Zhi Shui, I'm Your Grandpa!

"Jin, you're spouting those strange words again!"

Accompanied by that slightly helpless tone, a snub nose—an extremely rare sight within the Uchiha Clan—instantly came into Uchiha Jin's view.

"...Isn't this little Shisui? What brings you to wander over to my place?"

Uchiha Jin remained quite calm. He had noticed Uchiha Shisui's arrival back at the training grounds; clearly, the fellow had no intention of masking his presence. Thus, he was quite curious as to why this person, who had been avoiding him, had suddenly come to seek him out.

Could it be that my 'family affection' plan failed?

"Your rhetoric is too dangerous. The atmosphere between the village and the clan is becoming increasingly tense, and now you're even mentioning that taboo individual. Do you have any idea how this will drag the clan into the abyss?"

The gloom on Uchiha Shisui's face had already reached his brow, and the crimson glow deep within his melancholic eyes grew increasingly intense.

Uchiha Madara!

This was a taboo that could not be mentioned in the village. If not for the fact that this man had caused the First Hokage to pass away in his prime, the subsequent First Shinobi World War would never have broken out so early.

Even though the Uchiha Clan at the time had not followed Uchiha Madara and had not been implicated in that incident on the surface, it had secretly become one of the deepest reasons for the criticism leveled against them by the many shinobi clans of Konoha.

It could be said that the existence of Uchiha Madara was something that needed to be buried deep in the dust of history with all their might, both for the Uchiha Clan and for Konoha Village as a whole.

If Uchiha Madara was like this, then there was even less need to speak of the existence of the Mangekyo. This evil bloodline limit, known as the "power of the gods," was something only he, Uchiha Shisui, truly understood to be a powerful and wicked forbidden force.

If the members of the Uchiha Clan were to learn of this power and obtain that forbidden and evil method of awakening it, it would be a path of destruction that would lead the Uchiha toward ruin and madness.

However.

One thing that brought Uchiha Shisui a modicum of peace was that Uchiha Jin did not seem to know the method for awakening the Mangekyo.

But even so, this information was inevitably a taboo among taboos.

Yet, after becoming the chief instructor of the Clan Discipline Camp, Uchiha Jin had not only been propagating his set of extremely radical theories, but was now openly spreading this forbidden information.

How could he allow this!

The arrogance of the Uchiha Clan stemmed from their powerful bloodline limit. If the Uchiha cubs were still in their naive, early stages, there might have been a possibility of them being "indoctrinated" by the great Will of Fire.

But with the appearance of Uchiha Jin, that path had been welded shut.

Now, by openly proclaiming the existence of Uchiha Madara and the Mangekyo, he would only cause the young Uchiha cubs to become conceited due to their clan's powerful bloodline, making the already arrogant Uchiha even more paranoid and difficult to integrate into the village.

And all of this... would inevitably lead to a further deterioration of the Uchiha Clan's external image, ultimately causing the rift between the clan and the village to widen.

"Especially at this increasingly tense moment... why... why can't the clansmen understand the greatness of the Will of Fire?"

As Uchiha Shisui thought of this, his heart grew increasingly bitter, and the gaze he cast toward Uchiha Jin became one of even greater frustration at his failure to live up to expectations.

"Shisui!"

Although Jin was quite wary of Shisui's abilities, when he heard that tone full of reproach, he suddenly stood up and slammed the fruit drink in his hand onto the ground.

"I am your grandfather, after all! Is that any way to talk to me!"

Uh...

Uchiha Shisui, who had originally intended to hold him accountable, suddenly faltered. As he recalled why he usually avoided dealing with Jin, he realized Jin's other special status.

"A distant one!"

The gloom on Shisui's face instantly dissipated, replaced by a flush of embarrassed annoyance as he stubbornly retorted.

There was no helping it.

The pronunciation of Uchiha Jin's name was extremely similar to that of his grandfather, Uchiha Kagami, and this seniority was truly impossible to refute.

"Blood is thicker than water!"

Uchiha Jin's tone grew increasingly impassioned, as if Shisui had committed some heinous crime, leaving the already bewildered Shisui stunned on the spot.

That was right.

Although there wasn't much of an age gap between Shisui and Uchiha Jin, based on the special circumstances of late marriage and late childbearing in Jin's lineage, from the perspective of bloodline seniority, he could indeed be considered of the same generation as Shisui's grandfather.

It was just that Uchiha Kagami had died too early; otherwise, if he had stood in front of Shisui and called him "brother," the scene would surely have been extremely interesting.

