"This is unacceptable." An Uchiha elder was shouting at Fugaku.
"As a clan heir, how could Itachi do this?" Another elder said.
"You have to stop this; otherwise, we will not accept Itachi as clan heir." They threatened Fugaku.
"Ok, I will talk with Itachi," Fugaku said to the elders, who were huffing and puffing because of the anger.
"It better not be your plan, or else the Uchiha clan will have a new clan leader." One of the elders gave an open threat to Fugaku. Hearing his threat, Fugaku clenched his fist in anger but didn't show it on his face.
"I don't think Fugaku is behind this." Another elder reminded the one who accused Fugaku.
"Humh, he was always against the coup. He was also quite close to the Fourth Hokage. Now, he is forbidding us from using the Kyubbi. So, this must be a new trick of his." The elder continues to accuse him.
"We shouldn't have internal strife at this moment. You shouldn't throw baseless accusations at the clan leader now." The elder seemed to be mediating between them, but the way he said clan leader was clearly a warning.
"Humh, I don't care what you say, but this involves the survival of the Uchiha clan, so I wouldn't let him do anything stupid." Then the elder left the meeting room.
"Don't mind him. The Root killed his son, so he gets angry when these matters come up. But you will have to talk with Itachi. If he keeps doing this, it may harm our operation." Other elders began to appease Fugaku after that elder left. After talking with Fugaku for a few minutes, they also left.
"Damn it, who do they think they are?" Fugaku scolded in anger after they left. "The old fools who haven't been to the battlefield for decades are teaching me how to do things."
"They were clearly threatening me. All of them have come prepared. If not for the date of the coup coming close, they would have thrown a bigger tantrum." Fugaku complained to Mikoto, who was beside him. "I will have to talk with Itachi and Shisui. I don't know what they want to do, but they are making the situation worse."
*****
(A few days earlier)
"Hokage-sama, I have an idea that could buy us more time and perhaps even heal the rift between the village and the Uchiha," Shisui said. He and Itachi were in the Hokage's office, speaking with the Third Hokage.
"Oh? And what idea is that?" the Hokage asked with interest.
He had sent the two of them on this mission to watch over Sakura with three main objectives, so if they really have an idea to solve the problem, then he can consider this mission as successful.
The first was to study the differences between civilian children and clan children who want to become shinobi so they could better understand the role the village plays in the development of ninja, both civilian and clan ninja. In other words, learn why the village is important and protect it for that reason, not just because it is their duty.
The second was for them to learn about Root and the darker side of the village. They needed to realize that Konoha wasn't the pure, righteous place they believed it to be. Only then could they begin to understand why their clan would consider a coup. Ironically, just as most Uchiha couldn't understand why Shisui and Itachi chose to side with the village, the two of them had never fully understood why so many of their clan members supported rebellion.
The third reason was to give them time to spend within the clan itself, both to keep watch on their relatives and to prevent them from doing a coup. Danzo would have never let them remain in the clan compound for long, so he had disguised this mission as an excuse.
"Itachi and I have thought extensively about this, and we have come up with this idea- " Shisui began to tell his plans to the Hokage.
"Wonderful," Third Hokage suddenly said. When Shisui was telling his plan third Hokage saw a different side of their plan. If they can modify the plan a little bit, then the Uchiha clan will not dare to do the coup without Itachi and Shisui.
*****
(An hour before they meet the Hokage, after their talk about the King.)
"The current students of the Academy are the future of the village. Likewise, the younger generation of our clan represents the future of the Uchiha. We must focus on them. They may even hold the key to solving the current crisis. And if not, at the very least, they won't become part of the problem later," Shisui said after a long pause of careful thought.
"According to the plan, the coup will take place on the next full moon, that's only seventeen days away. How could the younger generation possibly help in this?" Itachi shook his head. Time was running out. If they failed to act, the coup would be inevitable, shattering the fragile peace.
"Itachi, I have a plan that will stop or at least buy us more time, but I don't want to do this." Shisui looked at Itachi with guilt. He hasn't used it yet, but he still feels guilty. "I know the younger generation can't change the present situation, but if we can delay things long enough, then the coup will lose its momentum, especially if all the younger generation stand against it."
"How will you buy more time? We've tried everything." Itachi narrowed his eyes. He didn't know what Shisui was hiding.
"I can't tell you." Shisui avoided giving a direct answer. "Not yet. But if I have to use it. I'll let you know."
"If you truly have a way to stop the coup, then I'll also support your idea about the younger generation." Itachi finally nodded. In the current situation, Shisui wouldn't have brought this up lightly. Whatever the plan was, he must have thought it through.
"Thank you, Itachi." Shisui breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, what are we going to do?" Itachi asked.
"I have a plan inspired by an Uchiha known for his kind heart, Obito Uchiha. You may not remember him, but many elderly people of our clan and village used to love him because of his kind and helpful nature. But many in the clan despised him for always coming last at the Academy, saying he tarnished the name of Uchiha."
"Later, he became the disciple of the fourth Hokage, a Hokage candidate at that time. So, some clan members began to respect him, and his bullying stopped. Unfortunately, he later died in the war protecting his friend, Captain Kakashi." Shisui said with sadness.
