Conflicting Loyalty: Difference between revisions

** {{spoiler|Uh there was proof. Itachi had no choice but to execute the clan after the negotiations with the Third Hokage failed. Only Madara-the [[Complete Monster]] [[Big Bad]] claims the Uchiha were oppressed.}}

** Actually {{spoiler|This was affirmed by Danzo, who tried to [[Hannibal Lecture]] Sasuke for "wasting" Itachi sacrifice, from being a failure as a Ninja (who are [[Hypocrite|selfless, replaceable tools]]) and declaring that without the Uchiha genocide there would have been a 4th Ninja war. [[Shut UP, Hannibal|It didn't stick]] and that the Nidaime Hokage ''did'' snub the Uchiha Clan because [[Feuding Families|Senju prejudice]]. The entire [[Complete Monster]], Villany of the Uchiha is in fact [[Fanon]] from haters of the Uchihas (especially Sasuke)}}. This show also in Sasuke, who had the loyalty of his brother wishes against his Clan desire. [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|He]] [[My Master, Right or Wrong|chose]] [[It's Personal|the latter]].

* ''[[Le Chevalier d'Eon]]'' has this as a ''major'' theme. Events really start unravelling around the topic of loyalty to an individual versus loyalty to a cause, or when loyalty to "king and country" ends up as two conflicting loyalties. {{spoiler|The first event to really drive this home is when Durand - an unconditionally loyal secret agent - is ordered by his king to kill his friends to protect a state secret. This screws him up enough to nearly get him killed. In the end, he insists on protecting his friends while still trying to have it both ways. A villain later tries to persuade Durand to join him by calling him out on it, asking why Durand would serve a king who would give him such an order. Even then, Durand doesn't give in.}}

* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', Suzaku Kururugi is Japanese by birth, and only wants to protect his country - and is working in the military of [[The Empire]] that invaded it. And then there are his loyalties to the people he cares about, many of whom are at various points on opposite sides of the conflict. And then there's his personal ideology...

* ''[[Temeraire]]'': At the end of ''Empire of Ivory'', {{spoiler|the British government has sent a dragon infected with a highly contagious disease to France, where it will infect Napoleon's dragons -- and from where the disease will likely spread and kill off most of the dragons in the world. [[Officer and a Gentleman|Laurence]] and Temeraire bring Napoleon the cure, an act of treason against Great Britain. Then Laurence [[Honor Before Reason|goes back to England, fully intending to let them hang him for it.]]}}

* ''[[The Assassins of Tamurin]]'': Lale is torn between loyalty to her [[Cult]] mother and her lover after she [[Becoming the Mask|becomes the mask]].

* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[Warhammer 40000]] [[Horus Heresy]] novel ''Horus Rising'', Loken's distaste for lodges springs from the conflicting loyalties and secrecy entailed.

* ''[[Daisy Miller]]'': Winterbourne must choose between Daisy (Rome's local [[Strange Girl]] who has caught his eye) and the approval of his peers (who scorn her for being a [[Good Bad Girl|shameless flirt]]).

* The ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series has Axel. Although he apparently suffers from [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]] and has no issues with being a [[Double Reverse Quadruple Agent]] when necessary, he's shown some capacity to be conflicted in which side to stick with:

** In ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days|Kingdom Hearts 358 Days Over 2]]'', Axel's friendship with Roxas and Xion conflicts with {{spoiler|his orders by the Organization to [[Let's You and Him Fight|"let things run their natural course"]] }}. Even his {{spoiler|friendship with the pair suffers from this trope, as he comes to realize that only one of them can survive, and one of them has to perish to ensure the survival of the other}}.

* In ''[[Yggdra Union]]'', Nessiah's first prerogative may be to ensure the safety and growth of the Gran Centurio, but he's also implied to care fairly deeply for the Imperial Army. When forced to choose between {{spoiler|protecting the Imperial Army by killing the player's army, thus ensuring that the sword's current wielder will die, or joining up with the player to rescue Yggdra and oversee the Gran Centurio's growth personally, he decides to [[Take a Third Option]] and kills himself to let things play out as naturally as possible. (Which isn't as extreme as it sounds, because Nessiah's pretty nonchalant about dying [[Immortality|for obvious reasons]].)}} This is probably also done to preserve the balance of the game, but Nessiah having conflicted loyalties is the most reasonable explanation in-plot.

* In ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]'', Saturn realizes in the postgame that what he'd been working for was truly terrifying (he tries to tell you that he didn't know what his previous leader, Cyrus, was really after, but he was the first character to tell you the extent of the plan, so either he's lying or he's trying to convince himself that he didn't know). But he still believes in the ultimate ideal, which is a peaceful world. Having been left in charge of Team Galactic by default, he says he's going to try to work for basically what he's always worked for, having realized that "extremism is never the answer".