If I Win, You Belong to Me

Not a sound remained on the plain.

Even Shisui, who had been lost in a daze, slowly raised his head.

Lie Yang continued, "After he dies, Konoha will need a new Hokage."

"That person will not have participated in the high-level struggles of the past few decades."

"They will have no blood debts left behind by Root and will not need to bear responsibility for the White Fang, the Uchiha, or the Nine-Tails Incident."

"She will only need to take over the village left behind by the Third Hokage, purge the darkness that has already been exposed, and reestablish order as the Fifth Hokage."

"A clean, peaceful Konoha where all guilt has already been shouldered by the previous generation."

Kakashi's right eye suddenly widened.

"You..."

A name instantly surfaced in his mind.

Tsunade.

One of the Legendary Sannin.

The First Hokage's granddaughter.

She had left Konoha many years ago and had barely participated in the internal struggles after the Third Hokage returned to power.

Her reputation, status, and strength were all sufficient for her to succeed as Hokage.

More importantly, she could naturally sever many of the conflicts accumulated during the Third Hokage's era.

Cold sweat instantly soaked Kakashi's back.

Something like this could never be recorded in any mission file.

No one would even discuss it openly.

Yet every step Lie Yang had described perfectly matched Konoha's current situation.

"This is an understanding the Hokage faction had long accepted."

Lie Yang looked at Kakashi.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi will bear the darkness alone and use his death to complete Konoha's final transition."

"His successor will stand atop his corpse and inherit a village that no longer needs to answer for old debts."

"That is why Danzo can continue to exist."

"That is why the Council of Elders can keep making mistakes."

"That is why, even though the Third Hokage knows the problems are growing worse, he continues to compromise again and again."

"It is not because he truly cannot see them."

"It is because, in the end, he intends to take all the costs with him."

A sharp pain came from Kakashi's left eye.

Mangekyō Sharingan power churned violently deep within his eye socket.

He stared fixedly at Lie Yang.

"Even ANBU could not possibly know about an arrangement of this level."

"Where exactly did you get this intelligence?"

"I do not need intelligence."

Lie Yang's answer was utterly calm.

"As long as you see Konoha's power structure clearly, then look at the choices each person has made, the answer will naturally appear."

Kakashi did not continue questioning him.

For the first time, he realized that the most terrifying thing before him might not be Lie Yang's Mangekyō Sharingan, nor the swordsmanship capable of suppressing Shisui and Might Guy.

It was that Lie Yang had already seen through everyone's place in Konoha.

The Hokage.

The Council of Elders.

Danzo.

The Uchiha.

Even the as-yet-unseen Fifth Hokage had been included in his calculations.

Shisui stood there blankly.

He had always viewed Konoha and the Uchiha as two opposing sides.

One side was the village.

The other was the clan.

What he wanted was to stand between them and erase their hatred.

But what Lie Yang had just revealed completely shattered that simplistic understanding.

Konoha had never been a single whole.

The Hokage faction, the Council of Elders, Root, the shinobi clans, and the civilians all had different positions.

The Uchiha were likewise not a single whole.

Fugaku, the moderates, the radicals, and ordinary clan members all wanted different things.

Yet he had always reduced everything to a conflict between the village and the clan.

Then he had tried to use his loyalty to make both sides retreat at once.

How laughable!

Lie Yang glanced at Shisui.

Those earlier words had not been meant only for Kakashi.

The person who truly needed to understand them, from beginning to end, was Shisui.

Only by stepping outside the binary opposition between Konoha and the Uchiha could Shisui see a new path forward.

Rather than continuing to pin his hopes on Danzo's goodwill and the higher-ups' acceptance.

Shisui's breathing grew more and more erratic.

His Mangekyō Sharingan power lost control, and the air around them began to warp slightly.

Lie Yang frowned faintly.

It seemed he had pushed him too far.

Kakashi's early awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan under the pressure of life and death and mental fracture had already proven that extreme emotions could drive ocular power to evolve.

Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan potential went far beyond Kotoamatsukami.

If he could shatter the obsession Shisui had built up over the years and allow his mind to establish a new anchor, perhaps he could likewise force out a deeper level of power.

But Shisui was no longer merely wavering.

He was on the verge of collapse.

If Lie Yang continued pressing him, Shisui might not break through. He might completely lose his will to fight instead.

Lie Yang fell silent for several breaths before finally letting out a soft sigh.

"Not all of your past choices were wrong."

Shisui raised his head in confusion.

"What?"

"You were not wrong to want to prevent war from breaking out between the Uchiha and Konoha."

Lie Yang said, "Once both sides go to war, the ones who die most will not be the higher-ups, nor will they be the powerful ones with Mangekyō Sharingan."

"They will be ordinary clan members and ordinary shinobi."

"It is not laughable that you wanted to protect them."

At last, a slight change appeared in Shisui's dim eyes.

Lie Yang continued, "Your problem is not that you pursued peace."

"It is that you never considered fighting for peace with your own strength."

"Retreat is not the only path."

"Nor is mutual destruction the only possible ending between Konoha and the Uchiha."

Shisui stared blankly at him.

Within the faith that had just been completely shattered, a crack remained that was not entirely sealed shut.

"There is another path?"

"Of course."

"Where?"

"Find it yourself."

Lie Yang gripped the hilt of his sword.

"If you do not even have that resolve, then go back to Root and wait for Danzo to grant you his trust."

Shisui's expression changed several times.

In the end, he bent down and picked up his fallen ninja sword.

His fingers slowly wiped the dust from its blade.

"You said all that just to shake me?"

"It was also to give you an opportunity."

Shisui raised his head.

"What opportunity?"

The three tomoe in Lie Yang's eyes began to spin.

The black markings rapidly stretched, transforming into three wheat-stalk shapes.

Mangekyō Sharingan!

Heavy ocular power blanketed the plain.

Kurenai Yuhi's body tensed.

Kakashi immediately raised a hand and lifted his forehead protector.

Might Guy also endured the agony in his ankle and adjusted his breathing once more.

Lie Yang looked at Shisui.

"You want to stop me from continuing to slaughter Konoha's people."

"You also do not want to watch two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan fight until only one person remains."

"Then I will lend you a choice."

The hand gripping Shisui's sword tightened little by little.

"As long as you have the ability and the resolve to keep me here, my power will belong to you."

"You can take me back to Konoha."

"You can use Kotoamatsukami to alter my will."

"You can even make me the power in your hands to balance the higher-ups and the Uchiha."

Shisui's pupils contracted sharply.

Lie Yang continued, "Kakashi, Might Guy, and Kurenai Yuhi can all join forces with you."

"I will not demand a one-on-one duel."

"As long as you can keep me here, you win."

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Lie Yang in disbelief.

Might Guy even forgot the searing pain in his ankle.

But Kakashi stared at Lie Yang's Mangekyō Sharingan, deep in thought.

The other side clearly held an absolute advantage, yet he had voluntarily proposed such terms.

This was definitely not arrogance.

Lie Yang certainly had another purpose.

But Kakashi ultimately did not stop him.

No matter what Lie Yang was plotting, this was their only chance to complete the mission.

Shisui's breathing gradually steadied.

The confusion, pain, and self-doubt from moments ago were forcibly suppressed by a new goal.

Bring Lie Yang back to Konoha.

End this pursuit that had lasted for over a month.

Stop more Konoha shinobi from dying.

And at the same time, use Lie Yang's strength to search once more for a path between Konoha and the Uchiha.

Even if he had to use Kotoamatsukami, he had to do it!

"Alright."

Shisui raised his ninja sword again.

The Mangekyō Sharingan pattern rapidly formed in his eyes.

"I accept."

Lie Yang looked at those eyes, now rekindled with fighting spirit, and slowly drew his ninja sword with his right hand.