196 Chapter 193 : Dilemma - Emotional or Rational Choice?

Fujin had completed his morning workout and was about to enter the basement when he heard the doorbell. He checked and opened the door and said, "Hey Mieko. Come in."

Mieko entered his house. Fujin noticed, 'Hmm, she is uncharacteristically silent. And her mood seems down.'

He asked, "What's up?"

Mieko said, "I won't be able to come for missions for some time."

Fujin could feel the sadness in her voice. He wondered, 'What's up with her? I haven't seen her so down until now…'

He asked, "Why? Did something happen?"

As he asked her, he could see tears forming in her eyes. Fujin sighed in his mind and helped her take a seat. He also grabbed some water for her to drink.

Mieko drank the water and said, "Shisui died. Mother said that he committed suicide."

Fujin's eyes widened. He thought, 'So it's time?'

Fujin knew that Shisui had mentored Mieko at some point in the past. She had stated about learning the Body Flicker jutsu from him.

Fujin said, "That is sad news. Were the two of you close?"

Mieko nodded, "We didn't hang out much for the last couple of years, but he used to mentor me a lot before it. He taught me Fire Dragon jutsu and Body Flicker jutsu…"

Mieko continued talking about Shisui for over 5 minutes. Fujin just patiently listened to her while sitting next to her.

After she was done, both sat silently for a minute. Finally, Mieko got up and said, "Could you tell Teru and Hoka that I won't be able to come for missions?"

Fujin nodded and said, "Don't worry. I'll tell them."

Mieko thanked him and left. Fujin saw her leaving his home and involuntarily said, "Mieko."

Mieko turned around and asked, "Yes?"

Fujin sighed and asked, "Would you like to go on missions to take your mind off this?"

Mieko was happy that Fujin asked her this. However, she said, "No. My parents instructed me to not go on any missions for some time. But thanks for asking Fujin."

Fujin thought, 'They instructed? I see. They want her to participate in the coup. So every Uchiha ninja should be called back using the excuse of Shisui's death. No wonder there wasn't any Uchiha survivor other than Sasuke!''

He said, "Alright then. Take care."

Mieko nodded and left.

Fujin saw her leaving and sighed. He closed his door and muttered, "I ended up asking her that."

He sat down as he thought, 'When I realized that I was in the Naruto world, I decided that I won't form any relationships or be emotionally attached to anyone. I decided that I won't even make a lot of friends and won't be emotionally attached to any that I make.

After all, this is the dangerous world of deadly ninjas. And I know for a fact that at least 80% of all ninjas would die in the 4th Great Ninja War. This means that any friend I have will have an 80% chance to die before I reach 22 years of age. Meaning that unless I'm lucky or become insanely strong to protect everyone I care about, every 4 out of 5 friends of mine will die in the next 10 years.

So getting emotionally attached to them could result in me breaking down similar to how Kakashi broke down after the 3rd war. And I don't want to suffer emotionally like him or hundreds of others who went through the same shit that he did in this world.'

Fujin stopped thinking for a few seconds before letting out another sigh, 'Unfortunately, though my plan was right, I didn't take human nature into account. Due to having spent so much time with them, I guess I have become quite fond of Renjiro, Mieko and Hoka. Maybe Teru and Genji as well. Looks like I am not as emotionless as I want to be.'

He chuckled and continued introspecting, 'Fortunately, it hasn't reached a stage where I would do something crazy for them. But, leaving my emotions aside, is there anything I could do for Mieko?'

Fujin began thinking. After a while, he concluded, 'There are only two ways to directly get involved. One would be to stop Itachi and Obito head-on. Another would be to convince Hiruzen to lift the restrictions on Uchiha and reintegrate them into Konoha.

Unfortunately, the first option is pure suicide. I don't know if I can be strong enough to face either of them 10 years from now. If I do anything right now, I'll just die pointlessly. As for the second option, even that is very pointless. All it will do is expose the fact that I know about the coup Uchiha has planned and attract suspicions from all the elders and Hiruzen himself.

The attention would mean that I could be watched in the future and my freedom will get restricted. Not to mention, I have no confidence in being able to convince them to integrate Uchiha back into Konoha. After all, I doubt Hiruzen wants to see something like this happen and he still hasn't been able to do anything to stop it.

So my only reasonable option is to only save Mieko. And the only way to do it would be to force her to go on a mission against her parents' wishes. Could I do it? And what would be the risks?'

Fujin began analyzing again. After a while, he concluded, 'I might be able to make her go on a mission with us. If I choose a long mission that would take us around a month to complete, she will stay out of Konoha when the massacre happens.

As for the risks, there are two critical risks. The first is Danzo. If he is insistent on eliminating all Uchihas, he could send his Root agents to kill any Uchiha out of Konoha. If he does, we will have to confront them. And I am not confident about my team's chances against them. Especially if he sends a squad of only Jounin-level Root agents.

The other risk is Mieko herself. Assuming we stay safe and return to Konoha, there are two possibilities I see with her. The favorable possibility for me is that the trauma caused by the news of the death of her parents and her clan makes her awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. Assuming that she still has a crush on me, she could be a great asset to have as a friend as long as she doesn't go crazy.

Though Danzo may want to have her in that case, I doubt Hiruzen would allow him that. After all, though the elimination of the Uchiha clan could be considered a great feat for Danzo, it is also the death of his political career. Hiruzen won't let go of such an opportunity. I know that he will shut down the root, but with my few interactions with that old fox, I am sure that he will do a lot more. I'm guessing that he inducted a majority of Danzo's Root ninjas into Anbu and only left Danzo's most faithful subordinates with him in case Hiruzen ever needs Root's help in the future.

However, the chances of awakening Mangekyou are infinitesimally low. The more likely possibility is that she will reach 3 Tomoe Sharingan. And that would make her a huge threat. After all, Uchiha's Stone Tablet states that they should kill the person closest to them to awaken Mangekyou. If Mieko reads that, I'll have to forever watch my back around her if she considers me the one closest to her.'

Fujin began deciding his course of action. He struggled for a long time between his emotional and rational mind. Finally, rational thoughts won over emotions as he decided, 'I need to stop being emotional. Though I would like to see Mieko stay alive, I shouldn't be putting my life and future in grave danger for her. After all, the events that will play out will be controlled by forces far beyond my capabilities.'

He made two shadow clones to deliver the message to Hoka and Teru. Fujin thought, 'It's unfortunate, but I always knew that this was about to happen. And there is nothing I can do to stop this. Now, it's time to put the plan into action. I wonder who has the body of the Grand Priest. Is it with Sora or Akihiko or did they hand it to Fugaku?'

To avoid constantly thinking of Mieko and having a change of heart, Fujin began planning to get the Zankoku's body from the Uchihas.

[A/N : Additional chapter on Sunday if the fic gets 1000 Power Stones.]

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