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"After learning about my Sharingan ability, Shimura Danzo secretly asked me to meet and attacked me when I was unprepared, gouging out one of my eyes."
A trace of pain appeared on Shisui's face as he recalled that day.
"In the end, he and the ninjas from Root surrounded me. I had no choice but to give the other Mangekyō Sharingan to my friend, Uchiha Itachi," Shisui sighed and continued. "But what I didn't expect was that Itachi would actually raise his blade against his own clan members. That was something I could never have imagined."
Shisui clenched his fists, his voice full of anger and disappointment. "My original intention was to use Kotoamatsukami's ability to ease the tension between the Uchiha clan and Konoha, but Itachi obviously misunderstood my intentions!"
Shisui shook his head and sighed.
"Indeed, with the ability of Kotoamatsukami, you could have directly controlled Sarutobi Hiruzen, and all problems would have been solved. After all, Danzo's power wasn't as great as the Hokage's," Nara Shikaku pondered aloud, then nodded in agreement.
He frowned, unable to understand Itachi's actions in this matter. It was such a simple solution—how could a genius like Uchiha Itachi not think of it? Even as Konoha's strategist, Shikaku found it difficult to guess Itachi's reasoning.
"So, the matter of Shisui's death is settled, and now we move on to the truth behind the Uchiha clan's extermination," Sasuke said, continuing from where Shisui left off. He took a deep breath and began to explain. "According to the information I've gathered, Uchiha Itachi was always a double agent between the Uchiha clan and the Anbu. After Shisui's death, the conflict between the Uchiha and the village intensified. In the end, Itachi chose to side with the village and brutally murdered his own family.
"Not only that, but during the mission to exterminate the clan, Itachi also collaborated with a mysterious organization from another village. As far as I know, this organization consists of a group of S-rank rogue ninjas, and their leader even possesses the legendary Rinnegan!"
Hearing this shocking revelation, everyone present showed looks of astonishment.
"All members are S-rank rogues?!"
"That means they're all at least jonin-level, if not Kage-level, in strength."
"The Rinnegan?! Is it the legendary Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths?"
As one of the three great dōjutsu in the ninja world, they were already familiar with the power of the Sharingan and the Byakugan, but they knew almost nothing about the Rinnegan, except that it was the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. They had thought the Rinnegan was just a legend, but now they were learning that it actually existed!
"And Uchiha Itachi made a deal with Sarutobi Hiruzen," Sasuke continued. "Itachi went undercover in this organization."
"Everyone knows the final result. Uchiha Itachi and the ninjas from that organization brutally massacred the Uchiha clan. Men, women, young and old all died at their hands. In the end, even all the Sharingan were taken away by that despicable Shimura Danzo. His goal was to obtain the power of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan."
"It's ironic that the one who despised the Uchiha the most was actually the one who coveted their power the most," Sasuke said, his mouth curling into a sarcastic smile. Shimura Danzo, who publicly decried the Uchiha as evil, was actually just jealous of their power. Otherwise, he wouldn't have cooperated with Orochimaru and implanted so many Sharingan into his own body. He even grafted Senju Hashirama's cells onto himself. Isn't that grotesque?
"The conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha dates back to the era of the Second Hokage. During his tenure, the Second Hokage consistently targeted the Uchiha clan," Sasuke continued. "As his disciples, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo inherited his mindset and continued to target the Uchiha clan until the end. They could have prevented this tragedy themselves, but they would rather force the Uchiha clan into rebellion than live in harmony with them."
"Do they think that we Uchiha are unworthy of being members of Konoha?"
Hearing Sasuke's words, everyone present couldn't help but reflect on the situation.
"Yes, if the Konoha leadership had set aside their prejudices, all of this could have been avoided. But unfortunately..." Nara Shikaku sighed.
After all, Konoha was founded by the Uchiha and Senju clans. Without Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, the world might still be in the era of warring clans.
Sasuke continued, "Sometimes I wonder if Konoha has become too comfortable. Otherwise, why would they have nothing better to do than target the ninjas in their own village?"
"In other countries, they would go to great lengths to protect their genius ninjas, but Konoha is different."
"All the genius ninjas are either dead or have defected."
"Among them, we have to mention Kakashi's father—Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo."
At this point, Sasuke looked at Kakashi, signaling that it was his turn. Kakashi nodded, his expression complicated.
"I believe everyone here has heard of my father, Konoha's White Fang, but I'll start by telling you the story about him," Kakashi said. "My father, Hatake Sakumo, was vilified by the villagers for abandoning a mission to save his comrades during the war. Even the comrades he saved turned against him, and in the end, he couldn't bear the ostracism and chose to take his own life."
"At the time, I was still young and didn't understand why the mission was so important that it led to the entire village condemning him."
"But recently, I realized that the truth behind this incident had nothing to do with the mission itself."
Kakashi's voice was calm, but beneath that calmness was a simmering anger.
"Because when I went to investigate the specifics of that mission, I found that there was no record of it in the mission files!"
Hearing Kakashi's words, Nara Shikaku, with his sharp intellect, had already grasped Kakashi's implication. If there was no record of that mission in the archives, then there was no way to determine how significant it really was—significant enough to drive a Kage-level ninja to suicide. But if the mission was so important, and if word of it had spread throughout Konoha, there was only one possibility...
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