Shisui Uchiha returned to the Uchiha compound with a light step and a relatively easy heart. Once certain decisions were made, there was no room for hesitation. To waver between two options? That was a path to self-destruction.
However, Shisui knew that, starting today, he might not be able to maintain this carefree feeling.
The Uchiha elders and leaders were unreliable. The clan head, Fugaku, could barely suppress the internal dissent, finding himself hamstrung in his position, restricted from all sides. Therefore, someone had to step up and break the deadlock.
Though young, Shisui understood that he had to shoulder this responsibility… It was easy to join the majority of the clan in expressing discontent and anger, but what purpose did that serve?
Shisui arrived at his home to find five or six ninjas waiting for him.
"Shisui, what did Lady Kushina say?" asked an Uchiha ninja the moment Shisui walked in.
His name was Seishin Uchiha, only sixteen years old and currently a Chunin. He had awakened the Sharingan in both eyes, each with a single tomoe.
The ninjas gathered here were, to put it frankly, a small and insignificant group. Most of them were approaching middle age, and their strength was below that of a Chunin… These were the few within the Uchiha clan who identified with Konoha.
Shisui nodded. "Lady Kushina will help us present the proposal to the Third Hokage and promised to do her best to persuade him."
"Really? That's excellent."
These individuals were generally very cautious, but upon hearing Shisui's words, their expressions finally brightened.
"I still want to remind everyone," Shisui continued, "that our opinion is a very small minority within the clan. If the Third Hokage is persuaded and a new department is established, we must respond immediately and join that organization… This will be both the village's recognition of the Uchiha and the Uchiha's recognition of the village. It also means the transfer of security authority from the original Konoha Military Police Force to the new one.
Because of this profound significance, the clan will undoubtedly view us as 'rebels.' The pressure we'll face will be immense. If any of you wish to withdraw, there's still time. Standing on the front lines isn't the only way to show support; temporary silence is another form of response."
Shisui's words were clear. Once they took action, these individuals would likely become outcasts. The ninjas of Konoha might not necessarily accept them, but the Uchiha clan would definitely reject them.
After a moment of silence, Seishin spoke. "Shisui, when it comes to talent as a ninja, we can't even compare to you. But that doesn't mean we don't understand what's going on. Fundamentally, we are ninjas of Konoha and ninjas of the Uchiha. These two identities are not contradictory. But right now, the clan insists on pitting them against each other, and I believe that's wrong."
"Although some people always see the 'Flame Fan' as a symbol of glory, is there any chance of a successful rebellion? Will the other Konoha ninjas accept the Uchiha? Does the Uchiha clan have anyone who can rival the power of the Fourth Hokage or the Sannin? We can see that the Uchiha are on the verge of collapse. In this situation, even cowards like me have to stand up."
There were hundreds of Uchiha clan members; they couldn't all be idiots. There had to be some rational people among them. The power disparity between Konoha as a whole and the Uchiha clan was crystal clear. Was that really so hard to see?
Seishin was young, and as he said, his strength was negligible. But at this moment, he knew he had to strive for the future of the Uchiha.
After he finished speaking, the others nodded in agreement.
"The security of an entire village should not be in the hands of a single clan," another person said. "This system itself is unreasonable. On the one hand, it guaranteed the Uchiha's power within the village, but on the other hand, it has led to immense criticism of the clan. The time has come for this system to change… The Uchiha clan is just an ordinary ninja clan of Konoha."
The Uchiha are Konoha's Uchiha. Some people just couldn't seem to grasp this simple concept.
Objectively speaking, when the Second Hokage established the Konoha Military Police Force, it wasn't solely to screw over the Uchiha clan. Otherwise, the Uchiha at the time wouldn't have readily accepted the appointment. Controlling the Konoha Military Police Force was a share of power the Uchiha received from Konoha.
In the early days of Konoha's founding, the major ninja clans divided the spoils, and the Military Police Force was certainly a sizable piece of the pie. However, as of today, no ninja clan other than the Uchiha could single-handedly control a Konoha department. More broadly, how could Konoha's public instruments be manipulated by the Uchiha's private interests?
However, the more they opposed Konoha and the more they recognized the village's threat, the tighter the Uchiha clung to their remaining power. The more closed off they became, the more dangerous their situation… They were essentially trapping themselves.
At this point, Shisui's efforts to change this situation were by no means wrong, and his proposed solution was actually quite viable.
"Unfortunately, our voice within the clan is still too weak."
"The mainstream thinking within the clan is to confront the village. We must be extremely careful when contacting and recruiting others."
