Chapter 35: The Masked Man's Shadow
[Tobirama Senju: The conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village? What's going on here? You two had better explain yourselves to me!]
The conversation between Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui made Tobirama Senju realize that something was amiss. All he knew before was that a guy named Uchiha Itachi had wiped out his clan! But he didn't know why the other party would do something as heinous as betraying their own kin. It seemed there was more to this story!
[Uchiha Fugaku: It's just the literal meaning. There's nothing more to say.]
[Notification: Uchiha Fugaku has been successfully muted by Tobirama Senju for 30 minutes!]
[Tobirama Senju: You, the one named Shisui, tell me!]
[Uchiha Shisui: ...]
[Uchiha Kagami: Shisui, just tell Tobirama-sensei what you know. I also want to know what exactly happened to the Uchiha clan back then.]
[Uchiha Shisui: Grandfather!]
[Tobirama Senju: Grandfather? Kagami, is this young man your grandson?]
[Uchiha Kagami: Yes, Tobirama-sensei.]
[Tobirama Senju: That's perfect. Shisui, you tell us what you think.]
[Uchiha Shisui: This all started on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack.]
[Uchiha Shisui: After the Nine-Tails' rampage, our Uchiha clan was expelled to the outskirts of the village by the Konoha higher-ups under a pretext. This angered the clan members who were already dissatisfied with the village...]
Uchiha Shisui quickly recounted the grudges and conflicts between the Uchiha clan and the Konoha leadership. At the same time, he told Tobirama Senju about his and Uchiha Itachi's positions and choices. This made Tobirama Senju look at these two juniors with new respect.
However, what Uchiha Shisui knew ended when he jumped into the Naka River. He knew nothing about Uchiha Itachi's subsequent massacre of the clan!
[Uchiha Shisui: Second Hokage, Grandfather, although I don't know why Itachi chose that path, I believe in him. At that time, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the Konoha leadership had reached an irreconcilable point. If war broke out, regardless of the outcome, the village would be utterly destroyed!]
[Uchiha Kagami: Child, these past years have truly been difficult for you.]
[Uchiha Shisui: I'm fine. But regarding Itachi, perhaps only Clan Head Fugaku knows.]
[Tobirama Senju: That kid is too stubborn; he definitely won't tell.]
[Uchiha Mikoto: Actually, you've all misunderstood Fugaku. When Itachi chose to become an enemy of his own clan, Fugaku had the ability to stop him; he also possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan. But... in the end, he still chose to stand with Itachi.]
[Uchiha Shisui: What? Clan Head Fugaku actually approved of Itachi's choice?]
Uchiha Shisui could hardly believe it. As the head of the Uchiha clan and the most trusted leader of his people, Uchiha Fugaku had actually chosen self-destruction at the last moment!
[Uchiha Mikoto: Yes. Actually, that night, the moment Itachi stepped into the clan's territory with a sharp blade in his hand, Fugaku sensed the killing intent emanating from him...]
As tears streamed down her face, Uchiha Mikoto relived the nightmare that had unfolded that night in the Uchiha clan's territory.
After a while, the entire live stream room fell silent. Perhaps no one had expected that Uchiha Fugaku would make that choice at the end, all for the sake of the bigger picture. Not only did he push his son into an abyss, but he also burdened him with a lifetime of infamy, further cementing his reputation as a sinner in the eyes of the Uchiha clan for all time.
[Notification: Uchiha Fugaku's mute has been lifted by Tobirama Senju ahead of schedule!]
Tobirama Senju silently lifted Uchiha Fugaku's mute. However, after the ban was lifted, Uchiha Fugaku did not say another word.
But at this moment, another member of the Uchiha clan suddenly spoke up, revealing another secret about the night of the Uchiha massacre!
[Uchiha Izumi: Itachi wasn't the only one who wiped out the Uchiha clan that night; there was also a masked man.]
[Minato Namikaze: The Masked Man?]
[Uchiha Shisui: Izumi, what's going on?]
[Uchiha Izumi: Brother Shisui, that masked man should also be a member of the Uchiha clan. I saw that he had a Sharingan and could use a very troublesome space-time ninjutsu. He not only killed everyone in the guard unit, but he also took me to the grove next door and did that kind of thing to me!]
[Uchiha Shisui: The grove? That kind of thing?]
[Uchiha Izumi: Yeah, he gouged out my Sharingan in the grove and then killed me.]
[Uchiha Shisui: Oh, I see. I thought he did that to you!]
[Uchiha Izumi: ...]
[Minato Namikaze: Uchiha Izumi, I'm asking you, does that masked man's space-time ninjutsu make him immune to all attacks? Like a ghost, but his attacks still manage to hit you?]
[Uchiha Izumi: Yes.]
[Minato Namikaze: It really was him. I never imagined the annihilation of the Uchiha clan was related to him.]
[Uchiha Shisui: Fourth Hokage, what do you mean by that?]
[Minato Namikaze: Actually, when the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha, the guy who released it was this masked man.]