"Where is Uchiha Shisui?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk, glaring furiously at Danzo.
Danzo Shimura's face remained as expressionless as ever. "I don't know."
The leak of Shisui's whereabouts had gone a bit beyond what Danzo anticipated.
Hiruzen still held onto a significant portion of his core power base and had yet to hand it over to Minato Namikaze.
Given that, it wouldn't take long for him to reclaim the Hokage seat.
Hands braced on the table, Hiruzen glared at Danzo, barely holding back his anger—just as he always had.
"The Uchiha clan has already noticed Shisui's disappearance."
Danzo responded with his usual nonchalance. "Oh? Is that so."
If only Hiruzen had a Hyuga by his side—just one Byakugan could have seen the chakra signature of Shisui behind Danzo's bandages, right in his right eye.
They could have caught him red-handed.
But no such luck.
Hiruzen's shoulders sagged, and he slumped back into his seat.
Seeing the shift in Hiruzen's demeanor, Danzo pressed further.
"Hiruzen, you're going to bury Konoha's future."
"Danzo, we're both not fools. Don't think I don't know exactly what you're after!"
Danzo's words reignited the fire Hiruzen had just managed to quell.
They were alone in the Hokage's office—no ANBU guards, no advisors. Just the two of them.
"You want to use this opportunity to eliminate the Uchiha and dispel the public's mistrust of Konoha's leadership!"
The Nine-Tails incident may have been the spark, but the true cause lay deeper.
Danzo's personal ambitions, the Uchiha clan's restlessness, and their desire for political power—Hiruzen didn't need to spell it out. They both understood perfectly.
Hiruzen's voice grew intense. "But have you even considered the consequences? No! There is no concrete evidence linking the Uchiha to the Nine-Tails' attack! And you want to wipe out an entire clan just to ease public pressure and salvage our reputation? What do you think the other clans will say?"
It wasn't that Hiruzen couldn't stomach sacrificing the Uchiha to quell the villagers' anger.
He feared the consequences that would come after.
No clan leader was an idiot.
To survive, you had to have a certain level of intelligence—even if you weren't especially ambitious.
Take the Akimichi clan, for example. Their leaders had always known they weren't cut out for politics, so they firmly tied themselves to the Nara and Yamanaka clans.
That's why the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance had endured for generations.
If the Konoha leadership decided to eliminate the Uchiha for political reasons under the guise of justice, what precedent would that set?
Even if the Uchiha had been reckless, what was to stop the same thing from happening to the other clans next?
Danzo scoffed coldly. "They wouldn't dare rebel."
His worldview was far more hardline than Hiruzen's.
As long as they controlled the military.
As long as the Nara and other clan's heirs remained embedded in the shinobi ranks, they were essentially hostages.
Maintain those two conditions, and the power would remain firmly in their hands.
They were at an impasse again—ideologically divided, logically incompatible. The conversation ended, for now.
…
After their meeting, both Hiruzen's and Danzo's factions accelerated their efforts to find Uchiha Shisui.
Dead or alive, he had to be found.
Shisui wasn't just any ninja—he was a once-in-a-century prodigy of the Uchiha, a true inheritor of the Will of Fire, and the bridge between Konoha and his clan.
Receiving Hiruzen's signal of goodwill, the Uchiha lifted their self-imposed restrictions and also deployed every available member to search for Shisui.
But as time passed, anxiety spread within the Uchiha compound.
The lingering hostility after the Nine-Tails attack, Danzo's actions earlier that morning—it was all adding up to one message:
Konoha no longer had room for the Uchiha.
Even Shisui—their bridge to the village—had been quietly eliminated by the higher-ups.
What would come next? Wait for Konoha to strike first and then fight back?
…
That night, Hiruzen received a message from the Uchiha clan.
"Are you sure?!"
He sat up straight in bed, shocked, staring at the ANBU operative before him.
"The intel is solid," the ANBU said, bowing low. "It came from Itachi Uchiha, son of clan head Fugaku."
—The Uchiha clan was planning a coup.
Fanned by internal discord and fueled by Fugaku's growing distrust of the leadership, the clan was ready to act.
