"Jin, you're saying those strange things again!"
Along with the slightly exasperated words, a dango-shaped nose—extremely rare among the Uchiha—suddenly appeared in Uchiha Jin's field of vision.
"...Well, if it isn't little Shisui. What brings you here for a visit?"
Uchiha Jin was quite calm. He had noticed Uchiha Shisui's arrival back at the training ground. The guy clearly hadn't bothered to hide his presence, so Jin was rather curious why someone who'd always avoided him had suddenly come looking for him.
Did my 'family affection' plan fail?
"Your words are dangerous. The atmosphere between the village and the clan is growing more and more tense, and now you've even brought up that taboo figure. Do you realize you could drag the clan into an abyss?"
The gloom on Uchiha Shisui's face had crept up to his brow, and the red glow deep in his troubled eyes had grown ever more intense.
Uchiha Madara!
He was a taboo subject in the village. If that man hadn't caused the First to die young, the First Shinobi World War wouldn't have broken out so soon.
Even though the Uchiha Clan hadn't followed Uchiha Madara back then and hadn't been openly implicated in the incident, in secret it had become one of the deepest reasons the many shinobi clans of Konoha held it in contempt.
Uchiha Madara's existence, whether for the Uchiha Clan or for Konoha Village as a whole, was something that had to be buried in the dust of history at all costs.
If that was true of Uchiha Madara, then it went without saying that the 'Mangekyō' was even more so. This evil bloodline limit, known as the 'power of the gods,' was a forbidden power so formidable and wicked that only Uchiha Shisui truly understood it.
If the Uchiha learned about this power and obtained the forbidden, evil method of awakening it, they would be set on a path of destruction that would drive the clan to ruin and madness.
Still.
One thing that gave Uchiha Shisui some peace of mind was that Uchiha Jin didn't seem to know how to awaken the 'Mangekyō.'
Even so, this information was forbidden among the forbidden.
Yet after becoming the head instructor at the Clan Discipline Camp, Uchiha Jin had not only continued to spread his extreme, radical theories, but was now openly preaching this forbidden information.
How could that be allowed?
The Uchiha Clan's pride came from its powerful bloodline. While the young Uchiha were still ignorant, they might have been 'educated' by the greatness of the Will of Fire.
But with Uchiha Jin's arrival, that path had been sealed shut.
Now he was openly publicizing the existence of Uchiha Madara and the 'Mangekyō.' This would only make the young Uchiha swell with pride over their clan's powerful bloodline, making the already proud Uchiha even more stubborn and less able to fit in with the village.
And all of this... would inevitably worsen the Uchiha Clan's reputation, deepening the rift between the clan and the village.
"Especially at a time when things are growing more and more tense... Why... why can't the clan members understand the greatness of the Will of Fire?"
Thinking of this, Uchiha Shisui felt all the more bitter. The way he looked at Uchiha Jin was full of exasperation, as though Jin had failed to live up to his expectations.
"Shisui!"
Though Jin was wary of Shisui's abilities, when he heard those reproachful words, he abruptly stood up and hurled the fruit drink in his hand to the ground.
"I'm your grandpa! Is that any way to talk to me?"
Uh...
Uchiha Shisui, who had come to confront him, suddenly faltered. As he recalled why he usually avoided dealing with Jin, he remembered Jin's other special identity.
"Not by blood!"
The gloom vanished from Shisui's face, replaced by an embarrassed flush. He stubbornly retorted.
There was no helping it.
Uchiha Jin's name sounded almost exactly like that of his grandfather, Uchiha Kagami, and the difference in their generations was simply impossible to argue away.
(ps: I don't care, they're pronounced the same. No objections accepted.)
"Blood is thicker than water!"
Uchiha Jin's voice grew more impassioned, as though Shisui had done something heinous. The already bewildered Shisui was left standing there, stunned.
That was right.
Although Shisui and Uchiha Jin were about the same age, Jin's branch of the family had children late, generation after generation. By bloodline, Jin really could count as Shisui's grandfather.
Uchiha Kagami had died too young. Otherwise, Jin calling himself Shisui's brother right in front of him would have made for quite a scene.
This situation was rather awkward for Shisui. By blood, Jin really was of the same generation as his grandfather, and their names sounded very much alike.
