Shisui's heart sank heavily.
'This Land of Stars... had it actually become a sanctuary for these orphans of Kekkei Genkai abandoned by the mainstream Ninja World?'
He suppressed his churning thoughts, his gaze settling on Kimimaro. "So, these Byakugan are for-"
"Balancing the Kaguya Clan's overly violent Kekkei Genkai illness," Kanon stated frankly.
"An overabundance of Yang Attribute Chakra requires Yin Attribute Chakra to harmonize. The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan is the perfect medium." Her words were casual, but they sent waves of shock crashing through Shisui's heart.
Stealing the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan's main family!
This shocking event was spoken of by the other party as a matter of course, like mixing a potion.
The actions of the Land of Stars had long surpassed the category of 'unorthodox', they were practically a declaration of war against the entire Ninja World's order!
"Shura-sama took all of us in." Kimimaro spoke for the first time, his voice cool yet carrying an undeniable firmness.
"He gave us power, and also gave us a reason for existence."
Kanon looked at the complex emotions Shisui couldn't hide on his face and sighed softly, "Shisui-san, I know what you're thinking."
"The Uchiha Clan of Konoha, and the Hyuga Clan of Konoha. But please consider…"
Her gaze became deep and sharp.
"In Konoha, has your Uchiha Clan truly found a place to belong? Or are you, like our Uzumaki Clan back then, merely seen as a 'useful power', wrapped in the name of an ally, yet always separated by an invisible barrier?"
These words were like an ice-cold awl, precisely piercing the deepest, most hidden pain in Shisui's heart that even he himself was unwilling to examine closely.
The isolation of the Military Police Force, the suspicion of the upper-echelons, the increasingly intense resentment within the clan...
Fragments of the past flashed chaotically through his mind like broken glass.
He subconsciously took the teacup Kanon handed him. The scalding tea burned his palm through the cup, but he didn't even notice.
"Konoha was founded by the First Hokage-sama and the Uchiha Clan's ancestors." Shisui's voice was somewhat hoarse, as if he was trying to convince himself.
"It should be the best home for all Ninja Clans."
"Heh, home?" A curve lifted the corner of Kanon's lips. That smile held no mockery, only a kind of sorrowful and desolate insight into the ways of the world, like faded ink on an ancient scroll.
"Our Uzumaki clan once believed that too, without a doubt. The Land of Whirlpools and Konoha, allies for generations, unbreakable? But when disaster truly struck, when the Land of Whirlpools was besieged by nations and set ablaze, where were Konoha's reinforcements?"
Her voice remained steady, but each word was like a heavy stone dropped into the still lake of Shisui's heart, stirring icy ripples.
"The promises of allies are fragile and vulnerable before the reality of interests and calculations. The annihilation of the Uzumaki Clan is the most bloody and vivid portrayal of this cruel rule. Uchiha, the suspicion and exclusion you are experiencing now are merely another version of the Uzumaki Clan's plight back then."
Shisui's fingers gripping the teacup tightened abruptly. A faint yet distinct 'crack' sound came from the cup wall as a long, thin crack silently spread.
Scalding tea seeped through the crack, burning his skin, but he seemed completely unaware.
Kanon's words were peeling away the bloody reality he had tried to wrap in the [Will of Fire] and 'clan responsibility'.
Konoha's hesitation, delays, calculations...
The cold, hard choice before the threat of massacre.
'Would the Uchiha be the next Uzumaki?'
This thought, like a venomous snake, gnawed at his reason.
"No—it won't be!" Shisui looked up sharply, his newly matured Three-Tomoe Sharingan trembling slightly, "Third Hokage-sama promised! As long as we communicate, as long as we find a way-"
"A way?" Kanon interrupted him, her tone carrying a near-cruel calmness, "It's actually very simple, Shisui. Your predecessor, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, already provided the answer."
'The Second Hokage?'
Shisui was confused, 'How did this involve the Second Hokage?'
"Lately, I've been researching the pros and cons of the Ninja Village System, particularly the history of Konoha's founding. I've gained some understanding of the First and Second Hokage, as well as Konoha's history over these past fifty-plus years." Kanon said, watching Shisui's perplexed expression, speaking slowly.
