After the meeting, Danzō invited Itachi to his personal hideout for a private conversation.
Itachi wasn't too surprised; on the contrary, it would have been strange if Danzō hadn't made a move.
"Hiruzen just asked you to buy some time. What do you think about that?"
Danzō leaned on his cane and spoke calmly.
Itachi's gaze was gloomy as he mused, "If it were possible to buy time, none of this would be happening now."
Shisui had sacrificed his life to buy them so much time, yet the Third Hokage's inaction was all that came of it.
By now, he had more or less seen through the Third Hokage's hypocrisy.
On the surface, Hiruzen was gentle with everyone and adopted a conciliatory policy toward the Uchiha clan. In reality, both the Third Hokage and Danzō shared the same attitude toward the Uchiha clan.
Receiving a satisfactory answer, a smile surfaced on Danzō's face. "Although he said he didn't want to use brute force, you must know that as Hokage, personal feelings must sometimes be set aside. For the stability of the village, he will take very decisive action."
Itachi's lips were sealed as he listened quietly.
Danzō watched all of this.
Itachi's face was expressionless, but he was suffering inwardly. This was exactly what gave Danzō his opportunity.
Ever since he discovered Uchiha Itachi, Danzō had invested a lot of effort in him. Now was the time to cast his net.
The thought of completely erasing the Uchiha clan from this world made Danzō tremble with excitement.
But at a time like this, he had to remain patient.
Danzō spoke with his usual calm tone. "If a coup happens, the Uchiha clan will have only one outcome: destruction. This includes your little brother, who knows nothing..."
The heavy topic made Itachi fall into a defensive silence.
Sasuke...
He murmured the name to himself.
Ever since his younger brother was born, Itachi had realized he had a special affection for him, one that even surpassed his feelings for his mother and father.
"However..."
Hearing this, Itachi's eyes lit up as if he had grasped a lifeline. But as he met Danzō's profound gaze, he realized he had fallen into the enemy's trap.
To give a person despair first, then hope. What a sinister man...
"Are you threatening me?" Itachi's low voice was filled with killing intent.
Danzō looked composed. "I didn't say that. I'm simply stating the facts..."
Itachi reined in his killing intent. Even if he could kill Danzō now, it wouldn't change anything. Instead, it would only prove the Uchiha clan's guilt in a coup.
Danzō's lips curled slightly. "It seems we can have a proper talk now."
Itachi's face was grim. "What do you want to say?"
"Before the Uchiha clan launches their coup, I want you to help us eliminate the clan..."
Itachi's pupils widened.
What a vicious plan. He was being asked to kill his own clansmen and family...
However, the real despair was yet to come. Danzō continued, "Afterward, I want you to take the blame for everything..."
"..."
"Itachi, I know this is difficult. But in return, this is the best solution. That way, you can protect the Uchiha clan's honor and your young brother..."
"..."
Seeing Itachi remain silent, Danzō continued, "Have you heard of the Akatsuki?"
Itachi frowned, not understanding why Danzō was bringing this up now.
"Orochimaru, who betrayed the village, is in that organization..."
Itachi's eyes trembled slightly.
"After you help us eliminate the Uchiha clan, I want you to find a way to join that organization to monitor Orochimaru and gather intelligence on the group to send back to the village..."
Itachi felt a strange sadness. This man was trying to squeeze everything out of him.
"As for your betrayal, you don't have to worry about your brother. We will raise him well. After all this, I believe he will become an excellent ninja, one good enough to kill you and become a hero of the village, perhaps even reviving the Uchiha clan..."
The cruel reality nearly crushed Itachi completely. He closed his eyes heavily, nodded, and then turned to leave with a heavy heart.
He had no choice...
Watching Itachi turn and disappear, Danzō could no longer suppress his inner joy, and a triumphant smile appeared on his face.
It's finally come to this...
Both Uchiha Tōshirō and his clan will be buried by my own hands...
By the lakeshore.
Itachi sat on a wooden plank, silently looking at his reflection in the lake.
Suddenly, a sweet, clear, bell-like voice came from behind him, as if cleansing the soul.
"Itachi-kun..."
A figure slowly approached, carrying a faint, clean scent, and sat beside him.
Itachi looked to the side.
