...

A few might endure it, but most cannot!

The coup the Uchiha wanted to launch wasn't so much Fugaku's doing as it was forced upon him by the majority of Uchiha clan members.

Shisui was silent for a moment, then sighed mournfully.

"Your words aren't wrong, but the Uchiha and Konoha cannot go to war. Do you know Konoha's situation? During the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha was at its peak. But now? White Fang-sama is dead. Then the Fourth Hokage-sama and his wife died. After that, the Three Sannin left Konoha one after another. The Third Hokage-sama has gone from his prime to old age. The Nine-Tails is sealed inside a child, who basically won't become a combat asset and even needs protection.

"To put it bluntly, Konoha is at its lowest point in history. Never has it been this weakened. If the Uchiha and the higher-ups clash now, do you know what will happen? If another nation attacks Konoha at this time, what then?

"Kagato, this is no longer a simple internal village conflict. It's a crisis of Konoha's survival. Whether this conflict erupts or not determines Konoha's fate! We should focus on the entire shinobi world, not dwell on those so-called petty grudges like most of the clan!"

Kagato let out a light laugh.

"Then why did Danzo choose this very time to push the Uchiha away from the center? Do the Uchiha want to rebel? No. Danzo is forcing them to rebel!"

In his agitation, Kagato addressed Danzo by name without a shred of respect. Yes, Konoha's situation was dire—internally weak while facing the Uchiha's potential rebellion. Calling it a survival crisis wasn't an exaggeration. But here was the question: Could Danzo not see how weak Konoha was? Impossible! Danzo must have seen it. And what did he do? He moved the Uchiha to the outskirts, making his intent to isolate them blatantly obvious. The village was already weak, and he pulled this stunt?

Shisui looked at Kagato, eyes narrowing slightly.

"You've already sensed the clan's intention to stage a coup?"

Kagato shook his head.

"That's not important."

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

"You really remind me of Itachi back then. So young, yet seeing through situations most can't grasp, with a keen intuition—just by sensing the atmosphere, you can detect the clan's coup plans. The only difference is that Itachi agrees with my ideals, while our ideals don't align. Let's stop here for today."

With that, Shisui turned and walked away, slowly disappearing from Kagato's sight. This time, he didn't use the Body Flicker Technique but walked away at a leisurely pace. What was he thinking? Kagato didn't know.

What Kagato did know was that he would never become a blade in Danzo's hand! He was well aware of how resolute Danzo's stance toward the Uchiha was. If Kagato had pretended to share Shisui's ideals, he might have been pulled into the Anbu early. Then, when the time came to slaughter the Uchiha clan, would he have been part of it? Would he have raised his blade against his own parents?

Kagato didn't want that. The education from his past life made it impossible for him to harm the parents who raised him or the neighbors and friends he lived with day in and day out.

Initially, Kagato had thought of getting close to Itachi, finding a way into the Anbu to learn of the massacre in advance, then saving himself and his family. But today's conversation with Shisui woke him up. Joining the Anbu would make him a blade for the Konoha higher-ups. Who could guarantee he wouldn't be ordered to kill his own clan? Even if he agreed and then didn't act, just the thought of working for people who might one day order him to kill his parents made Kagato sick.

He had woken up. He had been striving to survive, but he couldn't raise a blade against his parents to save himself, nor could he work for 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 made Kagato develop feelings for this clan. He knew that in about a year, he could hardly change the Uchiha's fate. But in his plan, he would take his family and flee the massacre. Then, he would become an avenger, waiting for a chance to make Danzo pay alongside the Uchiha clan!

The blood debt of clan extermination was irreconcilable!

Come to think of it, why were Itachi and Shisui so fixated on easing the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha? Because they believed that with the help of the Konoha higher-ups, they could achieve it.

Because they didn't see clearly that the man named Danzo, who constantly claimed to act for Konoha's good, had mostly done things that brought no benefit to the village.

When it came to this crisis in Konoha, who was ultimately responsible? Everyone bore some blame, but the primary responsibility lay with that one-eyed man with a white cloth over his eye!