Several days passed in the blink of an eye after Uchiha Shisui awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
At night, Uchiha Sōsuke left Konohagakure together with a young clansman.
As members of the Police Force responsible for maintaining order within the village, they naturally had ways to slip out unnoticed.
In a hidden underground space somewhere outside the village, the two entered and quietly waited.
This place had once been a laboratory jointly used by Root and Orochimaru. It wasn't large and had been abandoned long ago. All related records had already been destroyed, and there was no trace of it in Konoha's archives.
The main reason was that it still had a pre-existing barrier system. Once activated, it could prevent detection.
Not long after, the long-retired Shimura Danzō appeared. Behind him were two subordinates, still dressed in the attire of former Root shinobi.
Sōsuke glanced at the three of them and sneered.
"Impressive, Danzō. Even after retiring for so long, you still have loyal subordinates willing to follow you."
Danzō's single eye drooped slightly, his expression unchanged.
"You didn't call me out here just to say that, did you? If so, there's no need for our cooperation to continue."
"Of course not. I only want to ask one thing—have you forgotten the terms we agreed on?"
"Of course not. If this old man ascends to the position of Hokage, I will support you in becoming clan head and a Konoha advisor. I will also publicly take a Uchiha junior as my disciple."
"Then I'm reassured."
"Hmph! The question is—do you even have the ability to solve my problem?"
"Of course we do."
Sōsuke stared straight into Danzō's lone eye and said proudly, "Uchiha Shisui has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. This is our opportunity."
"Naive. Do you really think a pair of Mangekyō can deal with Higashino Makoto and Namikaze Minato? Besides, if I remember correctly, Uchiha Shisui is not your supporter."
"Whether he supports me isn't important. What matters is that Shisui himself said that the dōjutsu granted by his Mangekyō cannot be resisted by anyone in the ninja world."
"That child may be naive, but he doesn't lie. And I also believe that the ultimate power of the Uchiha is the strongest in the ninja world."
"An irresistible dōjutsu, hm? Is it a ninjutsu… or a genjutsu?"
Sōsuke replied, "After analyzing Shisui's personality, talent, and his performance that day over the past few days, I believe there's a high probability it's a mind-control type genjutsu."
This conclusion wasn't surprising. After all, this was their field of expertise. Shisui wasn't someone who preferred to impose his will through killing—he preferred persuasion.
And why had he been pushed to awaken the Mangekyō that day? Wasn't it because his attempt to persuade had failed?
Danzō fell silent.
If it were an offensive ninjutsu, he didn't think it would be of much use against someone as monstrously powerful as Higashino Makoto.
If it were a genjutsu… it didn't seem much better.
Back then, even Uchiha Madara, at the peak of his power, had still been crushed by the First Hokage.
But Danzō still wanted to try.
For him, this was an opportunity.
And now, he had nothing left to lose.
As long as there was even the slightest chance, he would seize it desperately.
After thinking it through, Danzō said, "Mind control, is it? I understand."
Sōsuke asked, "Then when do we act?"
"Not yet. Wait for my signal."
After saying that, Danzō left with his men.
The two Uchiha watched their departing figures, a deep disgust flashing in their eyes.
They didn't like Danzō. Danzō didn't like the Uchiha either.
But now, because of Higashino Makoto's existence, they were all in an extremely disadvantaged position.
Whether they liked it or not, they could only huddle together for warmth—mutually exploiting one another.
...
Not long after Danzō left, the space inside the underground lab distorted.
Obito appeared.
Or rather—he had been there all along.
Sōsuke and the other immediately dropped their disdainful expressions and became respectful.
"Madara-sama, you heard everything just now, right?"
"Mm."
Obito responded in Madara's voice, his presence imposing.
"From here on, just cooperate with Danzō's actions. Shisui's dōjutsu is too dangerous. Since he refuses to stand with us, those eyes cannot remain in his possession."
"Rest assured on that point. But with just us and Danzō, we are far from being a match for the higher-ups. Madara-sama… you will take action when the time comes, right?"
"Don't worry. I will act. This time, I will eliminate the Hokage lineage of the Senju and make Konoha truly belong to the Uchiha."
"Then we're reassured."
"Fugaku's son—the one named Itachi—has he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Uchiha Sōsuke replied, "He hasn't. I didn't feel the same pressure from him that I did from Shisui. Perhaps he has that kind of potential, but he's still too young."
