A few days later.
Fugaku's house, the hallway.
Itachi walked through it and saw his father, Fugaku, standing there waiting for him with arms crossed.
He intended to walk past, but heard Fugaku speak, "There's a meeting in three days. Come to the Naka Shrine alone after it ends."
Itachi said, his footsteps never stopping as he continued walking, "I'm leaving the village tomorrow to go on a mission."
"Don't run away."
Fugaku's three words immediately made Itachi stop in his tracks, his expression turning cold.
"Running away? What am I running away from?"
"Escaping your destiny as an Uchiha."
After Fugaku finished speaking, he left behind the words, "I will wait for you to come," and departed alone, leaving Itachi by himself.
...
Three days later, Naka Shrine.
Underground, the firelight flickered.
Itachi stared blankly at Fugaku's Mangekyo, the shock in his heart indescribable. Besides Shisui, Hiromi, and himself, his father, Fugaku, actually also had a Mangekyo. The combat power of the Uchiha clan was far beyond his imagination.
It was just a pity that this combat power had a limited number of uses. Hiromi had been crippled because of this limitation.
But the ability possessed by Fugaku's Mangekyo was actually the future. This was something he had never expected.
In the future, Itachi saw the clan members capture the Jinchuriki, Naruto. Fugaku controlled Nine-Tails, wantonly destroying the village, while the clan members excitedly slaughtered the villagers, venting the twisted dissatisfaction in their hearts.
Itachi returned from the vision of the future. His whole body was weak as he knelt on the ground, hands supporting himself, cold sweat pouring down, pupils trembling in disbelief.
"This... this..."
Fugaku's voice became intense. "Many in the Uchiha clan harbor resentment toward the village. If pushed to the limit, they will definitely do it, and I imagine both sides will suffer heavy losses."
He looked at Itachi expectantly and said, "But Itachi, as long as you are there, you can take the High Command by surprise and control them. Although small-scale battles are unavoidable, as long as you, who are in the Anbu, help out, a bloodless Coup détat can succeed."
"Bloodless... Coup détat?"
"Itachi, you are my son. Please, help the Uchiha clan." Fugaku bowed slightly.
—
Itachi emerged from Naka Shrine. He gazed at the moon in the sky, his expression full of sadness and disappointment.
'Father, Konoha can lose the Uchiha, but it cannot lose the Hokage.'
He did not understand why his father could not see through the threats outside the village and only saw this petty domestic struggle.
Yes, he could help the Uchiha win. But what about afterwards? Would the people in the village be convinced by a rule obtained through force?
No! They would only resist, perhaps even uniting with people outside the village to oppose the Uchiha.
By then, Kumogakure and Iwagakure would come, intervening in Konoha's rule in the name of restoring order, manipulating things from behind the scenes. By then, Konoha would also be destroyed.
The path the Uchiha clan had chosen was too narrow, just as narrow as their capacity.
If the Uchiha Coup détat failed, the village would suffer heavy losses, and Konoha would perish.
If the Uchiha Coup détat succeeded, the villagers would not be convinced; Konoha would still perish.
In this situation, there was only one path left but he did not want to do this.
"Shisui..."
—
In the center of the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Shisui calmly opened his eyes and saw Hiromi, who was walking with his eyes closed and a calm expression.
"Hiromi, you've grown taller." He said with some emotion.
For the past year, he had mostly been alone. Even Hiromi had only been seen from afar twice. This was to put the Konoha High Command at ease and to ensure he did not give Danzo an opportunity to frame the Uchiha.
Now, however, Hiromi had voluntarily stepped into this sensitive place. His first thought was not worry, but emotion and happiness.
Hiromi ignored the four Anbu hiding in the shadows, walked in, and sat down on his knees just like Shisui.
The two sat face to face.
Hiromi had his eyes closed. Shisui kept staring at Hiromi, and a trace of irrepressible happiness appeared on his calm face.
"Nii-san, the clan is going to stage a Coup détat again." Hiromi said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Shisui's smile instantly turned bitter.
Last time, it had been stopped by the step he had taken. But this time, it would likely be difficult. Even if he could stop it, the High Command would find a way to get rid of him. After all, he would change from a deterrent into a threat.
'Is there really no other way but to control the Konoha High Command?' He thought, but then heard Hiromi say.
"I hope that when the time comes, you will stand behind me."
"When the time comes? Stand behind you?" Shisui was uncertain and suspicious.
At this moment, Hiromi had already stood up and left with a slight bow. His calm back looked like a calm fire. However, Shisui seemed to see that within Hiromi's calm fire, there was a fierce and violent rage hidden, waiting for the chance to roar.
Shisui closed his eyes and sat quietly, like a wooden statue, without sorrow or joy. No one knew what he was thinking.