Swoosh!
A kunai flew out and struck dead center on the distant target.
Thud thud thud…
The sound beside him made Yun's momentary pride vanish, face darkened. Seriously, do all ninjas in this world come with built-in aimbots?
Holding three kunai in one hand and hitting the bullseye with all of them, at different starting angles, was just ridiculous. And then thinking about Rock Lee's reverse triple kick during the Chūnin Exams, twelve years from now.
"So-called geniuses only exist to crush your self-esteem."
Itachi said nothing, simply pulled out more kunai and continued practicing his ricochet throws.
Swoosh!
Appearing in a blur, Shisui smiled, "Didn't want to learn when Itachi asked you before. Now your confidence's shaken, huh?"
Yun shook his head. "Without your borderline psychotic calculation skills, learning this is pointless. By the time I figure out the trajectory, my head would already be rolling on the ground."
'What's the point of this technique anyway?'
'Be like Danzo poking Susanoo with a kunai—poke all day, and he still won't break its defense. Normal ninjas are high attack, low defense.'
'Top-tier ninjas all drive Gundams, either Susanoo, Tailed Beast, or Wood Golem. What's a shuriken supposed to do then?'
'And who knows if the Moon rebellion has already started? The Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion can cut the Moon in half. Everyone's a walking cheat code.'
…..
In the forest behind the training field, Yun, Shisui, and Itachi stood atop the branches, gazing out at Konoha.
"Life dies. Life fights. Life… also clusters together."
Itachi muttered to himself, teetering on the edge of another existential spiral.
Yun glanced at him and said, "I heard you awakened your Sharingan when Fugaku died last year. A five-and-a-half-year-old genius… can I dig out your eyes for myself?"
Shisui blinked in surprise. Even stoic Itachi looked over like he was staring at an idiot.
"Everyone has their own talents. The flaw of human nature is only noticing what others have, while ignoring what they've lost."
Yun continued, "When disparities appear, jealousy naturally follows. Life is about living. Death is inevitable. People group together to live better lives."
He looked at Itachi. "I remember you were rambling about 'what it means to be a shinobi' and 'the purpose of the village' a while ago, right?"
"After the Warring States Period, the First Hokage founded Konoha to stop wars. What about the other clans, the Hyūga, Sarutobi, Shimura, and Ino-Shika-Chō? Why did they join Konoha?"
Shisui thought for a moment and said, "Because everyone was tired of fighting? I read somewhere that during the Warring States Period, the average life expectancy was terrifyingly low. Everyone must've been tired of war."
Itachi nodded in agreement. "To resolve hatred through dialogue, uniting clans into one village… The First Hokage is truly the God of Shinobi."
Yun, tired from sticking to the tree trunk, sat down and shook his head slightly. "No. They just wanted to survive."
"Survive?!"
Yun elaborated, "When a single man can wipe out a village or annihilate a country in half a day, even factoring in travel time, those who didn't join were destined for destruction."
"The First Hokage was an idealist. But his rival, Uchiha Madara, wasn't exactly the reasonable type."
"One hand held a shuriken, the other a dango skewer—one asked nicely, the other was ready to wipe out your entire bloodline. Obey and you get dango. Disobey, and you get beaten into submission."
"After the village was founded, it only took a few years before the lower-ranking ninjas grew tired of war. Gradually, everyone started identifying themselves as Konoha clans."
Then Yun looked at Shisui and asked, "Do you know why the gaps between the First, Second, and Third Shinobi World Wars were so short, yet the time between Konoha's founding and the First War was relatively long?"
Shisui shook his head. Itachi also fell into thought.
Yun explained, "Because when the First was alive, his power alone was the pillar of peace in the ninja world. If he said no fighting, everyone had to sit down and talk."
Then Yun turned to Shisui. "Strength is the foundation for equal dialogue. One reason the Uchiha clan still exists is the Fourth Hokage. The other… is you, Shisui, wielder of Mangekyō Sharingan, like our ancestor Madara."
Shisui's eyes activated, spinning with three tomoe. "The Fourth wants to find a chance to talk to the Uchiha, but the friction between the villagers and the clan…"
Yun shook his head. "Having the Uchiha exclusively run the police force was never a good idea. Pride from the family name, combined with the Uchiha's naturally arrogant tone, only distanced them from Konoha."
"The police force became the Uchiha's private turf. Naturally, no one else cared about our struggles."
"The Uchiha never aligned with Konoha's noble clans nor fully submitted to the Hokage. And now, after alienating the commoners…"
At that point, Yun fell silent. So did Shisui and Itachi.
Shisui pondered everything Yun had said. The Uchiha's current state really was the result of the Second Hokage's deliberate planning. The Third inherited that mindset. And Danzo, another of the Second's students, represented the dark side of Konoha.
Only the Fourth remained…
On the other hand, Itachi looked at both of them. 'Was the village and clan really like Yun said?'
"Though you're only six, I've been amazed by your insight for the past half year. Yun, if it were you… What would you do?"
Yun looked at both of them. "Is this a request? If so, then both of you owe me a favor."
Shisui smiled. "If there's anything I can help with, I'd be happy to. Want to learn a new jutsu?"
Even cold-faced Itachi nodded. Though Yun didn't seem to be the most talented among their peers, his perspectives were worth learning from.
Yun shook his head slightly. "This isn't about ninjutsu. It concerns the future of our entire clan."
"Shisui… become the Uchiha clan leader. Only by doing so can you represent the clan in aligning with the Fourth Hokage; he's the only one who didn't inherit the Second's ideology."
"Give up the military police force, or let everyone in the village join it. Reintegrate the Uchiha into Konoha's noble faction, and stand with the Fourth."
"That's my solution."
Shisui shook his head slightly. "It's not that easy. The second and third elders are still…"
Yun cut him off. "The Mangekyō Sharingan! You're known for genjutsu and body flicker techniques. So what is your Mangekyō's ability?"