Shisui Joins

Naruto was a bit scatterbrained, so after seeing him home, Uchiha Kei and Uchiha Shisui walked side by side down the street.

"What are we going to do about those Anbu? Just leave them there?"

Uchiha Kei pursed his lips.

"Yeah. They'll leave on their own once they wake up."

"But they failed their mission, so they might get punished."

Uchiha Kei clasped his hands behind his head, a leaf from who knew where dangling from his mouth.

"Shisui, what do you think of me after these past two days?"

"What do you mean?"

A ripple stirred in Shisui's usually calm eyes.

"You've been with me for two days now. Is there nothing you want to say to me?"

Uchiha Kei stopped and turned to look at Shisui.

Shisui met his gaze. After a long moment, he smiled.

"You're good."

"Come on, I thought you'd have something more complimentary to say. All I get is 'good'?"

Shisui smiled without answering.

He was kind by nature, but not good at communicating. Whether he was dealing with people he knew or strangers, he usually responded with a smile.

"I talked with Itachi a couple of days ago. I assume you know what we discussed?"

Shisui nodded.

"Then what do you think? Is the plan feasible?"

Shisui fell into thought.

When he first heard the plan, he was astonished, but at the same time, a door that had never opened before swung wide in his heart.

After pondering it carefully for two days, Shisui had begun to think the plan was a little too far-fetched.

The Hokage of Konoha was more than just a symbol of leadership.

The position was also about distributing and balancing power.

The First and Second Hokage had relied on their own strength and influence, but the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Mito could not be overlooked.

Their influence had even surpassed the strength of the First and Second Hokage themselves.

An individual's strength could never stand against the power of a clan.

Back then, the First had burst onto the scene and stood atop the entire Shinobi World, seemingly invincible!

Had every shinobi truly feared him?

Probably not.

Even the First could be defeated if his opponent had accurate intelligence and a sound strategy.

While other shinobi feared his personal strength, they feared the mighty Senju Clan and Uzumaki Mito, the strongest Jinchūriki, even more.

That was the true Shinobi World.

Seeing the hesitation in Shisui's eyes, Uchiha Kei understood what was troubling him.

"Are you worried about the clans' influence in the village, Shisui?"

Shisui looked up at him.

"Then how many factions do you think there are in the village?"

Shisui thought for a moment. "The village's factions can be divided into the families under Lord Hokage's command; the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans—the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio; the Inuzuka Clan, the Aburame Clan, the Hyuga Clan, and the many civilian shinobi."

"And then there's the Uchiha Clan."

When he mentioned the Uchiha Clan, Shisui's expression turned rueful.

Indeed, on the surface, the Uchiha Clan stood apart from the Hokage's rule.

"Is that how you see it, Shisui?"

Shisui fell silent, watching him quietly.

"Konoha isn't that simple."

Uchiha Kei spat out the leaf. "I think Konoha's forces can be divided into four factions."

"First, the Hokage's faction. Strictly speaking, it only consists of the Anbu under his direct command. The Ino-Shika-Cho Trio often put their clans' interests first."

"Second, the clans: the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, the Hyuga Clan, the Uchiha Clan, and some smaller clans."

"Third, the civilians. They don't belong to the Hokage; they belong to Konoha. You need to understand that, Shisui."

"Fourth, Root!"

Shisui stiffened instantly, disbelief in his eyes.

"How do you know about Root?!"

At that moment, Shisui truly couldn't fathom Uchiha Kei.

Only a handful of people in Konoha knew Root existed, apart from the clan heads.

How could Uchiha Kei, just a child, know about it?

"The first and fourth factions are out of reach, but there's still plenty of hope with the second and third."

Uchiha Kei skipped right over Shisui's question.

Ever since he'd decided to make Itachi the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Kei had been sorting through the memories in his mind.

Making Itachi the Fifth Hokage would be no less difficult than the First founding the Ninja Village.

It sounded exaggerated, but it was true.

In the eyes of Konoha's people, the Uchiha Clan was synonymous with arrogance and overbearing behavior.

Both the Second and Third Hokage had loathed the Uchiha Clan.

The difference was that one had shown his hatred openly, while the other had concealed it extremely well.

Anyone could become Hokage. Anyone except a member of the Uchiha Clan.

That was what the Hokage's faction believed, what the clan faction believed, and what the civilian faction believed even more!

But none of that mattered to Uchiha Kei.

Was the Uchiha Clan really that bad?

Not necessarily. Much of it came from the narrative pushed by the Third Hokage.

When it came to fighting a war of public opinion, Uchiha Kei was confident Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't beat him.

"Shisui, I'm confident I can win over the second and third factions. If I can, do you still think Itachi becoming the Fifth Hokage is just a fantasy?"

Shisui's mouth went dry. He stared at Kei, murmuring under his breath.

After a long moment, he spoke.

"It's too risky. The slightest misstep could destroy the Uchiha Clan."

Even though Uchiha Kei had painted a bright picture of the future, Shisui had thought it over and still refused.

Once they started down this path, there would be no turning back.

One move would affect everything. The Uchiha Clan would inevitably be drawn into the heart of it.

Neither he nor Itachi could bear the consequences.

"Are you being too cautious?"

Uchiha Kei murmured to himself. His lowered eyes suddenly snapped open.

Intricate patterns spread across his pupils, joining into the shape of a sword as they turned eerily.

"With four Mangekyo, even if we fail, the Uchiha Clan should still be safe, right?"

A sense of danger washed over Shisui, and he instinctively took a step back.

"M-Mangekyo?"

"Ding! Uchiha Shisui is shocked. Shock Value +99."

"Ding..."

"Ding..."

The system chimed four times in succession.

"Why are you so shocked, Shisui? Don't you have Mangekyo too?"

Shisui's mind short-circuited.

He had awakened his Mangekyo by chance after both his parents died. There were too many unique circumstances involved for anyone else to replicate it.

And apart from Itachi, there was no way a third person could know about it.

How had Kei found out?

Shisui quickly caught on to what Uchiha Kei had said.

"Four pairs?"

"You, me, Itachi, and the clan head."

"The clan head! How is that possible?!"

From what Shisui knew of the clan head, if he had Mangekyo, he would have seized power by force long ago. He wouldn't have let the Uchiha Clan be oppressed.

"If the clan head had Mangekyo, the Hokage Position would already belong to the Uchiha."

Shisui shook his head.

Uchiha Kei scoffed. "Shisui, are you underestimating Konoha's strength?"

One pair of Mangekyo was supposed to be enough to seize power by force? He was dreaming.

Although Konoha didn't have many powerful shinobi at the time, one pair of Mangekyo wouldn't be enough to deal with them. The Third Hokage, Might Guy, and Kakashi could all stand against it.

Even with four pairs of Mangekyo, Uchiha Kei wasn't sure they could pull it off.

"Four pairs of Mangekyo aren't enough to give us confidence in seizing power by force. They give us the confidence to try."

Watching the slowly turning Mangekyo, Shisui's expression shifted again and again before finally settling into calm.

"Fine. I'm in."

Uchiha Kei grinned. "Welcome aboard, Shisui."

Their two hands met, not especially heavy with meaning.

It signaled that...

Konoha's sky was about to change!