Shisui Awakens

After much hesitation, Shisui chose to answer honestly.

After all, Uchiha Gin had always seemed concerned about the relationship between the clan and the village.

"There are misunderstandings between the village and the clan. I'll do my best to mediate and help them reconcile."

Shisui looked at Uchiha Gin and spoke earnestly.

He thought Uchiha Gin had come to recruit him. The clan head had done the same before, but he trusted Uchiha Gin a little more than the clan head. He felt that over the past three years, Uchiha Gin had become much calmer and was unlike the clan's more obsessive members.

So he wanted to win Uchiha Gin over. Although the Great Elder's death had lowered Uchiha Gin's standing, he still had some influence among the Great Elder's branch and could gain the support of many clan members.

That would also greatly help him ease tensions between Konoha and the clan.

"Have you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Uchiha Gin's sudden question left Shisui at a loss.

It wasn't the topic he had expected them to discuss next.

But then his pupils contracted. He saw the skeletal Susanoo taking shape around Uchiha Gin. Its color was different from his own, but it was a special ocular jutsu that could only be wielded after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The pattern in Gin's eyes, unlike the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, proved it beyond doubt.

"Gin, you—!"

Shisui was shocked. He hadn't expected Uchiha Gin to have awakened the Mangekyō.

He had only awakened it recently, and was still debating whether to tell the Hokage. His ability was simply too frightening. The power to rewrite someone else's thoughts was dangerous.

Uchiha Gin didn't answer. He simply looked at Shisui.

After a moment of silence, Shisui chose to be candid. Since Uchiha Gin had openly told him about his Mangekyō, Shisui wasn't going to hide his own.

He activated his Sharingan, and the Three Tomoe spun rapidly, transforming into the pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Did you know that I'd awakened the Mangekyō?"

Shisui asked curiously.

After all, he had only just gained this power.

It had awakened suddenly when he lost a very important comrade.

"I only suspected."

"How likely do you think it is that the Uchiha and the current Konoha can coexist?"

Uchiha Gin didn't elaborate, giving him a simple answer instead. He had only been testing the waters, since he didn't know exactly when Shisui had awakened his Mangekyō, but it must have been fairly recently.

Then Uchiha Gin asked Shisui directly.

Shisui was just about to say that as long as both sides worked together, they could surely make it happen.

"I asked the clan head this question today, too."

But Uchiha Gin spoke first.

Hearing this, Shisui stopped himself from saying what he'd planned. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what Uchiha Gin meant.

"I think there are tensions between Konoha and the Uchiha. If we can resolve them, the two sides can live together peacefully."

Shisui answered earnestly.

He truly believed it.

"Do you know what those tensions are?"

Shisui's answer was much like Fugaku's, but he was only thirteen. He had also been indoctrinated with the Will of Fire over the years, so Uchiha Gin didn't feel any particular dislike for him.

"The Konoha High Command believes... someone in the Uchiha Clan caused the Nine-Tails Incident, which also led to the Fourth Hokage's death."

Shisui offered his opinion.

After all, many people had seen the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes at the time. The Uchiha Clan couldn't possibly be completely uninvolved.

"That's one reason. There's another, more important one."

Uchiha Gin didn't deny it, because it really had been done by someone from the Uchiha Clan.

But there was another, more important reason.

"What is it?"

Shisui sounded a little desperate.

Clearly, he wanted to know so he could find a way to resolve it.

"Power."

"The power the Uchiha Clan holds through the Military Police Force is something the Third Hokage desperately wants for himself. Among the five great villages, only Konoha has a special organization like the Military Police Force. You could say it controls a third of Konoha's power."

Uchiha Gin went straight to the heart of the matter.

The Military Police Force had been established by the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara. One side would handle matters outside the village, and the other, within!

The original intention had been to reduce casualties among the Uchiha Clan. They knew the Uchiha were an emotional clan, and that losing someone they cherished could cause their emotions to spiral and awaken their Sharingan.

They could also become obsessive, like Obito.