Could Hiruzen's promises really be trusted?
Rather than wait to be slaughtered, the Uchiha had decided to strike first—reclaim their power and pride by taking control of Konoha.
"Summon Danzo to the tower. Now."
Hiruzen threw off his sleepwear, donned his light armor and official uniform, and rushed toward the Hokage building.
…
On his way through the silent streets, Hiruzen's face was grim.
If the Uchiha really intended a coup, everything had changed.
The Nine-Tails attack? Still just a suspicion, not proof. No one in the upper ranks had ever truly considered it conclusive.
But a rebellion?
That gave him all the justification he needed.
…
"HIRUZEN!"
Danzo stormed into the office, his eyes alight.
The look he gave Hiruzen said everything: the landmine you were afraid of just disarmed itself. You have no reason to hold back now.
And better yet—you don't even have to dirty your hands.
All Danzo needed was Hiruzen's tacit approval. The rest, Root would handle.
That had always been their purpose—to do the dirty work no one else could.
"…Sigh."
Hiruzen let out a long breath, closing his eyes before fixing Danzo with a cold stare.
He didn't nod. But he didn't say no, either.
After decades as Hokage, Hiruzen wasn't some indecisive fool.
But compared to Danzo's belief in fear and force, Hiruzen always tried to consider the bigger picture.
Tonight, though, he wouldn't interfere.
And that was all the permission Danzo needed.
With a flick of his sleeve, Danzo left the Hokage building, leading his Root operatives straight to the Uchiha compound.
…
Late that night, like most people, the Uchiha were asleep.
That single evening marked the decisive moment.
The clan's rebellion had barely begun—still in its earliest planning stages.
Many had gone to sleep feeling triumphant after convincing Fugaku to support the uprising. Some were so excited they even called their wives to celebrate.
They never expected Hiruzen and Danzo to act so swiftly, so ruthlessly.
For Konoha, they had decided—the Uchiha would be sacrificed.
Root operatives easily infiltrated the clan's defenses, weakened by celebration and overconfidence.
Many Uchiha were killed in their sleep, their eyes gouged out.
The night was ablaze with fire.
Screams echoed through the compound.
"We're under attack!!"
"Konoha bastards are here to kill us!!"
"Defend the main house! Don't let them break through!!"
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
"I KNEW Konoha couldn't be trusted!"
They were caught completely off guard.
Those who survived the first wave grabbed weapons and rushed into close combat with Root.
…
In the main house at the heart of the compound.
"Fugaku."
Mikoto Uchiha stood beside her husband, eyes filled with worry as she looked toward their two sons.
Konoha's sudden assault defied all logic.
The Uchiha were still fighting bravely, yes—but surrounded on all sides, outnumbered and outmatched, Mikoto already knew.
This would be their end.
"…Sigh."
Fugaku exhaled and finished wiping down his standard-issue shinobi blade.
"I'll buy us time. Itachi—take Sasuke and leave the village. The Uchiha may fall, but our bloodline must not."
"WAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Perhaps sensing the tension in the air, baby Sasuke woke up crying.
Itachi rose with trembling hands and picked up his brother.
"F-Father…"
"Itachi. After tonight, we are no longer shinobi of Konoha."
Fugaku didn't say anything more.
There was nothing left to say.
As clan head, he had failed. He had not led the Uchiha out of danger—instead, he had led them to ruin.
As a father, he had also failed. He hadn't raised his sons properly, and had allowed them to walk the wrong path.
Hokage's peer, clan leader, father—so many titles. And yet, he had lived up to none of them.
Now all he could do was try to correct what little he could.
"The future of the Uchiha… Sasuke's life… I leave them to you."
Staying behind in the compound was a slow death.
Using himself as cover, Fugaku led what was left of their elite forces to break through the siege.
Luckily, the Uchiha compound wasn't located in the heart of Konoha.
They left over half the clan behind to buy time. Fugaku fought his way out.
Even outside the village, Root kept up the pursuit.
The Uchiha around him dwindled rapidly.
One by one, they stayed behind to protect him and the boys.