"It's said he gave his Sharingan to Captain Kakashi so his Sharingan could protect Captain Kakashi even though he is dead." Shisui felt that if Obito were alive today clan may not have regressed to this point. "When talking about the Root, Captain Kakashi did say that he was the disciple of fouth Hokage and his friend who died in war gave him the Sharigan, so it must be true."
"Him? I do recall meeting him. I don't remember much, but he always had a smile on his face. For some weird reason, he used to fight with Aunt Kushina." Itachi remembered the time Aunt Kushina came to visit his mom with Obito. Thinking of angry Kushina at that time, he shuddered. It was the only time he had seen her angry.
"So, we'll do the same as he did. Together with the younger generation, we'll help others in the clan and the village, teaching them unity, cooperation, and kindness. Little by little, they'll open up to the villagers, and in turn, the villagers will start to resent us less. After all, it's hard to hate children if they don't act like the typical Uchiha," Shisui explained his plan.
"Huh, that's it?" Itachi asked. He had expected the plan to be either grander or more covert, something that could divert the clan's attention from the coup.
"Don't you see, Itachi? Our clan controls Konoha's Police Force. It's even named after us, the Uchiha Police Force," Shisui explained. "That means our clan members interact with villagers regularly. But how do they behave? With arrogance and a sense of superiority. They don't take the villagers seriously, and in turn, the villagers hate them."
"Just look at the police forces in other villages and countries and compare them to ours. You'll see the glaring difference immediately. On top of that, our members are rash, quick to resort to violence, even beating villagers or civilian shinobi if an argument breaks out. How could the villagers not hate us?" Shisui pointed out.
Itachi nodded; he had always been disappointed in the Uchiha Police Force. They were made to protect and serve the village, but they always act with arrogance and don't listen to villagers' complaints.
Seeing Itachi nod, Shisui continued, "Let's assume we manage to stop the coup this time, then what? Will the villagers' hatred toward us suddenly decrease? If they learn about the coup, their resentment will only grow. We should be grateful to Hokage-sama for not making it public; otherwise, the villagers would despise us even more. If our clan members refuse to change, then nothing else will change. The villagers will keep hating us, and that hatred will only fuel more dissatisfaction, eventually leading to another coup."
"So we have to break this cycle. Since the adults aren't going to change, we have to start with the children. We have to teach them to be kind, helpful, and humble so that they can become the ideal Police officers in the future. If the village stops resenting us, then the clan won't do the coup. After all, who wants to destroy the peace?" Shisui concluded.
"How are we supposed to teach these children? The adults won't allow it, and the kids are already poisoned by their parents' thinking. Even Sasuke was saying Madara was the strongest shinobi, and that you need the Sharingan to become the strongest." Itachi agreed with Shisui's plan in principle, but he felt it was impossible. The entire clan knew they were against the coup; there was no way they would allow them to teach anything to their children.
"I have thought about this, and I have a plan for this," Shisui said with a mysterious smile.
"You have visited the land of Iron, right?" Shisui asked Itachi.
"Yes, I have."
"Then do you know about the Samurai culture of defeating other Samurai to get the title of Strongest Samurai?"
"I have heard about it."
"We are going to do the same," Shisui said.
"How will that help us?" Itachi asked.
"You know, Itachi, in terms of battle, no one can surpass your brain, but why are you dull in these things?" Shisui said with a resigned sigh. He had never thought he had to explain this much to Itachi.
"When someone defeats all the Samurai in the land of Iron, he gets the title of strongest Samurai. Then they either retire or continue to hold their title as other Samurai challenge them for the title. If the Samurai holds the title for a long time, many aspiring children seek him to learn from him because he is the best Samurai in the world. There will be tens of children outside his house or dojo every day seeking apprenticeship from him."
"We will do the same in our clan. Like the Samurai culture, our clan also has the culture of respecting the strong. So, we will use this as an advantage. We will challenge everyone in the clan and defeat them as quickly as possible, to make us look even stronger. This will draw the attention of the children to us. They will also want to learn from us. Like this, we, in the guise of training them we can teach them to become helpful and kind." Shisui shared his brilliant idea.
"This plan has another advantage, intimidation. Like this, we can also show them our power. After seeing our strength and knowing our stance against the coup, they have to think once more about the coup. This will buy us more time as they think about what they should do to us."
"But wouldn't it backfire if we lose?" There were some people in the clan that Itachi felt were stronger than him, so he asked Shisui.
"Nah, except for the clan leader, whose strength is more than he shows. I can defeat everyone. And for the clan leader, I have a trump card that will guarantee my win, but I will not fight with him, and I don't think he will fight with me." Shisui said with confidence. He wasn't overstimulating his strength. He was a S-rank ninja in the bingo book for a reason.
*****
(In the Hokage office)
"Wonderful." After hearing Shisui's plan, the Third Hokage also had a plan of his own.
"After defeating the Uchiha clan, you should also challenge other Konoha ninja. If you win against them, then the clan will value you more in their plan. They will have to convince you to do the coup or get rid of you. But that would be impossible because of your and your father's prestige in the clan."
"On the other hand, if you lose, then they will fear the ninja who are more powerful than you. Either way, they have to reconsider their plan." The Third Hokage added his own thoughts.
"I have thought of demonstrating force previously, but it would have only backfired. But if the Uchiha himself challenges, it will be entirely different." The Third Hokage thought. For him, it looked like there was still a way to handle the current situation, but he knew the 'three headaches' would be coming soon after Shisui and Itachi start their plan.