Sasuke's voice was loud enough for every ninja present to hear.
Except for the Second Hokage, who frowned slightly, the others didn't show much reaction. After a quiet sigh about the recklessness of youth, they didn't say anything more.
The First Hokage, however, seemed a bit dazed.
He saw shadows of himself and Madara Uchiha in Naruto and Sasuke. For some unknown reason, whenever he looked at these two kids, he felt a special kind of warmth and familiarity.
Shisui walked up to Sasuke, gently tapped his forehead with a finger, and said with a smile, "Stop being so stubborn. If you didn't care about Naruto, why didn't you dare go in there?"
Exposed like that, Sasuke fell into silence.
Shisui was right. Naruto was one of his few true friends. For someone like him, making a genuine friend was difficult. Every friend was incredibly precious.
After taking a deep breath, Sasuke asked, "Shisui, did you learn anything when you went inside?"
Shisui nodded and hesitated before replying, "We gathered quite a bit of intel, but it's all bad news. Unless something unexpected happens, all nine tailed beasts have likely already fallen into the hands of Byakuya and Madara Uchiha… The Allied Shinobi Forces are in even greater danger now."
Though Shisui described the situation as dangerous, Sasuke could sense a strange lightness in his tone.
It was as if this cousin of his wasn't at all surprised that the nine tailed beasts had been captured. As if he'd already predicted things would unfold this way. That made Sasuke's thoughts race.
Could it be that Shisui never completely cut ties with Byakuya? And what about Orochimaru?
Just as Sasuke was caught in his suspicions, the Second Hokage suddenly noticed something and vanished.
A moment later, the Fourth Hokage and the others disappeared as well, all heading in the same direction. It didn't take long before they used ninjutsu to force out two hidden enemies from the shadows.
There were two of them in total.
The moment Sasuke saw them, his expression turned grim. His eyes blazed with killing intent.
These two weren't strangers.
They were none other than Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, sent by Obito.
Itachi and Kisame looked just as uncomfortable as Sasuke did.
They had only been sent to monitor Byakuya's efforts to recover the tailed beasts, but by sheer misfortune, they had stumbled upon Orochimaru, Shisui, and even witnessed the resurrected Hokage, men who had been dead for years.
After making that shocking discovery, they immediately attempted to retreat. Unfortunately for them, their chakra had been sensed by the First Hokage. With the Second and Fourth Hokage, both masters of the Flying Thunder God Technique, present, there was no chance of escape.
With all avenues closed, the two stopped running. If they couldn't flee, they would fight until the bitter end.
"Itachi Uchiha!" Sasuke growled through clenched teeth, like he wanted to tear Itachi apart with his bare hands.
Itachi was his older brother, and the one who had betrayed their clan. Even though, thanks to Shisui and Byakuya's efforts, the Uchiha had only lost a dozen or so radical members rather than being entirely wiped out, that didn't lessen Sasuke's hatred toward Itachi one bit.
Feigning calm, Itachi said, "Sasuke. It's been a year, and you're still just as weak as before. How are you going to defeat me like that?"
"Don't flatter yourself," Shisui stepped in front of Sasuke, locking his eyes onto Itachi. "Right now, I'm not even sure you could beat Sasuke. And besides… the people who took part in the Uchiha Massacre are all right here. There's no point in pretending anymore. Tell us about the deal you made with the Third Hokage."
"…As expected, I couldn't fool you, Shisui," Itachi said with a glance at his cousin. Then he turned his eyes toward the Third Hokage. "But I don't believe I was wrong back then. Nor do I believe Hiruzen-sama made the wrong call."
The moment Itachi admitted to striking a deal with the Third Hokage, the expressions of both Jiraiya and Sasuke changed.
They couldn't believe the Uchiha massacre had anything to do with the Third Hokage. It completely shattered their understanding of the village's politics.
The First, Second, and Fourth Hokage were also visibly shaken, fixing their eyes firmly on the pair.
Under the weight of their stares, the Third Hokage forced himself to speak, "Itachi is right. I was the one who gave the order to let Madara Uchiha… carry out the massacre. At the time, tensions between the Police Force, led by Fugaku, and the Hokage's office had reached a breaking point. Any further escalation would have led to an endless civil war.