"What about Itachi? He's always been very insightful."
"Itachi is too young."
The discussion gradually subsided. It was too early to discuss these details. Right now, their most important task was to gain the support of the village's higher-ups.
Although the Uchiha clan would likely view this brilliant young prodigy as a traitor, Shisui did not believe he was one. He knew he was doing the right thing. After a brief silence, he spoke again. "Next, I plan to see the clan head. I hope to gain his support."
"Shisui, are you sure?"
No one knew what Fugaku Uchiha's thoughts would be, so they weren't entirely in favor of Shisui going to see the clan head directly.
"There is nothing we are doing that we can't speak of openly. Our actions are not underhanded schemes." Shisui said firmly. He had to tell Fugaku Uchiha his plans and intentions. This was to demonstrate that he had absolutely no intention of betraying the Uchiha's position.
It could be said that, although Itachi Uchiha was deeply influenced by Shisui, Shisui and the later Itachi were completely different cases.
"When will you go see the clan head?"
"I'll go now. Everyone can disperse. For now, we can only wait for the Third Hokage's decision," Shisui said.
After dismissing the others, Shisui walked alone towards the clan head's residence.
He walked slowly, as if the responsibility of the entire clan had already been placed on his not-so-broad shoulders.
Seishin Uchiha watched Shisui's receding figure and finally took a step forward to catch up.
"Shisui, I'll go with you. I hope the clan head can understand what we're trying to do."
"…Yes. I hope so too."
…
Meanwhile, Kushina Uzumaki had also brought Shisui's suggestion to the Third Hokage.
Did Kushina Uzumaki like the Uchiha clan? Absolutely not. The events of that night were surely still vivid in her memory. But when she saw a young ninja like Shisui working hard for the relationship between his clan and Konoha, she chose to help.
She couldn't ignore the responsibility this young man was taking on.
The Third Hokage listened to Kushina's explanation and fell into a long silence. After a considerable time, he finally spoke. "This matter affects everything. Especially now, with the disappearance of Uchiha ninjas, if the village passes this resolution, the Uchiha clan will surely misinterpret it as a targeted action."
"Third Hokage, it is said that serious illnesses should be treated slowly, but slow treatment requires a prescription. Does Konoha currently have a method to manage the Uchiha? A method that can be implemented gradually, that is."
The answer was no. The Third Hokage definitely had no solution… unless stalling counted as a solution.
"Now that a young ninja of the Uchiha clan has stepped forward, the village should not disappoint their expectations. Instead, we should strongly support them."
Shisui's method wasn't unfeasible, but… to put it in more easily understandable terms, Shisui's method could easily cause, well, shock. In fact, Kushina's thinking was quite simple: since Konoha had no solution, they should let the Uchiha try to solve it themselves.
"Third Hokage, we can try. It doesn't matter if it fails. Haven't ninjas already been sent out from Konoha to search for Lady Tsunade?" Kushina added.
The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow. What was that supposed to mean? Was she telling him that if things went badly, he should take responsibility and resign?
He thought for a moment, then hesitantly gave the order, "Summon the advisors… and Danzo. Tell them there is an important matter to discuss."
An Anbu ninja suddenly appeared, but instead of directly relaying the command, he said, "Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo is currently not in Konoha."
The Third Hokage realized, "Oh, that's right. I sent Danzo to the Land of Wind to eat sand."
"Then never mind. Don't call them."
The Third Hokage waved his hand, signaling the Anbu ninja to withdraw. If Danzo wasn't present, there was no need to consult the two advisors. He already knew their likely stance without them even opening their mouths… Traditional systems are universal truths, they mustn't be changed!
But Danzo? The Third Hokage considered it, and he felt that Danzo would likely support this change.
Danzo also didn't want the Uchiha to have it easy. He would probably hope that when the Third Hokage announced the new system, the Uchiha would immediately rebel, giving him an opportunity to manipulate the situation.
The Third Hokage pondered this repeatedly, while Kushina waited patiently. After weighing the pros and cons, the Hokage finally decided to give it a try… The Uchiha clan's issue had truly reached a point where it needed to be resolved.
"We can try, but it's impossible to abolish the Konoha Military Police Force for now. The newly established village security department will have equal authority to the original Police Force. And the head of this department… I will temporarily lead it. The deputy head… will be Shisui Uchiha."
The Hokage as the leader, and an Uchiha ninja as the second-in-command. This decision was enough to give the Uchiha face.
And Shisui, as the representative of the Uchiha clan, would become a high-ranking ninja at the deputy-department level at such a young age.
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