"Although the Second Hokage was the most wary of the Uchiha Clan, he was also the outsider who understood the Uchiha Clan best. Facing the Uchiha Clan's restlessness, he established the Konoha's Military Police Force, giving the Uchiha Clan face and dignity. The Ninja Academy he founded not only accepted students from various Ninja Clans but also Civilian Ninjas, providing the Uchiha Clan's youth an opportunity to integrate into the village."
"To the extent that the power of the Konoha's Military Police Force became too great, even threatening the Third Hokage's authority during peacetime."
"But the Second Hokage's greatest effort was taking on a disciple from Uchiha Clan, your ancestor, Uchiha Kagami. The master-disciple relationship, perhaps their bloodlines differed, but will and path could connect. This was originally a clear path to resolve the estrangement."
She paused, her gaze seeming to pierce through time and space, landing on the shadows within Konoha's power center: "Then let me ask, since the Second Hokage's time, has the Third Hokage taken on any disciple from Uchiha Clan?"
"Or, the genius Uchiha Itachi, upon whom your Uchiha Clan pins its high hopes… has he truly been regarded as a successor by any of Konoha's upper-echelons, receiving their full and complete teachings?"
A series of questions, like cold iron hammers, shattered the last remnants of hope in Shisui's heart.
"They would rather watch the rift of suspicion widen, watch the Uchiha Clan sink deeper into isolation, watch the fire of resentment burn fiercely within your clan-" Kanon's voice lowered, filled with insightful understanding. "-than truly extend a hand, like the Second Hokage accepting Uchiha Kagami back then, and bring an Uchiha Clan's youth into the Hokage's line of succession."
"Why?"
"Because the power of the 'Sharingan' is coveted, and even more so, feared. What they need has never been Uchiha Clan who 'integrate' into Konoha, but Uchiha Clan who are 'controlled' and 'used'. Like-"
Her gaze swept over Kimimaro, over Haku and Yukimi, finally returning to rest on Shisui, meaningful and deep.
"Like treating a powerful and dangerous ninja tool."
Boom!
It was as if a thunderclap exploded in Shisui's mind!
The teacup, finally unable to bear the strain, shattered completely in his palm!
Scalding tea mixed with ceramic shards pierced his skin. Blood instantly gushed out, staining the shattered white porcelain and the hot tea, dripping onto the clean gravel of the courtyard, blooming into several stark, dark red plum blossoms.
He felt no pain whatsoever, only a bone-chilling cold spreading from his spine to his limbs.
The pillar of belief that had supported him all along, changing the clan's situation and maintaining the village's peace through effort and communication, crumbled at this moment.
Kanon's words mercilessly revealed the cold calculations beneath the warm mask of Konoha's upper-echelons.
The solitary example of his ancestor, Uchiha Kagami, was not the beginning of a path to resolution, but had instead become an isolated case!
An answer that was deliberately ignored and shelved!
The detachment behind the Third Hokage's gentle smile, the step-by-step pressure of Danzo's Root, the angry roars of the hardliners at clan's meetings, Itachi's increasingly heavy struggle between the Anbu and his clan...
All the clues were now strung together by Kanon's words into a cold, clear chain!
'So, the so-called 'capacity', the so-called 'Will of Fire', were so pale and powerless in the face of deep-rooted vigilance and power balance!'
'The Uchiha, on Konoha's chessboard, from beginning to end, were merely pieces to be guarded against, used, and sacrificed when necessary!'
'We were never truly seen as 'one of their own' to whom inheritance could be entrusted!'
Cold sweat instantly soaked through Shisui's back. His newly evolved Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly, trying to comprehend this subversive impact, but he only felt a cold emptiness and a despair that chilled him to the bone.
"Imagine if the Third Hokage had taken Uchiha Itachi, or you, Uchiha Shisui, as a disciple of the 'Hokage faction'. Then the rebellious voices within the Uchiha Clan would be resolved effortlessly, even becoming a driving force. The entire clan's resources and expectations would be placed on you, striving to compete for the position of Fifth Hokage."
"Even if the Fifth Hokage position wasn't achieved, the Sixth could be anticipated. Because both you and Uchiha Itachi are very young, much younger than those within Konoha qualified to compete for the Hokage's position."
