Shisui and Itachi moved swiftly towards the residences of Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. Their clans' compounds were close to the Sarutobi Clan's, though not directly adjacent. To reach them, they had to pass secretly and silently through the Sarutobi Clan area, where the Uchiha were currently clashing with Hiruzen, Anbu, and his own clan shinobi. They utilized the Body Flicker Technique, moving at incredible speed. As they moved, Itachi asked, "Shi-san, how was Danzo unaffected by Susanoo's destructive attacks?" Itachi was still surprised by Danzo's survival.
Meanwhile, they had already summoned their crows to transport linchpin Danzo to their Summons territory. They couldn't simply carry him around or discard him, as Shisui intended to use him. "He has grafted a Sharingan from our clansmen," Shisui calmly answered Itachi. "His right eye was a Sharingan, and he used Izanagi to alter his reality and save himself. Oh, by the way, you know about Izanagi, right?" Itachi was once again stunned by Danzo's actions. Not only had Danzo used his own people for unknown experiments, but he had also used his clansmen's Sharingan for his personal gain as well.
Itachi questioned himself, 'Did Hokage-sama not know about this, or did he know all this but chose to ignore it?' His previous blind trust in the Hokage began to crumble, though without personal proof, he still wouldn't fully believe it. Shisui lightly shook him and said, "Itachi, I asked if you know about Izanagi, or shall I tell you?" Itachi snapped out of his thoughts and nodded in response. "Oh, yes, I know. Father once told me about them when I reached three-tomoe Sharingan," Itachi replied. "He told me that Izanagi is a forbidden technique, which can be used to alter reality, and its use will permanently blind that eye. Oh, and also about Izanami."
Shisui nodded and thought, 'So, Fugaku told him about these techniques when he reached the Three Tomoe level, well it makes sense since both can technically be used with a three-tomoe Sharingan.' While the Mangekyō Sharingan could enhance their effectiveness, both Izanagi and Izanami could technically be used with a three-tomoe Sharingan. Then Shisui suddenly halted, as if remembering something. Itachi also stopped and asked, "What happened? Why did you stop suddenly?"
"Well, I remember that I told Uncle Fugaku I would recover all the Sharingans Danzo has," Shisui said. "But in the heat of battle, I forgot about that and destroyed the whole Root headquarters." Itachi was slightly surprised and then reassured Shisui, "Shi-san, even though your attack was very destructive, it still wouldn't have destroyed everything in the base. We can recover them later, and also the bodies of Konoha civilians who were abducted by Danzo later." Shisui sighed in relief. Even though he himself knew that Yasaka Magatama might not have completely vanished everything from the base, he was still worried.
Not because he had to give them back to Fugaku, but he also wants to take a few with him for security, and if they were really all destroyed, then he could forget about his backup plan. Within the next few seconds, they reached the compound of the Mitokado Clan, where many clansmen were outside, guarding the compound against an attack from the Uchiha, who were already engaging the Sarutobi Clan. "Why are we going to their house?" Shisui said. "We aren't going there for a tea party. I think it's better if we just send our shadow clones, bring them out here, and have a heart-to-heart talk with them."
He then looked at Itachi and said, "It would be better if you learned a few things early and made a decision on what to do, because once the flame formation breaks, the Uchiha Clan and your father, Fugaku, will all be in a dire situation." Itachi blinked at him and asked, "I understand that, but are you telling me to kidnap them for interrogation? But they are elders and advisors of the village; this woul—"
"Oh, for God's sake, haven't you already seen what Danzo has done? And I already told you that all of them are the same," Shisui cut Itachi off and reprimanded him. "I know it's still hard for you to believe that people you think are honest and selfless are actually not what you think they are, but you need to know the truth and make your own choice."
While reprimanding Itachi, he thought, 'The Uchiha Clan still has very low chances of winning, but now I started to think that it would be better if the current situation just became neutral, since Danzo is taken care of, and it would be better to just stay at Konoha than roaming around the world where encountering Akatsuki has very high chances, and if the Uchiha Clan survives tonight, then it would be very great for me. And Itachi starting to take the clan's side would be beneficial for me.'
While he still planned to run away if the Uchiha clan completely lost tonight, that didn't mean he would simply let everything unfold as he had initially thought, since he knew his initial plan was completely broken and not a proper plan to begin with. Moreover, the main problem was already taken care of. So, changes were needed. They then made two Shadow Clones and sent them to sneakily kidnap both Homura and Koharu, taking them to an empty training ground nearby.
It took only a few minutes for the clones to bring the unconscious village elders to the designated training ground. "Wake them up!" Shisui ordered, dispersing his clones. Itachi lightly slapped both unconscious elders to wake them. "Genjutsu: Sharingan!" Once they awoke, Shisui gave them no time to speak, directly placing them under Genjutsu.
