Uchiha Specialty

"In the days ahead, Danzo would definitely try every possible way to kill you. The key was to take your Mangekyo," Uchiha Shu said blandly. "And once you were dead, it wouldn't be long before the higher-ups wiped out the Uchiha Clan."

Upon hearing this, Shisui stared blankly at Xiu.

He neither said he believed it nor that he didn't. He merely contemplated the possibility in silence.

"What? You don't believe me?"

"It really is... hard to believe." Shisui nodded, his expression unpleasant.

"What do you think? Between the Uchiha Clan and the village as it stood now, which side was stronger?"

"It should—be the village, right?"

Shisui hesitated. He believed the village's overall strength far surpassed that of the Uchiha Clan; that was an objective fact.

But Xiu's sudden question made him somewhat uncertain.

"That's right, it's the village. If a conflict broke out head-on, the Uchiha would have no chance of winning." Uchiha Shu nodded. "But what if you compared them with the Hokage and the Elders Council?"

Shisui frowned. "The Hokage controls all of the village's military forces. What's the difference?"

"The difference is that if the Uchiha took the initiative and launched a coup, that would be rebellion, making them enemies of the entire village. But as long as the Uchiha didn't make the first move, they would only need to face the Anbu directly under the higher-ups."

Uchiha Shu sneered. "The Hokage's Anbu has only seventy official slots. Even with Root added in, they wouldn't exceed two hundred. They wouldn't dare barge into the clan compound and cause trouble even if you gave them the nerve. There wouldn't even be enough of them to go around. Besides... Konoha has more than just the Uchiha as a shinobi clan."

Even in the Shinobi World, one needed a legitimate pretext, especially in a shinobi village like Konoha, which consisted of many shinobi clans.

An Uchiha coup was the Uchiha's own problem, but if Anbu ran into someone's clan compound to stir up trouble, that was another matter entirely. Even Danzo wouldn't dare do something that would provoke public outrage.

The Uchiha were still suspected of the Nine-Tails Attack. All of Konoha had seen the Three Tomoe in the Nine-Tails' eyes, yet even so, the higher-ups could do no more than glare helplessly from outside the clan compound.

One was innocent until proven guilty. If they truly wanted to nitpick, which shinobi clan had never produced a rogue ninja?

The Uchiha merely had a higher output. It could practically be considered a specialty...

"The higher-ups... aren't the village?" Shisui frowned, as though a flash of insight had crossed his mind. "Wait. The ones truly opposed to the Uchiha were never the village, but the higher-ups!"

"Correct. You've finally gained some sense." Xiu nodded in satisfaction.

"To those people in the clan, the relationship between the Uchiha and the higher-ups is like this: you and your friends built a big house to shelter yourselves from the wind and rain. Out of kindness, you took in a few people caught in the rain. Then, the moment your friends died, those people seized your rooms, found an excuse to drive you into the stairwell, refused to let you sit at the table for meals, and even told your children bad things about you..."

"Isn't that a little exaggerated?" Shisui scratched his head. "Surely... it isn't that bad?"

"Not that bad? Hahaha!"

Uchiha Shu counted on his fingers. "Come on, let me list it for you. The Uchiha Clan has been politically squeezed out of the core of power; geographically pushed into a corner of the village; assigned the most hated job, the police force; and in terms of public opinion... need I even mention the Uchiha's arrogance?"

With every example Xiu gave, Shisui's face grew a shade paler.

Interestingly, when Xiu finished, Shisui's face turned red again.

He braced both hands on his knees and pressed his lips together tightly. The pair of Three Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, while his face reddened all the way to his neck as if congested with blood. It was impossible to tell whether he was angry or ashamed.

"If you ask me, those people in the clan still lack any sense of the bigger picture. Why don't they give up the stairwell too? Or just kill themselves and hand over the inheritance while they're at it!"

Uchiha Shu sneered, his tone teasing. "How could those narrow-minded, despicable, lowly clansmen possibly understand our Lord Shisui's—magnanimity?"

"Alright, alright, stop talking..."

Shisui's face was so red it looked ready to drip blood. He hurriedly reached out to cover Xiu's mouth.

Xiu gave a mocking snort. A red gleam flashed in his eyes, and his body passed straight through Shisui without obstruction.

"This is... your Mangekyo ability?"

Shisui froze for a moment. Then, no longer caring about the social death, he hurriedly warned him, "Listen to me, Xiu. Never abuse the Mangekyo's ocular power! Though the Mangekyo's power is formidable, its ocular power is limited. Once it is completely exhausted, your Sharingan will go blind as well!"

At that, Xiu lightly landed on the table, crossed one leg over the other, and flicked his hair with flair before looking down at Shisui imperiously.

"Country bumpkin, never seen an Eternal Mangekyo before?"

"..."

The corner of Shisui's mouth twitched, and his expression darkened.

He could understand Xiu calling him stupid. He could even swallow the insult without retaliation. For the Uchiha as they were now, one more way of thinking was always a good thing.

But personal attacks were going too far!

"An Eternal Mangekyo, if I remember correctly, requires transplanting the eyes of a blood relative. How could you..."

Shisui looked at the Three Tomoe in Xiu's eyes, his expression growing ever more astonished. "You can activate it without awakening the Mangekyo? And it's actually a passive ocular technique?"

"That's right~ To be honest, I already have enough trump cards to handle all kinds of crises. Even if the Third Hokage got so anxious he pissed blood, there'd be nothing he could do to me. What happened to the Uchiha wouldn't affect me in the slightest."

Uchiha Shu spread his hands coolly. "Unlike some people, who got a new toy and immediately ran off to show it off. Really... oh, how cute~"

Shisui turned red with rage again.

But this time, he did not try to cover Xiu's mouth. After a bitter laugh, he stood there dejectedly, looking rather sorrowful.

"Looking at it this way, whether in ability or perspective, I'm actually inferior to a child. If I hadn't exposed Kotoamatsukami's ability, I probably wouldn't have ended up this passive, right?"

"Hard to say." Xiu thought for a moment. "Although Kotoamatsukami has been exposed, a fist is most intimidating before it is thrown. As long as you show an attitude of keeping your distance, that still counts as flexing your muscles."

"Whenever I face something like this, I feel so powerless, like I mess things up every time..."

Shisui sighed, sounding melancholy. "But then again, Xiu, you understand so much. I'd never thought about looking at things from this angle before."

"Well... don't be too upset. The Uchiha Clan's intelligence was never very high to begin with, and they're also affected by the Yin Release chakra absorbed by the Sharingan. Being foolish is normal. I'm the exception."

Xiu patted Shisui's arm comfortingly. "Also, read more books on politics and sociology when you have time. Don't sit around trying to figure everything out by yourself. Those old geezers have held high positions their entire lives. You've never even been class president, so it's perfectly normal that you can't outplay them."

"In the end, I still can't change the current situation..." Shisui gave a bitter laugh, then suddenly froze and stared straight at Xiu. "Right, then do you have a way?"

"Of course! As long as it is what I desire, the entire world must make way for me!" Xiu gave a smug laugh, then abruptly changed his tone. "But—I refuse!"

"Why?"

"That requires telling a story about 'I trust the Third Hokage'..."

"..."