"As long as you lived, you would be the 'direct Hokage line'. This would at least stabilize the Uchiha Clan for thirty to fifty years..."
"But why didn't the Third Hokage do this?"
"Shisui!" Kanon's brows furrowed slightly. She stepped forward, pale green Chakra instantly enveloping his bleeding hand.
Gentle life energy seeped into the wound, quickly stopping the bleeding and repairing the damage. Shattered ceramic pieces were gently pushed out by the Chakra, and the wound healed at a visible rate.
"Sorry… I lost my composure." Shisui's voice was terribly hoarse, carrying the weakness of a shattered heart and immense mental exhaustion.
Kanon shook her head, withdrawing her Chakra, her gaze calm as water: "Pain can bring clarity, but more importantly, it's about seeing the path ahead. The Land of Stars might not be heaven, but here, power isn't met with suspicion, bloodline isn't coveted, and choices aren't predetermined."
"What Shura-sama seeks is to completely end this millennia-old old order, built upon fear and greed."
Her gaze swept over the youths in the courtyard.
"We, the Uzumaki Clan, the Kaguya Clan, the Yuki Clan, have all been victims of the old order. Now, we choose to take up arms, to fight for a different future for ourselves, and for all those who, like us, have been excluded and oppressed."
She looked into Shisui's eyes, her tone carrying a peculiar weight: "Shisui, you lost the eyes you took pride in, but fate has given you a new pair of eyes, and also a chance to see this world anew. The chains of Konoha, the whirlpool of the Uchiha Clan's destiny... Do you truly still want to return, to jump into that predestined outcome?"
"Why not consider relocating the entire Uchiha Clan to the Land of Stars?"
'Relocate?'
'The entire Uchiha Clan?'
'Leave Konoha?'
The impact of these words combined was even greater than the subversive remarks from before!
Shisui's head snapped up, his newly acquired Three-Tomoe Sharingan fixed intently on Kanon, trying to find any trace of a joke or test on her gentle, calm face.
There was none.
Her gaze held only straightforward seriousness and a certain profound expectation.
The mere thought was enough to horrify any member of the Uchiha Clan!
'Leave Konoha?'
'Leave the village founded jointly by Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama?'
'Leave the burial ground of our ancestors?'
'This was simply... betrayal!'
"This… is impossible!" Shisui blurted out, his voice distorted by extreme shock.
"The Uchiha Clan are a founding clan of Konoha! Our roots-"
"The roots are already rotten, Shisui." Kanon's voice was calm, yet carried the force to sever everything.
"Forcing them to stay will only cause the entire tree to wither and collapse together. Look at your current situation. Doesn't it resemble the besieged Land of Whirlpools back then? The barriers of suspicion are higher than city walls, the internal fractures more lethal than an enemy's blade."
"Danzo taking your eye was just the beginning, a clear signal. Someone among Konoha's upper-echelons is already impatient, they are about to make their move."
"You yourself should also know, even if you return to Konoha and tell the Third Hokage you were ambushed by Danzo, can you truly make Danzo pay the price?"
'Danzo!'
A phantom pain seemed to shoot through Shisui's eyes again.
Kanon's words were like a cold scalpel, precisely dissecting the naked malice behind that ambush.
Danzo's sneak attack and eye theft weren't the end, but the prelude to an eradication plan!
"Here." Kanon pointed to the ground beneath her feet, then to Kimimaro, Haku, Yukimi, and finally towards the distant, barely visible direction of the Star Ninja Academy.
"Power is the foundation of survival, a tool to forge the future, not the original sin to be feared and plundered. Kekkei Genkai are not a curse, but a talent. Shura-sama needs all forces daring enough to break the old cages. The power of the Uchiha, especially the Sharingan's power to perceive truth and manipulate minds, is crucial."
She leaned forward slightly, her voice lowering further, carrying a gravity akin to sharing a core secret: "It's fine to tell you, Shisui. The enemies we face are far more than just the Five Great Ninja Villages and those decadent Daimyos."
Her words paused slightly, a trace of gravity towards the unknown flashing in her eyes.
