Uchiha Jin's face was full of mockery. He could not be bothered to hide it from him at all.
Just as he had said, he excelled at breaking deadlocks with open conspiracies. Even if he told Shisui outright, Shisui would most likely still take the old path.
Because a leopard could not change its spots. Many things were difficult to change.
Of course.
If Shisui could truly come to his senses, that would also be a good thing for him. Either way, he would not lose out!
"Impossible!"
"Hokage-sama is merely a kind old man. He would never do something like that."
"Uchiha Jin, you will not succeed!"
Shisui shook his head, his gaze resolute.
He would not be swayed by Uchiha Jin's deception. Although memories of his past meetings with the Hokage kept surfacing in his mind, he chose to steel himself, believing that only the Hokage could help the Uchiha integrate into Konoha.
The others sighed.
Their minds might have been stubborn too, but they could still tell right from wrong.
Before, Uchiha Jin lacked the strength, so naturally no one could settle down and listen to him talk. Now that Uchiha Jin was strong enough, they were naturally willing to listen quietly.
But unfortunately.
The fact that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyo was enough to prove that he was more extreme than the rest. Such a person could not be persuaded easily.
Otherwise.
He would not have become extreme enough to awaken the Mangekyo!
It was precisely because they understood this that they did not try to persuade him. They could only smile bitterly and sigh, their gazes toward Shisui filled with regret.
Meanwhile.
Uchiha Jin's expression remained unchanged in the face of Shisui's roar.
"Shisui, do you know what an open conspiracy is?"
"It means that no matter what choice you make, it will not affect my actual scheme."
"If you begin to doubt Sarutobi Hiruzen, that will be a good thing for me and for the Uchiha. After all, the Uchiha will gain another powerful protector."
"Even if you are still willing to trust Sarutobi Hiruzen, it will not affect my scheme in the slightest."
"An open conspiracy differs from a covert conspiracy. It cannot be broken!"
Shisui froze.
The others looked at Uchiha Jin as if they were gazing upon lofty mountains and flowing waters. They could not help but marvel inwardly at how absurdly formidable Uchiha Jin's ability to scheme was.
Even when he told you plainly, you still could not change anything. You could only follow the path he had planned!
In the end.
Shisui let out a helpless sigh, then turned and left the small courtyard.
As for that.
Uchiha Jin did not stop him. He merely watched Shisui leave indifferently before speaking to the others present. "Fugaku choosing to relinquish power is also a good thing. Next, we will act according to the plan."
Upon hearing this, everyone was confused.
Their minds did not react for a moment. In the end, Uchiha Setsuna spoke first. "Are we carrying out the plan we originally made? Or the one you told Shisui about?"
"Jin, were you just deceiving Shisui with what you told him?" Uchiha Yashiro also looked utterly confused.
Uchiha Jin was somewhat taken aback.
He subconsciously looked at everyone. Only after seeing their confused expressions did he let out a helpless sigh.
Good grief!
The Uchiha really did have simple minds.
He helplessly rubbed his brow, but still began explaining.
"Both plans need to be carried out!"
"I did not intend to deceive Shisui. Although I deduced all of this and have no evidence in hand, I truly believe that the Konoha Higher-ups want him dead."
"I really do intend to use Shisui's death to scheme against the Konoha Higher-ups."
"That does not affect the plan we made before. After all, I plainly said I would never deceive Shisui, but I never promised to tell him every part of the plan."
Uh.
After hearing Uchiha Jin's explanation, everyone was left speechless.
That might be true, but was this not still misleading Shisui?
However...
Thinking it over carefully, Uchiha Jin did not seem to be wrong. After all, they had never truly been on the same side, and the plan he had told Shisui about was indeed real. He simply had not told him the entire plan.
So, well!
When everyone looked at Uchiha Jin now, their expressions instantly became extremely complicated. At the same time, though, they felt deeply reassured.
Having such a leader was a good thing for the Uchiha.
At the very least.
If Konoha wanted to set a trap for Uchiha Jin, it would not be easy at all!
Meanwhile.
After leaving Jin's small courtyard, Shisui's eyes were full of confusion.
At that moment, his heart was truly in turmoil.
He knew he should not believe Uchiha Jin's provocations, but while Shisui was blindly loyal, he was not stupid. Sometimes lies did not hurt people; the truth was the sharpest blade!
As the man who had earned the name Body Flicker Shisui on the battlefield, his ability to scheme and calculate might not compare to others, but he at least possessed the basic ability to read people and observe their expressions.
Therefore.
After he told the Hokage about his Mangekyo ability, Sarutobi Hiruzen had indeed acted just as Uchiha Jin said. He had never met Shisui privately again, and every time Shisui saw Sarutobi Hiruzen, at least two Anbu were beside him.
Especially Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. From then on, he had never met Shisui's gaze again.
Shisui had not thought much of it before, but now that Uchiha Jin had exposed it, he would be lying if he said it did not bother him.
Even though he understood Sarutobi Hiruzen's actions, this feeling of betrayal was terrible, especially when he had trusted Sarutobi Hiruzen so deeply.
"Have you heard about Elder Jin's speech?"
"It has spread everywhere. I just never expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to be so ruthless!"
"The Hokage clearly looks so kind. I never imagined he could do something like this."
"Do you think Elder Jin might be overthinking it?"
"Although Elder Jin did not produce any evidence, when there are too many coincidences, they are no longer coincidences."
"That is true. We should be more careful from now on."
"..."
Listening to the dense buzz of discussion around him, Shisui immediately felt that something was wrong.
What was going on?
What was everyone talking about?
It seemed to involve the Hokage?
Shisui's expression instantly turned grave. Although he had some reservations about Sarutobi Hiruzen, he still trusted the village and the Hokage more in his heart.
He did not go up and ask directly. Instead, he hid in an alley, used the Transformation Technique, and then emerged once more.
Then.
He directly joined the chatting crowd and learned of Uchiha Jin's earlier remarks.
His scalp went numb!
From the strange deaths of Senju Nawaki and Dan Katō, to the extermination of the Uzumaki Clan and the Senju Clan, to the Sannin leaving and defecting one after another, then Hatake Sakumo being driven to suicide, and finally Namikaze Minato's death...
One incident after another.
His heart was filled with a tangled mix of emotions, because many of these matters were truly difficult to explain. Take Hatake Sakumo's mission leak alone—it could not be explained from any angle.
An extremely classified S-rank mission had been leaked, and within a single day, the news had spread throughout Konoha. The Anbu had not even investigated it?
This made no sense at all!
He did not understand the other incidents very well either, but he still knew that one or two things could be coincidences. But could so many things still be explained as coincidences?
Hokage-sama...
Should I trust you?
Before you continue