"Ugh… Where am I? Am I still alive…?"
Uchiha Shisui slowly opened his eyes, but all he saw was darkness. His vision had yet to return—everything was shrouded in shadow.
He sensed someone approaching and instantly became alert. But even the slightest movement sent waves of pain through his body. Though the Nine-Tails' chakra had helped stabilize his injuries, he had pushed himself far beyond his limits earlier.
"Don't worry—I'm not here to hurt you. I saved you. We're outside the Village now. And no, I'm not one of Danzo's men."
The voice was clear, a young boy's voice. But Shisui couldn't make out the figure through his blurred vision.
"Who are you?" he asked warily.
Even in his weakened state, Shisui's instincts as a shinobi wouldn't allow him to trust a stranger easily.
"Who am I? Just an orphan… or maybe just the demon fox, depending on who you ask," the boy said bitterly.
In the depths of the seal within him, the Nine-Tails let out a cold snort of disdain.
"An orphan… a demon fox?" Shisui echoed, trying to recall what those words triggered in his memory.
And then it hit him.
"You're the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki! Uzumaki Naruto! How… how are you here?"
"That's right. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki."
Naruto chuckled to himself, the sound filled with a bitterness far beyond his years.
He should've been hailed as a hero. As the son of the Fourth Hokage, his name should've been Namikaze Naruto, not a curse whispered in disgust. But instead, he was just "the demon fox"—a scapegoat, a pariah, a child the Village chose to hate.
"But I'm also the son of the Fourth Hokage—Uzumaki Naruto."
He raised his voice with conviction.
"What?!"
Shisui stared at him in disbelief. The child Konoha had branded a monster was actually the son of the Fourth Hokage? The thought made his head spin. It was almost too absurd to believe.
But deep inside, something else began to stir.
"How could the Village let this happen?"
"Tell me, Uchiha Shisui," Naruto said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do you really believe the people at the top care about this Village?"
Shisui flinched. Naruto's words struck a chord. Hadn't he once placed his trust in Danzo?
"I… I know. But not everyone is like that. I have to go back. I need to report Danzo's crimes to Lord Third!"
He forced himself to sit up, only to break into a coughing fit. His body was still far too weak.
"You're still too naive," Naruto said coldly. "Do you really think there are any saints left among Konoha's leadership? Do you actually believe the Third Hokage doesn't know what Danzo's been up to?"
Shisui frowned. He didn't understand what "Konoha F4" meant, but from context, it clearly referred to the higher-ups—likely the Third Hokage, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu.
"That's impossible. The Third Hokage would never… he can't be working with Danzo!"
Even now, Shisui clung to his image of Hiruzen. The man had been like a pillar to him—wise, gentle, protective. He didn't want to believe otherwise.
"You really believe that?" Naruto snapped. "You think someone as powerful as the Third Hokage could be that ignorant? I am the Fourth Hokage's son!"
"You think the rumors calling me a demon fox could've spread for years if the Third Hokage had forbidden them? Don't you get it? Danzo might've planted the seed—but it was Hiruzen who let it grow!"
Shisui's heart trembled as Naruto continued.
"Do you know how I grew up? As the Fourth Hokage's only son, I was dumped off to a 'caretaker'—a woman who burned my mouth with hot milk, stabbed me with needles, and beat me daily. I was still a baby."
"Anbu watched it happen. They didn't care."
"I was three when I was forced to scavenge in the forest to survive. The shops in the Village refused to sell me food. I was a child, Shisui! What crime had I committed?!"
Naruto's voice echoed in Shisui's mind like a thunderclap. The raw pain in his words couldn't be faked. The suffering he described wasn't some petty complaint—it was trauma, buried deep, clawing its way out.
As the orphan of the Fourth Hokage… had Hiruzen really abandoned him?
Shisui didn't want to believe it.
He couldn't believe it.
His faith would crumble.
But Naruto wasn't finished.
"You believe in the Will of Fire, don't you?"
His voice dropped low, no longer pleading—only cold and sharp.