"There are even more distant, more terrifying threats watching the Ninja World. The old-era Ninja Village structure is nothing but a fragile sandcastle on the beach before this all-encompassing tidal wave."
'They don't even regard the Five Great Ninja Villages highly?'
'A threat greater than the Five Great Ninja Villages?'
One shocking piece of information after another fell like heavy hammers upon Shisui's already teetering mental defenses.
He felt like a small boat adrift in stormy seas… the familiar world map was being completely overturned, shattered, and reorganized by Kanon's words!
"The Land of Stars is the ark, and also the sword, forged by Lord Shura to confront all of this." Kanon's voice held an unwavering conviction.
"We need like-minded companions. The Uchiha Clan, possessing the wisdom and power of the Sharingan, if they can break free from Konoha's shackles and join us, it would be like adding wings to a tiger."
"Shisui, you have eyes that can see the truth, and a heart that yearns for peace. Your choice might change the fate of countless people, including your beloved clansmen."
She said no more, simply watching Shisui quietly, giving him time to digest this flood of immense information.
The last rays of the setting sun sank behind the distant mountains. Dusk enveloped everything, dyeing the Star City in tranquil shades of blue and purple.
A heavy silence fell over the courtyard, broken only by the faint rustling of wind through maple leaves.
Kimimaro had long stopped practicing. He, along with Haku and Yukimi, had retreated to the corridor, their gazes all fixed on the distraught Uchiha in the center of the courtyard.
Shisui stood there, like a petrified statue.
In his newly acquired eyes, the three tomoes rotated slowly, each rotation seeming to bear an immense weight.
Kanon's words reverberated and collided repeatedly in his mind.
Konoha's suspicion and cold calculations... The blatant intent to eradicate behind Danzo's eye theft... And that mysterious mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Attack... A threat greater than the Five Great Villages...
And 'Shura's' astonishing ambition to use the Land of Stars as a cornerstone to break the thousand-year structure of the Ninja World, even to confront apocalyptic disasters!
Each of these realizations was enough to overturn his past worldview.
And when these realizations struck simultaneously like a tsunami, Shisui felt that everything he had believed in, protected, and fought for over the past twenty years-
The Will of Fire, the bonds of the village, the honor of the clan-
All became completely fragile before this towering wave, disintegrating rapidly like sandcastles.
Immense bewilderment and a sense of being torn apart almost consumed him.
He didn't know how much time had passed. A cool evening breeze swept through the courtyard, carrying the faint sound of a bell from the distant Star Ninja Academy.
Shisui finally struggled free from that state of soul-searching.
He raised his head extremely slowly. Those newly acquired Three-Tomoe Sharingan gleamed with a complex, hard-to-define light in the twilight… exhaustion, shock, wavering, and a sharp, probing curiosity, as if glimpsing a new path in desperation.
The wavering, desperate situation and the sharp exploration of a new path.
"I need… time," His voice was dry and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken for a long time.
"A lot of… time-" He didn't directly respond to Kanon's proposal, but this was no longer an outright refusal.
Kanon nodded understandingly, showing no disappointment on her face, instead carrying a calmness that seemed expected: "Naturally, Shisui. Seeing the truth of the world takes time. The Land of Stars is right here. The lights of the Star City-"
She pointed out the window towards the distant town. The lights of countless homes were like stars fallen to earth, flickering on one after another in the deepening dusk, outlining the vigorous silhouette of this newborn nation.
"-will always be lit. Once you have an answer, you can come find me, or Shura-sama, at any time."
She said no more, turning and signaling to the youths under the corridor.
Kimimaro, Haku, and Yukimi silently withdrew into the house, leaving Shisui alone standing in the center of the courtyard.
The night wind grew cooler, carrying the unique, wild and free aura of the Land of Stars.
Shisui slowly raised the hand that Kanon had just healed. The new skin was smooth, no scar visible.
He clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it, feeling the strength flowing through his veins.
He raised his newly acquired Sharingan towards the vast night sky.
On the horizon, the silhouette of a full moon hung there, its clear, bright and clear radiance unchanging since ancient times.
And beneath it, the spark that was the Star City dared to attempt to ignite the entire Ninja World!