The moment news of the Kaguya Clan and Akayama Clan rebellions spread across the shinobi world, it swept through it like a storm.
Virtually every shinobi village was talking about it.
Compared to the Uchiha Clan rebellion back then, the scale of discussion was no less intense.
And among all those discussions, four people were mentioned most often.
The first was Rasa.
Before this, most people in the shinobi world had looked at Rasa and thought he was merely a Kazekage promoted by force.
A man lacking the true bearing of a Kazekage.
He had only risen because the Third Kazekage had suddenly gone missing.
But now, their view of Rasa had changed.
"He's not only strong—he also knows how to hide his capabilities and bide his time. That proves Rasa has both power and brains. Otherwise, he could never have resolved the Akayama Clan affair so easily."
"Using himself as bait to lure the Akayama Clan in... that's not something just anyone can pull off."
"After all, the Akayama Clan wasn't stupid."
At that point, people began bringing up the second person at the center of the discussion.
"Besides Rasa, Akayama Hyena also played an extremely important role in tricking the Akayama Clan into taking the bait."
"A member of the Akayama Clan, yet he chose not to stand with his family and instead sided with the village. You have to admit—Akayama Hyena is quite something."
Many people sneered at Akayama Hyena.
In their view, clan came first.
Even if one's clan was in the wrong, blood still came before justice.
But Akayama Hyena had made the exact opposite choice.
Others held a different opinion.
"What's wrong with Akayama Hyena?"
"Was he supposed to follow the Akayama Clan to his death just because they rebelled?"
"It wasn't Rasa who targeted them first. The Akayama Clan sold Sunagakure's intelligence to Kirigakure, got found out, and then rebelled only because they feared the village's punishment."
"Akayama Hyena simply did the right thing. The just thing."
Some looked at Akayama Hyena with open contempt.
"If it weren't for Akayama Hyena, the Akayama Clan would never have been wiped out. He's a traitor to his clan!"
Others immediately shot back.
"If it weren't for Akayama Hyena, the Akayama Clan wouldn't even have any bloodline left to pass on."
Suddenly, those voices lowered.
Because a very special figure was approaching from the opposite direction.
An Uchiha.
At a time like this, the overwhelming majority of Uchiha stayed behind closed doors.
Other than necessary errands, they remained inside the compound.
They were not prisoners—yet they lived no differently from prisoners.
Among them, Uchiha Shisui went out more often than most.
Because besides being an Uchiha, he still held a position in Konoha.
A position personally assigned by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The people of Konoha had a somewhat better impression of Uchiha Shisui than they did of the other Uchiha.
Partly because of how he had behaved since childhood.
Though a genius, he had never flaunted his talent.
Toward companions and villagers alike, he had always been mild and respectful.
And partly because of those words spoken by "Uchiha Xuan" back then.
"Uchiha Xuan" had used his own death to win a sliver of sympathy for the Uchiha Clan.
And most of that sympathy had fallen onto Uchiha Shisui.
An "innocent" Uchiha.
An Uchiha similar to Uchiha Kagami of the past.
With his head lowered, Uchiha Shisui walked past.
As he listened to the people of Konoha around him, doubts began to rise in his heart.
When they spoke of the Akayama Clan, some sided with the clan while others sided with Sunagakure.
But when they spoke of the Uchiha, not a single one of them stood with the Uchiha.
All of them believed the Uchiha were the ones at fault.
"Then was my choice to side with the village... truly right, or truly wrong?"
"Akayama Hyena... what were your thoughts?"
At that moment, a powerful impulse surged up inside Uchiha Shisui.
He almost wanted to go straight to Sunagakure, find Akayama Hyena in person, and ask what he had truly been thinking.
…
Inside the Uchiha compound,
Uchiha Fugaku shook his head.
"Just look at these Konoha people. The Akayama Clan sold out Sunagakure's intelligence, and even then some of them still stand with the Akayama Clan. They say Akayama Hyena was wrong, that abandoning his clan makes him worse than a beast."
"But what about us Uchiha?"
"We didn't betray the village. We were only targeted by it again and again."
"And yet not a single person in Konoha says Father was wrong. Not one says Father is worse than a beast."
"Father also chose the village and abandoned his clan."
Uchiha Fugaku let out a sigh.
The Uchiha living in exile outside Konoha also expressed obvious disgust toward Akayama Hyena.
"That Akayama Hyena is hardly human!"
"He abandoned his kin and betrayed his clan."
"Just like those Uchiha still in Konoha."
"No—those Uchiha in Konoha are even more beastly than Akayama Hyena!"
"At least the Akayama Clan sold out Sunagakure first."
"But what exactly did our Uchiha ever do to wrong Konoha?"
An Uchiha came up to Uchiha Yashiro.
"Yashiro-sama, should we form an alliance with the Kaguya Clan?"
"They're another shinobi clan forced to defect because of the village higher-ups. Their strength is also quite respectable. If we allied with them, our combined strength would become much greater."
Uchiha Yashiro thought for a while, then shook his head.
"An alliance would indeed strengthen us... but it would also bring us a new enemy."
"Facing both Konoha and Kirigakure at the same time would put us under far too much pressure."
"But the Kaguya Clan really is impressive."
"They did better than our Uchiha did back then."
"They actually managed to leave the Third Mizukage gravely wounded."
A smile appeared on Uchiha Yashiro's face.
Even if the Uchiha had no grudge with the Third Mizukage, in Yashiro's eyes, the Mizukage stood in the same position as Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Both were shameless village higher-ups.
"Especially that Kaguya Mirror."
"An elderly genin who sacrificed himself, wrapped himself in explosive tags, and delivered a crushing blow to the Third Mizukage. If not for Kaguya Mirror, the Kaguya Clan would never have been able to grievously wound the Third Mizukage afterward."
"Worthy of sharing the same name as Mirror-senpai."
That, precisely, was why Hiruzen's expression had darkened.
Kaguya Mirror was the fourth person frequently brought up in the current discussions—alongside Rasa, the Third Mizukage, and Akayama Hyena.
A mere genin had rushed the Third Mizukage and detonated himself.
It was too shocking.
In the eyes of many, Kaguya Mirror was a hero.
A hero who had sacrificed himself for his clan.
"Kaguya Mirror deserves respect!"
"A hero among ordinary shinobi!"
But just as Uchiha Yashiro had done, because Kaguya Mirror shared the same name as Uchiha Kagami's "Mirror," some people naturally began comparing the two.
One had been a genius, yet died in utter silence.
The other had been ordinary, yet died magnificently.
And that caused Rasa's points to surge upward once again.
Then suddenly, they stopped.
Rasa froze for a moment, then quickly realized why.
"The point cap has been reached."
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