"You believe the Will of Fire is about protecting the next generation? Then tell me—why are children sent to the battlefield again and again?"
"Think about it, Shisui. How old were you when you first went to war?"
Shisui's hands trembled. "Six…"
Yes, six years old. And he wasn't the only one. There were countless others.
No one had ever questioned it. It was simply the way things were.
Naruto's voice turned to scorn.
"The Third Hokage—'the Professor,' the so-called strongest Hokage. And yet, when has he ever led from the front? When has he shed blood for the Village the way others have? Titles like 'God of Shinobi'—they're earned on the battlefield, not behind a desk."
"And yet, Hiruzen sits in his tower, smiling like a benevolent old man, while children like you and me bleed for a Village that's never loved us."
Naruto's voice was deafening—his words echoed like thunder, reverberating through Shisui's mind and shaking the very foundation of his beliefs.
Seeing that Shisui was already wavering, Naruto pressed further:
"Isn't Konoha considered the strongest Hidden Village because of the sacrifices of countless shinobi who came before us? The Legendary Sannin… the White Fang… my father—the Fourth Hokage… even you, Uchiha Shisui! Every one of those titles was earned through bloodshed and war on the battlefield!"
He paused, voice cold.
"So tell me—what did the Third Hokage do to deserve his title? Look around. Where are those once-glorious heroes now?"
Naruto's voice was like a blade, slicing through Shisui's convictions.
"White Fang—Hatake Sakumo—was one of the most renowned shinobi in Konoha, yet he took his own life after being shunned for choosing his comrades over a mission. Do you really think ordinary villagers could understand the complexities of a top-secret mission?"
"He was called the Hokage's right hand. If Sakumo hadn't died… do you think Danzo or the Third Hokage would've ever stood a chance at power?"
Naruto's tone dripped with scorn. Just then, he sensed a flicker of chakra in the distance. He smiled faintly but didn't stop.
"Under the Third Hokage's leadership, tell me—has Konoha truly prospered? A few years ago, Hyuga Hizashi died as a scapegoat to maintain the peace with Kumogakure."
Shisui twitched slightly at Naruto's words. He had begun to adapt to Naruto's harsh rhythm, but it still cut deep. The truth in Naruto's accusations was becoming harder to ignore.
Looking back now… had the Village really improved under the Third's rule?
His inner faith continued to crumble.
"Let's talk about the Senju Clan," Naruto continued. "Once as prestigious as the Uchiha. Can you even name a single living Senju besides Tsunade?"
Shisui's heart skipped a beat.
Now that Naruto mentioned it… there really weren't any. He could barely recall ever meeting a Senju.
What happened to them?
"After Hiruzen took power, do you know who helped him become Hokage? It was Mito Uzumaki, my great-grandmother. Without her support, he never would've secured the position."
Naruto's gaze darkened.
"But after Lady Mito passed, the Third Hokage began to slowly suppress the Senju Clan. He sent their members to the frontlines, where they died in droves. Some were even lured onto the operating tables of Orochimaru's experiments, all under the pretense of trying to revive Wood Release—but in truth, it was to weaken the Senju's power and influence."
Shisui's breath hitched.
"And the Senju? They honored Tobirama Senju's last wish: to integrate into the Village. He believed blending their bloodline into the civilian population would protect them from persecution."
Naruto chuckled bitterly.
"But who knew Tobirama's 'filial' disciples would be so ungrateful? Hiruzen, Danzo, Homura, Koharu… Tell me, Shisui—have you ever seen true talent arise from those so-called 'commoners'? Or was it simply Senju blood running quietly through their veins?"
He leaned in slightly, voice low and cold.
"Danzo played a key role in that, too."
And it was true—Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was a princess of the Uzumaki Clan, which made Mito his great-grandmother by clan lineage. His connection to the legacy of Konoha ran deep—and yet he had been cast aside.
With every word, Naruto peeled back another layer of Konoha's façade, revealing the rot beneath. And slowly, step by step, Uchiha Shisui's deeply rooted beliefs began to collapse under the weight of harsh reality.
His faith—once unshakable—was starting to shatter.