To prevent that, I gave the command to wipe out the Uchiha and had Itachi infiltrate the masked man's organization to gather intel. Unfortunately, for various reasons, I later lost contact with him."
Hearing this, the reincarnated Hokage, starting with the First, didn't know what to say.
They had thought Hiruzen's harsh treatment of Naruto was his greatest mistake. Never did they expect he had a hand in the Uchiha massacre as well.
Each of the other Hokage had different reactions to the Third's decision:
The First Hokage thought it was a grave error in judgment. The Uchiha were part of the village; if they considered rebellion, it only meant communication between them and the Hokage had completely broken down.
Even if a coup had been launched, there was no reason for innocent women, children, and the elderly to die, especially not by Itachi's hand.
The Second Hokage shared a similar view. The Uchiha should not have been killed by one of their own.
If he had been in charge of Konoha at the time, he would have suppressed the Uchiha before they dared rebel. And if force was necessary, he would have disguised it as an invasion by another village, not carried it out so crudely.
In Tobirama's opinion, the Third's order had not only cost Konoha the Uchiha but also the trust of many other clans. He had become Hokage in name only.
Still, he was impressed by Shisui's cunning.
To lead the surviving Uchiha into Root… clearly the events of that night weren't just Danzo manipulating Shisui. It was highly likely that Shisui had been the one manipulating Danzo.
What a shame that his own student was still completely in the dark.
The Fourth Hokage blamed himself for dying too early.
Back when he was Hokage, he had been trying to ease tensions between the Uchiha and the rest of the village. He had hoped the Uchiha could one day be treated as a normal ninja clan.
But before he could act, he gave up his life using the Reaper Death Seal.
Gazing at Itachi and the Third, Shisui sneered, "Hiruzen-sama, even now, you still harbor prejudice against the Uchiha. You don't even know who the true enemy is. That's exactly why Danzo and Orochimaru were able to play you for a fool. The one who benefited most from becoming Hokage… was the Danzo right at your side."
The Third fell silent again.
He had become a complete and utter failure. And worst of all, this humiliating moment was unfolding right in front of the First and Tobirama-sensei.
"Shisui, you brat, have you said enough?"
The Second Hokage was starting to get impatient. "And you, Monkey. Pull yourself together already. Back then, you were the one who stepped forward to sacrifice for your comrades. What happened to that man? You can stomach even this kid, Kagami's descendant, calling you out like that?"
"…I was wrong,"
The Third replied weakly. There was no trace of a Hokage's dignity or composure left in him.
"You were absolutely wrong!" The Second Hokage spoke sternly, "Your mistake wasn't issuing the wrong orders, it was failing to lead the village toward strength. As a Hokage, you can issue any command you see fit. But the moment the village declines or even faces destruction, whether you're a good person or a bad one, you are no longer a good Hokage."
These words laid bare the responsibility of the Hokage, leaving the Third Hokage deeply ashamed.
Just as the Third was about to say something, the Fourth Hokage stepped forward and said, "Let's set the past aside for now. Since you claim Itachi Uchiha was your agent, gathering intel while close to the masked man, can you share that intelligence with us? And also, how should we deal with the ninja who's been working alongside Itachi Uchiha?"
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone turned to look at Kisame. Orochimaru and Kabuto subtly moved to block any possible escape routes.
Surrounded by so many Kage-level shinobi, Kisame felt like a thorn was pressed against his back.
Any one of these people posed a serious risk to him in one-on-one combat, and now he was encircled. The idea of escape was out of the question.
Seeing Kisame in danger, Itachi Uchiha quickly said, "All the intel Kisame knows, I also know. There's no need to trouble him. He's just another pawn manipulated and ordered around by the masked man."
After pausing for a moment, Itachi continued, "As for the intel you want, I can tell you, but the war in the shinobi world has already begun. Even if you know everything, there's little you can do now."
The Second Hokage replied impatiently, "Uchiha, spare us the chatter. Give us your intel directly. If it proves accurate, we might just let you off the hook."
Itachi cleared his throat. "First piece of intel, the masked man is not Madara Uchiha. You might already know this. Second, General Byakuya of the Allied Forces is secretly working with Madara Uchiha."
