"I don't know either."
Shisui Uchiha said, "After what Senior Yashiro and the others did, I think it will be very difficult for the village to trust the Uchiha again. The only reason we are still here..."
"One is because of Clan Head Fugaku's attitude."
"The other is Lord Hokage. Lord Hokage has been tolerant of us."
"But the villagers... they may not be able to accept the Uchiha again."
"Unless..."
Rasa's eyes flickered.
"Unless what?"
"Unless, in a moment of life-or-death crisis for Konoha, someone from the Uchiha steps forward, saves the village, and becomes a hero. Only then might the villagers let go of their grudges."
Shisui smiled bitterly.
"But that's impossible. Even if Konoha faced such a massive crisis, the Uchiha doesn't have anyone strong enough to do that."
"Or, if we could go back in time and prevent the rebellion."
"But that is equally impossible."
"Once the Uchiha rebelled, there was no turning back..."
Shisui turned to Rasa.
"Senior Gen, what do you think?"
Rasa patted Shisui on the shoulder and smiled.
"I believe it doesn't have to be that extreme."
"The villagers' hatred is directed at the Uchiha rebels. I believe that as long as we show enough sincerity and kindness to the villagers, they will surely accept us slowly."
"And there's Lord Hokage. He will likely help us too."
Shisui looked at "Gen Uchiha" earnestly, surprised that there was someone within the clan who held even more optimistic expectations for the village than he did.
But if the Uchiha did that, would the village really accept them?
Shisui loved the village, but he wasn't that optimistic.
"Senior Gen, I'm afraid that will be very difficult."
"Just because it's difficult, we shouldn't do it?"
Rasa said, "We Uchiha can't stay like this forever. That would be too unfair to the future generations of Uchiha. They haven't done anything, yet they're rejected by the village."
Shisui was stunned, falling into deep thought.
Rasa stood up and walked outside.
Arriving outside the Uchiha compound.
Sure enough, the situation was exactly as Teyaki Uchiha had described. The villagers of Konoha hated the Uchiha clan with a passion.
Hostile glares came one after another.
There were also undisguised curses behind his back.
Some children threw stones, rotten eggs...
Rasa didn't resist. He allowed himself to be hit and scolded, responding only with a smile.
However, not only did the villagers not stop, they became even angrier.
"This Gen Uchiha is still smiling!"
"What is he smiling at?"
"Is he mocking us for being hurt so badly by his clan?"
"Shameless! Absolutely shameless!"
"I really want to kill him!"
...
Most Konoha villagers didn't know about the Dou Uchiha incident. They only knew that the Uchiha had suddenly rebelled, killed many villagers, and then fled Konoha.
Rasa explained to the villagers.
"Everyone, we are not the Uchiha rebels. We are the Uchiha of Konoha. We are victims too. I understand everyone's anger, but we truly bear no ill will toward the village."
"We love Konoha deeply."
"I know, our Uchiha clan does have many problems."
"We produced a rogue ninja like Madara Uchiha."
"We produced an insubordinate like Setsuna Uchiha."
"But we also had someone like Kagami Uchiha, who was acknowledged by the Second Hokage. I can swear to the heavens, I have absolutely no ill will toward Konoha."
Rasa deliberately mentioned Kagami Uchiha.
"I will absolutely never harm anyone in the village."
The crowd stopped, but they still didn't give "Gen Uchiha" a friendly look.
A villager scoffed.
"Talk is cheap. If half a sentence of what you said is true, I'll eat a pound of rotten eggs."
"You Uchiha caused such huge damage to the village, and now you want us to just let it go?"
"So when things were good, you Uchiha were united. Now you just cut ties, right? You took the benefits, and now you completely shrug off the responsibility? You want us to be that generous?"
Rasa looked at the villager.
"I know saying it is useless, but I will prove it with my actions."
"Everyone can supervise me."
"If I do anything that goes against what I said today, may I, Gen Uchiha, die a terrible death."
Rasa walked slowly toward the Hokage Building.
Along the way, he attracted countless villagers.
All their eyes were filled with anger and hatred.
If not for the ninja of the Military Police Force maintaining order, villagers would have likely rushed up to attack Rasa already.
Rasa's eyes flickered.
"After the Nine-Tails Incident, the Uchiha's situation might be better than this, but probably not by much."
"After all, the Sharingan pattern on the Nine-Tails' eyes was too clear."
"Even without evidence, the vast majority of people would believe it was the work of an Uchiha."
"To live in such an environment for so many years... the Uchiha people are quite enduring."
A figure trailed far behind.
It was Shisui Uchiha.
But at this moment, Shisui had concealed his identity, deliberately disguised and wearing a mask.
No one could discover that Shisui was an Uchiha.
"Senior Gen."
Shisui sighed.
"I'm not as good as you."
"To eliminate the villagers' hatred for the Uchiha in this way... how much pain do you have to endure?"
"Clearly innocent, yet placing yourself in the role of a sinner."
"Letting the villagers vent."
"Not only risking your life but even abandoning your personal dignity."
"Senior Gen, your sacrifice is too great."
Finally, Gen Uchiha arrived at the entrance of the Hokage Building.
By this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi already knew about Gen Uchiha's actions.
Hiruzen stood by the window, looking down.
An ANBU ninja was right beside him, the very person reporting to Hiruzen.
"Gen Uchiha..."
"I didn't expect the Uchiha clan to still have such a responsible person."
"To let the villagers vent in this way to eliminate their hatred for the Uchiha... this requires great wisdom and great courage to achieve."
Rasa looked up at the Hokage Building.
"Lord Hokage, I, Gen Uchiha, request an audience."
Hiruzen stood behind the window and coughed dryly.
"Gen Uchiha, if you have something to say, just say it."
Rasa said, "Lord Hokage, our Uchiha clan has committed a grave sin. I know, even though we are not the Uchiha rebels, we still bear a responsibility we cannot shirk."
"We are willing to atone for this."
"However, there are also innocent people within our Uchiha clan."
"For example, Shisui Uchiha."
Hearing his name, Shisui's heart tightened involuntarily.