Only the Mangekyō Sharingan Can Fight the Mangekyō Sharingan

Shisui lost his usual gentleness for the first time.

The Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power fluctuated with his emotions, making the air around them seem several degrees heavier.

"Fugaku has always been protecting the Uchiha!"

"More than anyone, he wants the village and the clan to coexist peacefully!"

"That is precisely why he approved of me joining Root and supported my getting close to the Hokage's faction!"

Lie Yang was unaffected by that ocular power.

"That's why I said he can't change anything."

Shisui's breathing quickened.

"Then who do you think can change things?"

"You."

That single word froze Shisui on the spot.

Kakashi's right eye narrowed slightly as well.

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Shisui and finally understood what Lie Yang's earlier words had truly been referring to.

The greatest root of Lie Yang's defection was not Danzo, not the Hokage, nor was it Fugaku.

It was Shisui.

"Me?"

The anger on Shisui's face was swiftly replaced by astonishment.

"How could your defection possibly have been because of me?"

"Because Konoha follows the simplest rule."

Lie Yang looked at him.

"Only the Mangekyō Sharingan can fight the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"When you were the only Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan, as long as you relied on Konoha, the higher-ups could be temporarily at ease."

"You were Konoha's means of suppressing the Uchiha, and the Uchiha's trump card against the higher-ups taking action without restraint."

"Both sides needed you."

"That was why you had the right to talk about reconciliation, trust, and gradual change."

Shisui's face slowly turned pale.

Lie Yang did not stop.

"But I awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan too."

"Konoha could not control me."

"Yet because of my existence, the Uchiha might gain the confidence to stand against the higher-ups."

"From the moment I defected, the balance you maintained was already completely shattered."

"All your efforts to remain in Konoha lost their meaning as well."

Shisui instinctively shook his head.

"No."

"Everything I did was for the Uchiha."

"I never betrayed the clan."

"I joined Root to make the higher-ups lower their guard."

"I got close to the Hokage's faction to win trust for my clansmen."

"I wanted to break down the divide between Konoha and the Uchiha, resolve the conflict between both sides, and protect the hard-won peace!"

"That is the true meaning of the Will of Fire!"

"Fugaku approved of me, and many within the clan believed in me too!"

Lie Yang looked at him coldly.

"What you are best at is moving yourself with those words."

Shisui's pupils contracted.

"You want to resolve hatred accumulated over generations with one generation's compromises."

"When Konoha took away the Uchiha's power, you worked even harder to prove your loyalty."

"When the higher-ups monitored the clan grounds, you voluntarily walked into Root."

"When Danzo was hostile toward the Uchiha, you placed the hope for the clan's peace in Danzo's hands."

"You take one step back, and they take one step forward."

"And in the end, you still tell your clansmen it is all for peace."

Shisui's lips moved, but no sound came out.

Lie Yang pressed closer.

"Let me ask you."

"What will you do if Danzo is never willing to let go of his prejudice?"

"What will you do if the higher-ups never allow the Uchiha into the core of power?"

"What will you do if, no matter how much the clan yields, it still cannot earn Konoha's trust?"

Shisui answered instinctively, "I'll continue communicating..."

"For how long?"

Lie Yang cut him off sharply.

"One year?"

"Ten years?"

"Or will you wait until the Uchiha are driven into outright rebellion, then use Kotoamatsukami to alter your clansmen's wills and make them continue obeying Konoha?"

The color drained from Shisui's face in an instant.

Kotoamatsukami was his greatest secret.

It was also his final means.

If the village and the clan truly reached an irreparable point, he had indeed considered using Kotoamatsukami to alter the wills of the clan's higher-ups.

He would stop the coup and preserve the peace through manipulation no one would ever know about.

But now that Lie Yang had torn it open before his eyes, the choice he had considered so noble seemed painfully glaring for the first time.

Lie Yang stood before Shisui.

"You possess the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"You have Fugaku's deep trust."

"You have also earned the Third Hokage's favor."

"The younger generation in the clan sees you as the most outstanding genius, while the village's shinobi call you Body Flicker Shisui."

"The power in your hands is enough to unite the Uchiha."

"Your status is enough to make you a true bridge between Konoha and the Uchiha."

"As long as you were willing to step forward and openly demand that the higher-ups stop their surveillance, return the power rightfully belonging to the Uchiha, and give the clansmen a chance to participate in the village's core affairs, Fugaku would support you, and so would the Uchiha."

Shisui took half a step back.

Lie Yang continued his questioning.

"But what did you do?"

"You did not dare lead your clansmen to fight for what they deserved."

"You did not dare use your own strength to keep the higher-ups in check."

"You did not dare make Danzo understand that continuing to suppress the Uchiha would come at a price."

"You possessed the power to change the situation, yet you willingly knelt before Root and begged those hostile to the Uchiha to believe in your loyalty."

"And then you called that cowardice peace."

Shisui took another step back.

The ninja blade in his right hand drooped, its tip scraping across the ground.

"No..."

"I just didn't want the village and the clan to come into conflict."

"So you handed the power to decide over to Danzo?"

Lie Yang's voice grew colder and colder.

"You do not even believe in your own power, yet you believe Danzo will give the Uchiha fairness."

"You do not even dare face your clansmen's dissatisfaction, yet you dream of resolving decades of conflict through concessions."

"You keep saying you are shouldering responsibility."

"But in truth, you are merely avoiding the most difficult choice."

Shisui's face was deathly pale.

Everything that had supported him all this time was being torn apart sentence by sentence.

He had thought joining Root required courage.

He had thought enduring his clansmen's misunderstanding in exchange for the higher-ups' trust was a responsibility he had to bear.

He had thought that if he were sincere enough, Danzo would one day be moved.

But he had no answer to any question Lie Yang asked.

What if Danzo never changed?

What if the higher-ups never trusted the Uchiha?

What if every concession only brought stricter surveillance?

He had never seriously considered it.

Or rather, he had not dared to.

Because if the answer was no, then everything he had held fast to would completely lose its meaning.

Lie Yang gave him one final look.

"Even ordinary Uchiha clansmen know that dignity and power must be fought for with their own hands."

"You possess the Mangekyō Sharingan, yet you only know how to place your hopes in others."

"In terms of strength, you are a genius."

"In terms of character, you are not even equal to those ordinary young people in the clan."

"You do not deserve those Mangekyō Sharingan eyes at all."

Those words were like the final crushing blow.

Shisui's body trembled as he staggered several steps back.

His ninja blade slipped from his grasp.

Clang!

The blade struck the ground.

He did not reach down to pick it up.

Kakashi stood to the side and never interrupted.

Kurenai Yuhi lowered her head, unable to find any words to defend Shisui.

Might Guy pressed a hand against his injured leg. The anger on his face had vanished, leaving only silence.

They did not agree with Lie Yang's slaughter.

Nor did they agree with his choice to betray Konoha.

But they could not refute Lie Yang's judgment of Shisui.

Shisui had voluntarily joined Root, the faction most hostile to the Uchiha, and placed the future of the entire clan in Danzo's attitude.

That in itself was a concession made without any confidence.

Shisui looked at the ninja blade lying by his feet.

The pride brought by the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The renown of Body Flicker Shisui.

Fugaku's trust.

The Third Hokage's favor.

And the ideals of peace he had always believed in.

At this moment, all of it lost its support.

His shoulders gradually slumped, and his voice was so soft it was nearly inaudible.

"The one who has been avoiding reality and refusing to face the conflict..."

"Was me."