He looked around as he said this, hoping to catch some reaction.
But to his surprise, none of the shinobi present showed much of a reaction. This left Itachi puzzled. Was this not important enough intel?
"We've known about the collusion between Byakuya and Madara Uchiha for a while now..."
Hearing that, it was Itachi's turn to be stunned. Had his intel-gathering skills degraded so badly? That couldn't be. He had undergone elite training in the Foundation.
"Do you have any other intel?" the Second Hokage pressed, eyeing him closely.
Itachi shook his head. "Byakuya's collusion with Madara is the biggest piece of intel I had. The rest is just information about the abilities of Madara, Byakuya, and the masked man..."
Just as he was about to continue, the Second Hokage raised a hand to stop him.
"Everything you're about to say, we already know. I seriously question what exactly you were infiltrating all these years. If you had told us this a few months earlier, it might've been of some use."
Itachi responded awkwardly, "But the Third Hokage had died at that time. Aside from him, I was labeled a rogue ninja by everyone in Konoha. There was no way for me to pass along intel."
"...You have a point."
For a moment, even the Second Hokage couldn't refute Itachi.
Now that the intel had been obtained, the discussion shifted to how to deal with Itachi.
To the Hokage faction, Itachi was the Third's own agent. With the war already underway, it was time for the spy to come in from the cold.
Itachi wasn't an enemy, in fact, he was a contributor to the Hokage's cause.
Bluntly put, knowing Itachi had decimated the Uchiha clan, the Second Hokage might have been secretly pleased. After all, there was a long-standing blood feud between the Uchiha and the Senju.
But to Shisui and Sasuke, Itachi was nothing short of a traitor.
As the three Uchihas stepped aside, making room, Shisui and Sasuke approached Itachi. Staring him down, they asked, "Itachi, now that things have come to this, do you have anything left to say?"
"I have nothing to say. I am the sinner of the clan."
Itachi smiled calmly, then turned to Sasuke and asked, "Sasuke, how are Father and Mother doing?"
Sasuke froze for a moment before replying, "They're doing just fine, unlike a stray dog like you. They live without fear now and are still serving in the Konoha Police Force."
Itachi sighed and gave a regretful look.
"Is that so? What a shame. I had hoped that after slaughtering the clan, they'd be so enraged they'd awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Too bad, just like you, they were emotionally cold. Not even capable of awakening the Mangekyō."
"What are you implying?"
Sasuke frowned. His hatred for Itachi had lessened somewhat due to learning about the spy mission and had shifted toward the Third Hokage, but now Itachi seemed intent on pushing him to the edge again.
Itachi gave a wicked smile.
"Of course it was to stimulate the awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan. Don't tell me you actually thought I did all that for the village? Back then, when I sought the Third Hokage's permission, it wasn't just to avoid interference from him and Danzo, it was also to prepare for this very moment. Even though I killed our clan, as long as I was a sanctioned agent of the Third Hokage, I wouldn't be punished by the Hokage faction. I could even stay in Konoha."
Itachi then smirked, "After this war ends, I'll return to the village and continue assassinating Uchiha until you awaken the Mangekyō. Then I'll take your eyes to evolve mine into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."
With that, Itachi raised his hand over his face and laughed madly toward the sky.
Then, without hesitation, he walked away from Shisui and Sasuke, heading toward the Third Hokage, as if he really intended to carry out that plan.
But Sasuke's gaze was ice-cold, locked onto Itachi.
He drew the short sword from his waist and, in a flash, appeared before Itachi. His blood-red Sharingan, with three tomoe, began spinning rapidly, seemingly on the verge of transformation —a coming evolution.
Itachi parried the blade with a kunai, sneering, "Can't wait to kill me already? Well, you struck first. Not even the past Hokage can save you now."
But Sasuke, already consumed by rage, didn't hear a word. He launched fully into combat.
Watching the two brothers clash, Shisui, who had already moved to the side, sighed softly, and a memory surfaced in his mind: Byakuya-sama's prophecy.
Byakuya-sama had once said that there would inevitably be a battle between Sasuke and Itachi. That this clash would be the trigger for Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And now, it seemed everything was playing out just as foretold.