Reverse Fate 11

The air in the Hokage's Office was so heavy it seemed ready to drip.

Shimura Danzō stood before the desk, his lone eye showing no emotion, only cold indifference.

"Hiruzen, is this the last voice of reason and hope in the Uchiha clan you placed so much faith in?"

He snorted and slipped his bloodstained right hand into his sleeve. "A few rumors of unknown origin were enough for Fugaku Uchiha to sway Shisui Uchiha. At our meeting, he suddenly tried to kill me and use his dangerous Mangekyō genjutsu to change my will!"

Fear lingered beneath the severity of his accusation. "If I hadn't been on guard against him and avoided the heart of his dōjutsu at the critical moment, I would have fallen under it. The consequences would have been unthinkable!"

"The Uchiha clan can no longer be trusted!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair, the pipe in his hand trembling slightly.

He took a pained drag. Even the thick smoke could not ease the weight and bitterness in his heart.

He closed his eyes, looking as though he had aged years in an instant.

"We can't put all the blame on Shisui, either."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was hoarse. "The rift between Konoha and the Uchiha clan has grown too deep. Resentment has built up for too long. Suspicion has had fertile ground to grow in."

"That's why a few rumors, true or false, were enough to make even a child like Shisui, who believed so firmly in peace, doubt us. And now it's come to this."

He saw how the collapse of trust had set one disaster after another in motion, but he could do nothing to stop it.

"What do we do now?" Shimura Danzō pressed, his lone eye flashing. "Shisui has fled with serious injuries.