Chapter 18: Explaining the Third Hokage to Uchiha Shisui
Naruto also felt that Uchiha Shisui was a bit tragic. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You shouldn't listen to what I think; you should look at what Hiruzen Sarutobi does. Also... do you think the current Will of Fire is still the same Will of Firefrom when Konoha was first founded?"
"The older generation of leaves burn to nourish the roots, allowing the new generation of sprouts to thrive."
"Exactly! That was indeed the Will of Fire left by the First Hokage back then. But is the current Will of Fire still the one left by the First?"
Uchiha Shisui really didn't know what Naruto was trying to say. He stared intently at Naruto with his single Sharingan, letting Naruto continue.
Naruto sighed and continued, "Back then, when Uchiha Madara defected, the First Hokage Senju Hashirama personally pursued him, eventually returning heavily wounded and dying in melancholy. The Second Hokage was ambushed by the Gold and Silver Brothers of the Cloud, staying behind alone to cover the retreat and protect Konoha's new generation. These two Hokage can be said to have perfectly embodied the Will of Fire. But what about the Third? What did he do? What did Hiruzen Sarutobi do during the Third Great Ninja War? He sent children who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy to serve as cannon fodder, using a gap in Konoha's new generation to trade for the survival of those few lingering old men in the Hokage Building. You call this the Will of Fire?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Shisui hurriedly defended, "At that time, Konoha's forces were depleted and the number of Ninja was insufficient. Letting newly graduated students participate in the war was a matter of necessity."
Naruto's Shadow Clone sneered and said, "Fine, even if what you say makes sense! Then how do you explain Konohas White Fang, Sakumo Hatake? Although I don't know what mission Sakumo Hatake was performing at the time, I can be certain of one thing: the rank of Sakumo Hatake's mission was definitely not low. How could it have spread throughout the entire Village overnight? The whole Village was denouncing Sakumo Hatake. Was Sakumo Hatake's mission some common, low-level task? If it was a common task, what would it matter if it failed?"
Uchiha Shisui lowered his head in silence. He now felt that there was indeed a problem with the Sakumo Hatake incident, but that was just one matter! He couldn't use this one incident to erase the Will of Fire of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Just as Uchiha Shisui raised his head to refute Naruto.
Naruto continued to say to Uchiha Shisui, "If you want to find excuses for the Third Hokage, there's no need. I'm not going to argue with you; I'm just laying out some facts. You should know about Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, right? Do you know how many people died because Orochimaruconducted human experiments? You don't! Neither do I, but based on my guess, the number is definitely not small. But what was the final result? You can completely compare it with Sakumo Hatake's outcome. One was known to the whole city, while the other remains unknown to this day. One committed suicide to apologize, while the other was surrounded by a team personally led by the Third and still managed to escape. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"
Perhaps Naruto's words caused Uchiha Shisui to fall into deep thought, but in his heart, he still firmly believed that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was a good Hokage and a good leader.
Naruto didn't care what Uchiha Shisui thought. He reached out his hand and said to Uchiha Shisui, "Hand it over!"
Uchiha Shisui took out a ninja tool pouch from his waist. Staring at the character for 'Ninja' on it, he asked, "You have hostility toward Konoha, don't you?"
Naruto's Shadow Clone shook its head and said, "You asked a similar question before, and my answer is still the same. It's quite good!"
Uchiha Shisui looked at Naruto in confusion and asked, "From what you said before, I can conclude that you are dissatisfied with the Village. This 'quite good' of yours is hard for me to believe."
Naruto shook his head and looked at Uchiha Shisui, saying, "You really are naive enough! I've been talking about Hiruzen Sarutobi for ages; Hiruzen Sarutobi does not represent the entire Village. I am indeed dissatisfied with the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but as for the Village... I really don't have that many thoughts about it."
"Then if the Village encounters danger, will you take action?"
"No!"
The categorical answer from Naruto's Shadow Clone left Uchiha Shisui somewhat surprised.
"Aren't you only dissatisfied with the Third Hokage?"
"Exactly, I am indeed only dissatisfied with Hiruzen Sarutobi, but I also don't have any good feelings toward the other people in the Village. After I was born, you can't possibly be unaware of how the villagers of Konoha treated me, right? It's already good enough that I don't harbor ill will toward them. Do you still expect me to be grateful to them?"
"In other words, if Konoha encounters danger, you won't help, but you won't cause trouble either, right?"
"Correct! I just want to live peacefully; the life or death of others has nothing to do with me."
"But, you are...!"
Halfway through his sentence, Uchiha Shisui didn't dare to continue. Regarding the Jinchuriki matter, Hiruzen Sarutobi had issued a gag order.
Naruto's Shadow Clone sneered and said, "Isn't it just about being a Jinchuriki? What's there to be secretive about?"
"You knew all along!"
"Otherwise? You didn't think my ability to use the Flying Thunder God appeared out of thin air, did you?"
Uchiha Shisui, having filled in the blanks in his mind, said with sudden realization, "I see! No wonder you have such strong power; that makes sense. I believe the son of the Fourth won't do anything to harm Konoha."
After Uchiha Shisui finished speaking, he tossed the ninja tool pouch to Naruto.
Naruto's Shadow Clone caught the pouch and looked at Uchiha Shisui, saying, "Don't you want to use Kotoamatsukami on me? Wouldn't that be safer?"
Uchiha Shisui looked at Naruto in shock and said, "You even know about that?"
"Otherwise! Did you think I was just idling around, trying to avoid your Mangekyo Sharingan for no reason? If your Sharingan weren't so special, I wouldn't have bothered!"
"Then how do you plan to use my Sharingan?"
"I never even thought about using it. I'll destroy it immediately after I get it."
Uchiha Shisui looked at Naruto in disbelief and said, "That's a Mangekyo Sharingan! You'd really be willing to do that!"
Naruto sneered and said, "Never mind one Mangekyo Sharingan, even if it were a pair, I would destroy them just the same!"
Uchiha Shisui said with a bitter smile, "I originally wanted to entrust this eye to you, but now it seems... I should entrust it to someone else!"
"Uchiha Itachi?"
"Yes, him!"
"Pah! You can only entrust it to him. With his paranoia, coupled with the pressure you're putting on him, in less than three years, Konoha will only have the name of Uchiha, and no longer any Uchihapeople."
As soon as Naruto's Shadow Clone finished speaking, another person appeared beside Uchiha Shisui.
The one who came was none other than Uchiha Itachi.
"What do you mean by that?"