This situation was somewhat awkward for Shisui. In terms of bloodline, Jin was indeed of his grandfather's generation, and the pronunciation of their names was also remarkably similar.

Consequently, every time he engaged in a verbal confrontation with Uchiha Jin, Shisui would inexplicably fall into this awkward position, truly not knowing what to do.

Originally, Shisui had avoided Uchiha Jin whenever possible, but recently the relationship between the clan and the village had become increasingly tense, and the influence caused by Uchiha Jin and his "Jade Shatter Faction" could no longer be ignored.

Within the Uchiha Clan, the "Radical Faction" already held the strength and the initiative, while those in the "Moderate Faction" were merely concerned about the losses and interests following a coup.

In such a situation, Uchiha Jin was like a mastermind behind the scenes, using the Uchiha cubs—whose strength was progressing rapidly—to silently influence the clansmen with his "evil" rhetoric, and even shamelessly distorting and smearing the "Will of Fire" that Shisui loved most.

"The so-called Konoha, the so-called Hokage!

The name Konoha originated from the Senju Clan, while the title of Hokage originated from the symbol of the Uchiha Clan.

The Uchiha Gunbai!

And for the Uchiha Clan, who bear the crest of the Uchiha Gunbai, the will of the Uchiha is the true Will of Fire!

Especially now that the Senju Clan has faded from the stage, my Uchiha Clan must take the initiative to shoulder the banner of the 'Will of Fire' and return Konoha Village to its proper order."

Absurd!

Uchiha Shisui, who had been deeply baptized by the Will of Fire since childhood, could not accept such preposterous rhetoric. Yet, he never imagined that Uchiha Jin's words would prove so unexpectedly popular. Over the past two years, they had spread from the mouths of one Uchiha cub to another, genuinely causing several members of the Neutral Faction to defect into the arms of the Radical Faction.

Therefore, Uchiha Shisui could no longer sit still. He could not watch his clansmen step toward the abyss, nor could he stand by while the village he loved most suffered a major loss because of it.

"Don't give me that useless talk!"

With a flushed face and a thick neck, Shisui forced himself to interrupt Uchiha Jin, continuing with a hint of pleading in his tone.

"More and more clansmen are joining the Radical Faction. If this continues, the Uchiha will truly be beyond saving!"

"What!"

At Uchiha Shisui's words, Uchiha Jin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked with a touch of excitement, "People in the clan want to join my Radical Faction? How come I didn't know?"

Uh...

Uchiha Shisui's pupils constricted violently. The look of pain on his face froze in place as he suddenly realized an even more terrifying problem.

"Elder Setsuna's lineage has been shouting about an armed coup at every clan meeting..."

Although he felt the hope was incredibly slim, Uchiha Shisui still wanted to make the greatest effort to persuade him. If this Jade Shatter Faction could be the first to change, it would absolutely serve as the best benchmark for the Uchiha Clan.

Unfortunately...

That already slim hope of Shisui's became even more unattainable following Uchiha Jin's simple question.

As expected!

"Are you talking about that bunch of 'Moderate Faction' members who only know how to flap their gums?"

Uchiha Jin rolled his eyes casually and leaned back into his chair, bored, cursing with a sense of disappointment.

"What can a bunch of cowards accomplish? They talk about an armed coup all day long, but I've never seen them actually make a move. If even you know about this, do you really think the Hokage's side wouldn't have precautions?"

"Those cowardly pieces of trash—if they really had the guts, they'd follow me. If we raided the Hokage Building tonight, we'd have at least a fifty percent chance of success!"

Hmm... everything is fifty-fifty; either it succeeds or it fails. Either way, Uchiha Jin could accept the final result.

Oh, yeah!

"It's not that I look down on those Moderate Faction guys, but if that bunch of weak-willed cowards dares to launch a coup within three years, I'll chop my head off and give it to you!"

"You..."

Uchiha Shisui's gaze went blank, his eyes filled with shock as he stared at Uchiha Jin in utter disbelief.

It makes sense!

Although he felt Uchiha Jin's words were absurd and grating, after careful thought, Uchiha Shisui realized it was indeed the case.

Without the influence of other external forces, if the Radical Faction within the clan wanted to gain the confidence to support a coup, it really wasn't something that could be achieved in a short time...

Wait, no!

In that case, wouldn't the existence of a guy like Jin be even more dangerous!

Swish!

Because of the sudden, violent fluctuation of emotions in Uchiha Shisui's heart, a special, blade-like pattern unconsciously manifested within his pupils.

Mangekyo Sharingan, Activate!