Back when Shisui was still alive, the Uchiha clan had already been considering a coup.
The reason they had held back until now was largely because of the balance of power.
In other words, the Uchiha were wary of the Third Hokage and the strength of Konoha's leadership. At the very least, they needed two elite jōnin who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan before they could hope to succeed.
Before, that person had been Shisui. Now, it was Uchiha Itachi.
However, Senju Haruto was certain of one thing—
Even with Hiruzen Sarutobi and his true body both away from the village, and with Danzō already dead at Haruto's own hand, Itachi's beliefs would never allow him to side with the Uchiha clan.
Besides, even if the Uchiha managed to succeed in their coup right now, once the Third Hokage returned, the jōnin of Konoha would surely rally behind him.
When that happened, it would only lead to even greater bloodshed.
"I understand that very well," Itachi said with a nod, indicating he would find a way to restrain the Uchiha and keep them from making a disastrous decision.
"That's good," Haruto replied with a nod of his own before glancing toward Aburame Torune and the other Root operatives.
There was no need to slaughter them all.
Before they were Root operatives, they were Konoha shinobi—Konoha's strength.
With Danzō dead, Haruto could even consider taking command of them himself.
Of course, they weren't about to act like nothing had happened.
Once his Wood Clone technique was dispelled, they would report Danzō's death to Konoha's leadership.
When they couldn't find Haruto, they might well turn their suspicion toward Itachi.
"Well then…" Haruto took a deep breath and offered Itachi a confident smile.
Danzō had been dealt with—it was time to release the clone and report everything to his true body.
"See you around."
With that, Haruto released the Wood Clone, vanishing before Itachi and the Root operatives.
Itachi stared at the empty space where Haruto had been and murmured to himself,
"It's not becoming Hokage that earns everyone's recognition—it's earning everyone's recognition that allows you to become Hokage.
"For the ostracized Uchiha clan, even if they seized the title through a coup, they would never win the people's hearts.
"And you're the same, Haruto."
Leaving those words behind, Itachi's body dissolved into a murder of pitch-black crows, slowly fading away.
Because of the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, not even Danzō's corpse remained.
Aburame Torune gazed at the empty space where Danzō had been sealed away and took a deep breath. Whether it was Haruto or Itachi, there was nothing he could do to stop either of them from leaving.
What he couldn't be sure of was whether their goal had only been to assassinate Danzō… or whether they intended to join forces with the Uchiha afterward to launch a coup.
For all he knew, Haruto's real body could even now be attacking the Third Hokage in the Land of Iron.
With those possibilities in mind, Torune quickly calmed himself and turned to leave.
He had to inform Konoha's leadership—and immediately report to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Meanwhile, on the road to the Land of Iron—
Since they weren't using any form of transport, Haruto's group traveled by day and rested at night.
At that moment, Haruto was in his room, resting.
Suddenly, a flood of images and information surged into his mind.
"Danzō is dead."
Haruto rose from the tatami mat and walked to the window, gazing at the bright moon hanging in the night sky.
Even his Wood Clone could use the Byakugan, and with Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan as well, Danzō had no chance of faking his death to escape.
What Haruto hadn't expected was that, in his final moments, Danzō would choose to use the Reverse Four Symbols Seal to destroy Hashirama's cells.
"Afraid I'd use Kotoamatsukami on Hiruzen, were you?" Haruto chuckled softly. He had no need to waste Kotoamatsukami's power on the old Hokage.
In this timeline, Hiruzen had at most six years left—he would die during Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha.
"All that's left now is to reach the Land of Iron… and spark a conflict between Konoha and the Cloud."
Unlike the Senju clan, the Uchiha only needed the smallest push to awaken the Sharingan.
Even someone like Uchiha Izumi, who had only inherited the bloodline from one side, could awaken it.
And what push could be more powerful than war?
Even Fugaku himself had awakened the Mangekyō after watching his closest friend die on the battlefield.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Sharingan on Danzō's arm were obtained in exactly that way," Haruto thought.
"During the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha was fighting on four fronts. The Uchiha were bound to be dragged into it. In that environment, there would have been no shortage of awakened Sharingan—and no shortage of corpses."
Haruto had also noticed another detail.
Uchiha didn't awaken their Sharingan at full three-tomoe right away—two tomoe was already considered the mark of a genius at first awakening.
Which meant that during the clan's massacre, even if many had awakened their eyes in the face of slaughter by Itachi and Obito, they would not have reached three tomoe.
"And yet afterward, an entire wall was covered in three-tomoe Sharingan," he mused.
"If I'm right, most of those were awakened as one or two tomoe during the war and later trained to three."
Of course, having three tomoe didn't automatically make someone an elite jōnin.
It still came down to experience and information.
But Haruto didn't care whether the Uchiha were strong or not. Once war broke out between Konoha and the Cloud, he could send the Uchiha to the front lines—weakening them while collecting as many Sharingan as possible.
That kind of plug-and-play power was something he could never have too much of.
At the same time, Itachi returned home. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, a familiar voice greeted him.
"Itachi."
He looked toward the voice, and in the silver moonlight saw his father.
"We need to talk," said Uchiha Fugaku, leaning against the pillar by the doorway, arms crossed.
The incident with the Deep Forest Emergence had already spread among the Uchiha, leaving the clan uneasy.
Some even whispered it was a warning from Konoha's leadership.
Whatever the truth, it had only solidified the clan's resolve—to stage a coup, slaughter Konoha's leaders, and reclaim the power they believed was theirs.
And Itachi was clearly seen as a central pillar of that plan.
"…Yes. We do need to talk," Itachi said, taking a deep breath before answering his father.