I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 2: Making empty promises to Zhishui

Leaf.

Three days ago, Konoha suffered the greatest disaster in its history. At its peak, the Nine-Tails was an absolutely terrifying natural disaster. Its earth-shattering attack caused varying degrees of damage to two-thirds of the village's buildings.

Ultimately, the Nine-Tails' rampage ended at the cost of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, as well as countless other ninjas.

Meanwhile, the recently concluded Third Shinobi World War has also become somewhat unstable due to the sudden and severe damage suffered by Konoha, which is the most important reason why the Third Hokage was able to emerge from seclusion and take power so smoothly. If the situation had been stable, the Fifth Hokage would probably have been chosen instead of the Third Hokage taking power.

At the same time, because of the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes, the Uchiha clan in Konoha was already suspected and distrusted. The higher-ups even used the excuse that Konoha needed to be reorganized to send the Uchiha to the periphery, far away from the center of the village.

Although the Uchiha clan was strongly dissatisfied, they could only suppress their resentment. There was no other way! The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes could not be washed away.

From then on, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha gradually veered towards an irreconcilable point.

……

"Night, how do you think the family can regain the village's trust? And the village has suffered too much this time."

As soon as Uchiha Shisui stepped out of the Naga Shrine, his face showed obvious worry. Seeing this, Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but sigh. No wonder the Second Hokage said that the Uchiha clan was extreme. You're not worried about the Uchiha clan, but you're worried about the village instead.

Uchiha Yoru feigned a sorrowful expression, sighed, and shook his head, saying, "Shisui, it's not about how the clan can regain the village's trust, but about how the village can gain the trust of the Uchiha."

Seeing Uchiha Shisui's bewildered expression, Uchiha Yoru muttered to himself that he had to save Shisui from his current state of confusion before he went down a dead end. He couldn't let Shisui end up on the Hokage's side.

Otherwise, if it's like in the original story, with the three Mangekyou Sharingan users of the Uchiha clan, two of them having their hearts with Sarutobi, and the third silently choosing to be killed by his own son, then it would be an injustice if the Uchiha clan didn't perish. The strongest fighters would all have mental problems.

Furthermore, it's impossible for Shisui to have been brainwashed much earlier. It's more accurate to say that he developed a favorable impression of the Hokage. It was probably after the Nine-Tails incident that the village became wary of the Uchiha clan, which led the Third Hokage to secretly begin cultivating his own network of informants within the Uchiha clan. Shisui was gradually assimilated after the Nine-Tails incident, while Itachi was still just a five-year-old child at that time.

"Shisui, this time many members of the clan were holding back their anger, but in order to prove their innocence and to show that they were members of Konoha Village, the Uchiha clan humiliatingly agreed to relocate to the edge of the village and even had to be constantly monitored by the village. The Uchiha clan has already put aside their pride, and the village should have seen that."

This time, Uchiha Yoru glanced meaningfully at Shisui, then feigned a frustrated but helpless expression, as if he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

This scene stunned Uchiha Shisui. Yes, the proudest Uchiha clan put aside their pride and chose the humiliating relocation, wasn't that to prove their innocence to the village?

Seeing the hope in Shisui's eyes, Uchiha Yoru sighed inwardly. Sure enough, this Uchiha Shisui had a screw loose, or rather, he was completely clueless in this regard. No one is born standing on one side or the other; everyone gradually moves towards one side.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but sigh. The Uchiha clan's cultivation of its own geniuses was still inadequate. No! It should be said that the Uchiha clan was too confident, confident that its geniuses were all from the Uchiha clan.

"Night, do you think if we move to a new place, will the village trust us again?"

At this moment, hope appeared in Uchiha Shisui's eyes, while Uchiha Yoru frowned and pondered for a long time before finally letting out a soft sigh.

As expected, this scene directly aroused Uchiha Shisui's thirst for knowledge, and he looked at him hopefully. Uchiha Yoru glanced around warily and, after finding no one, began to mutter to himself.

"Shisui, you're too naive. If the Fourth Hokage were still alive, the Uchiha would naturally have more trust in him. Similarly, if any one of the Legendary Sannin became the Fifth Hokage, the Uchiha would have even more trust in him."

Uchiha Yoru's words left Shisui looking bewildered. He muttered to himself, "Sure enough, Shisui is a genius when it comes to ninjas, but he's utterly hopeless when it comes to politics." Of course, he couldn't be blamed entirely. After all, the ninja world had only been around for a few years; there were barely any generations. It wasn't surprising they lacked experience; there were simply no predecessors.

"Brother Ye, why do you say that any one of the Legendary Sannin would be better off becoming the Fifth Hokage than the Third Hokage?"

At this moment, Shisui, who was frowning in confusion, unconsciously used the title of "elder brother." Upon hearing this honorific, Uchiha Yoru immediately revealed a victorious smile. Sure enough, as long as you wield the hoe well, there is no wall that cannot be dug down. He didn't believe that the Uchiha clan would be so easily wiped out after he had fooled the two traitors.

Uchiha Yoru shook his head and sighed, "Shisui, do you know about Elder Setsuna's past?"

These words immediately caused Uchiha Shisui to show an embarrassed expression. He cautiously glanced around, and after not sensing the presence of any other ninjas, he whispered, "How could I not know? What does it have to do with this?"

