Ryou coldly crushed Itachi's final line of defense; after Shisui's suicide, the Uchiha Clan postponed the date of the coup.
They even suspected whether Itachi had killed Shisui.
Ultimately, nothing came of it; the Uchiha Clan didn't dare do anything to Itachi, who had already joined the Anbu.
The conflict between the two sides remained unresolved, and both the Third Hokage and Fugaku watched helplessly as things unfolded.
They could neither step forward to ease the tension nor engage in a decisive battle to let the winner take all.
The Third was old, and Fugaku had given up.
Things in this world are often like that—you're not doing well, but you're not completely ruined either; you just stand in the middle, helplessly watching those who are more decisive than you driving Land Rovers and embracing young models.
On the eve of the Uchiha coup, Danzo approached Itachi and ordered him to massacre everyone in the Uchiha Clan.
Itachi did not refuse; between the Village and the clan, he chose the Village.
He feared that the rebellion caused by the Uchiha would lead to the outbreak of the Fourth Great Shinobi War.
Because he feared greater casualties, Itachi was going to destroy his own clan.
However, Itachi loved his younger brother; he requested that only Sasuke be spared.
That day, with a blood moon hanging high, Itachi stood atop a utility pole and began massacring his clansmen—aunts, uncles, cousins...
Even his parents—Fugaku and Mikoto.
"No—"
The current Itachi could not accept himself falling into a butcher who would even massacre his own clan.
Ryou cold-bloodedly pried open Itachi's eyelids, forcing him to watch himself kill his parents with his own eyes.
"Senju Itachi, stop pretending. This is who you really are—someone who dares to sacrifice a minority for the sake of the majority. Even your clan must become a sacrifice for your 'greater justice'."
Due to intense emotion, the Sharingan tomoe in Itachi's eyes spun as he looked at Ryou in rage.
"No, no, I won't become like this. It's you, it's all your Genjutsu."
"You bastard!"
Ryou was even angrier than Itachi: "If my Dojutsu were Tsukuyomi, I would have electrocuted you for three days and three nights by now."
"You should be lucky I don't have Tsukuyomi, but don't think I can't handle you."
Ryou prepared to show Itachi some eye-searing images. The Genjutsu world shifted, and Itachi and Shisui turned into figures with round faces, buzz cuts, and full beards, embracing each other somewhat intimately.
Itachi's eyes were stung by just one look, and he squeezed them shut: "No! Don't make me see this."
Ryou pried his eyes open: "Hmph, you have to watch whether you want to or not!"
Itachi knelt on the ground, clutching Ryou's leg and begging for mercy: "Uncle, I was wrong. Please don't make me see this!"
Ryou sneered: "Brat, do you know how powerful I am now?"
"I know, I know. From now on, I'll do whatever you say, Uncle."
Ultimately, Itachi was still a child whose mind was still developing; he would cry out when beaten.
Ryou patted Itachi's bald head: "Now do you know the reason why I defected?"
Itachi nodded: "I know. The Konoha higher-ups are truly rotten to the core, especially Danzo. He wants to completely lock down the Uchiha Clan."
Ryou nodded: "You're still salvageable! Alright, enough talk. Your strange behavior in the outside world is about to be noticed by those nearby."
The amount of Genjutsu Ryou cast on Itachi was quite large. Since the slideshow had been playing in the Genjutsu space for so long, people outside were likely to notice soon.
Just as Ryou was about to release the Genjutsu, Itachi knelt and pleaded with him.
"Uncle, what you showed me was just a speculation. Now, the conflict between the Uchiha and the higher-ups has been resolved. Stop colluding with Madara!"
"Come back! Mother is waiting for you at home."
"Mother is pregnant and really needs you!"
Ryou retorted: "It's not like I did it, so why should I go back?"
"Uncle, how can you say such a thing? That's your little nephew!"
"..."
Ryou fell silent for a moment, stroking his chin. At this point in time, it was indeed the period when Sasuke and Naruto were about to be born.
Itachi nodded: "Father has already decided on the child's name: Sasuke. Whether it's a boy or a girl, the name will be Sasuke, as a tribute to Hokage-sama's father—Sarutobi Sasuke."
"Is that how you pay tribute?"
Ryou was speechless: "If I have a son in the future and name him Uchiha Madara, would that be a tribute to Madara?"
Shinobi didn't have taboos about names.
"This—"
Itachi was a bit dazed. Ryou's logic made it seem like his father was just taking advantage of the Third Hokage.
Ryou shook his head: "Alright, let's not talk about that. About Mikoto—"
"Hmph... Defecting back then was also a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'. I hate Fugaku, I hate the clan's decisions, and I hate fate even more for giving me such a frail body."
"Otherwise, Mikoto should have been the one I took care of!"
Itachi listened intently. He had heard from his mother that Ryou and Mikoto were not real siblings.
Ryou's parents were comrades of Mikoto's father. After Ryou's parents died in battle, Mikoto's father—Itachi's maternal grandfather—took Ryou into their home.
Later, when Mikoto's parents died in the war, Ryou, despite his weak body, took on missions to support the family.
When Mikoto grew up, the higher-ups of the Police Force refused to assign Ryou a wife because of his physical condition and instead arranged for Fugaku and Mikoto to start a family.
Ryou was warned by the Police Force higher-ups that he was only allowed to treat Mikoto as a sister.
Ryou was the product of a consanguineous marriage and still had some blood relation to Mikoto; he himself didn't want to father a child with disabilities with her.
At that time, he had completely given up on himself.
After Mikoto left, Ryou fell into total despair regarding the future and began reaching out toward forbidden experiments, attempting to use Forbidden Jutsu to repair his physical defects.
Ryou looked at his claws: "Now that I've broken free from all the shackles of the past, I'm going to take back everything that belongs to me!"
Itachi looked at Ryou with some fear: "Uncle, what do you want to do?"
Ryou sneered: "What do I want to do? Naturally, I'll capture Mikoto and suppress her under a great mountain, destroying your happy little family."
Itachi was confused: "Uncle, why would you suppress my mother under a mountain for no reason?"
Ryou patted his head: "Why do you have so many questions? Can't I cosplay as Erlang Shen for once? Alright, enough."
"Itachi, I've told you so much about the Uchiha's disadvantages. Do you still believe that Konoha is the home for the Uchiha?"
Itachi nodded without hesitation: "I believe it. Hokage-sama would not harm us Uchiha. Now Shisui has become Lord Jiraiya's disciple."
"Even if we Uchiha are under surveillance, we still stand with the Shinobi Allied Forces. One day, everyone will see that the Uchiha Clan is not the source of trouble."
"Senju Itachi—"
Ryou howled in anger. After all that talking and the slideshow, it was all for nothing; Itachi still believed Konoha would accept the Uchiha.
Itachi comforted: "Uncle, don't be angry. I think—"
"Don't say a word!"
Ryou roared at Itachi: "Let me ask you, if both Madara and I were eliminated by the Shinobi Allied Forces, would the Uchiha be fully integrated into Konoha then?"
Itachi nodded: "Of course!"
"Bullshit! As long as the Senju Clan exists, as long as those loyal followers of Tobirama are still around, the Uchiha Clan will always be a thorn in their side."
"Shisui becoming Jiraiya's disciple will only make things worse, because Jiraiya stands unconditionally with Konoha. Shisui will be trained by Jiraiya to be a Shinobi who puts the Village above all else."