Sitting next to him was a girl about his age. She had a delicate face, long black hair, and a teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of her eye, which, combined with her down-turned eyes, made her seem very endearing.
Uchiha Izumi...
She was one of his few friends, especially a female friend.
Izumi looked at him with watery eyes. "How strange, Itachi-kun. You're here..."
Itachi looked away, his gaze falling back on the calm lake.
This was the place where his father had first taught him the Great Fireball Jutsu.
The thought of using the jutsu he had learned from his father against the Uchiha clan and even his father filled Itachi with a strange sense of irony.
Izumi thought she was disturbing Itachi and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. Am I bothering you?"
"No..."
Itachi replied indifferently.
"If you don't mind, please take this..." Izumi held out something wrapped in rice paper.
Itachi looked at her in confusion.
Izumi opened it to reveal three skewers of dango. "I remember Itachi-kun seemed to like these..."
Itachi silently shook his head. He was in no mood to eat anything right now.
Seeing Itachi's troubled expression, Izumi asked cautiously, "I heard that keeping things bottled up is bad for your health..."
"..."
The things Itachi was facing now were things he couldn't mention to anyone.
Izumi bit her lip, her down-turned eyebrows making her look like she was about to cry. "I'm sorry. I was being nosy..."
"Don't worry about it..."
Just as Itachi was about to leave, another voice came from behind him. "Nii-san—!"
The voice was young, filled with surprise and a hint of a tantrum.
This was the voice Itachi was most familiar with.
Both Itachi and Izumi turned around. Standing behind them was a very handsome boy. It was easy to imagine he would be very popular with girls at school.
He was Itachi's younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sasuke..."
A bit of the gloominess on Itachi's face lifted when he saw him.
Sasuke's gaze fell on Izumi. His small face scrunched up, full of hostility. "Nii-san, who is she—!"
"A friend..."
Itachi explained.
Izumi's heart warmed. It seemed Itachi did consider her a friend.
Sasuke pouted, throwing a little tantrum. "Liar..."
Itachi couldn't keep up with his brother's thought process. "Why do you say that?"
"Hmph, I've been asking you to practice shuriken with me for days, and you keep saying you're busy. But here you are, on a date with a girl. Nii-san, I misjudged you..."
"A-a date..."
Izumi's face turned red, and she couldn't speak properly.
She secretly glanced at Itachi's reaction. To her disappointment, Itachi showed no reaction and simply said, "You've misunderstood. We just happened to run into each other."
"Really?"
Uchiha Sasuke looked at his brother with a suspicious expression.
A wry smile appeared on Itachi's face. He didn't know where his little brother had heard a word like "date."
Izumi insisted. "It's true... I just happened to run into your brother and said hello."
Sasuke's big, round eyes darted back and forth between his beloved brother and this annoying woman.
Izumi broke out in a sweat. He clearly didn't believe her. She pointed to her nose, giving him a warm smile, trying her best to be friendly.
"I don't know if you remember, but when you were just born, I held you. You loved me so much back then and kept clinging to me. When your brother tried to pull you away, you would cry."
"Is that true?"
Sasuke looked at his brother with disbelief.
Itachi lowered his eyes. He vaguely remembered Izumi trying to hold his brother, but Sasuke had pushed her away.
Izumi wanted to get closer, but Sasuke had cried...
Thinking about this, even Itachi was surprised at how clearly he remembered such a minor thing.
"Hmph, I was just a naive child back then..."
Little Sasuke would never admit to getting close to the woman who was stealing his brother.
"Want some?"
Izumi offered a skewer of dango to little Sasuke, trying to bribe him. Getting closer to Itachi by getting close to his family was a good option.
Sasuke glanced at the dango and said bluntly, "No, I hate sweets."
"Oh? Is that so?"
The plan had failed. Izumi was disappointed, hanging her head with a dark expression. "I thought you'd like them since Itachi-kun does."
A mischievous glint appeared in Sasuke's eyes.
Hmph, trying to bribe me? I'm not that stupid...
His prejudice was one thing, but he genuinely didn't like sweets.
Suddenly, he had a realization.
Σ(°△°|||)︴: Wait...
Nii-san likes this stuff? How did I not know that?
(End of Chapter)
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