Such a man, in Uchiha Shisui's eyes, had been noble, full of love for Konoha, full of goodwill and hope for the village—and had made such great sacrifices for it.
And yet he had died just like that?
Died for no reason at all?
Who killed "Uchiha Gen"?
Why did they kill "Uchiha Gen"?
If even an Uchiha like that had to die, then what kind of Uchiha could Konoha possibly accept?
The balance in Uchiha Shisui's heart was beginning to tilt, slowly but surely.
On one side was the Uchiha.
On the other side was Konoha.
Before, that balance had been even.
Perhaps Konoha's side had even weighed a little more.
But now, Uchiha Shisui's thoughts were beginning to change.
The death of "Uchiha Gen" dealt him a certain psychological blow.
An Uchiha who valued the village even more than he himself did had still died at the village's hands. In that case, what else could the Uchiha possibly do to earn the village's acceptance?
Shisui could think of no answer.
"Must the Uchiha clan remain like this forever?"
"If so, can such an Uchiha still be called Konoha's Uchiha?"
"To the village… are the Uchiha still one of them?"
The confusion in Shisui's eyes deepened.
He came to "Uchiha Gen's" home.
The body had already been given a simple burial in the Uchiha clan cemetery.
The land had not been reclaimed by the village. It still belonged to the Uchiha.
Shisui sat on the steps, staring blankly ahead, his eyes empty, as though he did not know what he was thinking.
Then Uchiha Yashiro came over and sat down beside him.
"Shisui, don't be too sad."
"No one could have expected Gen's death."
"Gen is dead, but none of us will forget him."
"He died for us Uchiha."
"Everything he did brought real change to our clan. All of us will be grateful to him. He will live on forever in our hearts."
Yashiro patted Shisui on the shoulder.
"And in Gen's own words, Shisui, you are the hope of the Uchiha. You absolutely cannot sink into despair and decay. If you do, then you'll be betraying Gen's hopes for you."
Only at those words did Shisui's expression finally change. He nodded.
"I won't, Yashiro-senpai."
"I'll make the Uchiha better. I'll give everything I have. I swear it."
After Yashiro left, Shisui entered "Uchiha Gen's" room.
The place felt unfamiliar to him.
Before these past two days, Uchiha Shisui had not actually known "Uchiha Gen" well.
One was the young genius of the Uchiha clan.
The other was merely an ordinary chunin.
And yet, strangely, the room also felt familiar.
Because in his heart, Shisui had already completely accepted "Uchiha Gen."
"Senpai… I'll finish what you couldn't. Don't worry."
Suddenly, his attention was caught by a notebook lying half-exposed in a half-open drawer by the bed.
Shisui had not intended to look.
But in the end, curiosity got the better of him.
There was only one entry written inside.
————
Year 50 of Konoha… the weather is clear, but the state of the clan and the village is not optimistic. The emergence of the Uchiha rebels has destroyed everything. The Uchiha have failed Konoha.
I did not participate in it, but as a member of the Uchiha, I know I must bear this responsibility…
But the younger generation of the Uchiha is innocent. One generation bears one generation's sins. They should not be dragged into this. If someone must bear this sin for the village, then I hope it is only our generation.
Since the founding of Konoha, the Uchiha's place in the village has never been a good one, and now things have only become worse, more awkward. I truly do not want the Uchiha to remain like this forever.
I dream of a day when the children of the Uchiha and the Sarutobi can play freely together in the square.
I dream of a day when the children of the Uchiha and the Shimura clan can walk side by side.
I dream of a day when the Uchiha and the Yamanaka clan, the Hyuga clan, the Aburame clan… and all the civilian shinobi in the village can live together in peace, drink together, eat together, back to back, hand in hand…
I have a dream…
————
The words were simple.
Yet as Shisui read them, his eyes gradually grew wet.
Pat.
A tear fell, soaking the page.
"Gen-senpai… you were a good man. Truly good. The Uchiha wronged you. The village wronged you."
The entire Uchiha clan mourned the death of "Uchiha Gen."
Uchiha Fugaku included.
But more than anything, Fugaku felt that "Uchiha Gen" had been somewhat foolish.
"With relations between the Uchiha and the village already this terrible, trying to earn the recognition of the villagers in such a way was far too naïve. It was never going to work."
"But even I didn't expect someone would actually kill Uchiha Gen."
"Was it someone from the Shimura clan?"
"Or one of the Hokage's men? Did demanding that Hokage-sama take Uchiha Shisui as a disciple anger him?"
Fugaku frowned deeply.
The Uchiha's miserable situation gave him a splitting headache.
Now, the Uchiha remaining in Konoha had been completely separated from the Uchiha rebels. Even if they fled Konoha, the rebels would never accept them. That meant they could only remain in Konoha.
And to remain in Konoha was to inevitably face the village's hostility, discrimination, and rejection.
"What Uchiha Gen did may improve the Uchiha's situation slightly, but it treats only the symptoms, not the cause."
"If we want to change the Uchiha's situation in Konoha, there are only two possible paths."
"One is for the Uchiha to become strong enough."
"Stronger than the Uchiha clan was in its entirety before."
"For example… someone reaching the level of Uchiha Madara back then."
"The second is for the Uchiha to become so valuable to Konoha that the village cannot do without them."
"It is useless to place hope in others. We can only rely on ourselves."
"But both of those paths are extraordinarily difficult."
Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened the instant he received the report.
He had disliked the fact that "Uchiha Gen" had mentioned Uchiha Kagami, but Hiruzen had never wanted "Uchiha Gen" dead. On the contrary, he thought the more Uchiha like "Uchiha Gen" there were, the better.
And with "Uchiha Gen" dying so suddenly, Hiruzen knew full well that someone would inevitably suspect him.
Even though he had not done it.
Even though he had nothing to do with it at all.
But Hiruzen knew there was no way to stop others from suspecting him.
"This matter must be investigated thoroughly."
Hiruzen looked out the window, his brow tightly furrowed.
"Danzo… it wasn't you again, was it?"
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