So whenever Shisui crossed words with Uchiha Jin, he inevitably ended up in this awkward position. He genuinely didn't know what to do.
Shisui had always avoided Uchiha Jin whenever he could. But lately, relations between the clan and the village had grown increasingly tense, and Uchiha Jin—the 'Jade Shatter Faction'—had become impossible for him to ignore.
The Uchiha Clan's 'Radical Faction' already held the upper hand and the initiative. The 'Moderate Faction' only hesitated because they were concerned about the losses and benefits after a coup.
In this situation, Uchiha Jin was like a mastermind behind the scenes. Through one young Uchiha after another, each growing rapidly stronger, he was quietly influencing clan members with his 'evil' rhetoric. Worse, he had shamelessly distorted and smeared Shisui's beloved 'Will of Fire.'
"What Konoha is, what the Hokage is!
"The name Konoha comes from the Senju Clan, while the title of Hokage comes from the symbol of the Uchiha Clan.
"The Uchiha Gunbai!
"And the Uchiha Clan, bearing the Uchiha Gunbai crest, embodies the true Will of Fire!
"Now that the Senju Clan has faded into history, our Uchiha Clan must take up the banner of the 'Will of Fire' and restore order to Konoha Village."
Outrageous!
Uchiha Shisui, who had been steeped in the Will of Fire since childhood, could never accept such absurd words. But he had never expected Uchiha Jin's rhetoric to be so popular. Over the past two years, it had spread from one young Uchiha to another, and had even caused several members of the 'Neutral Faction' to defect to the 'Radical Faction.'
That was why Uchiha Shisui could no longer sit still. He couldn't stand by and watch his clan step toward the abyss, nor could he let his beloved village suffer heavy losses as a result.
"Don't give me any more of that nonsense!"
Shisui, red-faced and straining, cut Uchiha Jin off. He continued in a pleading tone.
"More and more clan members are joining the Radical Faction. If this keeps up, there'll be no saving the Uchiha!"
"What!"
At Uchiha Shisui's words, Uchiha Jin's eyes suddenly lit up. He eagerly pressed him for more.
"People in the clan are joining my 'Radical Faction'? How come I didn't know?"
Uh...
Uchiha Shisui's eyes suddenly narrowed. The pain on his face froze in place, and then he abruptly realized there was an even more terrible problem.
"Elder Setsuna's faction kept shouting about an armed coup at the last clan meeting..."
Though he felt there was little hope, Uchiha Shisui still wanted to do all he could to persuade him. If this 'Jade Shatter Faction' could change course first, it would set the best example for the Uchiha Clan.
Unfortunately...
Shisui's already faint hope became even more unattainable after Uchiha Jin asked one simple question.
As expected!
"You mean Setsuna's bunch of 'Moderates' who do nothing but run their mouths?"
Uchiha Jin merely rolled his eyes and flopped back into his chair, looking utterly bored. He scolded them in a tone of exasperation.
"What can a bunch of cowards accomplish? They talk about an armed coup all day, but I've never seen them lift a finger. Even you know about it, so do you really think the Hokage's side isn't prepared?"
"Those cowardly trash—if they really had any guts, they'd join me. If we attacked the Hokage Building tonight, we'd have at least a fifty percent chance of pulling it off!"
Well... everything was fifty-fifty. Either they'd succeed or they'd fail. Jin could live with either outcome.
Oh, yeah!
"Not that I'm looking down on those 'Moderates,' but if that useless bunch dares to launch a coup within three years, I'll cut off my own head and give it to you!"
"You..."
Uchiha Shisui stared blankly, his eyes filled with shock as he looked at Uchiha Jin in disbelief.
He had a point!
Though Uchiha Jin's words seemed utterly absurd and grating, the more Uchiha Shisui thought about it, the more he realized it might actually be true.
Unless something else influenced matters, it really would take more than a short while for the clan's 'Radical Faction' to gain the confidence to support a coup...
Wait, that's not right!
Wouldn't that make Jin's existence even more dangerous?
Whoosh!
As Uchiha Shisui's emotions suddenly surged, a strange, blade-like pattern unconsciously appeared in his eyes.
Mangekyō Sharingan,
Awaken!
Before you continue