A Conversation

After Naruto and Jiraiya withdrew, they hurried to where Shisui Uchiha was. They brought him along and used the Flying Thunder God to return to the hotel in town.

By then, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had arrived at the cliff, while Anbu shinobi were still rushing to the scene.

By the time they got there, Naruto and the others had already left. Only the corpses of a few Root shinobi remained.

Hiruzen ordered the Anbu who had arrived to immediately search the surrounding area. Then he turned to Danzō. "Danzō, what exactly happened? What's going on with Shisui Uchiha?"

Danzō replied, "Shisui Uchiha attacked me. I pursued him here with Root shinobi, but two missing-nin from other villages showed up and rescued him."

Hearing this, Hiruzen had a good idea of what was going on. As Danzō's fellow student, he knew exactly what kind of man he was. So he asked, "And what about those two missing-nin?"

"We had Shisui Uchiha cornered here when the two missing-nin suddenly appeared. They said they wanted to recruit him into their organization," Danzō answered.

At the mention of an organization, Hiruzen frowned and asked, "What organization?"

"They called themselves Akatsuki. They specialize in recruiting missing-nin. Judging by their forehead protectors, one was from Takigakure and the other from Yugakure." Danzō did not conceal anything about this. He honestly told Hiruzen everything he knew.

"How strong were the two missing-nin?" Hiruzen asked.

Danzō gathered his thoughts before answering, "Very strong. One of them seemed to have trained in some kind of special Nintaijutsu that let him withstand ninjutsu head-on. The other killed nearly all the Root shinobi left behind with a single Fire Release Ninjutsu."

After thinking it over, Hiruzen nodded. "I understand. I'll send people to investigate the identities of these two shinobi. And Danzō, don't do anything unnecessary." With that, he gave Danzō a meaningful look and turned to leave.

During the Crystal Ball incident, Hiruzen had used the excuse that he would no longer pursue the matter to take one of Danzō's Root shinobi. Danzō had always believed that Hiruzen knew about his dealings with Orochimaru, so he had gritted his teeth and agreed.

As he watched Hiruzen leave, Danzō shivered for no apparent reason. Then he stopped dwelling on it. There was still plenty of work waiting for him back at Root.

Meanwhile, as soon as Naruto and the others returned to the hotel, he called for Kurama. Shisui Uchiha was very weak now. His right eye was tightly shut, and blood continued to seep from it.

Although Kurama had converted his chakra into spiritual energy, he could still use his Yang Release, and it had grown even more powerful. It was more than enough to treat Shisui Uchiha's injuries.

As Kurama gathered Yang Release spiritual energy, a golden light appeared around Naruto's right hand. Naruto then held his hand above Shisui Uchiha's eye socket as he lay on the bed.

Under the healing effects of the Yang Release spiritual energy, the bleeding from Shisui Uchiha's eye socket soon stopped. His furrowed brow relaxed, the pain faded from his expression, and his breathing gradually steadied. Naruto then stopped the treatment.

Naruto and Jiraiya went outside, careful not to disturb Shisui Uchiha's rest. The treatment had healed his injuries, but it had not eased his mental exhaustion. They decided to let him sleep peacefully for a while.

The next day, after finishing their training, Naruto and Jiraiya got up and went to Shisui Uchiha's room. They opened the door and walked in.

Shisui Uchiha had just woken up. Seeing Naruto and Jiraiya enter, he hurriedly asked, "Who are you?"

They had dispelled their Transformation Technique after returning the previous night, so Shisui Uchiha did not recognize them.

Naruto looked up at Jiraiya and instantly understood. He apologized, then used the Transformation Technique to take Hidan's appearance. "We were the ones who rescued you last night." Then he dispelled the technique and returned to normal.

Seeing Naruto use the Transformation Technique, Shisui Uchiha understood. He sat up in bed and said gratefully to Naruto and Jiraiya, "Thank you both for saving me. May I ask who you are?"

Jiraiya stepped forward. "My name is Jiraiya. You've heard of me, haven't you?"

"So you're Lord Jiraiya of the Sannin. Thank you for saving me, sir. And who is this?" Hearing Jiraiya's name, Shisui Uchiha immediately recognized him.

Although Jiraiya had left Konoha many years ago and the younger generation of shinobi had never met him, that did not stop them from hearing the legends of the Sannin. Still, Shisui found it strange. As far as he knew, Jiraiya was already in his forties, but the man standing before him looked barely over twenty—far too young. He did not ask about it, though, and instead turned to Naruto to ask who he was.

