Fugaku’s tone suddenly shifted, setting aside the previous topic to focus on Sasuke.
“Sasuke is starting school in two days and has been very excited lately.
He’s been constantly talking about it to Mikoto, and he often mentions those two children from the Uzumaki Clan.” “When he talks about that little Little Sora, he can’t hide the excitement in his expression and tone; it’s as if he treats that child like a younger brother.” “When mentioning that Naruto, although he looks very disgusted, Mikoto noticed that in his heart, he already considers Naruto a friend.” Itachi listened silently.
He hadn’t had much time to pay attention to Sasuke and Little Sora recently.
Hearing this situation from his father, his heart eased slightly; it seemed they were getting along quite harmoniously.
“If the Fourth Hokage hadn’t passed away back then…” Fugaku looked at the face carved on the distant Hokage Rock, his voice full of regret as a long sigh drifted through the air.
Both Shisui and Itachi were startled, casting puzzled glances.
They neither understood why the topic suddenly jumped to the Fourth Hokage, nor could they fathom Fugaku’s current thoughts.
Seeing their expressions, Fugaku put away his melancholy and resumed a serious look, his gaze sweeping over the two.
“Since you feel the path of the Radicals is unworkable and want everyone to sit down and talk, then tell me, how do you plan to make the Radicals give up that dangerous idea?” Hearing the Clan Head raise this question, Shisui fell into hesitation.
He naturally had a method, but was it truly appropriate to speak of it at this moment?
This hesitation did not last long.
Shisui nodded slightly toward Itachi and then slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, those pitch-black eyes had transformed into the crimson Mangekyo Sharingan.
The patterns within the pupils were like spinning windmills, emitting a heart-palpitating light.
He met Fugaku’s slightly shocked gaze and said with a hint of certainty, “Clan Head, I have already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
My eye’s ocular technique is very special; its name is Kotoamatsukami.” “It is a genjutsu-type ocular technique.
Its most unique feature is the ability to silently alter another person’s will without leaving any trace.
It is impossible for others to notice anything amiss.” From the conversation just now, Shisui had determined that Fugaku’s heart leaned toward peace, and he was only unable to make a decision due to pressure from the Radicals.
In that case, the next step was simple: he just needed to act and use Kotoamatsukami to make the radical members abandon their dangerous ideas.
Fugaku stared fixedly at the Mangekyo in Shisui’s eyes.
Upon hearing the ability of this ocular technique, his body stiffened imperceptibly, and he instinctively turned his face away, avoiding those eyes that could manipulate the human heart.
Seeing this, Shisui slowly deactivated the Mangekyo.
He knew that the longer these eyes remained active, the easier it was to provoke wariness, especially after the other party knew the power of Kotoamatsukami.
Fugaku closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
Every single thing over the past few days had exceeded his expectations, adding more complexity to his already heavy thoughts.
When he looked up again, a red light flashed in Fugaku’s eyes, and the crimson Mangekyo Sharingan suddenly emerged—it had a completely different pattern from Shisui’s.
Under the shocked gazes of Shisui and Itachi, Fugaku’s voice carried a trace of helplessness.
“Your Mangekyo is indeed special, but even with such an ability, you cannot suppress the thoughts of those people in the clan.” “No matter which side you try to use this ability on, it will ultimately end in failure.
The conflict between the Village and the clan is far from as simple as you imagine; it has been entrenched for decades.” As his voice fell, Fugaku slowly recounted the history of the clan and the Village since the founding of Konoha.
Those grudges and changes buried by time unfolded before their eyes like a scroll.
Before Uchiha Madara left, under the efforts of the First Hokage, the relationship between the Village and all ninja clans, including the Uchiha, was harmonious.
It wasn’t until Madara left and attacked Konoha several years later.
The two fought a great battle at what is now the Valley of the End.
In the end, Madara died, and the First Hokage won a pyrrhic victory while being heavily injured.
Soon after, the First Hokage passed away, and his younger brother Senju Tobirama became the Second Hokage.
From then on, the Second Hokage held an unspeakable wariness toward the Uchiha.
Fortunately, Uchiha Kagami mediated at the time.
He was both a disciple of the Second Hokage and held significant sway within the Uchiha Clan.
It was thanks to his efforts that the relationship between the two sides did not deteriorate.
But later, a figure like Setsuna emerged within the Uchiha Clan.
He gathered some clansmen to launch a coup, but ultimately failed and was imprisoned in a dark dungeon from then on.
After this incident, the Village’s view of the Uchiha became increasingly complex, and suspicion and estrangement spread like a tide.
Later, Hiruzen Sarutobi took over as the Third Hokage.
Danzo, a member of the Council of Elders under him, held an almost fanatical hostility toward the Uchiha, opposing them at every turn.
Until the Nine-Tails Attack occurred, this disaster became the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
The Village’s suspicion of the Uchiha grew even greater, and the clan compound was moved from the center of Konoha to the outskirts.
The clan’s dissatisfaction with the Village rose daily, especially among the younger generation, who were consumed by anger and resentment.
The Radicals grew rapidly in these few years.
They often gathered clansmen to spread dissatisfaction, and those radical remarks were like poisonous vines, growing wildly within the clan.
The situation fell into a vicious cycle—the Village’s surveillance of the Uchiha became increasingly strict, and the Uchiha’s resentment toward the Village became deeper.
Both sides were like people standing on opposite sides of a cliff with a bottomless abyss between them; one slip, and they would fall together into eternal damnation.
“Now that you know all this, how do you view the current predicament?
And how do you plan to break this deadlock?” Fugaku’s gaze fell upon the two stunned youths, his tone heavy.
He hadn’t wanted to tell these heavy pasts to two young juniors, but today Shisui had taken the initiative to reveal his Mangekyo Sharingan.
This sense of responsibility and ability meant Fugaku could no longer treat him as a child.
“I…
I…” Shisui opened his mouth.
His previous certainty had been washed away by these decades of grudges, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.
He had originally wanted to use Kotoamatsukami to modify the Clan Head’s will to make him change the minds of the radical members.
But after learning that the Clan Head was already leaning toward peace, he aimed his target directly at the radical members.
But now he truly understood that the conflict between the clan and the Village was already deep-seated and could not be resolved by a single ocular technique.
Itachi also looked down in silence, his fingertips unconsciously tightening.
The surging emotions in his heart made it difficult to calm down—it turned out that what he knew was only the tip of the iceberg.
The past events he hadn’t known were like giant boulders weighing him down until he couldn’t breathe.
He finally understood why his father had been wavering and why there was so much heaviness in Shisui’s eyes.