Setsuna Uchiha was a member of the Konoha Police Force during the Second Hokage's reign. He inherited Madara Uchiha's will and belonged to the hawkish faction. Later, he was discovered by the Second Hokage for attempting to incite the Uchiha clan to rebel. Ultimately, Setsuna was arrested by members of the Anbu dispatched by the Second Hokage and imprisoned. (Available information)

It was only after the Third Hokage came to power that he released this elder from prison in order to stabilize morale. After that, the elder became depressed, but he was still a relatively strong figure in the Uchiha clan.

Seeing Uchiha Shisui's cautious expression, Uchiha Yoru gestured for the two to walk towards the waterfall, and the two talked as they walked.

"Shisui, you know about the Second Hokage's policies. After all, it was necessary to be wary of the Uchiha clan during that special period. Similarly, how do you think the disciples who inherited the Second Hokage's ideas view the Uchiha clan?"

The question directly surprised Uchiha Shisui. He had never thought about this before, but as a descendant of the Uchiha clan, he naturally knew some things. He frowned, clearly shocked, or rather, he had never thought about the course of events from this perspective before.

Sensing Shisui's wavering resolve, Yoru Uchiha smiled and shook his head, saying, "Shisui, don't be discouraged. Although the Third Hokage inherited the Second Hokage's ideas, he will eventually have to step down. As for Danzo and the two high-ranking officials, let's not talk about them for now. After all, Orochimaru is currently the most likely successor to the Fifth Hokage."

In short, I won't speak ill of the Third Hokage, but I can offer you a different perspective: did the Third Hokage truly trust the Uchiha clan during his reign? And how could his disciples not have inherited the Second Hokage's policies of guarding against the Uchiha?

These words initially made Shisui frown, and he even felt some aversion and disagreement. But then the Fifth Hokage was suddenly mentioned, and all the previous comments instantly became insignificant.

At this moment, Uchiha Shisui raised his head and looked at his clansman who was only a year older than him. Uchiha Yoru, seeing this, shrugged and smiled confidently, saying, "Shisui, don't worry. I know the Sannin. None of them have any prejudice against the Uchiha. After all, they are not from that era."

Let's return to the era of the Second Hokage. This period was shortly after Madara Uchiha's rebellion, and shortly after the First Hokage's death. It would be untrue to say the Second Hokage wasn't wary; therefore, calling it a "special period" is entirely accurate. After all, it's as if the Uchiha clan indirectly caused the First Hokage's death.

The Third Hokage succeeded to the position during that period, since the Second Hokage hadn't been in office for long before his death, so it's understandable that he wasn't affected. However, the Sannin were still teenagers at that time, so it's normal that they weren't affected.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Shisui felt a sense of relief for some reason. Although he wanted to refute something, a smile immediately appeared on his face when he heard that whoever the future Fifth Hokage was, he would not be prejudiced against the Uchiha.

Yes, regardless of whether the past was right or wrong, these things are about to become history. All they need to do is befriend the future Fifth Hokage.

Looking at Uchiha Shisui's expectant smile, Uchiha Yoru sneered inwardly. First, he would leave you with the impression that the Third Hokage and his group inherited the Second Hokage's wariness of the Uchiha, and then he would throw out the new hope of the future Fifth Hokage. When you find that the Fifth Hokage is gone and the Third Hokage firmly holds onto power, you will be surprised.

Thinking of this, a smile slowly crept onto his lips, and Uchiha Yoru even revealed a wicked smile. With him around, he didn't believe Shisui could be easily brainwashed.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it may not show up immediately, but it still needs to be watered from time to time to help it sprout and even grow into a towering tree. Then, hmph!

"Brother Ye, what kind of person do you think Lord Orochimaru is?"

At this moment, Uchiha Shisui was clearly engrossed in his grand plan. Of course, it's not that Shisui was brainless, but no one expected Orochimaru to defect. Moreover, Orochimaru was currently the most popular choice in the entire village. It was likely that once the border was stabilized, the Fifth Hokage would be elected.

Seeing Uchiha Shisui's hopeful expression, Uchiha Yoru, standing beside him, readily agreed, saying with a broad smile, "I've heard that although Lord Orochimaru is somewhat cold and even unpredictable, he's definitely a trustworthy person. After all, he was one of the candidates for the Fourth Hokage back then."

When he mentioned that Orochimaru was one of the candidates for the Fourth Hokage, Uchiha Shisui immediately smiled and nodded firmly, saying, "That's right. Although Lord Orochimaru is rather ruthless on the battlefield, this is an indispensable decisiveness for a Hokage."

At this moment, in Uchiha Shisui's eyes, those who could be selected as Hokage were all people who inherited the Will of Fire. Orochimaru's decisiveness in commanding the ninja army on the battlefield, although it caused some casualties, also won victory after victory. This is the kind of decisiveness that is indispensable for the Hokage.

Tsk tsk, Uchiha Yoru smiled. You really have a vivid imagination. It seems you were influenced by a lot of Naruto inspirational stories at school. You can even make up your own stories now. But when you see Orochimaru defecting in the future, tsk tsk.

Thinking about this, Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but look forward to it; Shisui's expression at that time was sure to be quite interesting.

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(End of this chapter)