A Secret Meeting Between Brothers
Led by an ANBU escort, Uchiha Itachi pushed open the door of a secluded house.
"Itachi, you're here! "
A voice rang out from within. It belonged to a slightly older boy—short black hair, a rounded nose—it was none other than Uchiha Shisui.
"Shisui… your eye? "Itachi's gaze landed on Shisui and quickly turned to one of shock.
Shisui no longer wore the unsightly eyepatch over his right eye. But what stunned Itachi even more was that beneath the removed eyepatch, there wasn't a blinded, empty eye—but a fully restored Sharingan.
Back then, Itachi had even approached his father to plead for one of the clan's stored Sharingan to replace Shisui's ruined eye.
But his father had coldly refused.
By all rights, Shisui should have had no way to regain a Sharingan.
"When the Hokage took over Root, they discovered a stash of Uchiha eyes in Danzo's personal collection. One of them was used to replace mine," Shisui explained calmly.
"Danzo? " Itachi's expression darkened.
So Shimura Danzo had been secretly stockpiling Sharingan from the Uchiha.
"I know you're angry, but Danzo is already dead. There's no point in dwelling on it now." Shisui shook his head.
"Besides… as twisted as his methods were, Danzo believed he was protecting the village in his own way."
"I understand." Itachi nodded. Danzo and his Root organization had indeed committed acts that were hard to justify—but as Shisui said, it had all been done under the banner of protecting Konoha.
After a pause, Itachi spoke again.
"Shisui… a few days ago, Father asked me about your whereabouts."
"He asked about me? " Shisui's brow twitched—instinctively, his guard went up.
If his role as a spy had been exposed, and now Fugaku was inquiring about him, this couldn't be a good sign.
"I told him you were on a mission outside the village. He didn't press further," Itachi assured.
"Be careful," Shisui warned with a grave expression. "If I've been exposed, you must not be."
Itachi nodded, then hesitantly asked, "Shisui… the Hokage said you had something urgent to speak with me about. What is it? "
Instead of answering, Shisui asked a question of his own:
"Itachi, how would you describe the current relationship between our clan and the Third Hokage… and with the village? "
"…Terrible."
After a moment's thought, Itachi answered in a low voice.
"Exactly. Not just bad—dangerously bad." Shisui sighed.
"You probably already heard—yesterday, Clan Head Fugaku made secret contact with the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."
"…Yes. I heard."
Itachi's face clouded.
The Nine-Tails' host was a highly sensitive figure. His father meeting with her in secret could only further escalate the tension between the Uchiha and the village.
Worse yet, Itachi suspected Fugaku had more dangerous intentions behind the meeting.
"At this rate, the clan might be completely exiled from Konoha," Shisui said grimly.
Then, all of a sudden, he raised his head and stared straight into Itachi's eyes.
"Itachi, I've made up my mind… I'm going to stop the clan."
"You're going to stop them? "Itachi asked, his voice filled with a trace of hope.
He too had longed to prevent the clan's rebellion—to mend the rift with the village—but he had no idea how to do so.
"I'll use this eye," Shisui said, activating his Mangekyō Sharingan.
A blood-red iris, shaped like a pinwheel with four black points, spun in his left eye.
"That's your Mangekyō…? " Itachi looked at it with awe and longing.
The Mangekyō Sharingan—the pinnacle of the Uchiha bloodline. As someone who bore that blood himself, how could he not feel both admiration and envy?
"My Mangekyō contains a dōjutsu called Kotoamatsukami," Shisui continued.
"It allows me to subtly and permanently alter a person's will. Their beliefs, their convictions—it can change them from the inside out."
"That's… an unbelievably powerful ability," Itachi breathed.
"You plan to use it… on the clan? " he asked.
"Yes. I'm going to use it to change the clan's will—starting with the Clan Head himself," Shisui replied.
"You might come to hate me for doing this. But I'm sorry, Itachi. I see no other way to save the Uchiha."
Itachi fell silent for a long time, then slowly shook his head.
"No, Shisui. I don't hate you. I understand. Changing Father's will might really be the most effective way to stop this rebellion."
"…Thank you."
Shisui let out a breath of relief.
Of all people, the one he felt most guilty toward was Itachi. But despite his young age, Itachi was levelheaded and wise—and he understood the weight of Shisui's decision.
Still, Shisui couldn't help but feel uncertain.
"Itachi… do you think what I'm doing is right? "
"It is," Itachi replied firmly. "If the clan continues down this path, it will only plunge the village into chaos and destroy the peace we've fought so hard to build. What you're doing is preventing war."
A Few Nights Later…
One by one, elite Uchiha shinobi were quietly replaced by Fugaku's spore clones, while the real members slipped past ANBU surveillance and left the village.
Their destination: a secret Uchiha outpost outside of Konoha.
"This is one of the clan's hidden training grounds," Fugaku declared to the fifty-plus elite gathered before him.
"For the next few days, you'll train in barrier ninjutsu and combination tactics. We must build flawless coordination for the mission ahead."
One of the Uchiha stepped forward and asked hesitantly, "Clan Head, you've asked us to sneak out of the village and train in secret… What exactly are we preparing for? "
Fugaku fell silent for a moment. Then he spoke.
"…Very well. There's no point in hiding it anymore."
"What I want you to do—" he said, his voice low and cold,
"—is to ambush and kill Uchiha Shisui."
"W-What?! Assassinate Shisui?! "
"Why?!"
Cries of shock broke out among the crowd. While a few seemed unsurprised, many of the Uchiha looked completely stunned.
Shisui was the clan's prodigy—one of their brightest stars. The idea of killing him felt unthinkable.
"Because Shisui is a traitor," Fugaku said darkly.
"He's the Third Hokage's spy. He's already betrayed our clan. He's nothing but a treacherous white-eyed wolf."
"No way…"
"Is this true…? "
Many were in disbelief.
But then, the First Elder and Third Elder both stepped forward and added their voices.
"It's true. Shisui has betrayed us."
"According to clan law, a traitor must be executed. That's why this ambush has been planned."
Hearing the elders confirm it, the others finally began to believe—and once they did, fury exploded.
As proud members of the Uchiha, they couldn't accept that one of their own had turned against them.
"Kill Shisui! "
"Execute the traitor! "
Voices rang out in unison—loud, angry, and bloodthirsty.
Their eyes burned with murderous intent.