By the time of the Second Hokage, his research had confirmed that this was true. He hadn't touched the Military Police Force, partly because he didn't want to overturn his elder brother's decision, and partly because he believed the arrangement could resolve the Uchiha's problems. He also didn't think the Uchiha could cause any trouble while under his control.

But things were different under the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. There were too many threats from outside, and then the Nine-Tails Incident suddenly brought an internal threat, resulting in the Fourth Hokage's death.

So he could no longer tolerate the Uchiha, who posed a considerable risk of rebellion, holding such important power through the Military Police Force. He wanted to take it for himself, and the Uchiha naturally wouldn't agree. Fugaku might have been a bleeding heart, but he wasn't a fool. He had his limits.

But Uchiha Gin thought there was another reason. Obito, posing as Uchiha Madara, had placed Sarutobi Hiruzen under enormous pressure. After all, Hiruzen had witnessed Uchiha Madara's existence.

He knew that if Uchiha Madara really returned, many Uchiha might follow him. If that happened, Konoha truly wouldn't be able to resist or suppress them. Hiruzen would never allow that to happen, which was why he kept oppressing the Uchiha, isolating them, and even wiping out their clan!

Chapter 5: Shisui Awakens

"Huh?"

After hearing all that, Shisui seemed to understand something, but not quite.

"Don't resist. I'll use a genjutsu to explain everything in more detail."

Seeing Shisui's reaction, Uchiha Gin knew he hadn't understood the real reason. So he decided to use an advanced, convenient virtual genjutsu to let Shisui experience and understand the situation for himself.

Shisui didn't refuse. This sort of thing was extremely dangerous for a ninja. Giving up resistance to someone else's genjutsu meant that while he was under its effects, the other person could kill him at any moment. But Shisui trusted Uchiha Gin.

The genjutsu lasted about a minute, but the information Shisui received could never have been explained in words in just one minute.

"How could the Third Hokage be that kind of person?"

When he woke from the genjutsu, Shisui was left questioning everything he'd ever believed.

Uchiha Gin had laid out all kinds of detailed information. During the First Hokage's time in office, he had established Konoha and built its entire structure.

During the Second Hokage's time, he had improved the Anbu, established the Ninja Academy, and put Konoha's various systems in place. The Military Police Force had also been formed during his tenure, to keep the Uchiha from losing control and acting out after the deaths of their loved ones.

As for the Third Hokage's time in office, aside from participating in all three Three Great Ninja Wars, his main accomplishment was spreading the Will of Fire. There had been almost no changes within the village, and all of its resources had been spent on war.

That included the decline of the Senju Clan. Perhaps a few members had barely survived, but compared with its heyday, the difference was like heaven and earth. If Tsunade weren't still around, one could say the Senju Clan had been wiped out of the Ninja World.

"Even if he didn't personally give the orders for many of these things, he was Konoha's leader. They couldn't have happened without his approval."

Uchiha Gin's tone was icy.

From the outside, Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed like a good person.

Many things had been done by a few advisors, not ordered by the Third Hokage himself.

But that was what made Sarutobi Hiruzen most despicable.

"This..."

Shisui's mind was in chaos.

Everything he had believed was shattered after experiencing the genjutsu.

If the Third Hokage really was that kind of person—someone who had squeezed the Senju Clan dry and seized their legacy to strengthen the selfish Sarutobi Clan—

Then the Uchiha Clan might really have a chance to reconcile with Konoha. They might not even be able to ease tensions!

"You know the name Naruto Uzumaki, right?"

Uchiha Gin continued.

Shisui nodded.

It was supposed to be a secret, but plenty of people in the village knew about it.

Even ordinary villagers had been warned not to say that Naruto Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails Demon Fox.

"He's the Fourth Hokage's son."

Uchiha Gin continued.

Shisui frowned, hesitating. Clearly, he didn't know that.

It was normal for him not to know. After all, ninjas were trained as tools. Aside from the heads of a few clans, ordinary people in Konoha knew very little. Information was tightly controlled. They were nothing but tools.