"Now that they are under Genjutsu, we can ask them anything, and they will answer honestly," Shisui said. "But where do we start our interrogation first?" Then he decided and asked, "Let's start from our clan first. Tell us why all four of you hate the Uchiha Clan so much. Is it because we have done something wrong, or do you just hate us because of our power?" Itachi silently seated himself on the ground and looked at Homura and Koharu, whose eyes held dull expressions, as if they had become mere puppets.
"It is the Uchiha clan; is there even a need for a reason to hate them?" Koharu snorted, despite being in Genjutsu and having dull expressions, she still spoke like a normal person. "They are truly Tobirama's students," Shisui scoffed at her. No need for a reason to hate; only Tobirama had this kind of mentality, which he had passed on to his students.
"Moreover, it is necessary to suppress the Uchiha Clan so they can't threaten our position of power. We have many times tried to reduce the strength of the Uchihas by sending ninjas on difficult missions," Homura said with dull expressions. "But it was still not as easy as it was with the Senju Clan. But on the night of Kyuubi's rebellion, Danzo suggested that it was a better chance to completely marginalize the Uchiha by relocating them to outside the village and keeping them under check with Anbu surveillance, with charges of Kyuubi's appearances completely on them."
Itachi's eyes widened with shock and anger; his wall of complete trust in the village's higher-ups completely crumbled upon hearing this. "So, Shi-san was correct, huh? It wasn't the Uchiha Clan who was wrong, but the village's higher authorities." Even though Itachi wasn't in Genjutsu, his expressions also became a little dull. But Itachi, amidst this, missed something that did not escape Shisui's ear. He smirked and thought, 'Senju Clan, huh? Looks like the list of their corruption is going to be quite higher than I had at first expected.'
But he didn't think about asking for details for now. He shook Itachi lightly and asked, "There are still many things we can ask them, but I think for now it should be enough. So, tell me what your decision is?" Then his eyes landed on the large, orange triangular flame formation, which finally and completely crumbled. "Itachi, you don't have much time. It's your call, which side do you choose?" Shisui asked in a suspenseful voice, "Your family and clan's side, or the Hokage faction's side?" Itachi looked at Shisui and stood up. "I still wish to ask all this from Hokage-sama personally," he said with a determined look. "But father might need my support now."
A light chuckle escaped Shisui's lips; he nodded and said, "Then go, and support your father and clan now." Itachi was surprised and asked, "Aren't you coming with me?" Shisui raised his eyebrows and lightly smacked Itachi. "Did I make it sound like I'm sending only you there? Of course, I am also coming!" And inwardly thought, 'After all, my life will be decided on the outcome of that battle. While leaving Konoha isn't bad, why take the hard way when there's a chance for an easy way?'
Meanwhile, on the Uchiha's side, once the flame formation was gone, the forces of the Hokage faction quickly entered, putting the Uchiha at a disadvantage. Even though Fugaku was using Susanoo, he still wasn't able to gain much advantage against Hiruzen. Despite having killed many enemies tonight, that monkey was quite slippery. "Fugaku-sama, what do we do now?" one Uchiha asked, seeing the Hokage's support arrive inside the clan compound. They still hadn't fully exterminated the Sarutobi Clan, which was Fugaku's main purpose for launching the coup there.
"Hokage-sama, are you alright?" Shikaku Nara asked, standing in front of Hiruzen with Inoichi and Choza Akimichi, and the forces of Konoha. While other clans had also caught wind of it, they hadn't arrived yet. Fugaku, inside Susanoo, was huffing slightly; his chakra and Sharingan vision were taking a toll on him, and he wouldn't be able to maintain it for long. But his eyes were full of determination to end Hiruzen's rule tonight. He took a deep breath and shouted to his clansmen, "Everyone, move back!"
The Uchiha forces were shocked, but upon seeing the look on Fugaku's face, they didn't pester him about staying there to support him until the end. Fugaku started to form many comma-shaped beads, Yasaka Magatama, which he hadn't used before because it would also affect his clansmen, but he had no other choice now. Hiruzen frowned, his instincts telling him that whatever Fugaku was about to do needed to be stopped at all costs.
"Stop him!" he screamed. "Make sure he can't attack!" Fugaku also frowned, because his clansmen hadn't moved far enough for him to openly use Magatama without care. But the next moment, everyone was shocked, as another giant Susanoo, green in color, appeared behind Hiruzen and his forces. Hiruzen, wielding his Adamantine Staff, was shocked beyond belief. He quickly recognized the person inside that Susanoo, confused and then sighed in relief. "Shisui and Itachi."
-- To Be Continued --