Making Up Stories

Night had fallen.

In a small courtyard at the temporary camp, Uchiha En sat at a table. Spread before him was a thick stack of documents: the Konoha Military Police Force reform plans the Uchiha Jonin had put together over the past few days.

He picked up one page, looked it over, then took another and flipped through it.

"Hmm... this plan isn't bad."

"But this part needs changing..."

"And this part too..."

As he read, he marked revisions on the pages with his pen.

But after a while, his eyes began to ache. He rubbed them, and his vision was even blurrier than last time.

"Shit..."

Uchiha En couldn't help cursing.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan's power really doesn't last."

"I only used Susanoo for a little while in the Forest of Death today, and my eyesight's gotten worse again..."

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples.

"This can't go on."

"I need to find a way to stop it from draining my ocular power, and soon."

"Forget becoming Hokage. At this rate, I'll be blind before long."

He opened his eyes, looked at the blurred words on the table, and sighed.

Just then...

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone was at the courtyard gate.

Uchiha En looked up.

"Who is it?"

"Clan Head, it's me," an Uchiha ninja called from outside. "A ninja wearing an Anbu mask is here to see you."

Uchiha En paused at that.

Then he smiled.

"An Anbu mask?"

He set down his pen and stood.

"Let him in."

"Yes!"

Before long, a ninja in an Anbu uniform and a White Fox Mask was led into the courtyard.

Once inside, the Anbu Ninja glanced around, then removed the mask from his face.

Moonlight revealed a head of silver hair and the right eye exposed beneath his Forehead Protector.

Uchiha En smiled at his visitor.

"You came sooner than I expected..."

"Kakashi."

Moonlight spilled across the courtyard, stretching two long shadows over the ground.

Uchiha En sat on a stone stool, watching Kakashi stand before him with a faint smile.

It seemed Kakashi had taken last night's words to heart.

Since he had come tonight, En could make up a few more... tell him a little more about the Konoha High Command's dark secrets.

Were those dark secrets real? How would En know?

People online in his previous life had said so, anyway. He might as well treat them as true.

Kakashi did not speak right away.

He stood in the moonlight, his exposed right eye fixed on Uchiha En for several seconds.

Then he said something that caught Uchiha En off guard.

"Uchiha Clan Head."

"What you did in the Forest of Death today... the news has spread through all of Konoha."

There was something conflicted in Kakashi's voice.

"You killed twelve Root Elite Jōnin single-handedly."

"And you awakened the legendary Susanoo."

"People in the village look at you differently now."

Uchiha En waved a hand.

"Oh, come on."

He smiled, his tone casual.

"I've only got a little bit of strength."

"Nothing worth mentioning. Really."

Kakashi's mouth twitched at the expression on his face: I'm being modest, but I'm actually quite pleased with myself.

But he did not dwell on it.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Uchiha Clan Head."

His voice dropped.

"Last night, you said... you could tell me more of the truth."

"I want to know."

At that, the smile slowly faded from Uchiha En's face.

He stood and looked calmly at Kakashi.

"Are you sure?"

"Once you learn some truths, there's no going back."

Kakashi said nothing, but the resolve in his eye was clear.

Uchiha En studied him for a few seconds, then nodded.

"All right."

He went to the stone table in the courtyard, sat down again, and gestured to the stool opposite him.

"Sit."

Kakashi hesitated, then went over and sat across from him.

Uchiha En did not speak immediately.

He was silent for a few seconds, as though gathering his thoughts.

Then he began, slowly.

"Since you want to know the truth..."

"Let's start with your father... with Hatake Sakumo's death."

Kakashi's body went rigid.

Uchiha En did not look at him. His gaze rested on the moonlight across the stone table, and his voice was calm.

"Back then, your father, Hatake Sakumo, had an outstanding record in battle and an immense reputation."

"The name White Fang of Konoha was renowned throughout the Shinobi World."

"He was Konoha's hero, a man who struck fear into enemies on the battlefield."

Uchiha En paused.

"But he had another distinction, one that made him a thorn in the Konoha High Command's side."

"He was... a potential candidate to become the Fourth Hokage."

Kakashi's pupil contracted slightly.

Uchiha En went on.

"And there was someone in Konoha who had coveted the Hokage Position all his life."

"That man was Shimura Danzō."

"He dreamed of becoming Hokage."

"But your father's reputation was far too great. To Danzo, he was a serious threat."

"To become Hokage, you need two things."

Uchiha En raised two fingers.

"Great strength and widespread support."

"Your father had both."

"So after the Second Shinobi World War ended, Danzo set his sights on your father."

"That failed S-Rank Mission was the spark that set everything off."

Kakashi's breathing quickened.

Uchiha En's voice remained calm, as though he were describing something perfectly ordinary.

"Danzo took advantage of the opportunity."

"He sent Root ninjas to stir things up in secret and spread attacks on your father."

"More than half the people calling Hatake Sakumo worthless were repeating words Danzo had ordered Root to spread through the village."

"And that wasn't all..."

Uchiha En's gaze turned cold.

"The comrades your father saved on that mission were secretly threatened by Root."

"If they refused to condemn your father, their families would suffer."

Kakashi's hands curled into fists, but he said nothing.

Uchiha En continued.

"That was how news of your father's failed mission became a storm of public condemnation across the village."

"And the Third Hokage at the time, Hiruzen Sarutobi..."

"He didn't want to step down as Hokage so soon, either."

"So damage to your father's reputation suited him."

"He let Danzo crush your father's standing."

Uchiha En paused.

"As long as your father's reputation was ruined, he couldn't become Hokage."

"And your father was clever enough to uncover the Konoha High Command's plot long before the end."

"He could have fled the village. He could have fought back."

Kakashi's voice was hoarse. "Then why did he..."

"Why did he choose to kill himself?"

Uchiha En finished the question for him and met his eye.

"Because he knew that if he fought back, the next person they would target..."

"Would be you."

"You were only seven years old."

Kakashi's pupil contracted sharply.

Uchiha En's voice grew low.

"Your father didn't die because he was weak."

"He chose to die to protect you."

"He had lost all faith in the Konoha High Command. He knew that even if he fought back and won, he could never stay in Konoha."

"But if he fled, what would happen to you? You'd be branded a Missing-nin's son and live under that shame forever."

"If he fought back, Danzo would do everything he could to get rid of you."

"So he chose to kill himself."

"He traded his life for your safety."