None of them ever knew that the one they were protecting…
…was the very person who had sealed the Uchiha's fate.
Five-year-old Itachi ran through the forest, clutching his baby brother tightly, eyes filled with grief and horror.
"But for Konoha's sake... was it really the right thing to do?"
If the Uchiha had truly launched a coup and sparked a civil war within Konoha, wouldn't the other villages have seized the opportunity to attack?
"I'm sorry... I wasn't a good father. Itachi, take Sasuke and live."
There were no more Uchiha left to protect them.
Uchiha Fugaku hurriedly left behind his final words, then turned with Mikoto to face the Root shinobi.
Even a moment's hesitation would only waste the lives his parents were about to give up.
Itachi didn't allow himself a single glance back. Head down, he ran for his life.
...
Their safety didn't last long.
Before long, the Root shinobi caught up.
The orders they'd received were clear—annihilate the entire Uchiha clan. Every man, woman, and child.
Father... Mother... they're dead too, aren't they?
So the entire Uchiha clan had to die for Konoha's sake... Even Sasuke—who wasn't even a year old...
"Stay away from us!"
Itachi turned. "Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"
Flaming projectiles shot out in all directions toward the Root shinobi.
For someone his age, using a Fire Style jutsu was already impressive.
"Child's play."
But it didn't work.
The Root shinobi easily dodged the attacks with fluid, precise movements.
One of them burst forward through the dark, his long blade glinting coldly as it aimed straight for Itachi's face—
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Fireballs blasted in from the side, crashing into several Root shinobi and setting them ablaze.
Farther back, Mangekyō Sharingan spun. Several Root shinobi locked eyes with him and instantly collapsed, caught in genjutsu.
Uchiha Shisui appeared, hoisting Itachi onto his back. With a flicker of the Body Flicker Technique, he vanished from the area.
"That was close."
"Shisui…"
The older brother he had worried about all day was alive.
And with him, came hope.
Shisui gave a quick explanation—he'd been ambushed by Danzo, and only just now managed to return.
"What happened?" he asked urgently.
Not even a full day had passed.
He'd barely patched himself up and had planned to sneak out during the night to check the situation. But when he reached Orochimaru's base, all the Root agents nearby were gone. Not a single one left behind.
He dared to sneak closer to Konoha—and from a distance, he saw flames rising from the Uchiha district.
Everything had changed.
...
For the moment, they were safe.
Shisui had managed to hold off the nearest pursuers, but it was only a matter of time before more showed up.
Itachi filled him in on everything—what had happened, what he had done.
Shisui didn't respond at first.
He didn't blame him. "It's my fault... I wasn't there when you needed me."
Itachi's intentions had been pure—but his view of the world was still too naive.
If Shisui had been in his shoes, he might've made the same choices for Konoha.
But now, it was too late for regrets.
Danzo and the Third Hokage... Their actions had been more cunning and ruthless than anything the Uchiha could've matched.
Time was running out.
Root would undoubtedly have sensory-type shinobi with them.
Itachi unwrapped the cloth on his back, handing the bundled Sasuke to Shisui.
"Shisui, take Sasuke. I'm entrusting him to you."
"Itachi…"
"They're after me. Sasuke is innocent."
If Sasuke could survive... If Shisui could survive... That was enough for Itachi. More than enough.
"Alright."
There was no time for dramatic gestures or arguments over who should stay behind.
They made their decision. Shisui and Itachi split up, heading in different directions.
"Itachi…"
Shisui's path was clear. No one was chasing him. That meant the five-year-old Itachi would have to face the Root shinobi on his own.
There was no time for sorrow.
Using the Body Flicker repeatedly, Shisui raced back to Orochimaru's hideout with Sasuke in his arms.
At least for now, it was safe.
He quickly packed up all the supplies he could carry and, without wasting a moment, fled before Root could arrive.
Securing the bundle around Sasuke, Shisui leapt from a high cliff.
The night was dark—no one above could see anything in the canyon below.
Following the river that cut through the valley, Shisui carried the last remaining bloodline of the Uchiha downstream, running for their lives.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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