"The Nine-Tails is stronger than the other eight Tailed Beasts. You can't just make any ordinary person its Jinchuriki."

"The first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was the First Hokage's wife, Mito Uzumaki, who came from the Uzumaki Clan. The second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the previous one, was the Fourth Hokage's wife, Kushina Uzumaki. The Uzumaki Clan had unusual traits: their stamina and chakra reserves were among the best in the Ninja World. Only someone with a body like that could withstand the Nine-Tails Chakra's corrosive effects!"

"The Uzumaki Clan's destruction was also something the Third Hokage couldn't escape blame for. But there's no need to go into that now. The most important proof that Naruto Uzumaki is the Fourth Hokage's son is his head of yellow hair, the same color as the Fourth Hokage's hair, which earned him the title Yellow Flash. He also has the Uzumaki surname, the surname of Kushina, the princess of the Uzumaki Clan."

Uchiha Gin explained it all to Shisui.

Shisui was stunned. Clearly, he hadn't known about all these secrets.

But it was only natural that he didn't. Ninjas were raised as tools, and aside from the heads of a few clans, ordinary people in Konoha knew almost nothing. Information was tightly controlled. They were pure tools.

"So this child named Naruto Uzumaki had parents who gave their lives to protect Konoha. In the end, they sealed the Nine-Tails inside their own child, sacrificing their lives, and what did that child get in return? The hatred of everyone in Konoha, and barely enough money to live on each month."

"That's how the Third Hokage treats the child of a hero!"

"Don't tell me that revealing he was the Fourth Hokage's son would put him at risk of being hunted. Wouldn't a Jinchuriki be hunted by other villages anyway?"

"The entire village knows Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"

Whenever Uchiha Gin spoke about this, he felt angry.

What kind of person could do something like that?

Shisui fell silent. Clearly, he also thought this shouldn't have happened.

He couldn't understand why the Third Hokage would treat a hero's child so harshly. Most of all, Naruto was living in such poverty. For a child who had essentially saved Konoha, it was far too much.

"I didn't call you here to make you choose a side or anything like that. I only wanted to tell you more of the truth. Don't let the so-called Will of Fire blind you."

"Konoha was named after the leaves because of the First Hokage's Wood Release. The title Hokage was given because the fire came from the Uchiha's Fire Release. That bullshit about the Will of Fire living on!"

Uchiha Gin spoke at last.

He hadn't expected to persuade Shisui outright. He only wanted to help the kid think more clearly, so he wouldn't blindly take the bait.

"Gin... thank you!"

Shisui bowed respectfully until his forehead touched the ground.

He was truly grateful to Uchiha Gin. He couldn't imagine what might have happened if he had continued down his previous path without knowing any of this.

"The Uchiha aren't spotless either, but compared with those people at the top of Konoha, they're practically saints."

"And here. This is a forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha Clan. Learn it, and you'll have another card to play."

Uchiha Gin took out a scroll and handed it to Shisui.

The technique inside was Izanagi. Danzo had relied on this forbidden jutsu when he ambushed Shisui.

Since Konoha had already learned it, Uchiha Gin didn't think there was any need to keep it under such strict control within the clan.

As a high-ranking member of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Gin's branch naturally knew these forbidden jutsu. Izanami was somewhat dangerous, but there was no need to guard Izanagi so strictly.

Shisui was deeply moved, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say. His mind was in a whirl.

After his heart-to-heart with Shisui, Uchiha Gin planned to begin acting the next day.

Before leaving, Shisui forgot to ask what the clan head had said, and Uchiha Gin didn't tell him. He could leave Fugaku to do as he pleased. Fugaku was a firewall: if Uchiha Gin made a big enough commotion, he could push Fugaku forward to ease things over and tug the Konoha High Command in another direction.

"First, let things get chaotic and distract everyone. It's easier to get things done in troubled waters."

Uchiha Gin looked at the full moon in the night sky, thought about what he had to do next, and made up his mind.