The Deadlock of the Uchiha, Shisui's Accusation

In May, Konoha was right in the middle of the most pleasant climate of the year.

Warm sunlight spilled over the streets, and a gentle breeze swept by, bringing with it waves of floral fragrance.

However, in the Forest of Death at the edge of Konoha, it was a scene of grim solemnity.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A dark figure shuttled among the ancient trees.

Wherever this figure passed, the air was displaced, emitting a sonic boom.

A fierce wind whipped up the withered leaves on the ground, and before the leaves could even fall, that afterimage had already crossed a distance of hundreds of meters.

At this speed, there was only one person in the entire Shinobi World who could pull it off.

Body Flicker Shisui—Uchiha Shisui.

Shisui stopped at the edge of the clearing, not even sparing a moment to calm his chakra, his gaze locked onto a giant boulder ahead.

Atop the giant boulder, a young man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his breathing steady.

Lu Ming.

Seeing this man, Shisui's tense nerves finally relaxed.

During the Third Shinobi World War, they were life-and-death close friends who had killed their way through enemies back to back.

Back on the battlefield in those days, Shisui used the Sharingan and the Body Flicker Technique to terrify enemy shinobi, while Lu Ming walked a completely different path.

Relying on medical ninjutsu, Lu Ming had rescued countless heavily wounded Uchiha clansmen.

In that era when lives were as cheap as grass, Lu Ming was the stabilizing pillar of the Uchiha Clan.

The heroic feat of saving wounded soldiers made him deeply respected by the Uchiha clansmen, and his prestige within the clan nowadays even showed momentum heading past that of Fugaku Uchiha.

Shisui leapt, landing beneath the giant boulder, and looked up at Lu Ming, who was resting his eyes.

"Lu Ming, you must have heard about the recent events in the clan, right?"

Lu Ming did not move, not even lifting his eyelids.

Shisui bit his teeth tightly, clenching his hands into fists, and simply laid the matter out plainly.

"Right now, the entire clan grounds are secretly colluding! The secret gatherings at Naka Shrine are getting more and more frequent, and radicals like Yashiro and Inabi are spreading rumors everywhere about launching an armed coup to overthrow the Konoha Leadership!"

Saying this, Shisui's breathing grew rapid, and cold sweat seeped out of his forehead.

"They've even started secretly hoarding explosive tags and ninja tools."

"Lu Ming, tell me the honest truth—is this trend... actually being orchestrated behind the scenes by you?"

When he asked this question, Shisui held his breath.

He knew all too well what kind of appeal Lu Ming had in the clan.

If it really was Lu Ming who was determined to lead a rebellion, as long as he gave a single wave of his arm,

those Uchiha clansmen whose lives he had once saved would draw their ninja swords without the slightest hesitation and follow him in a charge toward the Hokage Building.

If that were truly the case, the Uchiha would have completely run out of ways to turn things around.

Hearing this accusatory speech, Lu Ming opened both eyes and looked at Shisui.

"Shisui, did you use the Body Flicker Technique so much that you left your brain behind halfway there too?"

Shisui froze.

"Use your pig brain to think about this properly."

Lu Ming stood up from the giant boulder, patted the dust off his clothes, and his voice echoed across the clearing.

"If I really were the one plotting an armed coup, would I make such a massive fuss and have everyone know about it?"

"Would I let those fools who can't even use the Three Basic Techniques properly drink two mouthfuls of cheap swill in an izakaya and then dare to roar about slashing the Konoha Leadership?"

Lu Ming walked down the giant boulder step by step, pressing in close to Shisui.

"We both came from that world. Have you ever seen a mentally normal coup where you beat gongs and drums in advance to notify the enemy?"

"If I really made a move, I'd never be this showy!"

"I would cut off the ANBU communications, blockade the Hokage Building, and have those old fogies among the leadership get their throats slit in their sleep!"

"Do you really think a rumor that leaks everywhere like this and is basically a joke could be my handiwork?"

Hearing this refutation, Shisui's tense body relaxed, and he let out a thorough breath of relief.

That's right, Lu Ming always planned things out before taking action, leaving no loose ends.

If he were the one to strike, it would be a series of deadlocks designed for a one-hit kill, giving the Konoha Leadership zero time to react.

Since Lu Ming said so, it proved this matter had nothing to do with him.

"As long as you aren't the one leading it..."

Shisui raised a hand, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, his clothes soaked through on his back.

"Not only did I not plan it, but I utterly disapprove of an armed coup as brainless as this!"

Lu Ming walked up to Shisui and tore away the decent facade of the Uchiha Clan.

"Look at the Uchiha now, what do they look like? People's hearts aren't united, and everyone fights their own battles."

"The radical faction shouts every day about seizing power, while the moderate faction only thinks about living in inglorious safety—there isn't even a single unified voice."

Lu Ming pointed in the direction of the clan grounds.

"And what about strength? It's long past the peak era when Madara Uchiha swept across thousands of troops!"

"Does the clan really think those few frogs in a well who awakened the Three Tomoe and consider themselves the greatest in the world can shake the entire great tree of Konoha?"

Shisui's face turned pale from Lu Ming's words, but he couldn't refute them because this was reality.

"Even if we take a step back!"

Lu Ming's voice suddenly rose.

"Even if these fools had dog-shit luck, successfully pulled off a coup, and slaughtered the higher-ups, so what? Do you think seizing power means you can securely sit in the Hokage's seat?"

Lu Ming stared right into Shisui's eyes and said word by word,

"Konoha's foundation is right there! Will the Ino-Shika-Cho submit to us? Will the Hyuga clan submit to us?"

"Will those civilian ninja submit to us? This is a messy fight where we hurt the enemy by eight hundred and suffer three thousand ourselves!"

"After the battle, Konoha's vitality will be severely damaged, and outside, Kumogakure and Iwagakure will just let this juicy piece of meat go?"

"When internal trouble and external invasion strike at that time, with the major ninja villages rising up in attack, the Uchiha will only end up in a dead end with nowhere to run!"

A dead end.

These two words struck heavily upon Shisui's heart.

Shisui closed his eyes and clenched his hands into fists.

He deeply loved this village; it was the home built by countless ancestors who shed their blood and sacrificed their heads. He also deeply loved his clansmen; they were blood-related family.

Yet right now, the village and the clan were about to crash and smash into pieces. Caught right in the middle, he was powerless to reconcile the increasingly sharp conflicts between them.

"Lu Ming, what should we do then?"

Shisui opened his eyes, stepped forward, and grabbed Lu Ming's arm.

"Are we just going to watch them march to their deaths? Can we think of a way to stop the actions of those radicals in the clan?"

Lu Ming looked at Shisui and patted his shoulder in reverse.

"Wanting to stop them relying solely on us suppressing the clan is useless."

"The root cause isn't with the Uchiha; it's at the Hokage Building. As long as Lord Hokage's side..."

Hearing those four words, "Lord Hokage,"

Shisui suddenly remembered something, smoothly took over the topic, and looked at Lu Ming.

"Speaking of this, I've never been able to understand."

"Lord Hokage handing the Military Police Force over to us Uchiha was originally a manifestation of trust."

"But why... why is the Military Police Force's reputation in the village so terrible to that extent now?"

"Now walking down the street, even three-year-old children who don't understand anything point at our spines behind our backs and criticize us!"