Jiraiya pointed at Naruto. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki. You know who he is, too, don't you?"

Shisui Uchiha asked with some confusion, "Naruto Uzumaki? The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki? Shouldn't he be in the village? What's going on?"

Shisui Uchiha had seen Naruto before. As an Anbu shinobi, he had once been assigned to monitor him. From what he remembered, Naruto should have only recently entered the Ninja Academy and been a little over six years old. So why was he so tall now? And Shisui had seen his strength the night before. No child of just over six could possibly have been that powerful.

Naruto had shot up in height during his very first training session. After all the training he had done since, he no longer looked like a six-year-old. Judging by his height, he looked about ten now.

Naruto and Jiraiya sat down. After exchanging a glance with Naruto, Jiraiya began, "The reason is..." He explained at length why Naruto was there.

"So Naruto plans to defect?" Shisui Uchiha asked after listening.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto. "No. He'll only take revenge on Konoha, but he won't defect, because his father is the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato."

Hearing Jiraiya reveal Naruto's identity, Shisui Uchiha looked shocked. "How is that possible?"

He had once monitored Naruto and seen the life he was forced to lead. He had wanted to help, but his assignment and the Third Hokage's instructions had left him unable to do anything. If Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son, why had the Third given such an order? Why had Naruto been forced to live that way in the village?

Later, he had been assigned other missions, but he had naturally heard the rumors about the Konoha Demon Fox.

Seeing how shocked Shisui Uchiha was, Naruto shrugged and gestured for Jiraiya to continue. "The Third is no longer the Shinobi Hero he was when he was young. Ever since he became Hokage, power has already corrupted him. Little by little, he became like those politicians, skilled at scheming..." Jiraiya told Shisui Uchiha everything Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had done.

As Jiraiya slowly laid out the truth, Shisui Uchiha grew more and more astonished. He could hardly believe Konoha had become so rotten.

In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately promoted himself, and the Ninja Academy's lessons reinforced that image. To the younger generation of shinobi, the Third Hokage was the strongest Hokage of all. His public image was so polished that most villagers saw him as a capable and kind Hokage.

If someone else had told him all this, Shisui Uchiha might not have believed it. But the one telling him was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin and Hiruzen Sarutobi's own student. He had no choice but to believe him.

Seeing that the truth had left Shisui Uchiha too stunned to speak, Jiraiya continued, "As for your Uchiha Clan, you know they've drawn up the Uchiha Clan Downfall Plan, right?"

Shisui Uchiha nodded to show that he knew. Jiraiya continued, "Konoha was founded by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha together, so the Uchiha Clan has great prestige in the village. Making your clan take charge of the Konoha Military Police Force was not only meant to drive the Uchiha out of Konoha's center of power; it was also meant to turn Konoha's civilians against them. That way, if your clan is wiped out one day, the villagers will only cheer."

Members of the Uchiha Clan were naturally sensitive to emotions. Perhaps that was connected to the way they awakened their eyes.

Awakening their eyes required intense emotional stimulation, and hatred was the most effective trigger. The stronger the hatred, the faster the awakening. Perhaps because of the way the Uchiha Clan raised its children, the clan members who had awakened their eyes and become shinobi were now, with the exception of Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, all warmongers.

"Lord Jiraiya, can you stop the Uchiha Clan from being wiped out?" Shisui Uchiha asked, gazing at him with hope.

Jiraiya slowly shook his head. "It isn't only Konoha's High Command that wants to wipe out the Uchiha Clan. The Uchiha also want to start a rebellion. Even if I go back and stop it now, that will only be temporary. The seeds of hatred are still buried in both sides' hearts, and when that hatred erupts again, the consequences will be far worse than they are now."

Shisui Uchiha sighed. He understood all that, but he could not stop thinking about the many ordinary people in the Uchiha Clan. They were innocent.

Jiraiya understood what Shisui Uchiha was thinking, so he said, "But you can rest assured. When the time comes, I'll return to Konoha and save some of your clan members—but only civilians who haven't become shinobi."

Shisui Uchiha looked up and said gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Jiraiya."

Jiraiya had made the decision with Minato and Naruto after discussing it with them. That was why he would not save the Uchiha shinobi.

The Uchiha Clan's emotions were so intense that its members could easily turn bitter, and the more powerful they became, the more likely they were to develop extreme views.

There were many children among the civilians who had not become shinobi. They had not yet been exposed to the Uchiha Clan's extreme teachings. If they were rescued and raised well, they could become a valuable source of recruits for the force they were about to build.