Three days later, within the Uchiha Clan compound.
Making his way toward his home, Itachi Uchiha suddenly spotted Shisui Uchiha leaning casually against a doorframe.
Seeing it was Shisui, Itachi hesitated for a moment.
"Big brother! Did you finish your mission? Let's train together!"
Sasuke Uchiha, a crossbody bag slung over his shoulder, had just gotten home from school. Spotting Itachi, he happily dashed over, hoping his brother would spar with him.
"Sorry, Sasuke. Someone came looking for me suddenly."
Hearing that, Sasuke's face immediately puffed up in frustration.
At the waterfall near the Nankawa cliff.
Itachi appeared behind Shisui as agreed.
Looking at the waterfall, Shisui smiled slightly and said to Itachi, "We used to play here all the time."
Itachi asked, "You're back then. Did you finish your mission?"
Shisui nodded. "Yeah. Finally drove away those Hidden Mist ninja."
Itachi stepped beside Shisui and asked, "What's going on?"
Shisui's smile faded. He gazed into Itachi's eyes and asked seriously, "I want to hear your true thoughts. How serious do you think Fugaku really is?"
Itachi tilted his head slightly, confused. "Serious about what?"
Shisui stared intensely at Itachi before speaking firmly—"The coup d'état!"
Itachi turned his gaze toward the roaring waterfall. "The Uchiha's dissatisfaction with the village has been growing. If the village remains unchanged, the Uchiha may eventually reach their breaking point."
Shisui asked another question—"If the village changes, will the Uchiha change too?"
"The Uchiha won't change unless the village does first," Itachi replied. "As long as mutual distrust continues between both sides, the situation will only get worse."
Shisui took a deep breath. "I want to clear away this distrust."
"Do you think you can?" Itachi questioned.
"I don't know," Shisui sighed, "but I have to try. If the Uchiha go through with the coup, it will only end in tragedy for both sides."
Itachi's voice darkened slightly. "I also oppose the coup. But stopping it will require unconventional methods."
Shisui carefully warned him, "I understand, but please don't act recklessly."
"Why not?" Itachi asked, puzzled.
"Some members of the Police Force suspect you. They ordered me to monitor you."
Upon hearing this, Itachi briefly wore an expression of disbelief.
But soon, he regained his composure, understanding why such suspicion arose.
Because of who he was now.
The Uchiha were being ostracized by the village, yet he himself had joined the Anbu directly under Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"If you need my help, I'll be there," Shisui said to Itachi. "Well then, I'll take my leave first. See you, Itachi."
Shisui vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
Standing before the waterfall, Itachi remained lost in thought.
Just as Itachi Uchiha regained his senses and was about to leave, he suddenly shivered involuntarily.
Because, at some point, Chinya had already appeared behind him.
Chinya stared at Itachi Uchiha with a smile and asked, "Now then, should I call you the traitor of the Uchiha Clan or the savior of Konoha? Itachi Uchiha."
Itachi's eyes immediately shifted into the triple tomoe Sharingan, filled with killing intent. His right hand had already reached into his ninja tool pouch.
Chinya let out a low chuckle. "Wanting to make a move? You can give it a try. Now that I think about it, it's been quite a while since I last fought. Maybe my skills have gone rusty, giving you a chance to succeed in killing me."
Itachi's pupils constricted; this man before him was someone he couldn't deal with at the moment.
He withdrew his right hand from the ninja tool pouch and fixed his gaze on Chinya.
He had no idea when Chinya arrived or whether he had overheard his conversation with Shisui Uchiha.
No, definitely heard it, because Chinya had called him a traitor of the Uchiha Clan.
Trouble.
Itachi furrowed his brows tightly, thinking hard about what to do next.
Chinya walked toward the cliff's edge, looking at the nearby waterfall, and exclaimed, "Honestly, this is my first time visiting the Nanakawa River. The scenery really is quite nice—but what a pity."
Looking at Chinya with grave eyes, Itachi asked, "A pity for what?"
Smiling all the while, Chinya answered, "A pity that this birthplace of the Uchiha Clan witnessed the tragic irony of their history.
From the warring era where two ninja clans fought each other relentlessly as bitter enemies, until the alliance between the Uchiha and Senju Clans, building the ninja utopia of peace—the Hidden Leaf Village, known simply as Konoha.
Madara Uchiha was the one who named it 'Konoha.' However, members from all the ninja clans who joined this village supported Hashirama Senju as Hokage, leaving Madara Uchiha isolated among all clans within Konoha.
At that time, the Uchiha Clan faced constant targeting. Madara Uchiha foresaw that after Hashirama Senju's death, the position of Hokage would inevitably go to Tobirama Senju. Understanding that the Uchiha Clan would eventually be annihilated, Madara urged his clan members to leave the village together with him, yet not a single person followed him.
After Madara Uchiha left, perhaps out of guilt, the Uchiha Clan prospered within Konoha.
However, Madara later returned, initiating the battle against Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End—where Madara Uchiha perished.
Though events seemed resolved, that battle instilled a sense of deep suspicion toward the entire Uchiha Clan across Konoha. Wood Release techniques were unique to Hashirama Senju alone, while the power of the Sharingan wasn't limited to Madara Uchiha himself.
During Hashirama Senju's lifetime, nothing happened to the Uchiha Clan. But after Hashirama Senju passed away and Tobirama Senju succeeded as Hokage, major reforms began. The establishment of the Konoha Military Police Force seemed to empower the Uchiha Clan, giving them responsibility for maintaining village order and contributing to Konoha. In reality, however, it meant they were under constant surveillance.
When some Uchiha clan members uncovered Tobirama Senju's intentions and tried to rebel, he saw through their plot and led the Anbu to eliminate every last conspirator among them.
Tobirama Senju fell during the Second Great Ninja World War (a massive conflict between shinobi villages). The Uchiha Clan, which had distinguished themselves in battle during the war, reached the peak of power. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, sometimes had to take the Uchiha Clan's views into account before giving orders.
Itachi Uchiha did not interrupt, but inwardly felt completely baffled, unable to understand why Chinya was telling him all these things.
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