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"I wonder if the Third Hokage has been kept up-to-date on the current situation. If he has, what would he think seeing things like this?"
"Uchiha Itachi, I've heard about you. This is our first formal meeting. But the rumors are true. Your talent as a ninja is undeniable. However… what's lost is lost. You should be clear about what you should be clinging to."
Haori said to Itachi, telling him that instead of clinging to the eyes he couldn't get back, he should carry on Shisui's belief in life.
Shisui entrusted his ideals to Itachi, whom he valued highly. But it was ultimately a very regrettable thing, because Shisui couldn't possibly imagine that Itachi's options included such an extreme consideration as exterminating the clan.
This kind of all-out plan was an extreme choice that only an extreme person could make in an extreme situation. This was something the deceased Shisui had never anticipated.
Shisui's own actions and thoughts were at best "naive." It wasn't incomprehensible. But Itachi was a bit difficult to understand. In terms of order of importance, it was little brother > Konoha > the Uchiha clan & parents…
What kind of logic was there? For Itachi, there must have been some. He wasn't crazy. On the contrary, he represented the opposite sides of madness.
In terms of choosing to live or die, his actions couldn't be explained by just the word "control." A person does something for a reason. If others aren't in the same situation, it's hard to empathize.
So, Itachi was incomprehensible.
If this were Haori, then everyone would understand. Mirai & Naruto > Konoha > the Uchiha clan. There was no problem. This was unexpectedly reasonable. After all, he was that kind of person.
But whether the Uchiha clan would be destroyed in the future, or whether Itachi would continue down his original path, those were now uncertain for Haori.
Whether they were destroyed or existed, for him, the Uchiha clan without Kotoamatsukami no longer had "strong power."
Itachi remained silent. He was weighing Haori's words… Then, he would make the most rational judgment that fit the situation—"rationality." This was the greatest advantage of this young, talented ninja, and also his greatest flaw.
At this age, he really shouldn't think too much. Wouldn't it be better to just be like Haori in his younger days and just wander around?
Itachi's pattern of action was the result of a combination of various complex reasons. Was it because he had caught the tail end of the war? Had he experienced the Nine-Tails incident? Did he crave peace? Did he hate his clan's actions?
Perhaps all of them. But the most important, even decisive, point that could be confirmed was his "thinking like the Hokage."
Was worrying about so many things a sign of finding himself or of losing himself? It's much easier to just be Haori.
Haori passed by Itachi. As expected, the latter didn't try to attack again…
Using the Mangekyō Sharingan was too much of a burden for a ninja, even if that ninja was a true Uchiha.
The night was very quiet. After the two stopped talking, you could hear the sound of the Naka River flowing below the cliff.
Shisui had jumped from here. So, Haori looked down.
But it was too dark below. He couldn't see anything.
"What are you going to do?" Itachi finally couldn't help but ask.
Haori's appearance clearly indicated that the situation of "this is where it ends" hadn't happened yet.
"There's a forbidden jutsu called 'Edo Tensei.' If you use a living person as a sacrifice, it can revive the deceased and retain their power and abilities. Of course, to activate this jutsu, you need a sample of the deceased's body…"
"So, a ninja like Shisui might be targeted."
In reality, Shisui had already been targeted.
For Haori, even if Orochimaru brought back Edo Tensei Madara, it wouldn't matter. But Shisui was different.
"You wouldn't want to see him become a puppet controlled by someone else after his death, would you? Especially since this puppet still retains its original abilities…"
You have to protect yourself from fire, theft, and Orochimaru. After all, he's the one who loves the bodies of fresh, strong ninjas. And this necrophilia is incurable. So, Haori had to find Shisui's body first.
In terms of talent, the Second Hokage was inferior to his older brother. But maybe because of that, he was dedicated to developing all kinds of forbidden jutsu. Then… it was his jutsu that caused a lot of trouble for later generations.
In the end, Itachi didn't try to stop Haori again. He chose to believe the latter's words. After all, with Shisui's eyes in his possession, Haori's words were still reasonably believable.
With Kotoamatsukami in his possession, Haori would naturally prevent the appearance of a new Kotoamatsukami.
......
"Why didn't you stop the conflict between Danzo and Shisui? Why didn't you stop Shisui's suicide? Your words could have done that!" After a long silence, Haori was met with the Third Hokage's questioning.
And the Third Hokage's questioning was very correct. His judgment was also accurate, because Haori could indeed have prevented this from happening.
But he didn't.
Shisui's body was eventually placed before the Third Hokage. This was something the Hokage had never anticipated.
The Third Hokage's grief was imaginable. But it wasn't just a matter of grief. It also meant that all the Third Hokage's previous arrangements and plans had been ruined. Not only that, with the death of the strongest Uchiha, the entire situation became even more complicated.
Haori explained in detail what had happened that night to the Hokage. What he said was basically true: Danzo took the eyes, Shisui committed suicide, and Haori was "powerless."
It took about three hours for Haori to find Shisui's body in the lower reaches of the Naka River. Then, he immediately sealed it.
The sky was about to dawn.
During this time, Haori's thoughts could only be described as complex. But these emotional thoughts couldn't affect his actions.
Facing the Third Hokage's questioning, Haori's reasons were also sufficient:
"This happened suddenly. No one expected that Danzo would have the Sharingan and be able to use the legendary forbidden jutsu, 'Izanagi.' He took Shisui's eyes in the blink of an eye. And after realizing the consequences of Kotoamatsukami falling into Danzo's hands, my judgment was to immediately reclaim the eye, rather than continue to protect Shisui…"
"Objectively speaking, I don't think my actions were unreasonable. In this situation, no one can grasp all the possibilities. Who would have thought that Shisui would commit suicide to hide the secret of his eyes being taken and to protect his left eye?"
If you were to explain it this way, then Haori really didn't do anything wrong. The Hokage's questioning couldn't be sustained.
In reality, the Hokage had no reason not to know that Danzo had the Sharingan. Even if he didn't know, he could guess. After all, who would believe someone who was covering one eye and said there was no problem?
But the Third Hokage had never imagined that Danzo's Sharingan would be used in this situation. It was terrible.
The Hokage also understood that what had happened was irreversible. Now, they had to consider how to deal with this mess. It was meaningless to assign blame… And if they were going to assign blame, the first person they would look for would be Danzo, not Haori. After all, you can't point the finger randomly.
The Hokage looked at the body in front of him… No matter what, Shisui's body couldn't be returned to the Uchiha clan. They couldn't be stimulated anymore.
Returning Shisui without his eyes was very different from returning him with both eyes. The latter would have had a little more sincerity. The former would make people think of a complete conspiracy.
As for returning Kotoamatsukami to the Uchiha clan… had the Third Hokage gone crazy?
"What are we going to do with Shisui's body?" He asked.
"Cremate it. To prevent him from being used by someone with malicious intent." Haori said. Although he had sealed it, it wasn't thorough enough.
"Disappearing" would be more thorough.
The Third Hokage was silent again, facing Haori's suggestion.
Was this agreement?
"Then…"
Then, the key question came.
"What about Shisui's eyes?" The Third Hokage asked.
"….Destroyed."
This was Haori's answer. It was also the only "truth" he could say.
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