"I see. That's good. You two should head back. Don't stay away too long—it'll attract unwanted attention."
"Yes!" ×2
...
Uchiha clan district, inside Sōsuke's home.
The young man who had accompanied him asked, "Sōsuke-sama, that person just now… was he really the legendary former clan head, Uchiha Madara?"
"Hard to say."
"Yeah… he felt a bit too young. He doesn't seem like the former clan head. And he's definitely the one who caused the Nine-Tails incident back then, the one who made the Uchiha clan be suspected and ostracized. Are we really going to cooperate with him?"
"Whether he's Madara, whether he was the mastermind behind that incident, or even Danzō's schemes—none of that matters. What matters is that the Uchiha clan must never disappear silently like the Senju did."
"We must also seize the power that rightfully belongs to us. That's what Konoha owes the Uchiha. This is our only chance. If we keep waiting, there may not be any younger generation willing to follow our ideals."
The young man hesitated. "If… if we fail, are we really going to leave with Madara-sama?"
Sōsuke could tell—although this junior agreed with his ideals, he was still reluctant to leave Konohagakure.
That was the reality. Even those who followed him felt this way, let alone the majority of clansmen who supported the village.
He wasn't wrong. Thanks to the efforts of Minato and Fugaku, the hawkish ideology within the Uchiha was becoming increasingly unpopular.
This was their last chance.
"Masao… if… if we fail, then I'll bear all the consequences myself. With the personalities of the clan head and the Fourth Hokage, as long as you admit your mistakes, you won't be executed."
If he wanted to rally people and stir them into rebellion, those were words he shouldn't have said.
But Sōsuke still said them.
Deep down, he may have already prepared himself for failure.
In his mind, he recalled the first time he met Higashino Makoto on the eastern battlefield, and the towering, godlike figure he had once seen.
That was the power of a god—not something humans could resist.
...
At the same time, outside Konoha, in a former hidden Root base.
Obito once again appeared before Danzō.
"What you wanted—I've already handed it over to Orochimaru. It shouldn't be long before you obtain the power you desire."
Danzō said, "As expected, you're connected to Orochimaru. Or has he already become your subordinate?"
"Old man, that's none of your concern."
Danzō chuckled. "Old man? Shouldn't you be older than me? So you're not Madara after all—just an impostor."
Obito: "..."
"You'd better worry about yourself. Don't end up getting beaten to death."
"Everything is within my plan."
Obito turned and left.
He couldn't even tell where that old man's confidence came from. Fortunately, he hadn't taken any of this too seriously—otherwise, sooner or later, he'd get dragged down by these reckless fools.
Right now, the situation was rather ironic.
Because of Higashino Makoto's influence, Minato and his wife were both alive, the village's top-tier strength was intact, and the biggest internal conflict had been eased. On top of that, his inhuman strength suppressed everything—making life very difficult for certain people.
Danzō, who still dreamed of becoming Hokage, refused to fade into obscurity. He secretly formed an alliance with the very Uchiha hawks he hated the most.
At the same time, behind Sōsuke's back, he was also colluding with Obito.
But Danzō was arrogant. Who was he? The Darkness of the Shinobi. To him, these were all just pieces to be used. Once he succeeded, he would find a way to eliminate all these detestable Uchiha.
On the other side, the Uchiha hawks led by Sōsuke, in order to guide the clan onto the path they envisioned, chose to cooperate with Danzō—whom they had always despised the most.
At the same time, behind Danzō's back, they had also secretly established contact with Obito.
But in Sōsuke's heart, he didn't hold much hope for success.
This was merely his final struggle for his ideals.
As for Obito—he had seen an opportunity within Konoha worth exploiting and had taken the initiative to step in.
In his heart, aside from Rin, he held no sense of Uchiha pride. If anything, he would rather see the entire troublesome clan wiped out.
So when he noticed ripples in Konoha's waters, he simply came to stir things up.
His objective was simple.
He himself was an Uchiha, so he knew just how troublesome the Mangekyō could be. Who knew what kind of ability might awaken—one that could counter him.
So Shisui had to die.
If the entire clan could be wiped out, even better—but for now, that seemed unlikely.
His other goal was just as clear.
Konoha had grown too strong. That was bad for his plans.
It had to be weakened—otherwise, this "game" couldn't continue.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---