Blood Oath

"Not me! It really wasn't me!"

Seeing Uchiha Chen looking furious and ready to rid the village and clan of a great menace, Shisui grimaced and waved his hands frantically, so distressed that tears were nearly spilling from his eyes.

"Big Brother Chen, you have to believe me! It really wasn't me!

"Besides, I have proof. On the night of the Nine-Tails Incident, I was still on the Eastern Front. Plenty of people can vouch for me!"

The people who accused you often knew better than anyone just how innocent you were.

Uchiha Chen reckoned that he would have to use the Eye Power and techniques of his Prosthetic Eye in the future. To keep Shisui from suspecting him of being the mastermind behind the Night of the Nine-Tails, he needed to have a little "heart-to-heart" with Shisui first.

"Really? I don't believe you!"

Chen still felt he hadn't quite turned up the heat enough. His killing intent remained undiminished as he snorted.

"The Mangekyō is the eye that reflects one's heart. The techniques it awakens have a lot to do with a person's wishes and their particular talents.

"You're the best at the Body Flicker Technique in the village after the Fourth. It's entirely possible you awakened a space-time technique similar to the Flying Thunder God, letting you travel between the village and the front lines in a single night."

Having an alibi didn't mean you couldn't commit the crime. Case closed!

No matter how clever and mature Uchiha Shisui was, he was still only twelve. In his haste, he blurted out the truth.

"I don't have any space-time techniques. My technique is genjutsu-based. It's called Kotoamatsukami—"

"Don't say another word!" Uchiha Chen roared, cutting Shisui off. He looked as though he couldn't bear to see such a waste.

"Your technique is your most important trump card. Why would you give away information about yourself the moment I asked?"

"I..."

Seeing Shisui at a loss for words, Chen slid his half-drawn long sword back into its sheath. Relaxed, he sat down on a raised slab of bluestone and said with a disgruntled look:

"I believe you now. The mastermind behind the Night of the Nine-Tails couldn't possibly be as stupid as you."

As he spoke, the tomoe in Uchiha Chen's eyes spun and merged into a single pattern.

"Chen, you also..."

Shisui had just relaxed at Chen's show of trust, only to see a pair of Mangekyō. His emotions lurched from one extreme to the other, and his mind stalled.

"I wasn't behind that night either." Uchiha Chen looked at Shisui's conflicted expression and spoke in a tongue twister.

"I believe it wasn't you, and I believe you believe it wasn't me. But right now, we don't have a foundation of mutual trust."

Shisui fell silent for a moment. After sorting through his tangled thoughts, he nodded.

If Uchiha Chen had been the mastermind, there would have been no need for him to come clean. After seeing that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō, he could even have pinned the whole thing on him.

"I believe you!"

"Good!" Uchiha Chen smiled faintly.

"But we still need to strengthen that trust. We need a true blood oath—some way to protect ourselves in case one of us turns out to be the mastermind.

"Shisui, do you dare?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Shisui had a clear conscience.

"You know the Transcription Seal, right?" Uchiha Chen took out a Kunai and cut a gash in his palm. Drops of blood welled up.

"We'll use the Transcription Seal to seal some of our Eye Power inside each other. If either of us ever acts against the clan or the village, we can release that Eye Power and seriously injure the other."

"Agreed!"

Shisui followed Chen's example and cut his palm with a Kunai, then held out his bleeding hand.

"Transcription Seal." x2

Their hands, one large and one small, pressed together. With both of them carefully controlling the process, the blood imbued with their Eye Power exchanged smoothly, lying dormant inside each other.

'Foreign Eye Power detected. Imprint?'

A screen of light suddenly appeared before Uchiha Chen's eyes, making him lose focus for a moment.

After everything was done, Uchiha Shisui shook off his earlier gloom and tension and smiled brightly.

"Shouldn't we say something about never betraying each other or whatever?"

"Spare me! That'd be way too gay!"

Kotoamatsukami's Eye Power was inside him now. It wasn't going anywhere.

Afraid Shisui might notice, Uchiha Chen didn't choose to imprint the Eye Power right away. Instead, after chatting with Shisui for a bit, he changed the subject to the relationship between the village and the clan.

At the mention of it, the smile vanished from Shisui's face. A lingering bitterness and gloom settled around his eyes and brows.

"These past few years, the clan has already made a lot of people in the village unhappy. Now that something like the Nine-Tails Incident has happened, the divide between the village and the clan is probably only going to grow."

As he spoke, Shisui looked at Uchiha Chen with wounded eyes.

"Big Brother Chen, you even made up that excuse to shift the blame. The village's leaders are probably going to be even more dissatisfied with the clan now. Even if the Third doesn't hold it against us, the others..."

Uchiha Chen's brow furrowed as he listened to Shisui.

Shisui still trusted the Konoha High Command, especially the Third, and held on to unrealistic expectations of them.

That was bad.

"Shisui, let me ask you something." After listening to Uchiha Shisui's complaints, Uchiha Chen crossed one leg over the other.

"What exactly have the clan members done to deserve such outrage? What made the Police Force's reputation so bad that it stank for miles? What made the villagers shun the Uchiha?

"Is being arrogant against the law? Is looking down your nose at people against the law? Is it wrong to enforce the rules by the book?"

Shisui fell silent.

The Uchiha clan did have a high opinion of itself and often looked down on others. Their law enforcement could be harsh, too.

But none of that was enough to make nearly every level of Konoha's society dislike and shun them.

"Let me make this clear first: I don't support a coup, or a rebellion. Whether it succeeded or failed, it would only end with both the village and the Uchiha losing."

Uchiha Chen reassured Shisui first, then continued:

"But the Uchiha didn't end up in this situation for no reason. The clan bears some responsibility, but the bigger problem is that there are bad people in the village leadership!

"Somebody has been deliberately suppressing the Uchiha. That's what caused this massive conflict."

Shisui didn't argue. Instead, he tried to comfort him.

"Some of the leaders may indeed be biased against the Uchiha, but at least the Third has the clan's best interests at heart."

"Hmph!"

Uchiha Chen sneered and looked straight into Shisui's eyes.

"Shisui, you're too arrogant!"

"Chen! How am I arrogant?"

Shisui didn't even call him Big Brother anymore. He frowned and waited for Chen to explain.

"You think that having the Sharingan means you can see everything clearly, and you've always believed only what you see for yourself." Uchiha Chen met Shisui's gaze and spoke coldly.

"But how far can those Sharingan of yours really see?

"To you, the Third is a kind and gentle good person, while Danzo and the other advisers are the ones who discriminate against the Uchiha?"

"Isn't that right?" Shisui protested.

"Of course not!" Uchiha Chen pursed his lips.

"Danzo has indeed been doing everything he can to suppress the Uchiha, but what has he gained from it?

"His reputation in Konoha is ten times worse than the Uchiha's.

"The one who's truly benefited is Sarutobi Hiruzen!

"The Fire Style secrets the Uchiha handed over became the Sarutobi Clan's foundation. The power and assets the Uchiha relinquished were distributed among Hiruzen's confidants. Even Uchiha clan members who wanted peace—like you..."

Uchiha Chen patted the bewildered Shisui on the shoulder and leaned close to his ear, whispering like a demon.

"Weren't you deceived by him, too, and turned into a weapon he could use against the Uchiha?

"Danzo and the others are just the knives cutting into the Uchiha. The ones who carve up the clan and feast on its flesh are the ones who created the conflict between the village and the clan!

"The blame for the village and the Uchiha becoming sworn enemies lies with Sarutobi Hiruzen!"