Chapter 402: The Story from Another Perspective
Shisui was recounting the Nine-Tails incident.
Satsuki wasn't unfamiliar with this event. She'd already learned the truth about the Tailed Beasts from Naruto—how for thousands of years, humans had used and imprisoned their power, viewing them as weapons and symbols of disaster rather than as beings with emotions and will.
Until Naruto's generation.
"The Tailed Beast's seal is at its weakest when the jinchuriki gives birth... The person who pushed the Uchiha clan toward the abyss saw this opportunity precisely."
Shisui's voice was steeped in lingering bitterness. "I don't know what channel he used to learn about the Fourth Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Kushina's due date, but he chose that night to strike."
If the Nine-Tails' rampage had merely been an accident caused by a loosened seal, then the Uchiha clan would have suffered a complete and utter injustice.
However, the cruel truth was—Konoha's suspicions at the time weren't entirely unreasonable.
"The Sharingan pattern in the Nine-Tails' eyes... confirmed it was being controlled by a genjutsu at that time." Shisui's voice was heavy. "Therefore, Konoha's leadership determined the culprit was within the Uchiha. After that, the entire clan was relocated to the village outskirts, placed under strict surveillance and guard."
"Wait a minute!"
Satsuki suddenly interrupted, her face changing drastically. "You're saying... the one who controlled the Nine-Tails and killed Naruto's parents... was an Uchiha clan member?" Her voice trembled slightly. "It wasn't slander? It wasn't someone framing the Uchiha?"
Shisui was silent for a moment before slowly nodding.
He understood Satsuki's shock and resistance. He himself had once been indignant and resentful, suspecting whether someone had deliberately used the Sharingan to frame the Uchiha. However—
Several years ago, on the day of Konoha's Crush Plan, when Shisui was supporting Konoha... he'd encountered that very culprit.
He'd struck again. This time, he controlled the One-Tail Shukaku and attacked Konoha.
If not for Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchuriki at that time, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
"That was definitely Mangekyo Sharingan ocular power fluctuations... I couldn't have been mistaken. That masked bastard... really was an Uchiha clan member."
He looked at Satsuki somewhat confused—after he nodded in confirmation, her face had become somewhat fearful, even unconsciously retreating half a step.
Just then, the silent Menma stepped forward, gently patting Satsuki's shoulder.
He didn't speak, only nodded at her. This was a gesture of trust.
The tense line of Satsuki's shoulders relaxed slightly. She took a deep breath, straightened her body again, and continued waiting for Shisui's account.
"After the entire clan was relocated to the village outskirts, discontent within the Uchiha began fermenting day by day."
"Most clan members refused to believe the one who controlled the Nine-Tails could be one of their own. They firmly believed the entire matter was a fabricated charge by Konoha's leadership to suppress the Uchiha—nothing more than an excuse to drive the clan from the center of power and reduce our resources and status."
"For the proud Uchiha, this was unbearable humiliation. So... the hawks within the clan at that time proposed a plan."
Shisui paused for a moment, his fingers unconsciously clenching. "A plan... to use military force to launch a coup d'état and completely seize control of Konoha."
Fugaku closed his eyes, that heavy melancholy wrapping around his brow once more. Those days... the clan was in uproar, war-mongering voices spreading like wildfire.
As clan head, he'd spent each day mediating between appeasement and suppression, exhausted physically and mentally, yet still able to feel that uncontrolled undercurrent growing increasingly turbulent.
"Clan Head Fugaku did everything to pacify the clan members while desperately waiting for a turning point... But everyone knew that given the situation then, being unable to completely suppress this plan was only a matter of time."
"However, no one expected... a turning point actually came."
Shisui's gaze fell on Satsuki.
"And that turning point—was you, Uchiha Satsuki."
"...Me?"
Satsuki froze, her face filled with disbelief. Back then she hadn't even entered the ninja academy yet. How could a child possibly become the clan's "turning point"?
"Because at that time, you established contact with another key figure, even became friends. That person was—the Fourth Hokage's son, Uzumaki Naruto."
Satsuki's breathing caught slightly.
She'd never imagined... those childhood memories of meeting Naruto, gradually drawing closer, would become the clan's turning point?
"Uzumaki Naruto, as the Hokage's son and Nine-Tails vessel, was destined to become the core of Konoha's future government. But precisely because he was the Nine-Tails container, Uchiha clan members shouldn't have had contact with him."
"But at that time, the Third Hokage gave the Uchiha an opportunity." Shisui's gaze turned to Fugaku. "He privately approached Clan Head Fugaku, stating he wouldn't interfere with your relationship with Naruto, but had one condition—you absolutely couldn't bring Naruto into Uchiha territory, nor let him have contact with other Uchiha clan members."
"This was a test. If your relationship with Naruto could continue, the Uchiha clan might eventually use this bond to return to the village's center..."
"But all of this—"
Shisui's voice suddenly dropped, anger and incomprehension suppressed for years surging in his eyes.
"Was destroyed."
"The clan head's daughter having a close relationship with the Nine-Tails jinchuriki... The hawks saw an 'opportunity' in this." He almost ground his teeth saying these words. "They began spreading a new plan—"
"Use the clan head's daughter to lure Uzumaki Naruto into Uchiha territory."
"Then, use the Sharingan's power to completely control the Nine-Tails. With this... launch a coup and seize power."
Satsuki's face turned pale bit by bit.
"...Wait a minute." She interrupted softly, her voice trembling.
But Shisui didn't stop.
"The voices supporting this plan grew louder and louder... The rebellious sentiment the clan head had worked so hard to suppress was once again ignited by ambition."
"At that time, Itachi and I, as double agents, revealed this plan to Konoha's leadership... But among them, someone who harbored deep malice toward the Uchiha exploited this intelligence."
"His name was—"
"I said wait!"
Satsuki suddenly shouted, her voice sharply cutting through the stone chamber's silence.
Her face had lost all color, pupils slightly contracted, chest rising and falling with rapid breathing. Her fingers clutched tightly at the hem of her clothes, as though she needed all her strength just to stand steady.
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